Epic Win: Push-A-Point Pencils
Submitted by Michiru K
The solution to your pencil sharpener problem — OK, well, that was never really a problem. But Push-A-Point mechanical pencils were all the rage when I was in elementary school. When you were out of lead, just pop off the top and another tip would be ready.
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Fergal the shark sez:
That’s kind of weird – I teach grade 2 and my teaching partner and I often put these in our prize box. Although, after the comments of people turning them into darts, I may have to have a rethink. I really surprised in 6 years of teaching none of the more, um, “energetic” children have thought to do that. They do like to stab each other with them, however, but that’s with everything, not just these pencils.
Anna sez:
Oh man, I loved these things. I usually ended up losing the lead after a while.
I also had this “OCD” thing.. I’d use one.. and when it was slightly dull (read: unable to cause bodily harm.. because DAMN those things are sharp.. at least when I was in elementary school) I’d switch to a fresh one and just keep going down the line until they all ran out.
And they were a pain in the ass if you were missing one or the “seal” inside went loose because then you’d go to write and the tip would shoot back into the pencil.
Josh sez:
Possibly one of the worst pencils I ever used in elementary. I enjoyed real mechanical pencils.
What about the kind where you got like 12 different colored pencils in one? And it never failed – you would have to cycle through 10 of them to get the color you wanted every time.
ha! I remember that
IIRC these where a bit of a pain in the ass if you pressed too hard.
Or if you you lost one of the little tips. That was a biiiitch -_-
I had both those problems, ugh. If I didn’t lose one, then the back would keep coming off. I like normal mechanical pencils, thank you
I always turned them into blow dart guns
That’s why they were banned at the school I went to. :/
Oh yeah. Pull off the end cap, take one tip, turn it around, and blow hard. It could shoot across the room. I loved those things.
No nostalgia here. I have about 6 of these pencils.
Thank you.
I so have one of these, don’t use it cause it’s mickey mouse. My cuz got it for me.
Possibly one of the worst pencils I ever used in elementary. I enjoyed real mechanical pencils.
Agreed. Aside from weaponry, I never understood the appeal of taking a plastic tube and filling it with 1/10th of the lead of a real mechanical pencil. Slide FX FTW!
I always got one of these from the treat drawer at the dentist! Good times!
Oh man, I loved these things. I usually ended up losing the lead after a while.
I also had this “OCD” thing.. I’d use one.. and when it was slightly dull (read: unable to cause bodily harm.. because DAMN those things are sharp.. at least when I was in elementary school) I’d switch to a fresh one and just keep going down the line until they all ran out.
And they were a pain in the ass if you were missing one or the “seal” inside went loose because then you’d go to write and the tip would shoot back into the pencil.
Yeah, I hated using them once they started to get dull. I think that’s the one reason I just didn’t like them much. Win for nostalgia, though. ^_^
One in my left elbow.
I still have one of the tips that broke off into my hand under my skin. 24 year later. Those tips were sharp!
I still have one in my leg. I think it’s going to be in there forever.
I have one in my chin.
so do I!
Me too! I thought I was the only one that still bore the wounds of those wonderful/dangerous pencils from my childhood.
They still make these in fact I just bought some awesome animal ones and skull ones the other day. I do remember though back in second grade we had spelling quizes and if we got 5 or more right we got to the treat closet and pick out either candy , pencils or erasers. The pencils were always gone by the time I got to pick a prize(we always went alphabetically so I was always near the end) the pencils were gone but one day there was still on of these pencils left. I think these kind of pencils also came in a kind were the barrel of it was kind scratch and sniff or maybe I’m mistaken there.
There are pencils called “Smellceils” and they come in a tube and smell. (But I think that’s the updated version of whatever you’re talking about.)
Topic at hand: I always played around with the tips and lost them in a matter of days.
That’s kind of weird – I teach grade 2 and my teaching partner and I often put these in our prize box. Although, after the comments of people turning them into darts, I may have to have a rethink. I really surprised in 6 years of teaching none of the more, um, “energetic” children have thought to do that. They do like to stab each other with them, however, but that’s with everything, not just these pencils.
I have a pack of strawberry shortcake push point pencils right next to me. They are still fun only the eraser still runs out way to fast.
These were (and are) great, unless you had a habit of chewing the end of your pencils, after a while you would be writing and the end would fly off!
That was my problem, but i got them for free my grandma went to flea markets and stuff and sold a bunch of things like Umbrella hats, these pencils, little novelty cowboy hats for babies and little kids, those little folding fans that had oreintal designs on them stuff like that. Those pencils were always lying around so when i chewed one up i just got a new one from grandma’s house up the street.
I liked the ones that smelled like fruit. Those rocked.
I still have a strawberry one, circa 1986-7 or thereabouts, the cap is long gone (ditto the mushroom print one), and it no longer smells, but all the points are still there. Some of them are even still sharp.
The leads would break too easy in the cylinder and then the thing was done for within a few hours. Still, it’s nice to know that they never went blunt.
Useless if you lost one point.
blargh.
Yeah, I had a lot of these… I would use one of the new, really sharp ones for about 5 minutes, until it didn’t hurt when you poked the end of it anymore, and then I’d move on to the next one because I didn’t think it was sharp enough. XD So I ended up with a mess of “dull” pencil points, which I then proceeded to lose.
Mechanical pencils still make me feel smarter than I do when I use anything else.
They still have those. I have tons! The lady who gave me my annual tests would give them to me.
Just about every day in elementary school, someone would be changing their lead, and oops, there they go, scattered all over the floor. And they rolled, so the whole class would stop what they were doing to pick up the stray pieces. They weren’t as much of a pain to pick up as the individual leads in normal mechanical pencils, though. Those were the worst.
I always loved those, but I could never use them. I was always the type to push hard on my pencils, so I was always so devastated when the lead retracted into the tip. D:
At our school, there was a sadistic butthead who would find one of these laying around and take one lead out…then reinsert it BACKWARD. Then if you got lucky you could force it out, but usually not without ruining at least two more points…if you could get it out at all.
I used to just pull out the used up led and push it through the top and viola! instant sharp pencil! Teachers wouldn’t let you use them on tests though. It had to be a wood one that said “#2″ on the side.
I had some of those, I still have my colored pencils that were like that, of course, I hated when they ran out of tips
I remember a classmate in elementary school who would just throw away to dull tips without realizing that it would make the pencil stop working.
I got some of those at a conference in London in may this year!
I’m still using one of those for my drawings =D
I never understood these. I did have one that I remember. I would sit and cycle through all the pencil caps. Also, while using it, I remember the pencil bit would push back into the tube, so it wasn’t even all that great as a pencil.
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. UGH. I hated these things. I need a sharp point for drawing, which I’ve always done. Give me a real mechanical pencil anyday. .5 please.
oh boy. i hated these things. although i do have a handy little push-a-point screwdriver that looks lika pen. can tell you how many times some one came into my office to borrow a penthen tried to write with it.
and yes. mech pencils were always better than these contraptions. they were better that regular pencils too.
I recently purchased Carpenter(Flat) pencils like those.
I remember wanting one of these cool pencils, & the day I found one laying on a desk that someone had left…..it was mine!
I remember these! They weren’t that good because they were used up pretty fast. But they were so entertaining and I always wanted them.
Love, love, love these pencils. I have one in my purse, one at my desk and five backups in my desk drawer. I have been a regular user since at least 1982.
these things hurt like hell. recall anyone? no not srs. plz don’t.
Plus, if your neighbor asked to borrow it, you never let them use a sharp point, you made them use only the dull points.
I actually had a push-a-point ERASER. No pencil was involved, just a thick plastic tube with eight thick erasers inside. Sort of like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AQQ49Y/ref=asc_df_B001AQQ49Y888533?tag=the004-20&creative=380333&creativeASIN=B001AQQ49Y&linkCode=asn
…except with Dinosaurs instead of the Hulk. It was such an awesome tool. I was very possessive of it and wouldn’t let anyone use the blue eraser, because that was my favorite color. They had to use the orange or red erasers.
I hated when all the little tips were dull, yet you still would never through the thing out. I used to keep them because they were fun to chew on
NICE! So I’m not the only one.
I still have lead in my knee from fourth grade from one of these evil pencils…