Walked into a drafting supply shop in Chicago and found a whole wall of lead holders from the 80s

Dude, they had like 50 old Koh-I-Noor 5616s still in the original packaging, priced at $3 each. I grabbed six of them - anyone else ever stumble on a time capsule like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenny_sullivan9720d ago

I read somewhere that Koh-I-Noor actually stopped making those 5616s in the late 90s, so finding them still sealed is basically unheard of now. Ngl, I got pretty excited just reading this because those old lead holders are built way better than the cheap plastic ones you see at most stores today. Tbh, the fact they were priced at three bucks is insane - I've seen people pay like 20 or 30 for a single vintage one online. Honestly, you probably stumbled onto a retired engineer or architect's old stock, maybe from a closed shop or estate. Stuff like that doesn't just sit around for decades unless someone forgot about it or was holding onto it for a rainy day.

mary_kelly19d ago

Idk, it reminds me a bit of when I cleaned out my uncle's storage unit last year. He was a draftsman in the 80s and had like a dozen old technical pens in a drawer, still in their boxes. They were those old Rapidograph ones, the metal kind, not the plastic junk they sell now. I sold a few on eBay and got enough to cover what I paid for the whole unit. Three bucks a piece for those 5616s is a steal, you're right.