Pencil holder cellulose acetate tortoise shell

This pencil holder by Ohnishi Seisakusho is unusual for European standards, as it can be extended and closed by means of a screw-on cap. This protects the short pencil when not in use. Like the fountain pen from the same manufacturer, the pencil extender is hand-turned from cellulose acetate; the decorative ring and clip are gold-plated. The case accommodates pencils with a standard diameter of up to 9 cm in length, turning an inconspicuous pencil remnant into a haptically and visually exceptional item.

One of the very few left who masters the art of hand-turning barrels for writing instruments is the Japanese Keizo Ohnishi. He learned the old technique from master Kiyoshi Kato, known as a kind of grandmaster of writing instrument manufacture, and took over Kato’s workshop when the master died. At the still operating workshop, Ohnishi continues to produce fountain pens made of cellulose acetate – entirely by hand and, therefore, in minimal quantities. Ohnishi uses a classic black-brown cellulose acetate, reminiscent of tortoiseshell and horn in terms of look and feel, for producing the fountain pen and a pencil holder (a relatively unknown utensil in our latitudes) complete with screw cap and clip. The material feels pleasant and never cold to the touch while impressing with astonishing visual brilliance. The material’s surface is not sensitive to scratches but self-polishing. Besides, the marbling looks different in every writing instrument. Discovered in 1865, cellulose acetate (along with celluloid) is one of the oldest thermoplastics. Among the plastics made from a natural product, the material has been the most important plastic from the 1920s until today. In fact, as a derivative of cellulose, the material is one of the bioplastics.