I acquired a loose 0.5 mm example of the aforementioned pencil some time ago, and just snagged a 0.3 mm example this morning still in its original box with a couple of replacement "Floating Lead Protectors" included (seller called them "cartridges"). Attached is an ad from the March-April 1974 edition of Engineering and Science magazine, which is the only bit of useful information about these pencils I've been able to find so far. I'm assuming these are a product of the Sheaffer/Sailor collaboration of the time.
Does anyone know anything more about these things? I thought at first that my 0.5 mm pencil was broken because of its behavior when the button is pressed, but the cutaway image in the ad tells me that the entire "Protector" slides freely over the lead and pusher and slowly works its way up as one writes.
I'm hoping the new one will come with an instruction sheet. <G>
I've been using one of these for about 25 years. It's my favorite pencil because the sliding protector sleeve keeps the lead from breaking. I've got the instructions if you need them. The important thing is to never unscrew the body. Nothing to fix in there and you risk parts breaking (done it). Let me know if you find more. I would love a spare.
Heh. I've had my 0.5 apart, including the threaded-in bushing in the barrel, and back together again several times trying to "fix" it. Now that I understand how it's supposed to work, I realize it's just fine. If the 0.3 (on its way!) is missing the instructions, I'll ask you for a scan of yours; thanks for offering.