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#1 |
Lead Moderator European Armoury
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,694
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Some pure gold, some gold plated, some pure silver ...
From to 60 mm to 110 mm length. . |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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pencils (mechanical pencils)
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#3 |
Lead Moderator European Armoury
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,694
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So that's the term i missed: mechanical (i knew the pencil part); thanks much Wayne.
I now see at Wiki that Americans call them mechanical and the Brits call them propelling. |
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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![]() ![]() they originally used a lead (chemical symbol Pb - levar?) wire, that's why in english we call the central graphite that does the writing the 'pencil lead'. luckily they figured out that graphite worked better and left a darker lettering, and later found it was safer. bit more fragile, tho chewing on your pencil is a lot healthier. wears out faster tho. if you have one with a real lead centre, don't use it. romans used lead for plumbing pipes, the exposure level from it in alkaline water is low, but cumulative, they think rome declined in part from the side effects which includes reduced intelligence, reduced fertility, mental issues, strength, etc. Last edited by kronckew; 14th July 2017 at 07:41 PM. |
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#5 | ||||
Lead Moderator European Armoury
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,694
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Some time ago i was dumb enough to offer as a gift a silver one that slided a pen, a pencil and an erasor blade. Quote:
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#6 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 7,186
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Very nice!
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#7 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,167
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my google translator said the english noun for the metal Pb, 'lead' is 'levar' in portugese. stupid thing kept translating the word lead into a word that translated back as 'guided', as in you can lead a horse...etc. got the 'levar' bit from trying to translate lead poisoning. not too successfuly i gather. i know my periodic table by the way, and that Pb comes from the latin. it also occurs in the late roman throwing darts, plumbata, because they have a barbed steel point held to a vaned shaft of wood by a lead (plumbum again)weight cast around the join. soldiers have been throwing lead down-range for millenia (also slingers if you count slinging). they also used lead salts to 'sweeten' wine. probably not the best choice. (rome seems to have invented 'lawn darts' ![]() Last edited by kronckew; 15th July 2017 at 11:54 AM. |
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