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Koh-I-Noor 5611 “2B thru 6H”

Koh-I-Noor Inc., Bloomsbury, New Jersey, USA

lead diameter
mechanism
composition
variations
production date
origin

2 mm
pushbutton spring clutch
all metal
pushbutton color: black, blue, brown, green, red, silver
circa 1950s
Italy

	Innumerable clones of the 5611 have been produced. A few are listed below:
			Dietzgen 3162
			Eberhard Faber 617
			Post 2811
			A&B Smith 5611
			Fullerton Acutron 1030
			Dixon Designer 170
			Keuffel & Esser

see also

US Patent 2,801,613 "Lead Gripping Means," 1955
Fredrix Artists Materials, 1964, p 133

The examples above are early Italian made 5611s with “2B thru 6H” imprinted on the barrel. The first 5611 in 1956 was US made. I’m not sure how long the US made model was available, but they seem to be very scarce.

The 5611 was the apex of readily available drawing instruments when I first began manually scratching on paper. Very common, almost invisible because of its ubiquity. Judging by the great numbers of well worn examples floating about, It’s fair to say that this has been a favorite for generations. Innumerable variations exist. Even today, a sickly plastic stick wearing the 5611 badge is available widely. [Update: No it’s not.]

The 5611 was introduced in 1956 as a “lightweight all-metal” economy lead holder. I’m perplexed by Koh-I-Noor’s marketing of this holder as an economy model in contrast to their 5616 and 5617 which were apparently the non-economy models. Their quality and construction is identical, the only difference being a lack of tacky gold plating and the slightly smaller size of the 5611 and consequently its inability to accept the thick 2.5 mm soft sketching leads.


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Koh-I-Noor “Adapto” 5611

Koh-I-Noor Inc., Bloomsbury, New Jersey, USA

lead diameter mechanism composition variations production date origin	2 mm pushbutton spring clutch all metal with anodized pushbutton pushbutton color: black, blue, brown, green, red, silver 1960s Italy


5611BK “Drafting Assortment” (half scale). see also: Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph catalog, 1980, p 31		Box of 24 Koh-I-Noor Adapto 5611s. courtesy Laurie Schmidtke collection


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courtesy Laurie Schmidtke collection

Koh-I-Noor / Keuffel & Esser “Adapto” 5611-K

lead diameter mechanism composition variations production date origin	2 mm pushbutton spring clutch all metal with anodized pushbutton unknown 1960s Italy

see also	Keuffel & Esser leadholder


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Koh-I-Noor “Technigraph” 5611 and 5611 C

Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph, Bloomsbury, New Jersey, USA

lead diameter mechanism composition variations production date origin	2 mm pushbutton spring clutch all metal with anodized pushbutton pushbutton color: black, blue, brown, green, red, silver (1970s) to 1992) Italy
special features
see also	Art Brown catalog, 1978, p 100 Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph catalog, 1980, p 30 Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph magazine ad, circa 1984 Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph catalog, 1985, p B-2

The 5611 was later renamed the “Technigraph.”

courtesy Laurie Schmidtke collection


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Koh-I-Noor Technigraph 5611

(plastic tipped pushbutton)

Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph, Bloomsbury, New Jersey, USA

lead diameter mechanism composition variations production date origin	2 mm pushbutton spring clutch all metal with plastic tipped pushbutton pushbutton color: black, blue, brown, green, red, silver 1993 to 1994 Italy

This, the final incarnation of the metal barreled 5611, had a plastic tipped pushbutton.


		© 2001 to 2008 Dennis B. Smith	^ top