Modern, 3D Printed Bullet Pencil

thingiverse

An interesting thing happened around the latter half of 1914. "The Great War" was well underway. Soldiers and sailors were fighting, dying, and otherwise bearing unspeakable hardships all over the world. Princess Mary of England (fully styled Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Princess_Royal_and_Countess_of_Harewood) noticed the plight of these individuals and proceeded to undertake the cause to send "every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front" a gift for Christmas (https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/look-inside-the-princess-mary-gift-fund-1914-box). Among other gifts, some of the brass gift boxes included a uniquely appropriate gift to these servicemen and women: a silver bullet pencil. These pencils were designed with a silver "bullet" that held a pencil inside of an empty brass .303 British rifle case. The result was a beautifully useful item to soldiers and sailors alike. Following the war, for several decades, this idea was copied across America and often used for advertising. Businesses would imprint these pencils with business logos and contact information as a different take on the business card (https://blog.pencils.com/the-history-of-the-bullet-pencil/). _____ I have been fascinated with this idea for some time. Midori makes a similar concept of the bullet pencil, but the clip seems cheap, and it's just not the same without the actual cartridge case. The Fisher Pen Company makes a fine pressurized ballpoint pen in the cases of a couple of calibers of cartridge brass. I own one and carry it regularly, but it is not a pencil. So, I have attempted to design my own, 3D printed version. There are some problems with this idea. The original pencils were held inside of a cap that was itself held inside of the cartridge case. This requires strength in a thin walled "bullet" that does not seem possible with current 3D printing technology. So, I have designed a cap that holds a pencil inside, but attaches to the cartridge case on the outside. Additionally, I have no .303 British cartridges; nor do I know anyone who shoots that caliber. However, I do have access to .30-06 Springfield, and have designed this "bullet" cap to fit that cartridge. Notes: 1. The cap is inscribed with a "Crowned M" in honor of Princess Mary and her gift. 2. The cap should fit any standard hexagonal pencil. Sand or whittle it if it is too large. 3. This pencil holder is made to hold very short pencil stubs. 2 3/4 inches (70mm) is probably the longest that will work. 4. Fits an unfired or properly resized .30-06 Springfield cartridge case. 5. "Officially" allowed by the TSA for carry onto the plane (https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/shell-casings). But, we all know how unaware TSA agents are of the official rules. 6. There are versions with and without printed adhesion supports, and with and without an eraser hole. Versions 1.3M and 1.3MS have the "bullet" tip. Versions 2M and 2MS have the eraser tip. The S versions have built in adhesion supports. 7. The eraser version is sized to hold a standard wooden pencil eraser in place of the bullet tip. Take one off of a pencil and shove it in the hole. Alternately, one of those pencil cap erasers fit both quite well.