• Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, September 29, 2010 10:04 AM

Pencil maker Staedtler Mars GmbH is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year; next year, Faber-Castell AG will enjoy its 250th year in the business. But Staedtler says that it really goes back to 1662, when a craftsman named Friedrich Staedtler was already sharpening his skills in Nuremberg, Germany.

"It's a competition throughout centuries," says Staedtler managing director Axel Marx. One thing is for sure: Age has not diminished the fierce rivalry between the two entities, and each has its fans. "It's like football teams -- people like one or the other," says a clerk at a bookstore in Nuremberg, and Daniel Michaels aptly details all the twists and turns of the rivalry over the centuries.

So which company is really the oldest? That's a question a court had to decide (Faber-Castell, in terms of continuous years.) Both companies say they're friendly rivals at the moment but that could change, Michaels writes, as Staedtler mulls how to mark the 350th anniversary of Friedrich's registration. "We are thinking of how to do that without starting a new war," says managing director Marx.

Back in the US of A, meanwhile, an enterprising upstart named David Rees is offering artisanal hand-sharpened pencils. They are shipped with their shavings and a certificate of sharpening for a mere $15. Throw in a handsome 12 ½" x 18" print and it's a lovely $50 gift for the artist, writer or "standardized test takers" in your life.

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