Yard’o’Led Viceroy Grand Barley Review

Aside from the usual big brands that I’ve been covering on the channel, there have been quite a number of smaller manufactures that peeked my interests because of the story behind them as well as the care they put in their products throughout their history.

The Yard-O-Led Pencil Company is a manufacturing company founded in  London ,  England  in 1934 by  German  immigrant, Ludwig Brenner,[1] to produce his patent  propelling pencils  which contained twelve three inch leads (that is to say, 36 inches or a yard of lead).

The Viceroy is made totally in sterling silver, with hallmarks dedicated to signify its authenticity as well as the legitimate material.

Each line of the barley finish is machined by hand, even though not as precise as some of the counterpart from Germany, has its own charm and little signs that showed someone really looked after the making of these instruments.

The clip is riveted and the styling hasn’t changed that much throughout YoL history, reminiscing the first few instruments with clips in the 1920s.

In addition, the instrument is individually numbered and yearly dated, making it a treat for collectors to hunt down certain models and eras of the company’s history. from the first pieces made by Samson Mordan or the more recent ones from the Edward Baker era.

On the surface, it seems the star of the show is the material and the finishing itself, but the nib truly completes the whole package.

18ct gold with nickel plating to match the silvery aesthetics of the instrument, it really writes with ease without any issues.

For the current value of 1200pounds, it might raise some eyebrows. However, for those collectors that would like to make an addition of an heirloom piece of writing instrument to their stash, YoL is certainly a lovely choice, and future generations would be in awe with curiosity to find out stories behind those stains and patinas.