Inside a Cross broker's pencil

This large gold filled pencil recently came in with the front end detached. I really shouldn't keep buying projects, but this seemed both straightforward and potentially interesting.

I could have cleaned and lubricated the mechanism in situ and just reattached the nose cone, but there were a couple of shallow dings to the barrel and I wanted to get a look inside. This is what everything looked like upon initial disassembly.

The lead measures a hefty 5.53 mm. The spring fingers of the holder make thickness less than critical, so modern 5.5 and 5.6 mm lead should fit with no problem. 

The mechanism propels and retracts the lead, using a simple track and helix design. Very sturdy with not much to go wrong.

Pencils of this sort were the subject of four related patents applied for and granted in 1882 to 1884: US263392, US296537, US296538, and US296539. Of these, the third most closely corresponds to our example. Cross pencils don't usually bear patent imprints, unlike Cross fountain pens and stylographics, and this pencil is no exception.