Tech From Here: NL · Sources
A pencil with one moving part
The work this post covers and every source it draws on, each linked to the original.
The workShift Hook + Axis Pencil (Mal Yu), on the Dutch Design Week 2026 programme ddw.nlOther sources
- OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 9.5 openstax.org
Images, slide by slide
- Slide 1
- Two thin steel pencils with dark graphite tips float at angles against pale gray, each with a polished aluminum ball partway along its threaded shaftImage: Mal YuMuseum or journal record
- Slide 2
- Three Axis Pencils standing upright on a white surface: one balanced on its ball at the bottom, one with the ball near the middle, one with the ball at the topImage: Mal YuMuseum or journal record
- Slide 3
- Diagram of the ball's positions along the shaft: at the base it is a stand, part way it is a rest, near the tip it is a grip, over the tip it is a capImage: RN Collins studio, code-drawn. Checked against Dutch Design Week press kit 1954, Shift Hook + Axis Pencil, Mal Yu (Axis Pencil)
- Slide 4
- Close view of two polished aluminum balls on threaded steel shafts, each topped by a dark cone of graphiteImage: Mal YuMuseum or journal record
- Slide 5
- A hand hangs a bunch of keys on a short aluminum cylinder fixed to a white wall, with a brass face shaped like a keyhole; a second hook holds a blue keyImage: Mal YuMuseum or journal record