If you follow my YouTube channel you might have spotted this video about Wörther’s lead holder ‘Shorty’.
I was lucky enough to get two of these over the years. One from fellow stationery blogger Scribble and one from Pen Heaven.
I think they must be the first lead holders I have added to my overview of mechanical pencils.
The plastic version is light and very affordable.
While the aluminium version is still not expensive and rather elegant.
In the video you’ll see that the origin of the Shorty is rather fascinating. 
Like fellow German company Lamy and like other companies world-wide including Hero, Wörther’s beginnings have a strong link to the Parker Pen Company. It’s a shame that Parker, like other old established companies seems to have suffered the consequences of past sub-optimal decisions and is not the strong player in this field it once was.
Have a look at the video to find out more.
I like these. I believe they have also issued limited editions. (I also like the Wörther Slight pencil.) A nice aspect of placing an overseas order directly with the company is that the customs paper are signed by a member of the Wörther family.
Will the Faber-Castell lead sharpener work, I wonder? It’s designed for 3.5mm leads.
https://choosingkeeping.com/products/faber-castell_2mm32mm_sharpener
Thanks for another great post!
Wouldn’t a sanding bloc be more common for such soft leads? I know my mother, an artist, uses such a bloc. It’s just a bloc of sandpaper attached to some wood. All the “shavings” are held within the sandpaper.
There’s also a contraption called “The Gedess” made by Dux which does the same thing and might appeal to you kite. It is rather expensive though!
Thanks and good luck!
Thank you for your comments.
Stephen, which one did you get?
Amro, I plan to buy the FC sharpener, but haven’t done so yet.
I have a block like that from Staedtler, but thought it might be a mess. There’s a blog post coming soon about a lead holder that comes with a glass sharpening block. You might like it.
Funnily enough, I tried to buy the Gedess this Saturday! I went to the shop from this blog post https://bleistift.blog/2017/04/repairs-alterations-all-on-liberal-terms/ because I was in Manchester anyway. Unfortunately the Gedess didn’t sell well in the shop, so the owner sold/gave all his stock to a friend. He suggested that the Gedess or an antique Trupoint sharpener might to the trick.
I’m saving up for a Wörther pencil. Am really intrigued by its craftmanship. I was eyeing the Slight, but I might as well try the Shorty or the Profil.
So what was the relationship between Lamy and Parker pens? Never heard of that story before.
Thank you for your comment.
I haven’t seen the Profil before, I only looked it up because of your comment. It does remind me very much of the more expensive Lamy Imporium.
In the UK the plastic Shorty is very cheap, it’s a good pen to try out.
Regarding Parker and Lamy: the Lamy founder used to be a Parker sales rep, see https://stationery.wiki/Lamy