Recently I came to learn that Ballograf had made a polished steel fluted executive style clutch point mechanical pencil at some point. Release year is unknown thus far. I’m not sure of the model name but I put in an inquiry to Ballograf to hopefully find it out. It’s very nicely made and machined. Smooth twist ratcheted operation.
I’ve previously written about Ballograf, the Swedish writing instrument company that was formed in 1945, in the aftermath of WWII. Over the years they’ve made a number of pen and mechanical pencil designs. While a long time fan of their plastic bodied clicky Epoca ballpoint (a common white-list branded pen passed out at conventions & exhibitions), I discovered about 8 years ago the Era mechanical pencil (HERE). About a year later, thanks to an enthusiastic acquisition directly from Ballograf, I got the Opus II.
The machining and weight together feels like premium quality. The center piece (with black middle segment) causes forward motion of an internal surface when twisted. thus causing the pencil mechanism to click and advance lead. While there was no eraser, there is a “socket” on the back end which I believe could accommodate a 5mm diameter eraser peg.
Overall, I think it was a good buy. I also picked up (from the same seller at the same time) a 2mm lead holder (gravity type clutch) that helped soften the shipping costs. I suspect this Ballograf executive pencil was considered a luxury line item, and might’ve commanded close to $100 USD in today’s currency.