• boxed Koh-I-Noor SH-200 0.5 knock advance MP (actually aTombow, as it can be read off the pocket clip; same pencil as described here (upper part of the post), just a more complete specimen);
• Omas Prestige 0.5 knock advance MP, with stripes painted on the body; much similar to a Japanese executive model;
• Caran d’Ache Fixpencil 059.080 0.9 knock advance MP (had no idea CdA would make plastic pencils: it is quite different from all the rest of the usual lineup);
• Extra-long Ohto Champ OP-1508 0.5 knock advance MP, with rubber grip section and a spear-like, tapered body;
• Norex “Micromina” 0.5 knock advance MP, round body with two sectioned faces opposing one another, which feels almost like a “square-ish” section altogether;
• Old Italian “Paraphernalia” all-metal barrel knock advance MP in 0.5 with very smooth action, actually from the oldest lineup of the company, before they rebranded as “Parafernalia” with an “f” instead of a “ph”;
• “Myohyangsan” 0.5 knock advance MP from “Pyongyang, Korea” (do the North Koreans make mechanical pencils, and in this bright yellow colour, or is it a specimen from before the separation?);
• 5.6mm extra-heavy knock advance leadholder from “WECLE Japan”, one of the weirdest and most interesting 5.6 holders I have seen so far (all brass internals, all metal flange externals, very heavy, super intersting, highly impractical).
I don’t recall if there was any indication where it was made. Norex also sold technical pens (of which I have a wacky hexagonal retail display) that seem to have been rebranded versions of the German Polygraph range.
My Norex pencil is unfortunately slightly banana-shaped due to its thin construction - a tendency it seems to share with the Faber-Castell TK 9441.
In the lot of pencils this Norex came with there was as well another Norex, but one with a vaguely sanded barrel made of an upper part in metal finish, and a lower part (closer to the tip) in a very dark blue colour (still metal, I think, just dyed). Picture a Staedtler Microfix SL, but slightly thinner and made of metal. I did not put it in the picture as I plan to take a group shot of similarly “sanded-body” pencils.
I know little about Norex, unfortunately, and I agree that it sports an aura of sobriety and “no-nonsenseness”. I think I saw a listing for the very same box you bought @Alan , a few years ago, but did not pull the trigger as at the time I was more focussed on other models. I concur it is an interesting niche lineup, with some genuinely interesting form factors and finishes. I will try to look around, and see whether I can find some more info about the brand…
PS: Thanks @Vici81 for the tip about the CdA! I thought “Fixpencil” was a name to be reserved for metal pencils alone, but life is always more interesting that one’s biases, as it should be.
The N. Korean example, I recall reading somewhere, was part of some goodwill investment / technology transfer in the 60s and 70s to aid the NOK economy.
And I just love WECLE designs! They are a bit like the forerunner of OHTO’s eclectic design choices. That particular body design has been licensed to numerous brands. I have seen it in rollerball format rebadged for Honda F1 Racing Team, Benson & Hedges, etc.
