Re. Sakura Freematic: I am actually quite surprised that a lot of collectors think it is automatic. The name doesn’t help I guess. The trick with it is that it has a gravity drop mechanism just like the Uni Flicker’s eraser, but for the entire pencil mechanism. It’s a cool idea, but really impractical - a lot of vertical slop and wobble at the tip. The design is really beautiful though - all metal, even the internals, which is pretty nice for a 1000 Yen pencil. I like to think of it as a concept pencil instead of a full production one.
If anyone want’s a similar mechanism at a much cheaper price, there is the only one other that I’m aware of - Tombow Object SF.
@stu-dying would you mind asking him for the text under the clips for all his Faber-Castell Porsche Design Classics - both tip variants please. Any variant I’ve seen with the alpha-matic style tip have all had a date after 1990 and Germany while the TK-matic style tip have all had a date prior to 1990 and W. Germany. Really curious what the hairline finish has under it’s clip…
Also curious if he has any catalogs or other media depicting the FC PD Classics or Arc lines? Model numbers? Release year information? Honestly, any additional info on them would be awesome.
I checked mine and both with the alpha-matic tip (one black and one titanium) have no date under the clip . Do you have photos of these with a date under the clip?
All four of my twist type PD Classics have a date under the clip and are from 1986, I think.
I actually don’t have one of the alpha tip variants and only recently saw that the one Elton has up on eBay right now shows a 1 93 Germany. Both my twist tip styles have 3 86 W. Germany and 2 86 W. Germany.
Very interesting. I guess both of mine are exceptions then. The titanium one says sample under the clip, so that one I can understand. But the black one is strange - the clip is chrome (not black) and is blank on the underside.
I wonder if the coating was coming off and someone decided to help it along completely? Flaking does appear to be a common issue in a lot that I’ve seen online, including Elton’s current one.
He doesn’t know of any catalogue for PD and agrees that the history of the pencil is quite obscure but says there are earlier Faber Castell models that share some similarities.
New question first: Are there more FC DS15L variants than the plain silver and dotted shown here?
Then returning to PD:
What is this Movaro? I’ve never seen it :-o
And are the two Arc1s left & right of the Movaro of different lengths?
The hairline cylindric pencil remains mysterious to me. Altho I always mock about the various “legit” inquiries at reddit regarding P20x and the like, in high-price vintage items these topics (Frankensteining, modifications, etc) get more interesting … The labeling Porsche Design of the hairline one in the barrel middle looks engraved, the others painted. But the engraving seems to be very shallow. Maybe Heath can draw some conclusions from the clip numbers?
Are there more FC DS15L variants than the plain silver and dotted shown here?
No
What is this Movaro? I’ve never seen it :-o
Movado judges that it collaborated with Faber-Castell-Porsche Design.
adding to this, Movado is a luxury watch company and on the clip of that specific pencil it seems to be a piece from 1988. Probably a collaboration release to promote sales of a new watch or commemorate a classic (probably the latter), searching the internet, the colours used in the pencil are very similar to the design of their iconic museum classic watch - their most famous model.
That Staedtler 925-25 05VA… that’s like “hen’s teeth” rare. I have no clue why Staedtler made so few of them. It shows this collector has some major league tenacity for acquiring desirable vintage MP’s.
. Do you have photos of these with a date under the clip?
