Collection of Damdeok, the Korean

Welcome to the forum, xiao! This has been a very active forum lately, with many interesting discussions about vintage mechanical pencils. Feel free to share some knowledge or photos of your collection if you ever feel like so :grin:

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Good to see you, Xiao! Long time no see. Yes, you are quite the legend and great to see you’ve found this place (thanks to atxalias!)… but now, have you seen this Korean collector? It’s mind boggling beyond belief, the extent of his collection.

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Welcome Xiao!

Anyone got questions or models they want to see from him? Im afraid we (me and him) wont be talking for much longer.

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Im afraid we wont be talking for much longer.

I’m surprised… can you elaborate what you mean by this? Is the Korean collector closing up his showcase here?

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From him:

I am off work now. It’s hard because there’s so much work.

Are you spending your day happily?

Unfortunately, communication with me will be limited to May 31, 2023.

It’s not much time left, but I hope it will remain as a good memory.

Now I have to go to sleep to go to work in the morning.

thank you

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OK, I’m still a little confused, but I’m guessing what you mean is that you’ll be away until end of May, and unable to relay responses from the Korean collector until after May?

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Oh no! I will remain here, thats from him, sorry for the misunderstanding Gary

Hi @xiaozhenyang4444. Thanks for joining us. What we have here is pretty special and we are excited to see you join us.

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Sorry, a little misunderstanding there Forrequi – I expect that you’ll still be here. So it’s the Korean collector who will be taking a break until the end of the month and then return? Is there a name we can give him in the meanwhile? Doesn’t even have to be his real name… a nickname. Just an easier reference. :blush:

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So far he told me to call him Damdeok

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¥40,800! Instead I’d better buy those Ohto from Elton😅. Excellent information 2nd, thank you. (Diego gracias por el enlace a Mercari).

Hello Xiao!

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Welcome Xiao!

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On picture is PENTEL MECHANICA 2,000 Yen Mark 1969 0.5 Cap Gray Full Body Initial Model.

It is also known as “Capital letter predecessor first deformed Gray Mechanica 2,000 Yen Mark 0.5 1969”.

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I’m not sure what he means by deformed, isn’t it “just” a 1st edition mechanica?
Stunning piece nevertheless. I didn’t know that 1st edition 0.5 mechanicas came with a plastic case, and not a leather one.

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Actually, the plastic sleeve protector came with later releases as well, including the very last one with the more modern Pentel logo.

I wonder why he means by “gray” here, because the body looks black to me, while the case appears gray. The later ones were black.

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Not long ago there was a mechanica with an insane result at Yahoo! (>100k iirc). Maybe that was such a variant…

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Since the end of may is approaching…
Fun to see for me would be sth of the following
Faber-Castell range (besides alphamatics)
Fuji-Corona lineup
What he deemed collectible from Sailor, Ohto, or chikyu

Maybe boring for other, so let’s collect our wishes;-)

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It is necessary to take a moment to look at the Pentel company.

  1. Established Dai Nippon Stationery Co., Ltd. in 1946
  2. In 1968, the world’s first drafting mechanical pencil using a 0.3mm lead, “Mechanica (0.3mm)” was released.
  3. In 1971, the company name was changed to 「Pentel Co., Ltd.」

I have taken some excerpts from the history of the Pentel company, but since this is a key point for the part you inquired about.

In 1946, Dai Nippon Stationery Co., Ltd. was established, and in 1968, the world’s first drafting mechanical pencil using a 0.3 mm lead, “Mechanica (0.3 mm)” was released. The part to look at here for a moment is that “the world’s first mechanical pencil for drafting using a 0.3mm lead, “Mechanica (0.3mm)” was released in 1968.”

In other words, since it was released, you can guess that it was a product that had been researched and developed through a rough verification process for several years prior to the release of “Mechanica (0.3mm),” the world’s first drafting mechanical pencil using a 0.3mm lead in 1968. .

In the future, the product I will leave additional photos of is the world’s first mechanical pencil for drafting using a 0.3mm lead, 「Mechanica (0.3mm)」, which was released in 1968.

The part I want to point out here is the “Mechanica (0.5mm)” I left behind.

  1. Mechanica’s accessories consist of 11 pieces including the main body. In other words, there are 11 accessories including the main body.

  2. It is said that Mechanica has all 11 accessories, so it is not the right accessory for that time. You must not overlook this. In other words, it is because accessories that are not suitable for the time can be mixed. Using this reversely, if there are 11 accessories, it creates an illusion that it is correct. This makes the original cool that suits the era fade. It must match 11 fittings that are exactly that era. This is extremely difficult. This is because the product is at least 55 years old from the past to the present. It is a product of historical value.

  3. Mechanica’s accessories are the main body, product warranty, price tag, clip, cleaner cloth, holder case, mid-trade pen pouch, medal, and sharpener storage box. 11 accessories. If there are no accessories that match the era here, or if some accessories are missing, that is the completeness of this product, that is, it is not stylish.

  4. If you look closely at the Mechanica Pentel Sharps list in the photo sent to verify the final historical value, the year 1970 will be written at the bottom. Since this is the year of release, it can be assumed that the development was completed before 1970. Also, on the back side, it says Dai Nippon Stationery Co., Ltd., and the product warranty is also the same.

  5. It is difficult to go over the accessories of Mechanica one by one. This part takes quite a bit of time. However, there are only a few collectors that are immediately recognizable. In other words, I don’t know the historical value of it at all. This product is of great value. There will be only one worldwide. It is also because it has almost the history of the Pentel company.

  6. Among Mechanica’s accessories, the reason why the uppercase PENTEL case is gray is mentioned later. About the price tag, the first release was 2,000 yen, and the price was immediately raised to 3,000 yen. So, among the accessories, the price tag of 2,000 yen is very symbolic, and it is the core of the core. The sale period for the 2,000 yen ticket is also very short. The gray color was initially released to differentiate it from the “Mechanica (0.3mm)”. However, this part also means that the period during which the gray color was released is also very short. That’s why rarity exists, and finding a “mechanica (0.5mm)” suitable for that era is a piece of cake. The reason is that the price tag for the gray color is all 2,000 yen. There may be a 3,000 yen mark in the last gray lower case pentel. This is just an estimate, leaving open the possibility that it exists.

  7. There is no product with 11 accessories among mechanical pencils in the world. It’s so gorgeous. This is a part where you can guess how much effort was put into the release by Dai Nippon Stationery Co., Ltd. It may have even dictated the fate of the company.

The translation is a bit bad but its understandable. If anyone can translate Korean better, send a reply and I will post the original text.

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Weird, the repeated emphasis on “11 accessories.” I wouldn’t consider a price tag an accessory. Accessories are things to be used, like a clip, a carry sleeve, and a spare lead case.

In any case, I’d understood the price was always ¥3000, so learning about the very first release as ¥2000 is quite illuminating. Given all of the R&D that went into the pencil, it’s surprising ¥3000 wasn’t the first choice. Maybe there was fear it would be deemed too expensive.

It would be interesting to know about what Pentel had to do to achieve 0.3 mm. If it hadn’t been done before, then was there a limitation with the refinement of tooling, to create the more narrow lead channel and lead pipe guide… and Pentel figured it out?

I also wonder if Pentel’s innovative sliding outer sleeve to protect the tip was patented, such that no other brand could ever introduce a similar mechanism.

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Probably a translation thing in this case but in the guitar collecting and reselling world we call all of the items that came with the original purchase the accessories or case candy. This includes the manual, warranty card, hang tags, original receipt, adjustment tools, and any promotional materials.

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