In all these pictures, one of the MP’s portrayed is an actual Pilot H-1005 from the Hi-Mecha series (and it is always the one…? On the left, right), but the other one… What exactly is the other one?
Let me tell you what I know or can see: both pencils came with the same “Pilot” pocket clip; the lead hardness indicator looks exactly the same, save that the one for the H-1005 has the “0.5 Japan” imprint; the finish on the bodies looks different — more matte and refined on the true H-1005, more raw and “sparkly” on the other pencil.
The mouth openings are decidedly different; also, the Pilot H-1005 has a tiny indent on the upper/rear part of the barrel, which the clone pencil lacks (see pictures). In so many ways, the two objects are the same; in some key details, they differ drastically.
Does any of you have any explanation for what i am seeing right now? A model number to attach to the “clone” pencil? A story to tell? I am raising a white flag, as I really have no idea about what is going on here.
The H-1005 came in 2 major batch releases. The first was a matte finish black plastic with a hint of grain to it (some call it the “woodgrain” version). The nose cone step was positioned at like the last 1/4th of the cone length. The second had a smooth satin/semi-gloss finish and the nose cone step was further down, by a little more than 1/3rd of the cone length.
Thanks @cytherian ! I was completely unaware of these generations/versions! One truly never stops learning with you guys!
I’ll try to get a better camera — the one I used failed, and I had to resort to an older, lesser-quality one — and take more pictures, to see whether my tips and finishes got somewhat “intermixed” or not. At any rate, I now have all the ingredients to make one fully-V1 and one fully-V2 specimens.
I don’t have the H-1005 / H-1003 handy (packed away in storage) so I’m not totally sure about the notch for anchoring the clip. I know the H-2003 ~ H-3005 don’t have it. It may have been introduced for some reason on the last batch of the H-1005. Everything else looks right, so I don’t think it’s a knock-off.
That reference is very cool and useful; I remember I spotted it, but at the time I was not yet that much into hi-mechas (the illness took me just a bit after), and I probably skipped the parts I was supposed to read.
I’d like to take better pictures of the finish on the two barrels, but for that either I get a new camera, or I have my phone repaired (a tiny crack in the protecting glass left some space for debris and fog into the lenses, and now all my pictures look like blurred images from some European amateur art-film project; disappointing).
I remember first learning about the H-1005 about 2~3 years after it was discontinued. And back then, there were signs of bargain sales for it happening on the heels of the discontinuation. Some people got them as cheaply as $10! Of course, that’s the inferior 2nd batch, which was also prone to barrel cracking. So, shelling out $90~$100+ for a mint example felt outrageous. Anyway, I picked up a few off of YAJ for $50~$75, some lightly used, a couple NOS. Used examples can still be had averaging around $50 USD on eBay.
I’d seen a couple of auctions for the H-2005 and was blown away, but prices were more than double, for the most part. And the H-3005 was even a good bit higher. I’d picked up the H-2005 and H-2003 after mustering up the nerve to spend more… and it took me along while before I got around to getting the H-3003 and H-3005. The strong exchange rate of the USD to JPY helped!
