L–R:
• Mitsubishi SE-1500 dual-pen (1980)
• Morison ‘etched grid’ sharp (1985)
• Pilot HMF-250SK 0.5mm (1977)
• Pilot Top Chuck HG-300SW-EF 0.5mm (1983)
• Pilot Automatic HAT-300S-S 0.5mm (1983-88)
• Pilot 2+1 BPKH-350SC multipen v1 (1977)
• Newman ‘etched drafter’ 0.3mm (1970s)
• Newman ‘etched executive’ 0.5mm (1970s)
• Zebra FX ‘pinstripe etched’ ballpoint (1980s)
• Platinum Riviere MSR-2500R 0.5mm (1980s)
• Platinum BelAge ‘oblong grid etched’ 0.5mm (1970s) ← According to @pearsonified 
• Platinum MNS-2500 ‘boxed stripe etched’ 0.5mm (1977)
• OTO ‘etched lattice’ slide pipe 0.5mm (1980s)
• Mitsubishi Jaguar M5-2500 ‘blank etched lattice’ 0.5mm (1980s)
• Mitsubishi Exceed ‘etched half-check’ rollerball (1980s)
• Sakura Create Sharp ‘pinstripe etched’ 0.5mm (1970s)
What dreams are made of.
I know ‘everyone’ wants a Newman Etched Drafter in 0.5 but in my case, I’d gotten the etched ‘Executive’ first, and then a long time after, I finally got hold of a drafter in 0.3mm. In the end it was a dream match-up: the patterns are almost identical and seemingly mirrored across the middle… 0.5 for general writing and 0.3 for precision and details 
Beautiful!
Oh snap
You have the ITO!?!?
Is it anything special?
Why does it sell for crazy crazy amounts of money?
Hmm? it’s a steel etched pencil, quite short. Slide pipe.
Just curious if you would put the Pentel P3005 & P5005 Scepters in this list? They are plated in Silver & Gold. Or is this just for exposed Steel pencils?
Beautiful photo!
Now I know why I think the Newman design is better than the Automatic, always felt that the Newman’s design as better, and it is because the Automatic is thicker.
An elite collection here. For me, the etched designs represent the pinnacle of the Golden Age of mechanical pencils.
Out of curiosity, do you think the Ito is a white-labeled rebrand of other pieces from the era? The barrel, clip, and tip are reminiscent of other pieces from the same time period; just seems like this is a prime case for white-labeling, which was happening all over the place during this era.
Here’s what was discussed previously regarding ITO:
Hey Jimmy! OK, based on the photos in the guidebook:
I believe the groove that goes around the shaft is a spiral—hence it is most likely ‘machined’ instead of etched.
I had never noticed that until you just pointed it out to me.
Wonderful photos! Super detailed.
that 2+1 is so good! Love this spread
Does/did Pilot make pens with similar designs?
great post as always
I always felt like that Newman etched drafter was super overpriced… Would you say it’s worth the price of admission?
Scarcity and desirability are the most expensive ingredients? They never produced full sets of drafters (3/5/7/9) and so the etched model probably never reached mass production numbers akin to their bread and butter executive models. The current prices feel absurd and yet some are willing to pay… Same situ as when I first discovered the 5050 and 5005. Once you have one, the hype dies down (a bit). All I can say is the feel of the Newman is solid and gratifying as a crafted precision tool from a bygone era.
Thanks to Chris, I went back to the ‘1970s’ Platinum scans and spotted the BelAge FP model with oblong grid etching.
A clearer pic is also seen in the 1980 catalog, but NOT in the super detailed 1977 catalog. So does this mean the previous ‘1970s’ scan was mis-dated? No accompanying BP or MP was included in any scans.
Elton posted a picture of this one with the black grip section, but as a pencil, on Reddit back in 2022. I’ve only ever seen the full metal one elsewhere.