Sorry for the poor quality — dark and stormy today + old phone pic
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@pearsonified will have the answer. I think H-315 / HO-30RK is the fixed pipe model. I got a H-325 with sliding pipe.
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You are correct—the H-315 is the fixed-pipe version of this pencil (flattened top of barrel with tapered flange leading to end cap), and the H-325 has a sliding sleeve.
Other than the tip/sleeve, these two pencils are identical.
(And for those who are too literal about everything, the H-325 is the same pencil as the HO-30RP. I prefer to use colloquial model numbers for Pilot because the catalog numbers are far too cryptic for public consumption.)
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I’d like to share a photo of the very first mechanical pencil “H-100” and “H-200” released by Pilot Korea in 1972. Its design is strikingly similar to the Pentel P205, and, like Pentel’s earliest model “Pentel Pencil”, it has a nose cone without a lead-retaining sleeve. I suspect that the same model was also sold by Pilot Japan. The catalog image shared by Linus2K states that the first knock-type mechanical pencil was introduced in 1965, but I have a feeling that a plastic-barreled version may have been released even earlier than the stainless-steel model.
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I have a few of these that look nothing like yours - no lead sizes printed on the side of the barrel, different sticker styles, and with a guide pipe. Also, the yellow H-100 has the lead size embossed on the side of the clip. These were probably released a bit later than 1972, I’d assume. The two H-200s were acquired in Bangkok, so they could have been either assembled or made by Korea Pilot’s Thai subsidiary.
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Wow, this is the first I’ve ever seen this. Interesting choice by PILOT. I wonder for how many years they put the lead size on the clip mount, instead of the body or eraser cap.
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Omg, those triangular pilots are awesome
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Absolutely. Some of the most treasured pieces in my collection! They’re old, unique, rare, and pleasant to use.
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I hadn’t really taken a close look before… what an interesting texture.
Were these hard to find? I don’t recall coming across them before.
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Yosshy has one for sale right now
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Well, these were made by Korea Pilot, which is a completely separate entity than Japan Pilot. Back when Korea Pilot was still making pencils and stationery, they pretty much had free reign to do what they wanted, so although there are copious examples of them emulating Japan Pilot’s designs, there are just as many of models and design elements that were unique to their products.
What makes things difficult for us now is that there are no publically available catalogs from Korea Pilot out there.
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IMO they are very rare. I’ve seen specimens for sale less than 5 times; the two in my picture were included in a huge lot of Pilot executives in April 2021.
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These don’t have any of the other tells for being Korean pilots, and the sunken insignia contains the early Pilot mark plus the ultimate tell: “Made in Japan.”
So I think you are mistaken.
They don’t say “Made in Japan” anywhere on them. Plus, the yellow H-100 has the “SK” mark on the sticker. The other two, I’m speculating, because of the eraser (I’ll take some more photos later) and the fact that they were found along side a bunch of other old Korean mechanical pencils in Thailand. Also, I couldn’t find any other examples online of Japan Pilot drafters like the green and transparent H-200s with the H-200 sticker. It’s always something like H-215 or a more specific model number.
Definitely could be wrong on the left two though. I had them in my Japan Pilot binder for the longest time.
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My bad, I thought you were responding to a different @cytherian post.
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I’d lean on considering this one an executive, especially because of the pipe-slide. While some drafting pencils do have them, a vast majority are fixed pipe. It’s a beauty… and I think punches more like a ¥500 pencil, given the full metal internals and very nice quality spring.
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It’s not a pipe slide
