Kokuyo PS body knocks

Some sets had particular model #s (I would say the pencil is PS-1):



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After looking at this and Sakura’s past…I really wonder what went wrong? They had all aspects covered, cool designs :white_check_mark: great packaging :white_check_mark: graphics and font choices :white_check_mark:
That good 1000yen range :white_check_mark:

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But both do still exist – that’s more than other companies achieved in a market which substantially shrinked…

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Pentel, Uni, Pilot and Zebra all expanded overseas, establishing operations in the USA, Europe, Asia etc.

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Computer Aided Design and the breakdown of Japan’s bulb economy.

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For example, PENTEL, ROTRING, and STAEDTLER back then were equivalent to ANSYS, Autodesk, and Dassault now.

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Do you know when the Mistral line was sold?

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Hey is this a Shachihata?


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Sakura found that it was more profitable in the niche they made for themselves: CRAYPAS crayon pastel sticks. Even the ‘about us’ mentions this first.

I think the margins became unsustainable for 1000-yen executive pens and pencils because of economies of scale. They revisited their high end roots with the premium priced Craft Lab series but there were no dedicated pencil designs.

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Yes, that is an Artline Shachihata. As far as I know, they came in blue, red, black, and brushed steel.

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Another example is stabilo: they make the most business with makeup pens.

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Do we have any definitive evidence of when the Mistral pencils were sold?
has anyone seen a Kokuyo catalog w/ some listed?

Thank you….

“Body Knock” is the most unnatural, overrated and nonsensical feature anyone EVER could have fathomed:

“Hey! Check this MP out! Instead of pushing the top to extend the lead, you crack it in half!?!? There is absolutely NOTHING wrong establishing this type of muscle-memory!”

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Well, I did get lucky, finally. I have a black PS-101 on the way. I don’t plan to collect all Mistral variants, but at least have the top 3 covered.

You’re joking, right? (didn’t see a “/s” or :wink:)

“Uh oh, lead needs to be extended proceeds to crack pencil in half, PERFECT!”

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Still better than squeezing it

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And so… it’s superior if it’s “unbreakable” then? Pretty strong feature, if you ask me. :smirk::grin:
Demonstration

Later you pull out pilot H-2005 and crack it in half through habit lol

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The pilot holders explode anyway after a while because of the strong double knock spring :smiling_imp:.

Best lead advance mechanism still is finger flick :innocent:

Well… I have to say… I’ve never had this problem. The Mistrals have no obvious rear click-button. So I like to think of it as the transmission of the pencil. When I get into a manual shift car, I know to use a clutch. And with a car having an automatic gearbox? The fact that the lever is a straight forward/back sliding motion, my mind immediately knows there is no clutch to push. :sweat_smile: