When the Paperworld trade show in Frankfurt/Main (Germany) still took place I have visited it for several years. In 2011 I almost overlooked Ohhira’s stand because it was small and unassuming.
There are not so many Ohhira labeled pencils/pens, so they are more business to business and don’t need to address the visitors of the Paperworld. I guess Kotobuki is similar (but there are after all still more Penac products than Ohhira labeled products)?
The Paperworld was a trade show for business to business (although there were some end users among the visitors ). Back then quite a few stands were very large.
Based on this, I’d really like to see an OHHIRA branded double-knock pencil. Just for posterity sake, showing respect for this amazing brand that has crafted fine pencils for so many other brands.
I had one in Black exactly like this — sold it somewhere between 2015 and 2017, usually keep the photos organised but somehow I can’t find the Ohhira pics…
I love the brass one. Compact, the clicks sound good (both the knock+feed and the tip retraction) and the brass always has that extra situation that it provides you with a nice relaxed time when you’re cleaning the metal It’s like reading a newspaper without the bad news.
I realised that my memory was wrong in that I didn’t buy this mechanical pencil from Manufactum in 2008/2009 but from Standardgraph in 2007 (maybe it was also available at Manufactum but I don’t know). – Standardgraph used to be a supplier mainly of drawing supplies, including for technical drawing (templates, compasses, etc.); today it has many bought-in products. However, they still have some of the old brass DUX handheld pencil sharpeners.
At the beginning, when I saw the listing, I thought it was just a poorly photographed version of your Color Holder, but eventually I decided it was something different, and I had to see (and possibly feel) what this holder was about.
A couple of details of the rear pusbutton and front tip:
This “Super Soft Holder” labelled “DPRO” on the barrel is hefty, and far from light. But boy it is gracious, and all its “metal all round” gravitas disappears in the hand when it is properly handled — i.e., by gripping it slightly towards the back.
I still find the density of good pieces in the Uchida lineup to be genuinely surprising: we are all used to amazing pencils produced by respected brands, but if we factor the size of their catalogues in the discussion, the relative frequency of super-fancy models drops. Uchida somehow chose a different path: they excelled almost invariably (design, craftsmanship, inventive solutions, details, materials; even the damn erasers are cool!), and managed to keep the level of awesomeness consistent throughout the spectrum of their range.
I’m impressed; today more than yesterday. And once again, it’s a Uchida pulling the trick out of the hat.