Many thanks to @Leonov for the assist in getting this prime specimen. I had only seen it occasionally on other blogs, and almost never on X, so this is less of a detailed review and more of my impressions. The Nestler Kaliber evokes a strange mix of emotions in me. As presented in its case, it says,“I am a serious piece of equipment, designed and made for professionals.” The bold German patent number 035005 checks out to a 1988 registration, per the superb entry on Graphography.
Opening the cover, I get a clearer view of the imprint on the pencil, and what can I say, except that the fonts made me think of Nestlé and a nice ‘Kandy’ bar!
Examining the instruction sheet reveals that the Kaliber is actually made in Japan, just like how most Staedtler and rOtring are nowadays. But this being from the 1980s was certainly surprising.
I can best sum up the function of the Kaliber as a combination of a metal bodied side-button double-knock mechanism like a Cult Pencil or a Manufactum Druckbleistift; and a clip-actuator plus extending eraser a la a Tombow MONOgraph. The main difference being that the eraser is a slide out affair instead of a twist-extender.
Here’s a quick disassembly of the high quality components. Under the metal tip is brass clutch, and the main part of the double-knock core is also in metal. The black plastic lead reservoir tube is sealed by a metal stopper… Yes, you have to unscrew the pencil to refill it. The lead degree display goes from 3H to B, inclusive of F.
Other things of note: the black clip and eraser slider are matte finished ABS plastic secured with precision screws. I haven’t used the eraser but the light grey compound reminds me of Pentel’s ‘latex free’ E10 refill for the Twist Erase III, except shorter.
For funsies, the Kaliber measures 15cm retracted, 15.5cm extended, 9.5mm wide at the grip (9.6mm if you count the grip ring protrusion). Weight is 26.67 grams with 4 pieces of lead inside.
