A fresh post on X by GGGXpt showcased a trio of 1.18mm Newman cap-knock pencils, including a gorgeous sterling silver model. These are amongst the earliest examples of Newman’s mechanical pencils and they all sport the distinctive clutch and lead retainer design that dates back to a 1947 patent, according to Daisuke Ogo.
Myself, I have been fortunate to obtain two skeleton examples, the first in clear blue with silver accents and a vertically stacked art decor style ‘NEWMAN’ embossed clip; the second is an all clear model with golden accents and a Parker style ‘arrow clip’.
Both sport the same 2-piece cone and patented design and the leads ‘auto feed’ into the clutch. So this gives Daisuke-san some punch to his assertion that Pentel did not in fact produce Japan’s first knock type pencil in the early 1960s.
Fascinating, I’ve never seen a two-piece cone. The way the lead is held in place with those three metal blades, very clever. They are a very interesting pair of pencils as well as being pretty. I have a 1.18 knock type with a huge regular clutch.
If you look at the bottom pencil, the metal extension performs the same function as the rubber piece in modern tips.
Also, if you look at the top pencil with the tip screwed together, you can see where Pentel got the design of the tips used on the Graph, PG#, P20# and others.
IIRC both were Mercari listings. The clear blue was obtained before the Newman fever peaked - I think it was around 5-6000 yen. The ‘Parker’ clip model was also from Mercari and I think some folks didn’t know it as a Newman, including the seller, as it was in a bundled lot. I recognized the big spring and cone, and took a bet on the bid. It wasn’t ‘cheap’ but it was definitely well below the asking price for those with a ‘Newman’ clip.
