Can’t see it, but I also can’t feed lead through the brass clutch mechanism. When I feed lead into it from either end, there’s something significant blocking the way.
I’ve experienced this with quite a few pencils now, and I’m about to sacrifice this one just to find out what the HELL could be [1] in the way and [2] utterly unbreakable.
I’m posting this because I’m hoping some of you have encountered this and will have an idea what is blocking the clutch.
(This isn’t just lead. Could be oxidation buildup over time; could be that some dumbass fed metal down into the clutch. Either way, this is driving me crazy, so I wanna know what the answer is.)
I went ahead and mutilated the fuckin thing. Still don’t know the precise problem.
There’s a thin brass tube that’s surrounded by the spring—that’s where the occlusion is. Tried to pry the tube in half with pliers (the only good option I have; no saw), but I was never able to feed anything—steel, lead, etc—through that small tube.
And now it’s so jacked that I’d need a very small, precise saw to do a post-mortem.
Wonder what the hell could stick in a 0.3mm tube and be that staunch
One problem I have encountered 3 times so far, is the inability of the mechanism to advance the lead through the nose cone. Even swapping with functional pencils of exact same model, the substitute nose cone doesn’t solve it. It’s something to do with the advance mechanism… it just doesn’t provide enough internal force to overcome the friction of the nose cone lead retainer. I’ve never been able to figure out why. Cleaning multiple times doesn’t fix it.
