Is there an overview of the Pentel Mechanica variants?
I’m not sure if this is what you’re talking about but there seems to be multiple generations of the Mechanica. Mechanica Pencils Text on Ring
@nimrodd is probably the most knowledgeable one here regarding Pentel.
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@DC12321 Yes, I mean the generations. – Thank you for pointing me to Mechanica Pencils Text on Ring – the website at Pentel メカニカ｜れう mentioned there is helpful!
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@Pdunc67 Thank you! I have @nimrodd’s Pentel book but for some strange reason haven’t thought of it at that moment.
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Speaking of which, can I get some ID help on these?
My 0.3 (bottom) came with a box, and the 0.5 (top) came with a sleeve.
Based on @nimrod 's book, I think the 0.3 is the “mid” version (1971 thru 1980’s).
It’s hard to see on the 0.5 but it looks like the etched groves are not painted. These shallower grooves and no box make me think this is a “late” version (1990’s thru 2002) - but the fonts are similar and it has the JIS mark.
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The bottom link on the MEC page is where I got most of that info. I had to greatly condense the data to get it on the page.
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The 0.3 has what I call the ‘shallow grooves’. They look really thin and are more associated with the ‘late’ series to wards the end of production. The challenge is: there is defintely a period of overlap between the 'first, ‘early’, ‘mid’, ‘late’ and ‘end’ eras. And of course, sellers can swap parts without saying anything.
All 0.5 models had unpainted grooves.
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Looks like you have two very nice pieces. Every 0.5 I’ve gotten my hands on has had some slack in the grip sleeve. Dunno if this is endemic to the 0.5 or just what happens after a lot of use.
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Thank you
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