Where did you ultimately find this, Linus… and about how long ago? I’ve seen only 1 in my YAJ auction browsing over all these years. It doesn’t look like it was made for very long!
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It’s in the last two years. I don’t know which one you refer to, I show three variants here. I’ve seen each of them on Yahoo auction, very, very rare, and I remember their price are around 20k to 30k yen, and one for 66k.(Except for an auction in maybe 2014, sold for around 4k yen)
The first picture is from Instagram, @walkytalky1203, others are from auction website.
I don’t think I’ll try collecting them, it’s too crazy, even though I’m a big fan of multi pens.
(Another reason is that, if I start collecting a series I really love, I’ll always think about collecting the complete series, which is obviously not possible here. Even if I’m lucky enough to get one, I guess the thought of getting the rest will trouble me for years).
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I quoted the image of it. It’s the PILOT 2+1 with the Elite style grid etching. I had attempted to win one about a year ago and it launched to prices much higher than I anticipated… beyond my will. You probably watched that very auction. I’m also a big fan of multi-pens, particularly ones with beautiful craftsmanship like etched steel. And while the Zebra Sharbo X annoys me with a lack of a retraction detent, I still love the design (not thrilled with Zebra’s successor model, though).
Wow! Is that your set?
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It is
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That’s amazing! Congratulations on this find.
By the way, the photo is great too. There are no dark shadows, the chrome-plated parts don’t reflect the light too strongly, the lighting is even – perfect.
Do you happen to know the model number of the second pencil from the right (chrome barrel, black grip)? I have a very similar one (if not the same) but without the “LION” marking on the clip.
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Thank you - That is a LION 3430. I think it was sold from around 1986 through at least 2001
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Thank you!
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That’s cool looking.
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It holds about 7 to 10 leads and dispenses them one by one via the little funnel and allows you to pop it straight in the end of your center tube, so there’s no possibility of breakage as the lead drops into the pencil (I have a terrible habit of fat fingering these things and snapping them continuously) - very useful as a small additional to my field sketching kit.
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I really like the design. Looks almost as if it could write if it was able to hold the lead captive with it extended slightly.
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so what’s the story on this - is it a new/currently available product? I’d like to get a few. There are so many interesting lead cases, but this one seems novel
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@Pdunc67 : I purchased my one five years ago from AliExpress and it is no longer available however I found this on AliExpress, which is where I bought the original from but it is now much more expensive. It’s the same brand and roughly the same model. Oddly I could not find any trace of this product on the manufacturers website.
@cytherian : to allow for the leads to fall freely from the mechanism, there is an awful lot of spare room in the funnel they drop out of so there is no way you could use it to write as the amount of play that exists in the aperture would snap the lead immediately.
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Thank you! I have a follow-up question: for small AliExpress orders (under $20), will I face any tariff or import fees? I might hold off for a few months until this situation stabilizes.
I have not experienced anything at all, and I ordered very regularly. At the point of checkout, it explains any amount that have been levied as tariffs, but at the moment it appears to all be included in the bottom line price.
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great! Thank you