If you have 42" doorways, then this is indeed a traveling collection 
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It’s a repetitive, iterative process that takes forever… but I also find it super meditative. I kinda get into a time warp while I’m arranging pieces, and except for my back screaming at me every now and then, I mostly drift off to another dimension and don’t notice how long it all takes.
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IMO this is about the only way to safely store your collection and still have easy access to it.
And sadly, it’s a glimpse into my future if I don’t stop buying pencils lol
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I thought I’d never fill up The Toolbox™ (~1100 capacity).
Now I already know I’ve gotta be careful buying anything else, cause The Pencil Files™ are only one or two good hauls away from inadequacy 
In time, I may break off pieces of the collection into other smaller displays. Here’s what I’m thinking:
- Vintage Pentel display for Mechanica, PMG, etc
- Separate case for Kerry or Smash (or other) variants
Thus far, I have avoided things like going after Staedtler 925 and Smash variants. I kinda wish manufacturers would stop this kind of thing and focus on smaller vignettes instead (like the 6 basic colors of the ML5), but you can tell by people’s buying habits that this is never going to change.
1000s of pencils out there, but you want every Smash? I just don’t get it.
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Looking forward to seeing the Pentel drawer.
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This is like the ultimate MP fractal: the more I zoom in the more detail I see!
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I’m lovin’ it. The Monotechs really stand out.
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Yesterday, @RPD shared on reddit that he scored Hi-Uni 5050 with ff and carbon fiber body for 50k. That is an amazing price and my hat is off to him. Not sure when he got it.
The 3051ff is typically more expensive than 5050. It has aluminum body with color choices, which some people prefer.
My estimate of going rate prices below. Someone please correct me.
5050 stickered and boxed: 100k
5050 lightly used: 70k
3051 stickered and boxed: 120k
3051 lightly used: 90k
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5050 stickered and boxed has gone as ‘low’ as 80,000+ but typically closer to 90/100K
3051 (amended :D) stickered and boxed as low as 70,000+ but has recently gone up to 80,000
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You mean 3051. The ones I happen to see are higher than the 5050 lately. Thanks for painting a more realistic picture. I have been watching for a while, but I am not very thorough.
Deals can be had but they certainly go quick. @pearsonified is right about the need to check Mercari every time you sit on the toilet, every time you sit down at your desk, and every time you hop in your car or get on or off the train. And don’t forget to check right after waking up or right before falling asleep, or in the middle of the night if your partner is sleeping. Every waking and sleeping moment, basically. I used to live this way, but I pretty much gave up when ebay failed us. Proxy work is too much for me to sustain.
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My 5050 is with no box and only the body sticker, not the grip sticker. I got it past year. It was a lucky find result of me basically living in Mercari and checking basically everything that got posted. I wanted a specimen to use, not for collection, so I was okay with all of this!
Current prices are crazy, I think even 70k would be cheap for a boxed one. 80k to 90k is what I’d expect to pay, but I haven’t been following prices for a while. The 5050 and 3051 series are very unique in the MP world and the Dive craze just made their aesthetic even more popular.
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How is it as a user?
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It’s a lovely pencil. I was too scared of the barrel cracking (which may be irrational) so I never took it outside of home but I did use it a lot. The knurling in the grip is my favourite ever, it’s very nice to the touch.
In another topic, it’s a great conversation piece. Some family members never understood why I cared about mechanical pencils. I remember explaining them what the 5050 is and how does it work and they answering “I think now I understand why you like them, that mechanism is very cool”.
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I hear you about the fear of cracking. Perhaps irrational, but I also have little faith in carbon fiber. Sure, the loads involved in writing are low, but when cf fails, it totally fails. And dropping it could be enough to crack the resin, even if the fiber held.
I was once bicycle shopping with a friend and he sat on a bike with a cf seat post. It snapped. He is a lightweight guy. Someone may have overtightened the clamp or something, but the failure was astonishing.
I think aluminum barrel is more practical than carbon fiber. The weight might feel nice too. Does the 5050 feel too light to you? I have 3050 and 5050, but neither of the aluminum ones - 2050 and 3051 - so I can’t compare. The carbon fiber ones are light, but not in a bad way. Just feel quick in the hand.
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I’d say so, it feels quick in the hand but not too light. It feels like a tool made for precision work.
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OT on carbon bicycle: I strongly believe in carbon frames and parts. Overtight fixtures are deadly, but if followed those rules the frames are much sturdier than aluminum ones. There are mtb carbon rims in the market with lifetime guarantee, and mtb rims are tortured a lot.
And OnT: I wrote it before – if the price difference between 2050 and 3050 is not too huge, I would go for the latter. The carbon shaft is really nice.
3051 is imho just for collection completeness, otherwise I would always prefer 5050 (if just one has to be picked).
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First post here. Long time lurker but just joined. In a word - WOW. What an amazing collection! Thank you for sharing the photos AND the details.
While I love Pentel and Pilot, I’m fascinated by the more out-of-the-mainstream makes like Newman, Colleen, Tombow, Uchida, Sakura, etc. You have an astounding selection of all these!
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Thank you very much 
The longtail stuff is interesting to me as well—it’s probably why I decided to go crazy with collecting MPs.
I remember seeing a lot of these pencils for the first time when @Raybonche and @drifand were posting on Reddit and Pinterest in late 2020.
I felt like I had seen a lot of pencils, but a majority of the pieces these guys posted were new to me. The rest is history!
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Same here – thanks to @Raybonche and @drifand posting to the mechanical pencil sub on Reddit, showing off pieces of their collections over time, I came to appreciate some of these lesser known brands and started exploring. Earlier, brands like Newman, Colleen, and Uchida sounded so strange and my early experience of them was just a few cheap looking ¥500 models.
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I don’t think I was truly convinced until I came across some Mitsubishi pencils I’d never seen before. A long time ago, @raybonche posted the “automatic pencil” in red, and I was just blown away because [1] it looked really cool and [2] I’d never seen a pencil quite like it.
Got a little deeper into that rabbit hole and discovered the MX-1052, and it was all over.
I knew Pilot and Pentel had extensive catalogs, but Mitsubishi, too?!? What else was out there? I had to know.
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