7 Likes
I’m loving that PM-1005S
2 Likes
Thank you! I finally decided to settle after having ZERO luck finding a 0.3mm on any market for almost…… a year(maybe??)…
I believe you have recently(ish) attained the PM-1003S , so I’m curious on YOUR take: what were your initial impressions? How do you feel now? What other Ohto (Super) Promecha’s have you had the chance to get your hands on?
2 Likes
I have a GENERAL question regarding the difference (if any) between “NOS” and “STICKER”ed pencils…Do ALL models possess a ¥sticker initially? Or do some NOT come with a sticker(being sold a different way perhaps?
I ask because The SS-1006 appears BRAND NEW in every way, but it lacks a sticker…. I realized my ignorance on the topic just now. Having used the NOS indicator without knowing exactly when it is applicable makes me feel a bit ashamed 
1 Like
The Super Promecha series were probably what pulled me into serious collecting. I really like to fiddle with all the weird ways you can adjust these pencils.
My favorite has to be the PM-1500S. The
tip regulator is just cool. I guess later on they moved it into the body of the pencil.
The way I came about this pencil also has a great story. I first learned of this pencil on Dave’s Mechanical Pencils:
But the best part of the story is I was able to buy that very pencil from Dave.
I also have:
OP-1000M
OP-1000
SP-500P
PM-1500P
OP-1000P
2 Likes
That’s exactly why I asked how you liked it.
I too had been searching for it far and wide. I had first dibs on it (but won too WAY too many auctions unexpectedly that week. My pencil funds evaporated while I slept…. 
yay…).
The only redeeming quality was watching you enjoy it more than I would have. Congratulations btw. I was stoked for you. And your story is wonderfully anecdotally serendipitous 
1 Like
Than you 
I originally had 2 complete sets of the PM-150xS series from when they were in production. They were both among the many I lost in the move to Washington. 
The sleeve adjustment stop on the end might have been sort of redundant (removed for the PM-150xP series) but I don’t care. I loved it and I miss them. They seem to be impossible to find now and probably unaffordable if they ever turn up.
2 Likes
I remeber you mentioning that before. That is hard loss for sure -
1 Like
I think it depends upon the brand. For instance, PILOT was prolific with their use of stickers. I’m guessing that they just made it a mandatory step at the tail end of the manufacturing process. At some point, they stopped. At least for the mid to upper tiers. Platinum was also prolific with their stickers. And while Pentel used them, it sure looked to me like they’d not have them applied for writing instruments that came in a box, especially a nice quality plastic box with swivel or removable lid.
As makers began to get into blister packs (easy hanging on sell walls), the stickers vanished for many makers. Then you have Pentel with the SMASH and Kerry. Looks like they’re still applying stickers, even if boxed.
There are some collecting domains where price stickers are a serious step up in collectability. Some try to apply that to vintage pencils, but I think they’re an extreme minority. Frankly, price swings happen so much in this genre because of the relatively small number of collectors and periodic momentary price spikes. A stickered example may sell at a slightly above market price one day, then some weeks later a non-stickered but mint example sells for more. Still so much volatility here.
4 Likes
Mitsubishi W-knock with skeleton grip is an insta-like for me 
3 Likes
NOS: Items in stock, still in their original packaging, never sold. Also known as new unused stock or surplus stock.
1 Like
It HAD been next to impossible. That’s why I finally ‘bit the bullet’.
Does that mean they always have a sticker?
The M5-1006 has ZERO signs of use, anywhere. But no sticker, that’s is the reason I ask.
My understanding was that boxed items/packaged pencils don’t have stickers. Then I read in this thread that that’s not the case.
Regardless, a vintage pencil with a perfect sticker is clearly an item that’s been well looked after, so if you’re collecting, those are the ones to go after. In my opinion anyway.
You’ll have to live with the uncertainty… forever! Mwahaha!
1 Like
A nos item may or may not have a price sticker/tag. If it had stickers on the day it was released, you want to buy it with the sticker. Sometimes pencils of the same model, some had a sticker and others did not, because they were presented for sale in different packaging.
1 Like
So, if it appears in EVERYWAY as a NEW Piece(eraser fresh, zero scratches or other signs of wear… Though no sticker or packaging. It can still be considered NOS?
I like strict definitions. I’d hate to claim something so seemingly specific without a complete understanding.
Thank you for all the info too
1 Like
That would be good enough for me.
NOS is a designation also used for vintage watch parts (watchmaking is another hobby of mine) and there, it just means the parts are unused and still in functional conditon. They may not be packaged at all since often they are just stored in small bottles in a parts cabinet for 80 years, transferred to an envelope or bag for sale, and often they are not in perfect cosmetic condition either. Sometimes these things are true of entire watches. A watch from the 1940s that sat in a display cabinet and was never even wound would need a complete overhaul before anyone actually used it, because it would need to be cleaned, relubricated, checked for corrosion, etc.
But I digress. As a buyer I figure any vintage pencil that still has its original unused eraser, unused lead complement, and no other obvious signs of wear, is NOS even if it has some very mild scratches or one or two tiny spots of corrosion from long term storage, or minor cracks in plastic because old plastics often just do that no matter what. (Or tarnish in the case of silver.) Those things mean it’s not mint, which I think has a much less ambiguous meaning: in exactly the condition it was in when it left the factory, packaging (if any) and all.
Because NOS means different things to different people I generally prefer describing stuff as unused if I’m selling, unless it’s actually in sealed packaging. But I’m too accustomed to entropy taking its toll on any material to be too fussy about the condition of new old stock.
3 Likes