STAEDTLER.de(utschland)
This first post only contains non-present day models manufactured by STAEDTLER Germany. Models made or distributed by STAEDTLER’s Japanese subsidiary will receive their own post in a near future once my research on the 925 line and it’s nuances is over.
The second, final, definitive post has been made: STAEDTLER ID guide 1969-2022
I decided to compile this to put together a history of STAEDTLER Mechanical Pencils (except present models) and help in identifying them. There are many limited‐edition pencils (925 35…) that I won’t list here or in future posts.
I make no claim on images used here, I sourced them from websites and/or catalogues. If you see your image in here, and would like me to remove them, please contact me.
Contact info - guiforrequi@icloud.com
1969
770 - MARS-MICROGRAPH 0X
Surprisingly, STAEDTLER actually has one mechanical pencil that is dated to the late 60s (1969 more specifically), the 770. The first generation 770 were launched in the late sixties and continued up till 1977 at most. It was offered in 0.5;0.7;0.9. It looks more like a leadholder than a proper mechanical pencil. This is definitely the rarest model in this list, perhaps not in Japan or Germany but I personally had never seen this till I began this long hunt.
(source: 施德楼 - 德意志)
Version with the old logo (source: yotaro915)
1973? ->1980
List of models that started being produced in1973 (speculative, some people claim this date but the first ads and catalogues showing the Micrograph 770 F model we know of are from 1978) and up to 1980, some of the pencils listed here stayed in production till 1990 (sometimes under a new line - Microfix).
770 1X/1X N - Micrograph F
This is the earliest date that is attributed to the launch of the 770’s 2nd generation (Micrograph F), the F stands for Fixed, fixed sleeve. The 770 is labelled 770 1X (3,5,7,9) in old STAEDTLER catalogues. Something that few people notice is that this model had two/three different variations. For a very long time, it was STAEDTLER’s flagship MP.
Offered in 0.3;0.5;0.7;0.9.
Old version with a “straight” tip (source: BUNDOKI)
New version with the more conical tip, this tip is more similar to the ones found on 771 HS models.
The 770 model number was reserved to the F (fixed sleeve) variation of the Micrograph, some places (penessay) talk of a 770 1X N variant (the /three variant), generally the N usually represents a shorter (length) variant, albeit penessay says that the N is only present in the box.
@drifand once mentioned a difference in the mechanisms of Micrographs he owned, with the 0.3 one having a brass mechanism and the others showing a plastic mechanism, I’m unsure if this is true for the HS and S versions as well.
These can be regularly found on eBay, YAJ (Yahoo Auctions Japan) and Mercari.
771 0/771 1 - Micrograph HS
Before the versions most people know came, there was another, earlier one:
(Source: penessay)
And another! That looks a lot like the 80’s Microfix SL 772 15 models, this and the one above had to be discontinued before 1978 since the 1978 catalogue already shows the more well known 771 with knurled grip. I believe these two older versions were only offered in 0.5.
(Source: penessay)
Sellers claim these are from late 1970s.
There were two more well known, 1978+ main versions, a plastic grip cheaper variant and a metal knurled grip (same as the one on the 770 1X). The plastic version seems to have an older and a newer model, some pictures show what appears to be a version without a proper lead grade indicator, while some other pictures show a version that has a proper indicator. They are shown below.
(Source: MMM by Xinzheng Wang)
(Source: Gunther’s virtual pencil case)
The HS (halfslide) model has a tip that goes from 5mm when fully extended to 3mm when retracted, seems like the Germans aren’t so precise, since that’s a 40% retraction, 10% off from 50% which would be halfslide 
.
There was another difference between earlier/later models (or perhaps vice versa), in catalogues from 1985 and after, there is a colour scheme for the Micrographs: hellblauer (lighter blue) for 0.3; marsblauer (mars blue) for 0.5; mittelblauer (medium blue) for 0.7; dunkelblauer (darker blue) for 0.9.
(Source: STAEDTLER 1985 catalogue - the colour scheme was the same for the 771 HS)
The weird thing here is that many models found on auctions, not mattering if they are 0.3 or 0.5, etc, all use 0.9’s dark blue, this is true for models of the 770 F line as well.
These were offered in 0.3;0.5;0.7;0.9.
The first versions are quite uncommon to see, I’ve seen them before on YAJ but they are “rare”, the more common metal knurl grip and plastic knurl grip are a lot more common.
772 - Micrograph S
Models that look EXACTLY like Microfix SL but show the “Micrograph” naming imprinted horizontally in the grip, as shown before, there are also earlier 771’s that look like Microfix, since the Microfix line came later, it can be assumed that these (early 771 and 772) inspired the creation of the Microfix line. The S means slide - fully retractable tip. Unknown if this model was also offered in other lead diameters, but I believe it wasn’t.
(Source: eBay)
That’s not the only version:
(Source: penessay)
Once again, these had to be discontinued before 1978, there’s no mention of a Micrograph S in the 1978 catalogue and in the catalogues from the 1980’s the closest thing are the Microfix SL. Sellers claim these are from late 1970s.
It’s appeared on eBay a couple of times.
773 - Microfix S
This one is supposedly made in the late 70s as well. I believe it, specially due to the similarities with the initial 771 model shown. The model number makes me believe these were produced at the same time as the 770, 771, 772, Micrographs. Offered only in 0.5 (true for later 87-88 models as well). The tip is retractable.
(Source: penessay)
A later model (1987-88) can be seen below, for the sake of simplicity, I’m including it now instead of later.
These appear on eBay and YAJ quite frequently, they are usually very worn down with all lettering faded and bundled up with other cheapo plastic pencils from the era.
774 - Hi-Matic
This one is from 1980, right on the edge of the limit established… The lead sleeve is 3mm in length and it’s, as the name implies, an automatic MP, albeit a “semi-automatic” one (you need to knock it one time). In later catalogues, this is usually shown with the Micromatic, makes me believe this was the Micromatic’s “budget” cousin that eventually inspired the idea of the legendary 777. It was only offered in 0.5. The tip is retractable and the barrel is rubber coated.
The only real variation is a black version with gold accents (clip, tip, knock button).
(Source: you guessed it, penessay)
The black version is very rare, the normal one appears sporadically across eBay, YAJ and Mercari but this is still overall an uncommon vintage mechanical pencil when compared to others on this list.
775 - Micro
The last model that I can confirm for sure was produced as early as the 70s, this is the 770’s cheaper cousin, intended for more casual users. It’s a thing of beauty really, it was kept in production for as far as 1990 at the very least. It’s considered by many (myself included) the best P20X that isn’t a P20X, it may sound weird but they are honestly so similar.
It has lines on the grip that serve as a sort of “knurl”, they accomplish the job but it’s far from a true grip.
I won’t even try to name all the colours, every now and then a new colour variation no one knew of appears on eBay or YAJ. I will include a picture of the white ISO coloured 775’s though (albeit they are supposedly post-1980).
(Source: penessay)
A newer version (probably from post 1980) has a proper knurled grip similar to that of the late plastic 771 0 model. The tip is also different.
(Source: penessay)
Very common, you can find it on eBay, YAJ, Mercari, old stationery shops, they are usually worn down but it’s still very very easy to find ones in NOS quality.
1981-1988
It’s unclear if all the models below were produced only after 87 or not, leadholder.com 87-88 catalogue displayed most of these models but lacked some others (such as Airliner), some of the catalogue scans STAEDTLER sent to me (supposedly from 1980 or 1981) also display many of these, so I decided to clump them all together since there is little to no variation between the earlier and later models.
772 05/15/25 - Microfix SL
Only offered in 05, these are retractable tip mechanical pencils intended for writing. All of these are plastic. The sleeve would retract in proportion to the amount of lead used, I’m unsure of the practical affect this has on writing experience.
(Source: 87-88 catalogue, there is no difference with the earlier models)
The 05 was an all blue version, with the 15 having a chromed barrel and the 25 having both the barrel and grip chromed, it’s a shame that these are plastic but generally reviews are favourable. For a while, the pen cousin of the Microfix line was called Starfix, later on, it adopted the Microfix naming and the 472 model number.
It can be found quite easily on eBay, YAJ and Mercari.
776 Condor 05/776 25 Airliner 05/776 PS Polo/776 Polo GT
(Source: STAEDTLER catalogue scans)
Only offered in 0.5.
The internals between all of these are interchangeable, the only real difference is the lead sleeve, these (earlier) polo models had plastic sleeves while the condor and airliner used metal ones, later on, the condor and airliner were discontinued and the polo adopted the metal lead sleeve. And yes, they are all plastic, with the airliner being chromed.
The airliner and condor were discontinued before 87, which gives us a ~7-8 years of production at most.
The polo is by far the STAEDTLER mechanical pencil with the most different colour variations, I say with certainty that it surpasses the 925 35 LE’s, albeit that is definitely gonna change soon.
Later on (87-88) the Polo GT came along, it’s the Polo but with metal clip and knock button.
(Source: STAEDTLER 87-88 catalogue)
The airliner and condor are extremely rare when compared to the polo and polo GT, I’ve only seen the airliner coupled with other MPs and even then the price was too much, in the past decade it has only appeared on eBay twice and I find no records of it showing up on YAJ or Mercari. I’ve seen the condor before but definitely a lot less than the polo.
Polo and Polo GT are very common, they will usually appear in sets of 10 (or 15 in the case of Polo) around eBay.
777 15/25/75 Micromatic
Alright, the most expensive STAEDTLER mechanical pencil ever made, it’s mechanism is an overly convoluted mess that hasn’t stood the test of time but when it does… Then it’s a work of art, it’s a shame that most of the time these will fail. Only offered in 05.
There is nothing I can say about this that hasn’t been said yet, Xiao has done an awesome review (Xiao’s Review).
These are full automatic pencils that offer lead cushioning, you don’t need to push the knock button, not even once. The 15 had a matte black top barrel made out of plastic and a metal grip, the 25 had a chromed metal barrel and grip and the 75 was coated in 24 karat gold.
(Source: STAEDTLER 87-88 catalogue)
I’ve seen a few of these on eBay and Mercari recently, the prices are absurd and there’s always the chance that you get one with a faulty mechanism, such a shame.
778 - Retro/778 25 - Retro de luxe
These are double knocks, they work similar to pens, you press the top knock once and the tip is exposed, tap it and lead comes out, press it again and the tip is retracted. 778 offered in 05 and 07, unsure if the 778 25 also had a 07 version.
Double knocks are amazing and vintage STAEDTLER ones (specially 778 25) are extra amazing, the 778 has three versions, below is a picture of the de luxe (metal) from 87, the 778’s first generation (1987), the 778’s second generation (1989) and the 778’s third generation (2010 if I recall correctly).
(Source: Drifand’s pinterest account)
The retro de luxe is definitely the most rare here, the 2nd and 3rd gen retros are pretty common overall, so is the 1st gen. You’d normally find them on Mercari or YAJ.
779 05/15 - Cassette
The weirdest idea I have ever seen, a refillable pencil, literally. You run out of lead or use up your eraser? Remove the old white cassette and stick a new one! It contains 12 MARS MICROGRAPH Hi-Polymer leads and a brand new eraser! The only difference between the two models is on the tip, the 15 has a metal tip. Only offered in 05.
(Source: STAEDTLER catalogue scans)
Never seen this being listed before, not even in a bundle.
1989-2000
Below is a description of STAEDTLER mechanical pencils produced before/after (marsmicro 775) 2000.
Retromatic
Automatic mechanical pencil with a plastic body. Trademarked in 1989 and production allegedly ended in 1999, to make things worse, some of the people that own it complain about faulty mechanisms. I believe it was only offered in 0.5.
(Source: penessay)
Very rare but when it does appear, the price is usually good enough.
770 0X - Marstechno
One of the last high quality drafting oriented mechanical pencil made by STAEDTLER Germany, it was the peak of the 770 line. Offered in 0.3;0.5;0.7;0.9, features an unique design that looks industrial and sharp, has a lead cushioning system. The tip is retractable. Production started in 1990 and ended in 2000.
The lead grade indicator is in a quite unusual place, seems like STAEDTLER enjoys experimenting with where they place these things as seen with the Micrographs with clip indicators.
(Source: 施德楼 - 德意志)
Used to be extremely common in Germany and Asia but then collectors bought up all the stock and now resell it in NOS quality for higher values (manageable ones though), appears very frequently on eBay, YAJ, Mercari.
770 0X - Marsmicro
The last high quality drafting oriented mechanical pencil made by STAEDTLER Germany, it’s knurl inspired the knurling on the new 925 line mechanical pencils and is clearly on the more “aggressive” side. It’s a successor to the Marstechno and it’s production started somewhere in the 90s and ended before 2001. It seems a bit rarer than the marstechno, consequently, prices tend to be higher. It was offered in 0.3;0.5;0.7;0.9.
(Source: penessay)
There’s one variation that just differs on the cap, this one has a “straight” end on the cap, there’s a variation with a round one.
775 0X - Mars micro
Production started in 1990 and continues till the present day, there are few differences between the first generation and the sixth (current generation). Retractable and cushioned tip, rubber grip, lead grade indicator. It was my first mechanical pencil that costed more than 2 USD. There is a gigantic number of colours available for these.
(Source: STAEDTLER catalogue)
“Vintage” ones appear all the time on eBay and YAJ, I’d say they cost more than they should, the modern ones function pretty much the same as old ones, it’s a solid pencil but it’s a shame that this is the best pencil STAEDTLER Germany produces nowadays.
Unknown
Pencils which we don’t know much about. Or pencils that didn’t fit in other sections of this list.
772 Mars XXL
It seems to be pre-2001 and offered in 0.5;0.7.
771 silver point
Offered in 0.5. Seems to be pre-2001 as well. Features a rubberised grip, retractable tip and cushioned tip.
(Source: penessay)
STAEDTLER Pug
A very good boy indeed. A double knock modern day STAEDTLER with a rubberised grip. Offered in 0.5.
(Source: Amazon)
And with this, comes the end of this catalogue, I once asked @nimrodd if he knew of a book similar to his but for STAEDTLER, he replied that he didn’t know of any book similar to his and that he hoped his pentel book inspires others to do the same for other brands, well, it inspired me. I hope this was helpful in some way, if you didn’t see a STAEDTLER pencil you know here, please inform me about it so that I can add it. All constructive criticism is welcome, and I do realize that as the list went on the descriptions started to become more “shallow”, it’s just that pencils became a lot more uninteresting as time went on (when it comes to STAEDTLER). I will see if I can wrap up research on STAEDTLER Japan models next week and create a follow up topic.