After posting a picture of them in the ‘What’s on your desk right now’ thread, @amjacobs7 quickly pointed out the striking resemblance of the 'W-305A-0.5’ model with the 1st generation Pilot H-1005.
The H-1005 was first released in 1983 and discontinued in 2006. It came in 2 known versions. The first was a matte finish black plastic with a hint of grain to it (some call it the “woodgrain” version). The nose cone step was positioned at like the last 1/4th of the cone length. The second had a smooth satin/semi-gloss finish and the nose cone step was further down, by a little more than 1/3rd of the cone length.
Since I don’t have a Pilot H-1005 to do a side-by-side comparison, I can’t say for sure whether these models are in fact identical (other than the sticker and clip stamp that reads ABC).
Also, the ‘W-105A-0.5’ model has a more than strong likeness, at least on the outside, to a few other models, sharing “those distinctive groove lines on the ‘neck’ just above the cone”:
Platinum 0.5mm ‘unknown model’ with an early lead retainer clutch design
Pelikan Blei Machine (with conventional clutch)
Berol Turquoise TM-5 and Uchida S-5 - standard clutch
They come from my relatives collection. So I can say with 99% certainty that they were indeed acquired sometime in the 80s/90s. They could have been purchased in-store somewhere in Europe, or found at a pen show.
I have a duplicate of the W-305A-0.5 without a sticker, which I used for the disassembly.
Nice catch! Those stickers do say they were made in Taiwan, which strangely is missing from the ones I have here. They also lack the 0.5 m/m imprint (slight chance it’s hidden under the sticker), and don’t seem to have the ‘ABC’ on the clips. But this should definitely solve the ‘where’ question.
First thing. Even though they look identical, you can feel the difference with the W-305 in terms of build quality and materials used. The knock is also much sturdier on the H1005. It’s just clearly the better pencil.
Cap and eraser seem identical for all intents and purpose.
I think we can safely put to bed any thoughts of a direct OEM connection to Pilot. There are no date-codes on the W-305, so no way to tell when it was manufactured. Also no confirmation they were indeed made in Taiwan, other than previously shared listing.
The W-305 is indeed a noticeably lesser imitation of the H1005.
It’s an oddity if anything.
Now I also got to compare the W-105 to a Berol (shout out to @DarkwingDuck) and a Blei Machine (sliding sleeve). Internally they’re all different beast, so no need to compare.
The W-105 is the most basic out of the 3, slightly thinner, and the barrel is more translucent. The groove lines on the other two models extend up a little higher as well. All and all it’s still a nice enough pencil, and most importantly works as intended.
Gorgeous H-1005 specimen. I still need a stickered piece. Unfortunately, I was out of the house when a recent eBay auction for one of these closed at just $56 recently
This is part of the double knock mechanism. There are nubs in the body that block the mechanism in extended position. A deep knock causes contact between the two parts and the ensuing rotation causes the nubs on the lead tube and those in the body to be no longer aligned, allowing retraction.
