Just a quick (and rather poor) photo of two STABILO pencils which you don’t see that often these days, namely the double-push microtom 3365 (0.5 mm) and the micro 3389 leadholder (2 mm).
Unfortunately I have no idea when they were available and whether there were any other variants.
The part where the clips attach look a bit inspired by the Tikky II 
Wow, what a fun lead holder!
Quick question for @Gunther : upon perusing my main list of pencil, I found a note about this reference number, namely: «There are two versions of the Microtom 3365 circulating in my collection: one is shorter [the one depicted in the picture, which I have in full black], the other one is longer, with rubber grip section [similar to a Niji Grip MP, but with a more extended rubber section], also in black.»
Is it possible that they recycled the reference number, and made an updated version with slightly different characteristics? I don’t know which one is earlier and which is later, I got the “longer” variant before the shorter one depicted in the shot. Do you or any in the Forum happen to know anything about this strange case?
@Leonov I have no idea at all. I have seen both pencils only once, and I didn’t know that there was a longer version of the 3365.
@Gunther I’ll try to retrieve the two versions, and see what I can put together in terms of data and pictures (both pencils were bought many years ago, and I’m afraid the imprint on the longer version has faded away irreparably due to long term usage).
I still think that this “Microtom” MP had something special associated to it, but it’s a vague doubt. I’ll try to clarify it, both for you and for myself.
This is great – thank you!
Incidentally, the brand name ‘microtom’ was registered in 1938 and followed the brand name ‘microfein’, which had been registered eight years earlier. Both referred to the microscopically finely ground special lead used in Stabilo’s top-of-the-range woodcased pencils at the time. Their last pencil of that type was the 8000 which became the micro 8000 around 1960. When Stabilo moved their woodcaed pencil production to the Czech Republik in 1991 it was all over for the micro 8000 and its outstanding quality (hence the high prices for this pencil). I assume that both ‘micro’ and ‘microtom’ were also used for mechanical pencils because both names were established and had a very good reputation.
Or the Mitsubishi WK-500
Hallo again! I’ve done my research, and retrieved the two items I was referring to. Here they are, in a single shot for comparison:
On the right, the “standard” Microtom 3365 (“short variant”, in my personal notes), with the clip removed but with a clearly visible imprint. On the left, the “other” Schwan Stabilo Microtom 3365 (which I bought much earlier than the standard one, referred to as “long variant” in my personal notes), also with clip removed. The longer version is currently missing the rear cap, which has been probably used in some other pencil.
On my “longer version”, the silver imprint has faded away due to long-term usage, even though the rest of the body is still in great shape. This pencil clearly resembles other similar designs like the Staedtler 9829 “Pug”, or the Niji Grip.
Here is a shot with the tips extended — both versions are double knocks, and my “long version” can clearly suit the needs of a drafter; also, in the longer version the first knock of the cap is more firm and robust, and has never failed me (on the other hand, the “short version” has a tip protrusion which I find very flimsy, and prone to errors):
Both pencils were made in Japan, as can be appreciated by this detail, where one can spot the word “Japan” carved in the plastic:
As I said before, I was still unsure the “long version” was actually a Stabilo 3365 Microtom; I did some research, however, and quickly found that the “long version” is still available, for instance here, and on this website you can see the imprint as it originally appeared on the upper body of my pencil: PORTAMINE STABILO MICROTOM 0,5 3365 ROSSO NERO | Pianeta Cancelleria
The last shot has been generously made possible by my wife, who has opened her stationery drawers to let me take the picture of her part of the Microtom set: here you can see two red Microtoms (short & long version, this time with the long one sporting a crisp imprint, whereas the short one has more fading going on), close to a white Niji Grip 350 DX, and an “Architetto Saturn 0.5” MP, an Italian ripoff of the classic Japanese double knocks:
Hope this helps settling the case, even though I think it was not a wise choice to have two different MP’s with the same product name (I mean, change at least the numbers, if you really want to keep the name…).
