Not exactly what you’re asking but I’ve been tracking them on Mercari and the price seems to be coming down fast: at the time of release most resellers were asking for 2x the list price (¥11000) but within a week it had fallen to 8000 and the white can even be seen for 7000 occasionally. So I hope that this one won’t be as scarce as its single-colour sibling.
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The standard model is now on amazon:
But it’s not listed by mitsubishi itself but just a reseller (why??). The price is accurate.
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The Zento Signature is there as well, also by 3rd party sellers.
Black is ¥5,000
Silver is ¥4,100
Champagne is ¥4,100
I don’t see any other colorways as yet.
EDIT: I should note that it’s a good idea to always look at the seller info. Some of these have low seller ratings… and I’d never go with a seller that isn’t 90% or above on at least 100 transactions.
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Thanks but I meant writing colors not body colors. Sorry for the confusion!
The ZENTO Signature Model 3 is out and the lowest price I’ve seen so far on Mercari is ¥6500 (but there’s another ¥1100 in local shipping and fees).
It’s interesting to see about 1.5 years later, prices have come down. Gently used examples are pretty cheap! I wonder if the same thing will happen with the ZENTO Signature Model 3.
The Zento 3 Signature Model in black is a true matte black compared to the ‘dark metallic grey’ of the single color Signature Model. Crisp magnetic snap for the cap, with a new hex lug on the back of the pen so that the clip on the cap can align perfectly with the ink color strips. You can leave the pen tip exposed while capped for faster deployment.
Swapped in the stealthy matte black parts from the 2023 Korean limited all-black Kerry onto the knurled Tokyu Hands exclusive to make this pairing…
Uni is just knocking it out of the park!
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Silver x White x Knurled…
I did think of the CDT Kerry but the braided machining didn’t quite match up to the knurling on the Zento 3 Signature Model. Instead, I thought the recent Tect 2way RO in white was closer to the overall aesthetic.
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Are these only out in Japan?
Yeah… and they’re sold out everywhere in Japan.
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Slowly getting there, although I didn’t manage to get to the magnet inside. It may be jammed inside the aluminium cap or there may be an additional part holding it in place, I couldn’t tell.
Next up: the body (although I have no idea where to start so don’t hold your breath)
Edit: I’m now pretty sure that there is no additional part and that the ring magnet is either stuck or glued in place inside the cap (it’s visible in the third picture).
The parts list would therefore be:
- cap: aluminium
- clip, screw: steel
- clip-on tip, 2-part clip base: plastic
- ring magnet: whatever these are made of
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Having some fun modding Zentos. I’m not completely happy with the bare aluminium look on the wooden model but I damaged the paint in the process so I had to strip it all.
The brass cone on the other hand I did on purpose and I quite like it.
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Home turned wood or something from another pen/cil and if so, from which?
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I don’t have a lathe so I bought some 12 mm beech stick from a DIY store. I shaped it by hand with various rasps/files and sandpaper, then oiled it.
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Impressive!
Just drilling a straight hole is damn hard.
Is it possible to swap to the black middle part just to see how it looks?
Also, might be worth looking in the plumbing section of a hardware store if some brass or copper fittings happen to fit to slide right on top of the bare aluminum.
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I used a drill press, but even with that I must have deviated a little while drilling because the pen is slightly crooked (it isn’t obvious at first but it becomes visible when rotating it).
Unfortunately I haven’t found a non-destructive way to remove the plastic body from the aluminium middle ring.
There is a thread so it should be possible to unscrew it but the bond is so strong that I haven’t been able to without damaging both the body and the paint on the ring.
If I ever find a way to do it, I’d like to pair the wood parts with the golden metallic parts of the 0.7 mm model.
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Can the plastic be melted out of the aluminum? These pieces look amazing by the way! Especially the raw aluminum one.
With heat you mean? I have no idea. I dissolved the remaining plastic with acetone, however this appears to damage the paint too. Maybe there is a temperature range that softens the plastic but not the paint? I wish the aluminium was anodised instead of painted (I hear it is on the new 3-colour), that would make things much easier.
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