A double dose of chunky clips! A vintage Tombow stainless steel ballpoint and a Newman with golden accents.
Based on the original refill, I believe the Tombow is from 1977. The clip block is, I believe, designed as an abstract ‘T’ and features black enamel paint filling in the negative space. Very solid feeling and the clicker feels perfectly fine after nearly 60 years. I’ve replaced the refill with a Zebra F0.7.
The Newman is a 1500 yen executive model, with a fine grid etching on the steel body. The golden (I hesitate to say gold-plated) accents are found on the cone and clip-block. When viewed from the top/back, the block reveals an elongated octagon profile.
In use, the mechanism feels fine, not harsh or mushy as some mechanisms do in older Newmans. There is also very little wobble. My last pic shows the inner profile of the block/button and you can see the machining used to give the plug a wider diameter near the top, thereby reducing clearance and wiggle room. Even the reservoir tube is machined with 2 flange rings that reduce internal wobble and act as a stopper for the button.
My wish now is to find out more about the Tombow, and maybe someday locate the accompanying MP. The Newman… will probably remain anonymous unless a miracle catalog surfaces.
What .mm is the Spalding? I’ve always avoided their pencils believing they had been cheaply made (given the quality of all other products I’ve experienced).
Have I been incorrect?
Also, are you able to compare it to another MP design that is comparable?
Thank you for sharing/responding. I love discovering new pencils.
Spalding and A.G. Spalding & Bros branded pens and pencils are made by Raymay / Reimei Fujii. The quality is good, definitely suited to executive level finishing. They have a particular design that has been produced in plastic, aluminum, brass and wood. I don’t expect these to rise in value, but I’m happy to have them in my collection.
I second that: on average, the feeling in the hand is nice, and the writing experience is pleasant. Their brass pencil, for instance, is quite substantial and heavy, and its rear cap is notoriously flimsy, but it is a cool desk piece. Quite the opposite, some of their aluminum MP’s are very light, stubby and fun, and work well as daily writers. They also made a black, short clutch holder for 3.2mm “large” lead cores with smooth, cylindrical body, which really echoes the Kaweco Sport leadholders.
We are obviously far from the levels of excellence achieved by other manufacturers and specific models discussed on this site, but I consider their basic sets worth a try.
Finally putting my Pilot H-2105 into rotation. Briefly thought of pairing it with a Staedtler all black BP but I get the feel of the knurling on the OHTO Flat C was a better match.
A recently acquired 787. It was expensive. I’ve always had mixed feelings about it but I’m now convinced it’s the best 2.0-3.15 mm I’ve owned so far (how many are there? two or three? should have narrowed my criteria to collect only pan pencils ahahah).
Some parts of the pencil esp. the clip, not very good imprints and an irritating edge of the plastic moulds have always made me delay this purchase.
The location of the grip section might seem odd at first, but it is ok since the natural adherence of this strange warm plastic is much better than the soft knurling on the metallic nose, which then becomes mostly decorative but also makes a proper nose clutch.
Now, after a few days of edc and using this little beast at every opportunity I had, I believe it’s one of the most comfortable pencils out there with perfect size and weight and overall handling — even though it’s not the most beautiful pencil in the world. It annoys me (a lot) that they didn’t take the opportunity to make the Pan Technico the finest pencil on earth.
