One more inexpensive multipencil. Please see the previous post on the Uni Style Fit for comparison.

Pilot also makes an inexpensive multi-refill writing implement, the Hi-Tec-C Coleto. Like the Style Fit, any combination of appropriate refills works. There are 2, 3, and 4-refill bodies, and by my count, 45 different pen refills, varying by diameter and colour. As well, Pilot makes a stylus and a 0.5mm pencil refill.

I ordered the 3-refill body ($US2.20 at Jstationery) and three pencil cartridges. As an international customer, I like Jstationery’s shipping policy – always charging the customer only the exact postage incurred.

My intent was again to create a multipencil, but this time in a tri-grade graphite format rather than tri-colour. I used Pentel Ain lead in 4H, HB, and 4B to create a nice graphite spectrum.

The Coleto has a number of differences with the Style Fit. First, the selection and advance mechanisms are not part of the pencil body, but rather attached to the refills! It looks odd to me, but works quite well in practice.

The body is more of a standard cylindrical shape, the clip much more able to actually clip something, and the grip area has a rubberized pattern overlayed. Overall, I find it much better thought out and practical than the Style Fit.

While it started as an experiment, I really like the result. The 4H/HB/4B pencil combination is definitely appealing and something I will use.

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Today we’re going to look at the Uni Style Fit. The Style Fit is an inexpensive multi-implement writing system known for a vast array of refill types and colours. Here is an official Mitsubishi Pencil Co. press photo showing the lineup. I count 16 body and 103 refill choices! 102 of those refill choices are pens – a wide range of gel diameters and colours, and a smaller ballpoint selection. There is also a single pencil refill – 0.5mm Nano Dia HB lead.

Though there are many multi-pens on the market, they typically have a set configuration – two ballpoints and a pencil, for example, or three ballpoints – which can’t be changed.

What is really interesting about the Style Fit is that you can put in any combination of the 103 refill types. This made me think that it could be configured as an inexpensive multipencil. I ordered a 3-refill body (all of $US3.00 at Jstationery) and three pencil cartridges.

I changed one cartridge to red lead and another to green. There seemed to be very little tolerance in the cartridges, so replacing the leads required a steady hand. (see below)

The mechanism seems complicated, yet is reasonably practical. The clip is also a lead selector, and two other spokes also function in this capacity. I attached the graphite cartridge to the clip, and the red and green leads to the smaller spokes. You select a lead by sliding the appropriate clip or spoke. This in turn extends the cartridge. The cartridge will lock in place, and the lead is extended by making smaller clicks of the clip or spoke.

Overall, I’m pleased. While admittedly a bit of a novelty, it is also an inexpensive and functioning red-green-graphite multipencil. There is some rattling noise inside the pencil, and it doesn’t exactly look like a luxury writing instrument. Yet at this price point, neither consideration seems important. Also available in single and 5-refill bodies, there are a lot of possible uses for such a customizable item.

Update (March 14, 2010): I had mentioned the challenge of replacing the default lead inside the cartridge. This was based on attempting to reload a stand-alone cartridge. If you first place the cartridge in the pencil body, replacing the lead becomes simple.

It is nice to know that there are alternatives to eBay.

What’s amazing to me is that Martini Auctions consistently has some of the absolutely rarest and most collectible pencil items around:

A Sterling Silver Faber-Castell TK 9400 Leadholder. Mentioned at leadholder.com, examples of this limited edition of 1948 are rarely seen. The asking price? €500. Ouch!

Eberhard Faber Cartograph pencils. These seem to be a variant of Landkartenstifte. Though incomplete and mismatched, it is still a fascinating historical item.

Lyra 190th anniversary pencil extender. Did you know that an established pencil manufacturer issued a luxury pencil extender some years before Faber-Castell?

These are just a few highlights. Alas, all somewhat expensive.

2. World Cup pencils

Faber-Castell has announced a special pencil for the 2010 World Cup!

It looks like it might be triangular in shape. I’m wondering if this will be part of a set of 24? That would be super-collectible, I would guess.

3. A pencil made from finger-joined slats, with two species of wood!

Woodchuck has mentioned the existence of these pencils before, but this is the first photo I’ve seen.

Remarkable!

Two wood finger joined pencil.

Seen at On the desk, at any time.

Apart from being a multiplication table pencil from a famous manufacturer, this pencil was interesting to me as a Faber-Castell product labelled as being from Brazil.

For sale via an eBay seller in Cyprus (I’ve corresponded with others who’ve purchased the same pencil set), it seems to have taken an interesting path before arriving at my door.

See also: Multiplication table pencils and Eberhard Faber geometry pencil.

A couple of years ago, I found some Grip 2001 pencils in red and blue finishes. There were two comments about a black version also existing. I guess the black version is even more unusual, as I’d not even seen it online, let alone in person. That recently changed, as I saw a package of these pencils with some accessories offered by an eBay seller.

The accessories are themselves interesting – a container sharpener, a sleeved eraser, and an eraser/sharpener combination. They look like they would make a great inexpensive gift for a young person.

Beautiful and simple stationery items. Alas, just one problem – none of the the sharpener blades can be replaced, the sleeve eraser can’t be refilled, and the eraser core in the combination sharpener/eraser has no refill for sale that I’m aware of. These accessories seem too nice to be disposable.

If you’re going to have a ruler on your desk, why not a simple and beautiful Designphil Design Project Glass Ruler?

I learned about this item from the fine folks at Bundoki, and have been very pleased in my decision to order one.

Tempered glass creates interesting effects. The ruler is quite heavy, yet also has an airy translucency. It also looks great on a desk!

The closure of Sanford’s US pencil factory last year was perhaps the final chapter in the story of US pencil manufacturing’s demise.

Starting with the move of incense cedar pencil slat maker CalCedar’s manufacturing to China, and followed by Dixon’s departure to Mexico and China, Sanford’s exit was perhaps expected. Of course, the names and brands carry on.

Papermate’s current website gives no indication of woodcase pencils being part of the product line. A weekend visit to a large office supply store revealed a hint of the future. The most expensive pencils in the large store, the box of 12 No. 2 Mirado pencils appears as they have for years, except for the statement “Made in Mexico”.

Appearance

The packaging still claims “The World’s Smoothest Writing Pencil – Guaranteed!” The cardbord box of twelve seems basically unaltered.

The back of the box states:

The pencils themselves are yellow, just like their predecessors, except missing the “USA” lettering.

The manufacturing details appear slightly improved – they’ve reverted to an unsharpened format. Some paint spills over the end, but the problem of imprecise clamping of the ferrule appears much better. The varnish seems okay, not the best, yet certainly better than the “no name” pencils that supermarkets sell.

Sharpening

I had no trouble sharpening the pencil in a manual sharpener, a desktop Carl, or a battery-operated Panasonic sharpener.

Writing

A real surprise. I’ve never been a huge fan of this pencil, possibly because of the bland, generic appearance. But it writes quite well. Perhaps not as smoothly as pencils costing five times more, but still quite nicely. It certainly seems as good as the US made predecessor, and I’m wondering if it may even be better?

Erasure

The erasers seem exactly like those of the predecessor, pink with powdery (latex?) coating. At least while new, they work reasonably well, especially compared with other “pink” erasers.

Overall

I am leaning towards a conclusion opposite to the one I thought I was going to make. Whether it is new equipment or some other factor, the new Mirados seem to be manufactured to a standard at least as high as their immediate predecessors.

Have you tried them yet?

The 2010 Academy Awards are just a couple of weeks away. Last year, we noticed that Japanese Animator Kunio Kato won the Oscar for Best Animated Short. A notable acceptance speech included giving thanks to his pencil.

It looks like Kato has not gone unappreciated by legendary pencil manufacturer Staedtler. To honour the 80th anniversary of the Mars Lumograph, Staedtler has issued a special set of pencils in a tin that features an illustration by the animator. As well as Staedtler, ROBOT (Kato’s firm) has a copyright notice on the package.

These Lumograph 100s are also special for pencil users because they are unsharpened versions!

The core widths vary considerably with the pencil’s degree.

Blue is the theme of Felissimo’s fourth set of colour pencils.

I’m a bit behind in displaying these – I’ve already received the fifth set, and a Canada Post notice tells me I wasn’t in when they attempted delivery of the sixth set. Wow, 150 colour pencils here or nearby! The collection is starting to take shape.

I’ve noticed that pencil blogs in Japan mention these pencils with different reference numbers. I’m afraid I only just figured this out – the boxes have a small circled identifier. I’ve been referring to the pencils as I’ve received them (calling this the “4th set”, for example), but depending on where you live and when you ordered them, you might receive them in a different order. For the record, this is volume 15.

Quite a bit of feedback has been sent this way about the pencils. I’ll try to summarize.

I’ll offer some feedback on these points:

1. I am very happy to see mentions of these pencils in mainstream North American media, especially television and magazines. Felissimo has clearly made an impact in the public arena, a place other pencil manufacturers seem to have forsaken.

2. A subscription may provide ongoing revenue, but it should be an option rather than the only purchase method.

3. Artists – the message is clear, but as I’ve written before, high quality pencils that offer open stock, accompanied by laboratory tested lightfastness reports, are in a completely different price range. If Caran d’Ache offered a 500 pencil set, it might cost thousands. But it would be amazing!

4. Cost. The Japan Post EMS (”registered air mail”) delivery multiplied by 20 is no doubt a large (majority?) part of the cost.

Perhaps five shipments of 100 pencils, or just sending the 500 pencils together, might be a better offer. If you could buy the 500 pencils in a single package for $250, would you be tempted?

The offer may soon end. Though all orders will of course be completely fulfilled, the acceptance of new subscriptions may soon be closing.

Further reading: Felissimo pencils at pencil talk

Though erasable colour pencils may not be new, they remain a small specialty pencil category.

This situation might soon change, as Faber-Castell has introduced a new product in this category.

Aimed at children, it is a set of twelve pencils, each with the lead colour matching the pencil finish and eraser.

The pencils have no model number, and are marked “Radierbar/Erasable”. As well as a space to write one’s name, they notably state “Made in Germany”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this full statement on the body of a Faber-Castell pencil.

The box indicates some possible student uses, such as learning algebra or a foreign language, as well as drawing. The potential for erasable colour marks appears promising in the educational realm.

The box as well mentions FSC certification. I looked up the certificate (IC-COC-100002), and it unfortunately appears to be generic to Faber-Castell, with no interesting information about the species of wood, or even the part of the world it came from.

So how do they function? The colours seem bright, but somewhat on the pastel side. I like them.

As to the pencil’s core claim – erasure – the marks seemed to hardly erase at all with the attached erasers! This was quite disappointing, given that erasability is supposed to be the set’s main feature. Yet I’ll admit to not being surprised – this seems like an almost impossible feature to offer in a low cost children’s product.

With a Tombow Mono block eraser, results were much better, though some colours erase better than others.

I also compared them to colour pencils that don’t claim erasability – and these are definitely much better. So with a good block eraser (not the attached eraser), and reasonable expectations (much, but not complete erasure), they may be a fun item to try.

And a bonus – inexplicably, the “black” pencil isn’t a black colour pencil, but rather a graphite pencil.

My thanks to Gunther from Lexikaliker for sending me these pencils.

Colleen, a company we’ve mentioned before, makes double ended colour pencils – in round, hexagonal, and triangular shapes!

I simply cannot think of another manufacturer offering a specialty pencil in such a variety of formats.

Here is the “Mandarin Orange and Emerald Green” pencil in all three shapes:

Offerings like these bode well for Colleen.

See also: Double ended colour pencils

The background story is here at the Blackwing Diaries.

The auction is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250570325938 and ends February 7th.