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The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

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Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#11

Post by bayindirh »

nadir_ishiguro wrote: post #10
bayindirh wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are very good at higher end paper, pencils and erasers. Their gel and roller pens are mostly unmatched. OTOH, while they're top tier in fountain pens, Germans really equal with them. Lamy, Faber Castell, Diplomat, Kaweco and of course Montblanc make great pens. Pilot & Sailor are not behind them, though. Mitsubishi Pencil bought Lamy so things will get interesting. Inks are the same. Germans and Japanese are hea…

I'm from Germany and personally prefer Japanese fountain pens, but also value our local brands. I took for granted that I could go into any small stationary store and buy a LAMY or Pelikan any time I wanted as a child. "Also, a company in my country started making a paper which rivals Yu-Sari and Tomoe River. I write letters with it, and it's great." Is that available internationally?

I keep a stable of inked pens. The set is half Japanese, half German all the time. I find Lamy superior for leak resistance and ruggedness, and they're repairable if you manage to damage them also, their tipping is one of the best and fastest polishing/adapting ones if not the best. Japanese ones tend to stay at my desk at home, since they're more delicate writing instruments (except Pilot Metropolitan.That's a tank), but I enjoy them all the same, regardless of their price points and materials.

BTW, if you have not tried Montblanc's Royal Blue give it a chance. That one is "different". Also Scrikss's blue black ink is nice.

The notebook using this paper is called Meteksan Prestige [0]. I don't know if they're exported or not.

[0]: https://www.sarikalem.com/en/meteksan-prestij-bloknot-17x24-...

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#12

Post by ics »

This article reminded me of another great website which sadly has been offline for several years now. Thankfully it seems to be pretty well archived.

Leadholder - The Drafting Pencil Museum: https://web.archive.org/web/20170617140127/http://leadholder...

Example: https://web.archive.org/web/20160629142925/http://leadholder...

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#13

Post by andrewla »

The problem with most modern pencils that I've found is that the leads are ever-so-slightly off-center, so a sharpened pencil will often have a piece of wood very near the tip. From the pictures (I've never used one myself) in this article, these pencils are made to an excellent standard and the sharpened pencils look amazing.

I'm far from a wood pencil connoisseur; I generally prefer mechanical pencils (specifically Pentel Sharp; the P205 is a beast), but in buying pencils for my kids I've found this to be a consistently annoying issue.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#14

Post by sleepybrett »

andrewla wrote: post #13

The problem with most modern pencils that I've found is that the leads are ever-so-slightly off-center, so a sharpened pencil will often have a piece of wood very near the tip. From the pictures (I've never used one myself) in this article, these pencils are made to an excellent standard and the sharpened pencils look amazing. I'm far from a wood pencil connoisseur; I generally prefer mechanical pencils (specifically…

I finally ran out of my 'retro' blackwings and picked up a box of their revival. They are expensive ($2.50 a pencil in packs of 12) but the quality so far has been very consistent. Not sure I'd give them to my kids as likely as they would be to lose or destroy them, but you might consider them for yourself.

For mechanicals I have a Rotring 600 and a Staedtler Mars Technico that is a billion years old.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#15

Post by FatChauncy »

I really like Japanese eraser-tipped office pencils. I was cleaning out a drawer the other day and was excited to find half a box of Mitsubishi 9850, a favorite of mine. They run about $8 a dozen, but I felt like I had stumbled on a treasure trove. Smooth writing, nice paint, well-centered leads, and a nice eraser on a ferrule that doesn't loosen up. A good woodcased pencil is a joy to write with.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#16

Post by blackeyeblitzar »

It’s interesting seeing all the innovative writing products in Japan - feels like a totally different culture. I have to say though, in the age of phones and laptops, it’s hard to make time to write things physically. It also just seems more painful (like for the hands). Still, I appreciate the design and thought that goes into Japanese pencils and pens.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#17

Post by fallinditch »

GuB-42 wrote: post #5

In general, I find Japan to be unmatched when it comes to stationery. Pens, pencils, notebooks, etc... Everything is just better: the simple stuff, like what you can find in "konbini" and "100 yen shops", entire floors in department stores like "Hands", and all the way up to luxury. As you might expect, Japanese brands of stationery are popular worldwide. So it is not surprising that Japan had a golden age of pencils…

I love the Leuchturm 1917 A4 Master Notebook with a dotted grid but the smaller B5 dotted grid notebook from Japan, the Maruman 104 Mnemosyne, is also perfect and easier to travel with.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#19

Post by wantless »

andrewla wrote: post #13

The problem with most modern pencils that I've found is that the leads are ever-so-slightly off-center, so a sharpened pencil will often have a piece of wood very near the tip. From the pictures (I've never used one myself) in this article, these pencils are made to an excellent standard and the sharpened pencils look amazing. I'm far from a wood pencil connoisseur; I generally prefer mechanical pencils (specifically…

I have used the "Mitsu-Bishi" 9800s (the green painted pencil with gold lettering in this article) for years: all sharpen to perfection. I like HBs, but love the 2Bs, which write as smooth as butter. This is the low tier pencil offering at about 50 cents (US) each. I will never try high-end Unis; I can't afford to habituate myself to luxury with the volume I write.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#20

Post by SoftTalker »

andrewla wrote: post #13

The problem with most modern pencils that I've found is that the leads are ever-so-slightly off-center, so a sharpened pencil will often have a piece of wood very near the tip. From the pictures (I've never used one myself) in this article, these pencils are made to an excellent standard and the sharpened pencils look amazing. I'm far from a wood pencil connoisseur; I generally prefer mechanical pencils (specifically…

I like wood pencils, I buy Faber-Castell 2B, also HB. I use a small razor twist sharpener, not a crank sharpener. Haven't really noticed much of a problem with off-center lead. Haven't tried any Japanese pencils.
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