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Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

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Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#41

Post by SantalBlush »

jonhohle wrote: post #28
deeg wrote: post #20

That was fun. I don't use anything except mechanical pencils but none of those really grabbed me and I generally love gadgets. For some reason I don't like the bouncy feel of the spring-protected tips and the only time I break leads is when I drop the pencil on the floor.

The engineering on the spring protected pencils is amazing, I also like the rounded tip, retractable sleeve on the 0.2mm pencils. I hadn’t seen that before this video. Many years ago I really hoped the Kura Toga would be as revolutionary as the Quicker Clicker was back in the mid-90s, but it always felt like I was fighting the lead orientation. I have eventually settled on the rOtring and draftmatics because I enjoy…

+1 on the Quicker Clicker. A fatter grip would be nice, but it's still hands down the best mechanical pencil I've ever used, and I've tried some fancy ones. My Kuru Toga stopped rotating and it no longer feeds lead properly. I've never had a QC break on me, I just lose them eventually due to frequent use.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#43

Post by anon_123g987 »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #12

Alright, I went in thinking "come on, how 'overengineered' can a mechanical pencil be?", and by about halfway through I wanted to buy one, and at the end I readily admit that they've managed to find exactly the problems with these things and fix them, way beyond what I would have thought practical. Remarkable:)

A product is not overengineered when it has many features, but when its many features make basic usage problematic, generally because the thing becomes less robust and fails too often. These features in the video look useful, but we haven't heard anything about failure rates, so we can't say if it's overengineering or not.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#45

Post by jdeaton »

Cool! I just bought one of these (the shake one) and while checking out I accidentally didn't un-check the "sign me up for your newsletter box". Instead of automatically starting to spam me– they actually sent me a confirmation email asking if I really wanted to sign up for their newsletter– how considerate! Bravo Jet Pens for avoiding that dark pattern.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#46

Post by [deleted] »

juanci_to wrote: post #5
jkellermann wrote: post #2

My first try to post in HackerNews, hoping this fits the spirit. I was amazed to see the features of these pencil pens. Are these pencils common where you live? Here in Germany, they are known, but rather seldomly used...

I grew up using a lot of mechanical pencils, but I was too reckless and the cheap ones I used broke easily. Now I just use a standard #2 pencil.

[deleted]

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#47

Post by octagons »

I’ve been a huge JetPens fan for years. Something about the over-engineering makes it almost hobby-like to collect these pens and pencils.

On the downside, I probably own 500 or so pens and pencils of all variety, plus a requisite number of over-engineered pencil cases.

The habit extends beyond JetPens into somewhat exotic materials, like the pens from Tactile Turn out of Texas. It’s easy to spend $400+ on a pen there. It makes a fun conversation piece but very few understand the “cool pen” impulse some have.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#48

Post by karmanyaahm »

jkellermann wrote: post #2

My first try to post in HackerNews, hoping this fits the spirit. I was amazed to see the features of these pencil pens. Are these pencils common where you live? Here in Germany, they are known, but rather seldomly used...

> Are these pencils common where you live?

In my experience in the US (Texas), most school students only use mechanical pencils for regular work. It's more convenient (no sharpener), and cheaper than a regular pencil.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#49

Post by david-cako »

In middle school, a buddy of mine drew a beautiful picture of a Bugatti Veyron with a silver Pilot Dr. Grip Ltd. shaker pencil and I was so enamored by his drawing and his pencil. He spent weeks getting the details just right during downtime in math class.

It got me interested in stationary ever since then, and I've always loved JetPens. I've gone through phases where I really like mechanical pencils, although I mostly write with Uni Signo UM-151 0.38mm gel pens. Super smooth with a crisp, fine line.

JetPens is a great site with a very cool niche. Check out Kinokuniya too. There's one in Little Tokyo in LA. Lots of pens, pencils, notebooks, and all sorts of books and manga.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#50

Post by deeg »

Meandering wrote: post #34
deeg wrote: post #20

That was fun. I don't use anything except mechanical pencils but none of those really grabbed me and I generally love gadgets. For some reason I don't like the bouncy feel of the spring-protected tips and the only time I break leads is when I drop the pencil on the floor.

Don't knock rotating lead till you try it. Seriously, it's like a real time pencil sharpener.

I've never felt like the rotation of the lead was an issue for me (except for the few times the lead broke). Do you (and others) do a lot of drawing?
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