Don't kill me for this - but is there any advantage to using a pencil over a pen for writing, except for erasability?
Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
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Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#62When I was younger I lived in Japan for a year when my dad was stationed on a navy ship in Yokosuka. Most people I can remember then using "mechanical pencils" had those where there was a stack of maybe 8 pencil tips (lead + plastic casing around it) going down the hollow plastic body, and when the piece broke or wore down too far, you would remove it from the stack and push it back in the top of the pencil to make t…
Ah, a fellow "Tombow Zoom 505" enthusiast! In case you didn't know already, they have expanded the lineup somewhat. There is now a 0.9mm Mechanical pencil and a Ballpoint pen over and above the original 0.5mm Mechanical Pencils and Rollerballs[1].
There is also a new "Multifunction pen" (Black+Red+0.5mm) in three colours. It is slightly longer than the Mechanical pencil[2].
Finally, the Pentel Kerry makes a very good companion to the Zoom 505.
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#63If, like me, you're reading this from India and want to get your hands on one of these beauties, a few of them (zebra delguard, tombow graph) are available at scooboo.in.
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#64When I was younger I lived in Japan for a year when my dad was stationed on a navy ship in Yokosuka. Most people I can remember then using "mechanical pencils" had those where there was a stack of maybe 8 pencil tips (lead + plastic casing around it) going down the hollow plastic body, and when the piece broke or wore down too far, you would remove it from the stack and push it back in the top of the pencil to make t…
I bought the HHKB when I began my first infosec job 5 years ago. It’s outright the best keyboard I’ve ever used and even today I’m amazed at how well it is engineered and has held up. Japanese engineering is truly top notch in some areas.
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#65Don't kill me for this - but is there any advantage to using a pencil over a pen for writing, except for erasability?
One other reason i can think of, a pencil has a near zero chance of leaving smudges on paper or marks on your hands/clothing. Also, a better choice if you are writing on both sides of the paper and it isn't super thick, because pencil writing won't be visible on the other side of the paper.
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#66It might feel "overengineered" to people outside the Japanese society, but it actually just solves common issues here and it's not overengineering.
The rotating mechanism is the easiest to see this.
First, Kanji signs are more detailed than the alphabet and uneven lines can make it really ugly/hard to read. Same issue with breaking lead, causes ugliness.
Second, traditionally handwriting in Japan have been seen as a way to measure one's upbringing; you can fake looks and style but if your handwriting is bad, that signals that your parents didn't raise you well. This was(and still is in some places) the reason resumes have to be handwritten.
So tools that helps your handwriting had uses beyond just utility.
(my handwriting is garbage and I'm happy IT and tech jobs doesn't check this)
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#67My 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...
Getting japanese supplies in Europe ain't easy. Most of the stuff you find in Amazon is from this party suppliers and is overpriced.
I guess in Germany you can buy some stuff from Müller. Whenever I visit Majorca (I know, sometimes it feels you're not in Spain but in a small länder) I go to the stationery section in the Müller located in Plaza de España.
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nah, mechanical pencils are a niche, and those Japanese ones are a niche within a niche here in the Netherlands too. In Japan they are common, mainly due to the writing system that is very well suited to mechanical pencils, so they are common in schools. I use the Uni Kuru Toga in its fancy aluminium variant for both Dutch (mostly random notes and DIY measurements) and Japanese (I'm Dutch, but proficient in Japanese)…
The Kuru Toga is so versatile, I have three with different lead. But I do want to investigate these others :D About thirty years ago, I had a Faber-Castell where the lead sleeve retracted and automatically dispensed new lead so finally I will be able to get a similar replacement. It’s not always Japan!
I guess you're talking about Faber Castell gripmatic.
They are still in production. Problem is they are plastic and the brand and model fades after using it heavily, which makes hard to guess which @#$! lead size you need (I use Staedler leads because the case has feeding mechanism that feeds the lead into the pencil without having to touch the leads with your hand. Neat and tidy).
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#69I agree that these pencils are "overengineered" in that they are multiple times more complex and expensive than their simpler counterparts while offering relatively little improvement in function, but if you use a pencil every day I think that increase in cost is more than worth it.
I, for one, have loved my Kuru Toga pencil (the rotating lead one) since the day I got it a few years ago.
Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]
#70I've used a Pilot shaker mechanical pencil [1] over 20 years ago, and I'm quite surprised that the shaking mechanism, and many other quality-of-life improvements, still aren't that ubiquitous. [1] https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/pilot-id-shaker-mecha...
Isn't a button on side that you can press with pointing finger much simpler and faster way for achieving same thing? Was shaking in the video exaggerated and single flick of wrist sufficient or do you really need to shake that much? Looking forward hearing from someone who has used it, from the video it looked more like a gimmick than practical improvement.