Excaliburs

I have a little story to tell about a pencil, and the need to get as many of them as possible. I will try not to ramble too much, but I do have diarrhea of the mouth, and keyboard..... :)

Pentel produced the Excalibur pencils, and pen and pencil sets during 80's, and was still making Excalibur rollerball pens up until a few years ago. To garner greater sales in the middle 80's or to introduce the series, Pentel was a sponsor of the 1984 Olympics, and released a limited edition 1984 Olympic Excalibur pen and pencil set in a velvet display box, plus some single pens in presentation box. I'm not sure why they stopped making the Excalibur pencils and sets, but this is likely due to economic reasons and lack of demand. It's a shame, since these were, and I think still are, considered one of Pentel's flagship non drafting pencils. To use a pun, the name says it all.....

I'm sure alot of you know about my lack of affinity for the colors gold and red. Well, the Olympic sets are in gold, but for some reason, I couldn't help myself, and started getting them wherever I and whenever I could. They aren't common, but are out there, and I have acquired a total of 7 Olympic sets so far. Only 4 sets are left, having helped out a few stores with stock. :) Prior to the above, I had won an auction on Ebay for a lot of 3 Pentel pencils, pretty cheap. When they arrived, found out they were Excalibur's, 0.7mm and in pretty bad shape. They were offloaded due to the lead size and the condition, but it sure did open my eye's to the Excaliburs.

Not sure of the timeline, but I had acquired a gold and black stripe set. But it was 0.5mm and definitely not an Excalibur. The middle ring was completely different, looking like a gear in a transmission versus the Excalibur ring, shiny gold with perpendicular flutes. This is the pencil I identified for David. But, that middle ring..... it wasn't adding up.

So, was looking around the internet early 2008, and was able to score an SG65, new in display box, an all gold version of David's pencil. (I think I had also seen a brown one on The Uncomfortable Chair blog) LIGHT BULB!!!! The Slim Sliding Sleeve numbering system, it's gold finish pencil was the PS65, with the silver finish being the PS35 and the colored versions, green, red, blue and black, being the PS45. So, this must mean there are other SG series if the SG65 is the gold pencil. So the hunt began in earnest. I was able to get a brown sg45, a blue sg45, a green sg45, a silver sg35, a rare silver sg33 0.3mm, and another sg65, this one a touch paler gold. I suspect there is a red one, too, and I have a couple of black one's coming in soon.

The Excalibur and SG series pencil's write extremely well, and are balanced just right, as I am sure David will tell you. They exude writing confidence, and beg you to continue writing for hours on end. Lightweight, yet heavy enough to be felt, fatigue is rare. Aesthetically, these pencils are just beautiful. I challenge anyone to find a non drafting mechanical pencil that tops the Excalibur. :)

Currently, I have 4 Olympic sets, 3 black/gold sets, 2 silver sets, single Excalibur pencil, and the SG series already mentioned. I would like to get more, so I call dibs on any and all I can find, on or off Ebay. MINE!!!!! Have too many Excalibur's? Please feel free to donate to the Germ Museum, NOW!!!!!. :)~


The Excaliburs






















Side Note: Pentel did release a non Excalibur 84 Olympic pen/pencil set. It has a Q565 for the pencil instead.

Germ

lastwinj at yahoo dot com
Ebay Scinnimin The Collection

Another Excalibur set has arrived in the mail from California. This time, it is a gold Excalibur set, my first non Olympic set in gold. WOOHOO!!! ALL MINE!!!!!




Germ

lastwinj at yahoo dot com
Ebay Scinnimin The Collection

Quicker Clickers

The venerated Pentel Quicker Clicker PD345. For years, it has been a staple in the hands of elementary students, high school student, college students, and some professionals. 3 sizes were available, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm, with various color combinations, all in plastic, until recently, when a PD355 metal barrel Quicker Clicker was found. HAPPY JOY!!!!

2 additional models with the same actuation mechanism, the JetClic PD335 and the SetClic PD515 have recently come to light as well. The former has an integral plastic pocket clip, but otherwise looks about the same as a PD345 and the latter has a TechnoClic pocket clip and a screw on eraser cap, moving farther away from the Quicker Clicker's design elements, but still has the same pushbutton and nose.

There is definitely a love/hate relationship with this pencil, especially in my case. I had numerous Clicker's growing up, in 0.5mm and 0.7mm, and did countless miles of writing. (sentences, dictionary pages, but we won't go into my behavioral transgressions at this time) The side click lead actuation really is a neat innovation, but for those of us that know, it can be a total pain in the ass/hand.

Look at the newest invention by Uni/Mitsubishi, the Kuru Toga. This pencil actually rotates the lead while you are writing to keep the pencil profile the same in relation to the paper's surface. (I think I described that right...) A somewhat un-needed mechanism, as most mechanical pencils have plenty of room to prevent the clip from catching on your hand as the barrel rotates in your hand whilst writing.

With the Quicker Clicker, the problem of barrel rotation is magnified quite a bit, in my opinion. The pocket clip can not be repositioned or removed, to prevent it from catching on your hand, and is located farther away from the end than on most other mechanical pencils. The other issue is the side click button will rotate away from the thumb (the digit used to actuate the lead advance), making it irritating to rotate the barrel back so the button can be pushed. Can also be uncomfortable, with the pushbutton against the side of your palm/fingers. This can be controlled, but you have to make a conscious effort to keep the barrel in the proper orientation for pushbutton operation.

Notwithstanding the above 2 issues, for an inexpensive mechanical pencil, I feel the Clicker's write quite nicely, especially with how light they are. The oversize PDE-1 eraser was excellent as well, since it is a REAL eraser, and not an afterthought like on the majority of mechanical pencils. The funky green color was a bonus. :)

Sadly, with changing times and market shift, Pentel decided to retire the original Quicker Clicker design. The redesigned Clicker was given a rubberized grip, a clear plastic nose (cheap plastic, too...) and was just overall economized. It is a poor IMITATION of a Quicker Clicker, in my opinion. 2 thumbs down for Pentel on this pencil. They really need to reissue the original Quicker Clicker in all the available colors, including the non USA colors. (I'll get to that) But just in 0.5mm and 0.7mm. I doubt there is very much demand for the 0.9mm these days, and from what I have learned, plenty of stock is available outside of the US.

One last little irritation. The choice of colors in the US market is not all of the colors ever available. Completely clear barrelled Clickers with various colored nose and pushbutton, white barrel Clickers, and the aforementioned metal barrelled PD355 Clicker were never available in the US market, as far as I know. Neither were the JetClic and SetClic. An absolute travesty and total lack of marketing acumen. Again, two thumbs down Pentel.

Well, there you have it. My thoughts, opinions and ramblings on the Quicker Clicker. And may I also say, Pentel is in no way a terrible company. In fact, I consider them the finest mechanical pencil manufacturer of all time. But like all companies, and people too, they have made some very poor choices.

Thanx to George's Supply Room blog for suggesting this topic and for getting on my ass to finally do it. :)~

PencilPorn
Here are all of my Quicker Clickers. As far as I know, I am lacking 2, a white one, and a 0.7mm in all medium light blue, not with black nose. I know where the latter one is.... You know who you are that hasn't sent it yet. :)






























PD345 is generally used for all sizes by most, and is interchangeable with QuickerClicker as well.

Germ

lastwinj at yahoo dot com
Ebay Scinnimin The Collection

Couple of New Pentel Additions Today

Been awhile hasn't it? I am trying my hardest to get more unique pencils, especially Pentel and Pilot. Pickings are real slim these days. :( But I do have a few more up my sleeve.

Pentel Bravo 2 P247. 0.7mm version of the p245. Pretty neat if you ask me. I had never seen one b4. Doubtful you will again.


Pentel 100E. Never b4 seen. Dates from the time of the 350e and PS350. Basically, this is a longer version of those 2. Pretty sure this was for the Japanese market only. Looks new. May part with this one. For some reason, these uber vintage Pentel just don't do it for me. Here are a couple of photo's:



Another vintage Pentel 5 arrived as well. This is the 2nd edition, with the c-clip holding the mechanism in. As you can see in this one, it is missing and I have removed the internal barrel. Never knew it, but it unscrews. Wicked!!!! Non original nose. You guess that, right? Yep, that is a drafting tip, from my stash of accugraph tips. Fits perfectly fine. :)




Germ

lastwinj at yahoo dot com
Ebay Scinnimin The Collection