Kaweco’s green Special Brass 0.5 mm collaboration pencil is back in production. The edition brings together the German pencil brand, Japanese metal-coloring workshop momentum factory Orii and writing-instrument magazine Shumi no Bungubako. The magazine’s October 15 update says an additional batch is underway, with its sales schedule still to come.
The pencil first went on sale at the magazine’s stationery festival on July 11. The collaborator says 200 sold in one day. A September update had already signaled further production; October’s report provides a closer look at the work behind the green barrels.
Eight sides to finish
Orii works in Takaoka, Toyama, a Japanese center of metalworking. Founded as a coloring workshop in 1950, it built its business finishing traditional copper-alloy objects before extending those techniques to interiors and everyday products. The collaborator’s workshop profile places the pencil within that longer craft history.
The green pattern develops through chemical treatment and heat applied to the brass. Its marbling varies from pencil to pencil. According to the partner’s production account, the octagonal barrel required particular care: Orii had mainly colored cylindrical writing instruments, and the finish now had to work across eight adjoining faces.
Coloring is followed by a urethane coating and polishing, with laser engraving among the finishing stages. The brass-colored lettering remains legible against the mottled surface. The attraction here is in the meeting of a regular, machined shape and a finish whose pattern changes from one example to the next.
A finished surface to look after
The edition is listed at approximately 141 mm long, 10.5 mm across the barrel and 28 g. It uses 0.5 mm lead and comes in a black metal tin with a patterned paper sleeve.
The seller’s care instructions deserve attention. It advises wiping away sweat during long use and cleaning off sweat and finger oils with a cloth afterward. The protective clear coat can be damaged by some sweat and abrasion; buyers should read the care notes before treating this as an ordinary bare-brass pencil.
Where the next sale stands
The official shop currently shows sold out and a Japanese price of ¥26,400 including tax. That listing is useful reference, but the next batch’s quantity, order date and delivery timetable have not been announced.
Shumi no Bungubako says it will publish the sales schedule through its website, social accounts and Shumibun Club shop. A US release, US price and international purchasing arrangements remain unconfirmed.
Photographs reproduced from the collaboration partner’s product and manufacturing report. Photography: 鬼澤礼門 / 北郷 仁 / 荒木優一郎.
