Hirosaki turns snow-felled park trees into mechanical pencils
Cherry and red pine from Hirosaki Park become 0.5 mm pencils, including wood from a pine estimated at 260 years old. Each is offered for a ¥15,000 donation.
Mechanical pencils
Aketsubaki reveals the hardware behind its five-year pencil redesign
A mechanism designed for quieter writing, threaded brass support and maker-performed conversion put the engineering beneath Aketsubaki’s decorative barrels in focus.
Steef’s ST Draft Black Model pairs a brass grip with a sliding sleeve
A sliding guide sleeve, revised pushbutton and brass grip feature in the maker’s October 18 reveal. Price and release date are still to come.
Uni puts an aluminum grip on the Jetstream 4&1
A revised body and five colors surround four ballpoints and a 0.5 mm pencil. The ¥1,430 model reaches Japan October 15.
Kaweco’s Lunar Sport pencils get two shades of purple
Light Purple and Shadow Purple arrive October 14, with 0.7 mm pencils in both finishes and a confirmed 3.2 mm clutch version in Shadow Purple.
Speedgraph puts lead refilling on the side of the pencil
Arctefact’s 0.5 mm preview pairs a side-access reservoir with a ring-operated retractable tip. The mechanism is the attraction; launch terms remain unsettled.
Staedtler brings walnut to the 925 35 with BAUMGRAPH
A walnut barrel, familiar metal drafting hardware and a ¥6,050 Japanese price. A September news sheet points to late-October shipment.
Wingback brings Oxford Blue to its mechanical pencil
A £195 brass pencil, three lead sizes and a 20-micron ceramic coating; Wingback says the first Oxford Blue batch has 25 of each item.
Sailor’s October prices double two SHIKIORI pencil ranges
Time Tide rises 40%, Profit 27.3%, and one five-piece eraser pack triples. The exact Japanese prices—and the parts distinction worth checking.
Caran d’Ache’s 849 Horizon pairs a 0.5 mm pencil with sunrise colors
Japan’s ¥12,100 limited gift set brings opposite pink-to-yellow gradients to a ballpoint and mechanical pencil.
Nohara’s gold-finish pencils cost ¥1,100 more
The August increase targets gold-plated hardware. Nohara is separately pointing to late October for reservations covering the first half of 2027.
Hands Shinjuku expands its pen-and-pencil department by 20%
The September 30 reopening brings more space for ballpoints and mechanical pencils, KAYOU+ and Luddite, and hands-on pop-ups.
LAMY’s summer editions bring six colors to its pencil range
Three Japanese retail announcements confirm pencil options across Safari and AL-star.
Platinum gives PRO-USE 171 a pastel turn for October
Silky White and Silky Pink pair matte barrels with pink-gold details; the adjustable drafting mechanism stays.
KITERA’s limited LIFT+ colors get an October 1 retail launch
Gunmetal and navy are priced at ¥2,500 before Japanese tax; KITERA confirmed an October 1 launch through retailers across Japan.
IJ Instruments’ pricing dilemma: one price worldwide, or a US surcharge?
Lindsay Wilson’s August update reveals the shipping-cost choices behind a handmade pencil.
Caran d’Ache’s blue 849 set drops to $56 in its US promotion
A ballpoint and 0.7 mm pencil, a $13.50 reduction, and a September 30 closing date.
TOHO releases Godzilla × Sanrio Kuru Toga at ¥990
The licensed edition adds new artwork to Mitsubishi Pencil’s familiar platform.
Pentel’s October prices: Kerry +25%, Orenz Nero +16.7%
The model-by-model changes behind Japan’s October 1 price revision.
PUMA gets three metallic looks on the Kuru Toga KS
Kutsuwa’s ¥990 Japanese editions put red, cyan and dark-blue designs on Mitsubishi Pencil’s 0.5 mm rotating-lead platform.
IWI builds a Japanese retail campaign around an 18-pencil FUSION display
A Taiwanese pencil, a Japanese retail campaign and the value of letting someone try it.
Kuru Toga Dive Full Black ships at a 40% premium
The ¥7,700 Japanese model is a continuing product, with a distinct finish and care requirements.
Kokuyo launches Magic Fit with a six-pocket grip
Six air pockets, a stubborn molding problem and a ¥450 pencil.
Two Flicta multipens, ¥550 apart
KAYOU+’s Standard and Basic share a format. Weight and the grip area help separate them.
Loft adds two exclusive STAEDTLER 925-35 finishes
Black Blue and Black Black are listed at ¥3,300 each in the Japanese autumn campaign.
Rhodia scRipt turns ten in Blue Jeans and Magenta
Two limited colors arrive together, with matching pens and 0.5 mm pencils.
Hands adds three mechanical-pencil lines to its 50th-anniversary range
Exclusive GraphGear 1000, DelGuard LX and STAEDTLER 925-35 editions join the August program.
Nagasawa puts a green signature on Kaweco’s Special
A 0.5 mm retailer edition pairs the long octagonal pencil with a key motif.
BIC cites mechanical pencils in North American growth
Reported stationery sales fell. The North American commentary still gives pencil readers something to notice.
ORVO II adds automatic feed without chasing heavyweight status
KAYOU+ puts a new mechanism inside a roughly 10-gram pencil.
Tombow adds five Japan-only MONO graph cat editions
Five limited designs join the established mechanical-pencil line at ¥660 in Japan.
KAYOU+ sets a 3,000-unit run for its KOHAKU anniversary collection
A numbered AIMVISION PRO anchors the ¥22,000 five-item set.
SEASAR and Pentel announce a ¥5,500 brown Kerry
The collaboration adds a matte cap and translucent barrel, with delivery allocations from July through November.
Mechanical pencils take all three top spots in GetNavi’s vote
Shindbat, AIMVISION PRO and LAMY safari KURUTOGA inside lead a 71-product field.
Flair expands into wooden-pencil manufacturing in Surat
The company’s Surat investment extends its pencil business; the disclosures distinguish sales scale from factory spending.
Staedtler’s July prices reach drafting pencils, leads and spare parts
The 925 25 rises 12.5%; Night Blue rises 16.7%. The replacement-parts column deserves a look, too.
Pilot’s July price list: S20 rises 15%, S10 about 15.4%
The mechanical-pencil rows—and two replacement-eraser packs worth noticing.
Hemingway adds copper and brass anniversary leadholders
Three models in brass and copper, £15,685 pledged, and a July delivery target for the anniversary production run.
AIMVISION PRO receives Red Dot Design Award 2026
The award record credits LONT’s Taku Yahara and identifies the drafting pencil’s construction.
Staedtler’s 92515 Metal combines the grip and nose
The ¥1,320 Japanese drafting pencil adds an integrated metal front end, with four lead sizes in black and two in white.
