Mechanical pencil

Hi,

I am looking for a certain mechanical pencilthat I came across on Alibaba.com. It is called "Wormgrip mechanical pencil" and I heard from one of my firends, that it's very hard to find. Does anyone have any idea as to where I can buy it in Japan.


Sincerely

Tokyu Hands maybe?

Itoya in Ginza has a huge selection of writing implements.

Dale

Thank you for your answer. However, I already checked those two stores' websites and they don't seem to have what I am looking for.

Just to ensure that you know what I am looking for, the mechanical pencil is called "WormGrip -機械鉛筆" in Japanese. And it is manufactured by KOTOBUKI & CO LTD. Has anyone seen it or bought it before in Japan?

Again, your effort and willingness to help is greatly appreciated!

Like this?

http://www.alibaba.com/product/jp118204868-115869463-103159620/WormGri...

Yes sir! That is exactly what I've been looking for. Thank you for your prompt reply. Do you happen to know where to buy it?

Joseph,

As is indicated on the Alibaba site you found, Kotobuki is an OEM supplier which manufactures for all of the major stationery brands such as Pilot, Pentel, Kokuyo, and Zebra, so trying to search on the web for Kotobuki pens will be a non-starter. Secondly searching on the web for "Worm grip" does not turn up any Japanese sites, so that appears to be a translated (mistranslated) name.
Finally, it would help if you indicated whether you are hoping to find this pencil in Japan or whether you are trying to buy from overseas by mail order. If it is the former, Tokyu Hands is definitely the first place you should head - as other people have already suggested.

Thank you again for your quick response, Sir! I actually live in Canada so I will need someone to buy it and ship it to me by mail order.

I also tried searching for this on Tokyo Hand's website. But nothing related to "Wormgrip mechanical pencil" turned up. My assumption is that one can only find good brand mechancail pencil on Tokyo Hand's online shoping website such as Pilot and Uni mechanical pencils. So I will not be able to verify whether Tokyo Hand carries this mechanical pencil I am looking for or not. Do you know what I should do in this situation?

Joseph,

The Tokyu Hands website has 544 different types of mechanical pencil - complete with images, so maybe you can work your way through the pictures and look for one that is similar to or identical to your elusive "worm grip" pencil.

http://hands.net/cate/stationery/writing/mechanical-pencils/mechanical...

You cannot order via the Tokyu Hands website from overseas, but once you have identified the actual brand name of the pencil you are looking for, you might be able to source it on Amazon.

Hi Dave,

Thank you very much. I worked my way through the Tokyo Hands website but still I wasn't able to find anything related to what I want. Do you know of any other stores that might carry the "WormGrip mechanical pencil"?

Thank you again!!

Joseph,

If Tokyu Hands don't have it, then you are probably wasting your time looking any further, but as it looks very cheap and low-end in the image on the Alibaba site, it is possible that it is sold un-branded to 100 yen stores like Daiso, or office supply websites like Askul and Forestway. You should also consider the possibility that it is not even sold in Japan at all, and is supplied solely to overseas customers - in which case you will have to contact Mr Wakushima and order a container load of 10,000.

Or Shimojima in Asakusabashi that is wholesale district adjoining Akihabara.
http://www.shimojima.co.jp/eng/index.html
Ah, rakuten to ship?
http://goo.gl/0O7gA
"WormGrip" means soft grip?

BTW, Japanese call the mechanical pencils "シャープペンシル (sharp pencil)" or omitted "シャーペン (sharpen)".
Today I heard "mechanical pencil" for the first time...(^_^;

About KOTOBUKI, they work behind the scenes as Dave in Saitama explanation.
http://www.koto-com.co.jp/
Here is their patents.
http://www.ekouhou.net/disp-applicant-000156134.html

I've seen a lot of similar pencils around. What aspect makes it interesting to you?

Btw, I think the wormgrip might be referring to the extendable eraser (it uses a worm drive to extend/retract).

Hi yllwsmrf,

Thank you for your response. The part of "Wormgrip mechanical pencil" that interests is its big grip and twist eraser. Since I live in Canada, I am unable to directly order anything from Tokyo's local stores.

How about this?

http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/2006/09/pentel-twist-erase-...

Dale

Hi Dale,

Thanks for your response. But I am looking for a mechanical pencil with a bigger grip and more similar to the "Wormgrip mechanical pencil" which I was looking for. Nevertheless, thank you very much.

You could contact and ask the manufacturer which retailers they supply. There's an address and fax number in their Web site that was posted above by 'ajapaneseboy'.


株式会社 壽 (Kotobuki & Co.,Ltd.)
〒350-0815
埼玉県川越市鯨井138番地
(138 Kujirai, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama, 350-0815 JAPAN)
TEL 049-233-3388 FAX 049-233-2624 (Japan's Country code is 81)

Can someone do me a favor by calling them and find out which retailers they supply? For some reason, the number I dialed is invalid.

I contacted the Kotokubi company today and I discovered that they don't offer customer service in English. Can someone please do me a favour by calling them and find out about which retailers they supply in Japan?

Hi, I also have a bit of a mechanical pencil fetish. Could you please tell me where to buy this mechanical pencil? The brand is "Dr. ion".