November 2017 – Nimrodd's Blog

This series of pencils is kind of an oddball. Most other series (besides the original P203/P205/P207/P209 pencils) have a purpose behind them that you can see. For example the PF330 series for Film and the Sliding Sleeve pencils. I am not sure what the purpose behind this series was, nor why some of them had the odd short carry clip on them.

This short carry clip, comes out the bottom of the band, which will make the pencil sit almost 1/2″ (12.5mm) higher out of the pocket. When I first received these pencils, all but one of them used this short clip, so my assumption was that this is what these pencils came with, and someone changed out the clip on the one that used the standard clip. I have come to find out in corresponding with other collectors, that it looks like some also came with the standard clip, as they received a bunch of them with that.

The time these were available also seems to have been very limited, probably starting around 1990-91 for the Generation 5 pencils (based on the scarcity of these) and probably ending in the late 90’s with Generation 6. According to some correspondence, it looks like the Generation 6 pencils were released around 1992.

I first acquired all of my P210 series pencils in March 2010 from about 3 different sources. I could only get 1 each of the Generation 5 pencils, but got a bundle of 5 of each of the Generation 6. Even now, you can still easily get Generation 6 P215 & P217 pencils off eBay, so this supports my supposition that the Generation 5 pencils were only manufactured for 1-2 years in low volume and the Generation 6 pencils were produced over a longer period and/or at a much higher volume.

P215A Generation 5 Black

The first version of the P215 is the “A” version in black that matches the P205. The only differences are that the text is in gray instead of white and the short carry clip.

P215N Generation 6 Gray

The common version of the P215 that you can find now is the “N” Gray body with white text. Mine came with the short carry clip.

P217C Generation 5 Blue

Of the P210 series I own, this is the only one I purchased that had a standard clip on it. This Generation 5 uses the same body as the P207C, only with gray text instead of white.

P217C Generation 6 Dark Blue

Again, the Generation 6 version of the P210 series changed from the color of the P200 series. This P217 is still a “C”, but it is dark blue with white text instead of the lighter blue. It is even darker than the PS315C.

P219G Generation 5 Yellow

The Generation 5 of the P219 is the same yellow as the P209, but again with gray text and the short carry clip.

P219B Generation 6 Red

This last P219 pencil really stands out in red (code “B”), with the white text. Again the change of color from Generation 5 to Generation 6. The only reason I can think of to do this would be to prevent confusion between the P200 series and the Generation 5 P210 series.

This time I am writing about the PF330 (PF335, PF337 & PF339) series of pencils that Pentel put out for writing on plastic film. These pencils are marked so that they can be identified easily that they contain the specific lead for this use, although they can use standard pencil lead as well.

All of the pencils in this series have the same creme color body, with the text and text color denoting the size (brown/dark red for 0.5mm, blue for 0.7mm and orange for 0.9mm).

PF335 Generation 2

This is one of the two newest PF series that I have received. I got it in June 2017 in a collection of pencils. This is the only PF pencil I have that does not have any text on it, but it does have the molded 0.5m/m on the bottom. All of the PF335 models have a sliding sleeve tip. Because these pencils use a special lead, they do not normally come with an eraser, but rather a black rubber stopper. I received this particular pencil with a standard green eraser instead of the stopper, indicating that it was probably used with standard pencil lead.

I classified this as a Generation 2, but I am not absolutely certain that the text was not removed from the side, since it looks to have been well worn. I know that there were Generation 3 of these pencils, but this is the only one of these I have ever seen.

PF335 Generation 3

Here is a true Generation 3 PF335 with brown text. In this generation, the word FILM is all capitalized in the text, as well as the molded size on the bottom of the pencil. I picked this one up at the beginning of 2017. I can see this version of the pencil on the cover of the German 1975 catalog (at the bottom right), so it goes back that far at least.

PF335 Generation 4

One of the earlier pencils in my collection, from 2012, this Generation 4 pencil with brown text is where Pentel dropped the molded size from the bottom of the pencil.

PF335 Generation 4 (with Red Text)

I received this pencil (and another one) in a batch at the same time as the Generation 2 above. The only difference between it and the Generation 4 above is the color of the text. Even more than the pictures above, when they are sitting side by side there is a very distinct difference in color.

PF335 Generation 5

This pencil was in my dad’s effects when he passed away and I took it for myself. He used regular pencil lead in it at his job, but I have replaced it with the correct Film lead.

Generation 5, as commented about in other posts, was a major changeover in production for the P200 family of pencils. In this case, the most visible exterior change is the common dropping of the “/” in the mm, and on the PF pencils, the word Film is now in upper and lower case.

PF337 Generation 4

I picked up this pencil (as well as the PF339 Gen 4) in 2014. It uses the 0.7mm sliding sleeve for the tip, and does not have a molded size on the bottom. As mentioned at the top, this pencil uses blue ink for the text.

PF337 Generation 4.5

I picked this pencil up in 2012 and for the longest time, I thought that this generation was a distinct generation, not just a hybrid due to changing the manufacturing process and using up older parts (Generation 5 outer body & Generation 4 inner body & cap).

PF337 Generation 5

I picked up this pencil in 2016 and it is a true Generation 5 (as opposed to the Generation 4.5 above). The interior pieces are now all Generation 5 to match the outer body.

PF339 Generation 4

The 0.9mm pencils do not have a sliding sleeve available, so the PF339 pencils use the standard 4mm fixed tip on them, as well as orange ink for the text. Otherwise, this pencil is the same style as the other PF Generation 4 pencils.

PF339 Generation 5

I am not sure when or where I got this pencil, as I have lost the receipt and the information is not in my database. It is the standard Generation 5 with the upper and lower case and no “/”.

Month: November 2017

P210 Series