One day while checking out at our local Staples I saw this black mechanical pencil on the counter. The body was triangular in cross section which I though was interesting. It has three indents near the writing end for one's fingers to rest in. It was only $0.99 so I bought it, thinking it to be a 0.5mm (there are no lead size indications on the pencil). When I got it home I discovered, to my dismay, that it was a 0.7mm pencil! Here I thought that I had wasted $0.99 on a pencil that I'd never use.

Then I got to looking at it and one of my prized Pentel P203's. Hmmmm, seems to be the same length. Could it be a Pentel clone? Indeed the interior mechanism and tip were a Pentel clone (not the first I'd encountered). So I removed the body from a P203 and replaced it with the body of the Metrix. It fit like a glove! Now I have a different, yet familiar, 0.3mm pencil!
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That sounds like interesting! Was it difficult to switch the bodies? Do you have pictures? :)

No pic's as I do not have a digital camera. No it wasn't hard at all.

The Pentel P-Series, now renamed "Sharp" in the US, has a removable internal barrel. This inner barrel is an integral unit which consists of the brass clutch system and spring, plastic barrel (lead reservoir), eraser and end cap. The outer part of the clutch is threaded to accommodate the chromed lead sleeve/cap. It also incorporates a hexagonal section which locks the tube in place inside the barrel. Remove the lead sleeve/cap and the entire unit pulls out from the other end.

I've encountered 2 P-Series "clones" and a look-alike over the years. The first clone is a Korean knock-off by Micro called a Jedo. I's a 0.5mm black pencil. The barrel, internally and externally, is a true clone. The internals are similar but not as well made. There is interchangeability between the Jedo and the P-Series. The second is the Staple's Metrix. I guess it's not a true clone on the outside because it's triangular in cross section. But internally it is. The internal barrel is also inferior to the Pentel. The 2 are interchangeable. The look-alike is by MonAmi. It looks very much on the outside like a Pentel, with a funky looking sleeve/cap. But there is no interchangeability between the MonAmi and the Pentel.

I was introduced to the P-Series long, long time ago. The P205 0.5mm was my work horse when I worked for McDonnell Douglas, way back in the day. But it is the P203 0.3mm that stole my heart. I've had one ever since. When I found out that Pentel of America was going to stop selling them (declining sales I was told) I bought several and had a couple "overhauled" for free. The I find that PoA sold the GraphGear line, including a 0.3mm version! What's up with that? Anyway the P203 is available from Pentel of Japan so no worries.
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