Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/07/25/low-center-of-gravity-mechanic.html
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Low center of gravity
I stopped right there.
PS. My apologies, I started drinking at lunchtime.
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I bet this thing is fun to twirl.
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Is it bad that my first thought was it would make a good projectile?
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Soooo…the opposite of an astronaut pen?
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Looks like the low-rent cousin of a Kuru Toga:
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An extra click and it turns into a dart. Sort of a James Bond gimmick.
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Ha! Kuru Toga. It’s like a car with an automatic transmission. You gain the convenience of “auto-sharpening” lead rotation at the expense of tip feel/rigidity and interactivity.
Next you’ll be singing the praises of programmable thermostats and coffee makers with scheduled brewing! #ManualLife
In all seriousness though, that’s just a fancy Kuru Toga. Most of the models are all cheap plastic. There are many fine mechanical pencils for which the “looks like a low-rent cousin of” comparison is more apt.
This is what I want from a mechanical pencil: A cap or a retractable point. Anything else puts holes in my pockets, and that’s where they’re going to have to live if I’m going to use them.
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You want low CoG? Ohto Super Promecha. Adjustable lead length per click, adjustable guide pipe length, and retractable guide pipe. It’s also really heavy. And not that cheap. And also kinda gimmicky.
http://www.jstationery.com/ohto-super-promecha-mechanical-pencil-0-5mm
I would need a pant-pocket protector, though. But I would seriously use it without second thought!
A search for “pant pocket protector” did bring up this long-form article on the history of the pocket protector. 
http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/rise-and-fall-of-the-pocket-protector/99999
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I love these, but Muji’s pencils are just rebranded/minimalized Pentel Graphgear 500s (some share the plasic cap, some have a better metal cap). Get em at amazon! http://amzn.to/29XBxJx
Behold, the Uni Jetstream 4&1:
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Oh… so torn right now. On the one hand every single X-in-one writing implement I’ve bought has been crap, but this is a Uni… Fuck it. I’m buying one.
It’s a gem. You’ll love it.
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