In an inexpensive lot buy I grabbed mainly for an Esterbrook Dip-Less pen with a 9314 nib, I also received most of a Mitsubishi Jaguar 0.5 mm pencil, missing only the eraser and cap/button. I scrounged a cap that fits well enough for now, dropped some lead in and started clicking.
No lead, just lots of clicks. Unscrewed the tip and checked the jaws and closer, but all appeared normal. I dumped the lead back out, made sure I could see daylight through the tip, then looked for daylight through the jaws.
Nada. I used a cleaning wire from an old Pentel to probe up through the jaws, and hit a soft obstruction. Shining a light down into the lead magazine I saw ...
The eraser, jammed down into the bottom of the magazine.
Lacking any .020" piano wire, or a rather long, slim wood screw, or anything else with which to remove the plug, I've set the pretty thing aside for the moment, and started researching the thing.
Almost nothing! I found one photo on a Chinese blog and that was about it. I'll try translating "mitsubishi jaguar pencil" into Japanese and see what I get with that, but the mystery is surprising.
Does anyone here know anything about these pencils?
Hah! I managed to dig enough of the eraser out that I could pull it out, along with its metal eraser cup and attached tip cleaning wire. A new eraser in the cup, and a cap yoinked from an unmarked Chinese MP and I have a functional pencil! The cap isn't identical to the original, but it's the right size and shade of chrome, so I'm happy.
Thank you for taking the contact to Mitsubishi pencil.
As this is the old product, we only have the few information on this.
This item start produce from 1973, but we could not know when this
production ended.
Also, it was sold in Japan and few other foreign countries from 1980, but
we do not know the actual country that it sold.
Thank you,
Shinya Murauchi"
Not much, but in line with my assumptions. If I were running a company of that type, I'd be keeping much better records!