Pentel | Black Polymer 999 | 4B

Pentel's flagship wood-cased pencil, introduced in Japan in 1986, built around a polymer-bound carbon-graphite lead that uses a polymer binder in place of the usual clay, which Pentel claimed wrote darker and was stronger and more break-resistant than conventional pencils and reproduced/photocopied well. The matte-black, silver-banded barrel was sold in grades from 3H to 4B for general writing and drafting, and a turquoise Japanese-market 'Copyist' variant (aimed at copyists/students) was still listed alongside it in Pentel's 2009 catalogue. Production ended around 2010, and it is now a scarce, sought-after collectors' pencil.

This specimen: Black Polymer 999 in grade 4B.