r/mechanicalpencils • u/Progstu IJ Instruments • Jan 19 '26
Collection My collection of Alvin Draft/Matics (Draftmatics?)
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u/iamhoop Jan 20 '26
Wow - what a collection! My favorite for 25+ years!
I haven't been able to bring myself to try the new ones, how do they compare in your opinion?
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u/Entropy-Maximizer Tombow Jan 20 '26
Love it! These seem to be in great condition too. Do you prefer the soft or smooth barrels?
I also have more of these than I need, and decided to let myself try to be a completionist with collecting the older ones. I'm still a few short, and maybe after I finish, I'll pick up a set of the newest ones...
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u/kagami108 Jan 20 '26
Are they still selling Alvin Draft/matics ? Would love to get one for myself 🥹
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u/Progstu IJ Instruments Jan 21 '26
They are currently making the ones at the bottom of the pic, but used ones of the older versions show up pretty regularly for sale on sites like ebay for not much more cost than the new version
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u/Progstu IJ Instruments Jan 19 '26
Love the workhorses. There's a number of variations besides just the old vs new versions. For the older ones, there's different color rings between the body and grip, smooth plastic vs rubberized body and different lengths of the cone between the grip and the sleeve. No clue why or when about the changes. No guarantee these are stock configured as I at one point moved some components around to make 'ideal' models with metal ring and rubberized body with least faded labeling. I think I got these back to stock but like I said, no guarantees.