Kuru Toga Model Comparison (Over a dozen Uni KuruTogas explained!)

In this video we discuss more than a dozen different Kuru Toga models. We hope this helps you select the right KuruToga for your needs!

 

Below is an AI generated transcript of the video, If something seems weird, check the video itself:

Okay, are you ready to talk about some Kokuyo? Yes, in fact, I have a question for you. Yes, go ahead. Do you remember what the very first Kuru Toga that we got was like? I mean, was it not the standard Kuru Toga? And it probably came in, um, booger green and it was probably just 0.5. That's my guess. I think it was just 0.5. I think it was. I want to say it was blue-green and pink. Yeah, that sounds right. That sounds right. I don't even think there was a silver blue or black. Yeah, um, and was it, was it like 2010? Like, when do you know? I think it was even earlier. Yeah, I think it was 2009. Yeah, it was very... I feel like we've had them almost as long as we've had our store. It was one of our earlier products, I think. Yes, and I remember it being our first sort of viral product, if that even makes sense to say. But I think it kind of sold out immediately, and people were contacting us saying, "I want to order it, but first, I want to check to make sure you really have it." Oh yeah, um, people were, I think, discussing it on Reddit. Yeah, yes, and I made some comments on Reddit about it, and it went kind of wild. Oh, okay, and it was thrilling. Alright, well, fast forward to today, and there are over 10 different variations of Kuru Toga models. And that doesn't count like when they do limited edition colors and designs. Like, I'm just talking about the different kinds of Kuru Toga that you can now choose from. And, you know, even though we interact with these products all the time and we've been selling them for years, I started getting really confused about all the different variations. So, I thought it was a perfect time to do a video comparing different Kuru Toga models. And I am sure there are a lot of people out there that are like, "You know, I'd like to try a Kuru Toga, but what are the differences between all of them? And, you know, which one makes the most sense for me?" So, I thought we could break down like the different models, um, in this video. If you're... can I, can I back you up just a second? So, what is it about the Kuru Toga that might make someone want to try it? What is it, what is the innovation that spawned this whole family of products? Yeah, so the like original Kuru Toga engine is as you're writing it's turning the lead to keep it sharp like this. So, if you're using a normal mechanical pencil, it's going to end up like with a wedge, and so your letters are going to have, you know, varying widths and, um, kind of quality to them, um, and or your drawings. You know, whereas with the Kuru Toga, it's going to keep your lead nice and sharp. You're not going to get that big wedge. Um, so that was the sort of like innovation of the original Koga engine. Yeah, and it's purely mechanical. It's kind of like those watches that wind themselves up as you just move your arm around. I think the tiny movements that you make with your hand and with the pencil, it can only sort of rotate one direction. And it's really a clever system that you don't even have to think about it. It just happens forever with the pencil, and it keeps the lead at that sort of cone-shaped tip instead of a chisel-shaped tip. Yes, and, um, the original Kuru Toga and most Kuru Togas, um, but not all, actually show you the engine in action. So, you can actually see it doing its thing when you're using it, which is kind of cool. And so, I'm just kind of showing you how, like on this, this is the original Kuru Toga, and on that grip, um, you can see through to the engine. Yeah, okay. So, that's what sort of took the world by storm. And I do want to point out also, nobody else is doing anything like it even now. We're talking about, you know, 15 years later or whatever. Um, yeah, and I think they've really leaned into this, um, feature because if you are looking at, and of course, I talk specifically about Mitsubishi Uni Japan. I'm not, um, like talking so much about like other markets or in different countries. But, um, if you're looking at what is available from Mitsubishi Uni Japan in Japan, almost every single mechanical pencil they make, not all, but almost every single one now is a Kuru Toga variation. Excellent point. Like the rest of their mechanical pencil lineup is pretty small. Yes, yes. Um, okay, so, um, but while we're talking about just like the original Kuru Toga engine, I wanted to say a few things about it that are going to help people know if like this is the right pencil for them when they're picking a Kuru Toga. So, one thing that's important to note about the original is that, you know, it's the cheapest in the lineup, um, with the exception of the Kuru Toga Pipe Slide, which is the same price, but I'll get into that later. But like all the other Kuru Togas in the lineup are going to be more expensive than the Koga original, the Kuru Toga standard. The Kuru Toga standard also comes in three different tip sizes, which, um, it's rare for a Kuru Toga to have the 0.7 option. Um, so it comes in 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7. Now, um, I can't remember if this was always the case, but currently, if you want the 0.7, it only comes in this blue color. So, I mean, it's limited in options if you if you want that larger tip size. Um, the most color options are going to be available in 0.5, and then a handful of color options in 0.3. Um, and then it does have an eraser refill that, um, comes in little packs of five. So, if you tend to use the eraser on your pencil and not a separate eraser, you're going to be able to easily replace these. They come in these little packs like this. Um, it's called the Eraser Refill S. And a nice way to keep... we sell a ton of those. People like to refill the erasers. There's really, they're, they're kind of small, but it helps keep the shape of the pencil right to have it small, but they're very easy to refill. Yeah, and let me, um, show you. So, the eraser is under the cap here. So, you know, if you're going to use the eraser, you're going to want to try not to lose your cap, cuz you can't buy the cap separately, but you can buy the erasers. I'm sure there's a lot of people with Kuru Togas out there. They just end up like this because they lose the cap and never to be found again. But, and if you erase a lot, maybe you would want to leave it off anyway. But, um, right, yeah. And you've got a clip, of course. Um, almost all the Kuru Togas have a clip. I'll be showing you one that doesn't. Um, but got a nice comfortable grip. Yeah, and just overall, a nice inexpensive pencil that is going to keep, um, like beautiful letters that are staying sharp as you write. And one thing I would say is especially for the original, but kind of with all the other ones too, this is like a battle-tested product. This has been around for a long time. We consider them to be extremely extremely reliable. Yeah, people have consistently loved them for decades, over a decade. And it's like it's just, it's very solid. Yeah, and I would say, as long as you're not, um, putting, trying to put like way too many leads in at once, you're, you're likely not going to run into jamming problems. You know, it's a very reliable pencil. Generally, we say two leads is what we recommend. Don't put in more than two into any mechanical pencil. That's kind of the rule of thumb. Um, before we move on from the Kuru Toga standard, I would want to mention that it's one of the models that does limited edition bodies, like, you know, relatively frequently. Um, so like right now, say maybe twice a year. Do you think? Yeah, I was going to say once or twice a year at least. Um, but so like right now, we have some limited edition colors. Oh, maybe not, maybe not. But we do have like limited edition character Kuru Togas right now. So, like, this is Pikmin, you know, the best game in the Nintendo Universe, obviously super awesome, super Japanese, very fun, very cool Nintendo series. Yeah, so that can be fun. I mean, some people are going to be into that, some people not. Um, do you think we're ready to move on to the next like feature? Well, I kind of wanted to talk about Pikmin 2 battle mode for a little bit more, but that's off topic, so save it for later. That's a different video on a different Channel probably, and it can threaten marriages if you're not careful, Pikmin 2 Battle Mode. Okay, so, I kind of already started mentioning this when I was talking about the Koga Toga standard but there's also the Koga Pipe Slide. The Kuru Toga Pipe Slide is not what I thought you were going to bring up as the second member of the family. The reason I'm bringing this one up now is just because it is the exact same price point as the Kuru Toga standard, and it's got that same original Kuru Toga engine. The body looks almost exactly the same. The exception is the nose is different. And actually, let me just pull out one to compare. So on the Pipe Slide, this has a feature where a pipe cover basically comes out and then retreats as you write. I hope I'm describing that right. But so it's that last little metal piece that holds the lead at the very bottom. And so, as you wear down the lead, that little metal piece sort of retracts into the body, into the nose. Your pipe is still the lead from breaking. Yeah, so a good option for people who maybe have tried the Kuru Toga but are still managing to break their lead. You know, this is going to help with lead breakage. So maybe people who are quite heavy-handed, right? Because just to reiterate, it's always supporting the lead way up until the tip of the lead. And as the lead gets shorter, it shortens with it. And so it continues to support it way up at the tip. And without the pipe slide, you click it, and now your lead is at its most extended and most vulnerable to breakage. And it wears down gradually. Yeah. And so you don't want to protrude the lead far out of there, right? For the pipe slide to work, you don't even actually want to see almost any of the lead extending beyond the metal part. Yeah, just a little like it's not as tight in there as like the aren is for example. But that’s a whole another video, but like another video. Yeah. And actually, I think they do a nice job on the kind of showing. Let's see, they're kind of showing you. Yeah, good point. Nice on the package. They got a picture of how it's supposed to. Yeah. And so you don't want the you don't want that, you don't want to like for your let out really far because then you it won't have that protection, right? So you know, this one uses that same eraser refill, which I've managed to lose already. Here it is, the Eraser Refill S, because it really is almost identical in body except for that nose of the pencil. Something that might be interesting to mention before we move on to the next pencil is that when Kuru Togas originally came out, the other thing they were that they had brought out at the same time and that they were really like talking up was the Nano Dia, which was a diamond core lead. They do not, they have basically stopped in the Japanese market making that Nano deal lead. And they have moved to the SM, what they call the smudgeproof lead. So basically, they've improved the lead beyond the Nano Dia, but both the Nano Dia and the smudgeproof, the idea is it has a this is the new Eco packaging by the way, but the idea is that it has a very strong core, and which also helps reduce breakage and it helps, like especially in the case of the new smudge-free lead, like it reduces the kind of like messiness, lead mess, the graph dust dust that can end up. That is a really interesting point though, because that might be the one thing that's different if you bought a standard green point 5 Kuru Toga today compared to that same one in 2009 or whatever. The lead would be different. Yeah, yeah. And from what I can tell, the American market might be still selling Nano deed, and maybe it's because they're like selling through stock. I'm not sure. It's maybe it's a marketing thing. But I have noticed that, but in Japan, it’s a thing of the past. So now it's the smudgeproof lead, which in case it's not obvious, is very good for left-handed writers, right? Because then when they're their hand is like dragging across the paper, it's not like smudging everything they just wrote. Excellent point. Yeah. So any questions before I move on? No. So, we got the standard, we got the Pipe Slide, and now are we going to go with the successor or the second entrance into the family? Well, I'm going with the rubber grip next. I don't know what you're thinking of. Okay, fair enough. What were you thinking of? The High-R? I feel like that was another wave of Kuru Toga madness, but we'll get to it later. I have an order that I have thought to do this in. Frank, it makes more logical sense the way you're going, but I was just getting nostalgic about it. Okay, don't worry, it's coming. Okay. So, the next one I'm going to talk about actually is the Kuru Toga KS, which is a newer one, but the reason one of the newest, the reason I'm talking about this one is because it's basically just like they decided to improve the Kuru Toga standard, but it's still at a low price point. So we're not getting into the yes, higher-end ones yet. So, let me, and it wouldn't be that surprising to me if the standard one went away in a couple of years, and the KS was sort of the replacement. Yeah, I kind of wondered if that was going to happen. But here is my KS. I was like, where did they go? Okay. So, the Kuru Toga KS just goes up a little bit in price, not a lot. It still uses that same eraser refill S. In fact, you'll find most of the Kuru Togas use that same eraser refill S. There's only a couple that don't. And what they've done with this one, I think they've made the body a little more sophisticated looking. Actually, I'm going to take this out of the Mhm, it's obviously, I should take this out of the package. Especially kind of the grip. I think they're kind of thinking, okay, people understand the mechanism now. We can be a little more understated about showing the rotation through the grip. Yeah. And what they've done is they've put an elastomer grip on this that is supposed to be, you know, help make writing even easier, more comfortable. And they've also, they say improved the Kuru Toga engine with this one. Very exciting. So, you know, whatever that claim means, because they're still using the original Kuru Toga engine, but this is a new and improved Kuru Toga engine. And yeah, well, it makes sense that they'd have refined after this much time and making it better. Yeah. And supposedly, like riding with this newer engine, it's like reduced more blurring. So, this is not something that I really identify with when I'm using it. It's not a problem I have when I'm using mechanical pencils. But maybe it's a problem. Some of our customers are going to be like, "Oh, heck, yes!" So, it's they've made the engine a little bit more stabilized, supposedly. And yeah, so that explains the Kuru Toga KS, um, I do think it is personally a little more attractive. Yes, I was going to say it's kind of more sleek and modern looking. Yeah, sorry, I'm gonna I would really like to show this out of the package. This new eco-friendly packaging is sometimes difficult for me to get into here. Hold on, but it's worth it. And we still support it definitely regardless of whether it's worth it or not. They have rules they have to follow now. So, um, right, expect more Eco-recyclable packaging. And the grip, so the grip is comfortable, but also provides this like protection from slipping while you're writing. And so, I think between that and the more stabilized Kuru Toga mechanism, it's just, I think the idea is a writer is going to have even more like control when they're writing. Yeah, that's excellent. I like the KS a lot and was highly anticipated. We definitely were getting emails and calls about when are you going to have it? How do I sign up to make sure I know when it's available? And yeah, people were excited and that's one that we have like limited edition colors of. I think like if you were to look at our site right now, the standard lineup is quite attractive. And then I think we have at least two batches of limited edition colors of that one at least at the time that I'm recording this video. So, I like that they're doing some really nice limited limited colors that just some of them are more like stereotypically like feminine colors, some of them are more yeah masculine, but they're all pretty sophisticated looking. I feel like they'll pick a theme or sort of a design idea for a series of limited colors and they usually go quite nicely together. And they usually do some 5s and 3s and they're usually very popular releases. Yeah, worth noting that the Kuru Toga KS comes in 3 and 0.5 but not 7. So if you're someone who really really wants to stick with A7 Kuru Toga, Kuru Toga KS is not yet an option for right. Okay, so now I'm going to go on to the Kuru Toga rubber grip. All right, excellent. Okay, so continuing to go up a little bit in price, one thing that's kind of weird about this pencil in my opinion is it does not have a clip. So it has this thing on it to help keep it from like rolling off your table or whatever, but it it's got a nub in it. It's just got a nubbin. Doesn't have a clip. So that is an and I do think some for some people that is a really attractive sort of design feature that it makes it look a little more striking that it doesn't have a clip. And I think too, it's just really important when you're going and picking out a Kuru Toga because there are so many. It's just good to know like, oh, this is if you're considering this one, it does not have a clip. So if you're someone who like needs the clip because you always attach it to your notebook or something, this wouldn't be a good option for you. But if you're living the pen case lifestyle and you always keep your pens and pencils together in the case, then it's kind of nice not to have this extra piece on there that you don't want need. I actually prefer things usually not to have a clip. I think it's sleeker, but yeah, you know, it just depends on how you use it. So the Kuru Toga rubber grip only comes in 0.5. So that's another consideration. Just comes in three colors and really it just has this rubber grip on it that's supposed to be nice and comfortable. I was going to make sure you mentioned the rubbery grip in case it wasn't obvious right there in the name. Yeah. Uh-huh. And of course that original Kuru Toga engine in there, which you don't see as much in this one, but you do see the movement right here through the middle a little bit. So this one's a little more hidden with that mechanism compared to the original two, but which goes along with this sort of understated sleek design that you were talking about. And it also uses the Eraser Refill S. Excellent. I get the feeling we have some customers that have multiple entrance in the Kuru Toga lineup that they use for different things. And it's nice for them that they can just get a five pack of eraser refills every once in a while fits and all their all their Togas, not every Kuru Toga. But yeah, I think it's nice that they're pretty much stuck with one eraser refill for almost all the models. Yeah, but okay, so any questions before I move on? No. Let's keep going. Okay, we're going to keep going up in price while we're talking about you know comfortable grips. We're going to talk about the Uni Alpha gel Kuru Toga, the Uni Alpha gel K, sorry, because there's also a Uni Alpha gel pencil that doesn't have the Kuru Toga engine, but that's you know, not the Kuru Toga lineup, but it's worth mentioning, right? We're getting into the long name section of Kuru Togas here. We get a lot of modifiers in some of these product titles. Yeah, so this is our Alpha gel. It's a fatter pencil. It also only comes in 0.5, but you know, maybe about six colors, a few more color options. I think I only pulled one to show for the video though. And based on that name, it's probably clear to people, but it's a squishy grip. It's a gel. It feels like a gel-filled grip. Yeah, can I just definitely got some gift? Can I just read you something about the grip because I feel like that's going to be better than me trying to explain it? Yes. Okay, so the grip is made of a soft gel-like material called Alpha gel, but here's what's super interesting to me. Alpha gel is not a Uni Mitsubishi product. Alpha gel is trademarked by the Taica Corporation and it's used in other products. So Alpha gel is like a thing, and Mitsubishi happens to use it for a couple of their products. Okay, so it's like a yeah, a special thing. And it's like layers of gel. Is it gelatin? Can you eat it? Is it like Jell-O? Wait, hold on, hold on. Let me just keep reading because you know, okay, continue. It's a three-layer structure that provides a soft and chewy grip, but don't chew it. Yes, but don't chew it. Chew it. Yeah, people do like chewing pencils though. But that's true. I that's maybe a translation error. But the important thing is it somehow is like soft but manages to be firm at the same time. So if you are somebody who if you have arthritis and you want to try a Kuru Toga, honestly, I would recommend this to you because it's got the little bit fatter. It's a little bigger, right? Bigger can be good for people with that that struggle with really squeezing down hard. Yes, yep, yep. And the way I should in case it's still confusing to people about this layered grip. I think what's going on is like two of the layers are super soft and squishy and one is more firm. And so that's how you end up with the it's firm but it's also soft. I don't know like the outer layer is more firm than the inner layer. Yeah, but actually, it's a it's a great pencil again if you are somebody who gets like cramps from writing. You really might want to consider the Uni Alpha gel Kuru Toga. Yeah, it's excellent. And I feel like the colors and the I don't know how to put this, but it's almost like there's a clear shell around the color when you're looking at the barrel. It's just got a really cool effect. It's a very kind of luxurious looking pencil. It's pretty. It's pretty um it's pretty um, so of course uses the Eraser Refill S if I didn't already say that. And I believe I already mentioned it comes just in that 0.5 tip size though. Oh yeah. Okay, so by now maybe some people's heads are starting to explode, but this is it. Just is there one with even yet another modifier that makes the name even longer? Yes. Do I have it here somewhere? There's the Uni Alpha gel Kuru Toga switch, right? Okay. This is as long as it gets people after this. The names start getting shorter again. Don't worry. Oh my God, so um, so I almost missed putting this one in because of how just like confusing it gets. This is why this video is necessary. So okay, it's basically everything I just said about the other one. Starts looking a little different. Here are some examples, but let me tell you, it also has a three option. So you're you know, if you're someone who likes to go finer and actually, it's easier to go finer with the Kuru Toga because your lead is less likely to break. So um yeah, so you know, it's got the three and the five um, it's what was I going to say? Oh yeah, the switch part. I need to tell you what the switch part is. Yeah. So believe it or not, there are some people that sometimes want to turn off the Kuru Toga engine, Frank, right? Um, and what I would say specifically might be certain people who are have been trained in different types of drawing. Have built up the muscle memory to constantly be rotating the pencil in their hands already. That I have I've heard this from that that may be true. Um, I do you think those people like using the Kuru Toga at all? I don't know, but it could be that it could be that certain types of drawing or whatever you want to get that chisel. Well, I can tell you why they have the option on there if you'd like. Why don't I just speculate forever instead of having the correct answer for our viewers? Go ahead. So if you're needing to write really fast, like say you're in a lecture and you're trying to write notes while your professor is going on and on, turning off the Kuru Toga engine is better because you can actually write faster. The Kuru Toga engine actually, in order for it to work properly, does not do well when you're writing like crazy. Basically, it's not going to feel as smooth if you are trying to write crazy fast and you have that engine gone. That makes sense. That makes sense. And it's a little confusing because in cars if you turn off the engine, it goes much slower, but in pencils apparently, it's the opposite. Uh-huh. So just in case this video wasn't confusing enough, yeah, so the Kuru Toga Alpha gel switch, Uni Alpha gel SW, it's too long. Yeah, but it's a very nice pencil. It's got a nice clip. I really like the packaging too. I mean, I realize that's not a big selling point for people who are going to use the pencil, but it could be. But I like it. It just looks really cool. It's nice as a gift. And you turn off the engine, the K engine up here is, you know, you turn that, but at the clip, right? And it’s simple. It's like yeah, and then it actually has like, you know, it tells you if you want to hold the engine, you just right-turn it that way. It's got a little some little text on there so you know whether it's off. And again, another reason to go if you if you're like wanting to try the Alpha gel but you maybe don't even really care about the turning the engine off, but you still might want this pencil if you're interested in the point three because you know, it has that feature and the other one doesn't. So um, yep, yeah. Any questions you have about that one before I move on to get another Kuru Toga pencil? No, but I do want to say I think that's kind of as complicated as it gets. And from here on out, there's still very interesting features and variations, but it seems like it gets a little simpler. Maybe not. We'll see. No, no, Frank, it does not get simpler. Okay, okay. So what's next? Um, so next is the Kuru Toga high-grade model that you wanted me to talk about a long time ago. And I I think you're right though. I think this was the second kind of like model released. Oops, yep, sorry. Okay, so let me just show this here. Um, so basically, what they did was they took the Kuru Toga engine and they said, hey, we want a pencil that looks nicer, more sophisticated, just a higher-end pencil. And yeah, um, so you know, of course it's going to have a a higher price point. Something interesting is I've seen this pencil called so in the Japanese market, they call it the Kuru Toga high-grade model. Um, in other markets, I've seen it called the Elite. Oh, I didn't know that. That's interesting. Yeah, so um, it comes in two tip sizes, the 3 and the 0.5. No 7. Um, and I believe the 3 only comes in blue. So you're like really Limited in color option if you want the 3. Um, yeah, I'm just looking at uh, if you're interested. I have this down as a December 2010 product. Oh wow. Yeah, so I think that probably does mean that the original was 2009 then. Yeah, I think you're right. And we started in 2008, I think. So it really was. Oh, I just found it. March of 2009. And I have to go back uh and correct something because it looks like it came in green, black, pink, silver, blue, and orange. Oh, right, right. But was it just five? Can you tell that from what you're like looking at? I think it was just 0.5 and I don't know if we had all those colors immediately. I think we did, but does it matter? I think that it you know what it might matter. Imagine 30 years from now, some college student doing research. Okay, they found this video. We're here for you. Okay, but I want to focus on the comparisons for people who are confused about all the different options. I don't I want to do a history video right now. Okay, all right. So um, back to talking about the Kuru Toga high-grade model. So this one uses a different eraser. So this one uses the Eraser C, which is a that black eraser that only two of the Kuru Toga models use. I believe, but um, by the end of this video, you'll know the answer to that trivia question. You're never gonna get. Yep. Um, same thing, you know, it comes with five refills in there. Um, under a nice looking cap. Um, okay, so I've already mentioned 3.5, but the 3 is only in blue. So what they did with this pencil is they gave it a low center of gravity, which is more ergonomic, like um, yeah, um, and that way you get a more stable writing experience. Um, the aluminum grip, um, which you can kind of see the texture. So it's like aluminum, but then there are these ridges. Um, should I open it? Well, whether you do or don't, uh, what I was thinking about this is this was made for people who were used to sort of the drafting pencil profile, okay, where you have that lower center of gravity like you were describing, a metal grip with some texture to it. It really, that’s what I was thinking. Um, it's a when this one came out was yeah, it's a more stable writing experience than the original Kuru Toga. And I feel like professional, yeah, like people who were doing professional drawing with pencils tend to use ones that have these features. Yeah. And it definitely has a more like high-end elegant look to it. Yep, especially compared to that original Kuru Toga. Yeah, like I think if you compare it to something like the KS that actually is more modern, it gets a little fuzzier, but when you have those two side by side, it's very clear which one's kind of the standard and which one's the pro. Yeah. And then um, one other thing to mention just um body wise, it's the top part is um, would you say tapered? You know, a little slimmer than the bottom part. Um, it's and I believe even though the top part looks metallic, I don't think it is. I think it's a lighter weight plastic to keep the weight down toward the nose. I believe. Yeah, because the grip is aluminum. Yeah, the blue part is not metal right here. Yeah, but I think the components like inside of it, of course, there's me. There's yes, metal in there. Yes. Yeah, that's a good point. Okay, so the next pencil that is the same price point as that high-grade is the Kuru Toga roulette. Um, now unfortunately, we're going to have to show you just a picture because we're currently out of stock of the Kuru Toga roulette just temporarily. So I couldn't um, you know, pull it for this video to show you. But basically, the Kuru Toga roulette comes in just one tip size, the 0.5 millimeter. Um, and it only comes in two colors, the silver and black. But it has a knurled grip, so a different, you know, a different type of grip for those that like that that knurled more textured grip, which is in a metal grip, but it's intentionally rough to give you that much more grip. Yeah, right. It also uses the Eraser C, that black eraser refill that the high-grade SL Elite uses. Um, so the next one we're going to talk about, we're gonna have to show a picture again because they came out with these recently, the Kuru Toga metal. And yeah, it's you know, a high-end lovely pencil. They sold out immediately, and they can't keep up with the manufacturing of them. So we've just been waiting for our restock for a long time, but they're super attractive. And if you're waiting for them, guess what? So am I, because I didn't even keep one for myself. That's why I don't have one for this video. And let me make my uh Normal Public Service Announcement. If you would like to be notified when something like this comes back in stock, you can go to our website and go to the product page for this item and even pick which variant you'd like to be notified about. And you can put in either your email for a one-time email notification or your phone number for a one-time text. And when and if we get that product in, you'll be notified one time ... If you would like to be notified when something like this comes back in stock, you can go to our website and go to the product page for this item and even pick which variant you'd like to be notified about. And you can put in either your email for a one-time email notification or your phone number for a one-time text. And when and if we get that product in, you'll be notified one time and one time only. So that means if you miss it and some other people sneak in there before you and get it, you have to sign up again for notifications if you want to be notified for the next shipment. But that is that is our option for you if you'd like the best possible chance at getting something like the Kuru Toga metal when we get more. Yeah, so um, the Kuru Toga metal only comes in 0.5. It's currently when we get our restock, it's just three colors, but they're great colors. Um, what you can see from the image we we put up, you're looking at the great colors now. Yes, they're great. Um, so the grip of this one has been it's metal that has been like blasted in such a way that you get this like textured fine grooves that make it easy to grip. Um, and so in addition to it just having a really attractive metal body, it has you know, this kind of special grip. Um, yeah, it's very cool. It kind of flew off the shelves and like you said, we're trying to get more. Yeah, it also has this resin part that they call a nib damper. Oh, so um, that is absorbing shock while you're writing. The whole idea is that it's they're trying to create this like really stable feeling while you're using the pencil. Yeah, um, and it really is not a cheap pencil. So you know, that is a consideration for this one. They go back to that eraser refill S that almost all the other Kuru Togas are using. And it's hidden under this really elegant looking cap. I really wish I had one. The colors of it are so good. My favorite thing about it is I think they did such a great job on the colors of it. Yeah, they are amazing. Okay, so the next thing we're going to talk about is the Kuru Toga dive, but before I talk about the Kuru Toga dive, I want to say I was quite annoyed that they came out with the Kuru Toga metal, which clearly they can't keep up producing when they already had this issue of they came out with a Kuru Toga dive and they couldn't keep up with producing it. It's like we hardly ever get any of our restock. Um, I think the other day we got like two. Yeah, you know, we finally got some dive and we got two dive and they were gone immediately. Yeah, so I hope that eventually they can figure out um, I know part of I think part of what's going on is they're having to make sure all of their manufacturing like facilities are up to the Eco Like rules. Yeah, so I wouldn't be surprised if they've had to like close some down or re you know, like you know, build new ones in some places or like, but I don't really totally know what's going on. All I can tell you is that some of our Kuru Toga dive um we are still owed from when we originally ordered them like two years ago. I was going to try to look that up. It has been a while. Yeah, it was like the very end of 2022, I think that we originally were able to order them. Yeah, and we first received some in June, I think, of 2023. And yeah, so I mean, but just to give people an idea, but again, as Frank mentioned, you can sign up to be notified, but worth noting if you're notified that we have that back in stock, it probably means we got just like a few back in stock and like a lot of people got notified. So you got to be fast right now if you want one of these. Um, but everyone has the same fair shot at being notified. We don't give any advanced notice, especially for something like the Kuru Toga dive. No, no. And we're not, yeah, we don't do pre-orders for one thing. I wouldn't want to take someone's money and then not be able to give it to them for you know, months and months. That doesn't seem right to me. So um, months and months is optimistic, but I do have one to show you. So um, so yeah, the Kuru Toga dive is a capped mechanical pencil now. Very rare. My favorite feature of the Kuru Toga dive is um that the cap is like has this metallic. What am I saying? My favorite, you're getting hypnotized by it. No, my favorite um feature of the dive is actually this magnetic cap that um it is so cool. It's like while you're putting it on, the last little bit just you know, the magnet like sucks it on there for you. I love it. Um, the Eraser and it makes a nice click sound. The Eraser, the Eraser Refill S, is in the butt down here. Yeah. [Music] um, let me see. Let me look at my notes to see what else I need to tell people about this because it's expansive. Um, okay, so does the cap go on the back? I kind of remember there being something weird about that, like maybe it actually and that also, it's like I think it's like the it's like a magnet that's holding it on there. I think. Yeah, it's very very cool. So my gosh, it's awesome looking. It's awesome feeling. It's comes in some great metallic colors. Um, but I I want to just remind. Can I read some of the marketing material because I don't want to leave off features of this pencil. What you were saying about how they came out with the metal and then before they could actually supply it, they came out with the dive. No, no, no, I didn't. It's the opposite. Oh, the opposite way. But they also did it just within the dive where they came out with a new color of dive before they can even supply the original colors, the Aurora purple. They're like, hey, we have a new color. And we're like, great. Can you just give us all the other ones you already owe us? Yeah, I'm glad they're innovating. I'm glad the machine's working hard. But yeah, it's a little mystifying from the outside. Yeah, so um, okay, so I'm just I'm gonna read you some. I'm just gonna straight up read you some marketing stuff. Please. Knocking the pencil to advance the lead while writing can be distracting. The Kuru Toga dive advances the lead by using the force of the lead hitting the paper. So basically, um, uh, what it's got like a auto feed, right, um mechanism going on there. Is it makes s? What what I'm saying? So maybe in the same way that there's a mechanical rot of the lead, there may be a very very gradual mechanical advancement of the lead. Yes. And so you're not going to be having to worry about knocking while you write all the time. You know, yeah. So um, this is a high-spec model in the Kuru Toga Series where the lead rotates to continually sharpen and the amount of lead that is automatically advanced can be adjusted to suit. So there is this like you can do it. You can put it on min, mid, or max. And so that would be like the amount of lead that it is protruding for you at a time. So you know, if you have this pencil and you've found the mode that you really like, share with us in the comments what you know, how you use that feature because um, I'm very interested to hear kind of like what people prefer. The first thing that comes to my mind, of course, is that there are leads with different densities, right? And that if you're using a softer lead, then you'll wear more away more quickly. And you'd probably want it to advance at max. And if you used a harder lead, you'd wear lead away more slowly, and you probably want it to advance at min. But like you said, people would just want to experiment because probably how hard you press down and the type of paper could have an impact and all kinds of other. Yeah. Yeah, I'm really eager to hear how people have sort of like found that they like using it and kind of like why, like you know, just some use cases. I'd like to hear about. Um, so they say the automatic lead advancing mechanism of the Kuru Toga dive is the world's first mechanism that can advance the lead without dragging the pencil tip. So the idea being, hey, we figured out how to do this and keep the writing experience still really smooth. Yeah. So hey, people who use this um, me this like feature and tell us is this how you feel about it? Is there marketing material correct? Does it hold up to your real world? Yeah. It uses the force of the pencil tip touching the paper to advance the lead for a set number of strokes. Because the pencil tip does not touch the paper, you can continue writing without losing the writing feel. So they maybe mean the pipe. Much to consider, yeah, or the yeah, because obviously the lead has got to be touching them. Yeah. Yes, this is not a hover pencil. Kuru Toga hover. Now we're getting into metacil territory. Yeah. Um, the amount of lead wear varies depending on the hardness of the lead used and the writing pressure. So kind of what you were starting to talk about, the Kuru Toga dive allows you to adjust the amount of automatic lead advancement in five stages, so you can choose the amount of automatic advancement that is best suited to you. I think people just need to like see how they like using it because this is just a mouthful anyways. Um, oh yes, the cap also um has like the purpose of helping protect the tip if you drop the pencil. So it's like yeah, very protective protection. Um, oh, a mechanism is installed inside the cap so that the lead protrudes from the tip as soon as you remove the cap. This is a primo pencil, guys. Yeah, this is about as primo as it gets. But too bad if you want one. Just kidding. I'm just kidding for the moment. For the moment. Yeah, I’m you know, hopeful that they'll figure out the supply and demand issue soon. But I feel like that's kind of like the story of the world right now, like how many things is it hard to get now that it used to not be. But anyways, yeah. And I gotta say, the Aurora purple. It's hard to capture in photos how that looks in real life. It's got a really cool shimmering quality to it. Well, and it's like it's like the it's like the Aurora Borealis. It's like um, you know, got that multi-color luminescence kind of. It's hard to nail down. Um, okay, so after that whole mouthful, did I even say that it only comes in 0.5? Probably. I I don't know, but we're saying now. Yeah, it just comes in those four colors for now if you can get it. And um, again, uses the Eraser Refill S that almost all the others use. And thankfully, we only have a couple more pencils to go, Frank. I think I might know what they are. Okay. Alright. So somebody must have thought that the Kuru Toga engine wasn't rotating the lead fast enough. So they came out with the Kuru Toga advance. This is the Kuru Toga advance. Also, another um, you know, the Kuru Toga Advance is one that will sometimes come in limited colors. Um, I just pulled these. These are the ones I pulled for now. The Kuru Toga Advance um, just to kind of show you, comes in three different tip sizes. So we're back to getting more tip sizes here. Um, um, more expensive than the standard, but goes back to being in the under $10, you know, price rate. So more reasonable again. Um, I have this one down as August of 2017. Oh, when we were working on launching it, just to put it in a historical context. Yeah, that seems about right. I feel like it was you know, quite a few years before this came out. Um, so basically, the original Kuru Toga supposedly rotates every 40 strokes. And so this one is rotating twice as often at every 20 strokes. So that just gives you an idea. I think you know, it's good to keep it even sharper. Yeah, right. Um, and they call it the advanced W speed engine. Again, I wonder if maybe people who like really soft leads might benefit from this. Yeah, it could just be a style thing or your preference could maybe have to do with lead density a little. Yeah. I thought um, one thing that I was reading about um on Mitsubishi Uni's website that that really kind of resonated with me and I understood was, you know, if you're writing like intricate kanji or you know, like intricate kanji Japanese characters, you want that to stay really sharp. Otherwise, your character just some of the strokes blur into the other strokes. And it's right. it's not the crisp that you need for it to be like um, nice and legible. And you know, especially if you're writing small. So I you know, and thinking about it, I was like, this makes total sense to me that especially in Japan, they were like, oh man, like when you're writing intricate characters, you need you need even sharper point. Of course, the other thing you can always do is like go down in tip size as well in the Kuru Toga lineup. Um, but right, lots of 3 millimeter options. Yeah. And the idea then is if you wanted, if if you're someone who's going to write like or draw really intricately, then the 3 Kuru Toga Advance would be awesome, I think, for you to try. Yeah. Um, let's see anything else I want to say about that. Again, uses the Eraser Refill S. Um, wide range of colors. I feel like you can you can still get the crisp sharp um, uh writing even if you're using soft lead with this pencil. So um, yeah, you know, it's a it's a good one. Remind me to talk a little bit about the lead and a. I mean, I know I touched on it. We'll come back to the lead. Yeah. Um, oh, the Kuru Toga Advance also has the slide pipe in it. The pipe slide, the slide pipe. Oh, that's a good point to mention. Yeah, the little metal piece of the no that comes out and goes back in to protect the yep. So it's equipped with that slide pipe. Um, that's interesting. I wonder if that's why. So there is some evidence, but not enough for me to like declare it. I speculate that the Kuru Toga pipe slide might not be around forever. And I wonder if it's because they're like, well, we put this in the advance. I don't know. Yeah, maybe, maybe not. I mean, when I say this lineup is just a lot to keep figured out. Okay. I'm gonna I'm just this may come across as salesy, but if you really like the Kuru Toga pipe slide, you better buy enough to keep making it worth their while because it's in the danger zone in terms of feature crossover. Where did that one go? Oh, it's here. I'm already losing everything. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I don't want to say that for 100% certainty, but it's not it's like hard. It it's not. It was very hard to still find in the Japanese catalog. It was. And it kind of seemed like it was a they're not using it anymore. More, you know, when you can find those like that, that could be an indication how prominent it is in the catalog. Can tell you about how what its future might hold. And I had to find it by item number. Like it's not like if you if you're in Mitsubishi Uni's website and you're looking at the Kuru Toga lineup, it's not there. Yeah. So um, not a good sign. Yeah. Okay. That was a little bit of a tangent. But so the Kuru Toga Advance um, rotates faster. Has that pipe slide. So a great pencil for people who want to keep those letters crisp. Okay. Very. That's who should get this pencil. Um, and then finally, we have the Kuru Toga Advance upgrade [Music] model, um, which we this one made it a real splash when it came out. Yeah. So actually, the Japanese name for this and what we call it because it's a Japanese name for it is the um Kuru Toga Advanced Metal Punching Grip. It's which is a very weird name. It does not punch you. Don't worry. Yeah, the grip has been punched out with little. Yeah, actually, it's awesome. I'm going to open one so I can show. I'm pretty sure I could. I've done a video just on this pencil. And if that's the case, which I'm pretty sure it is, I can link to it from this video. Um, so if you want the more detailed, give a nice closeup uh photograph here too. Yeah. So um, the uh, I kind of want to change the name to the Advanced Upgrade Model because I think it's so much easier to like understand that that's what. But anyway, the metal punching grip is what we call it. It's an adorable Japanese translation name. Okay. So it you can get this in point 3 and 5, which is nice. But what I want to do is I want to actually show everyone. I'm going to take it apart so I can show you how cool this. So it's um, you know, basically holes have been punched out to create this grip in the aluminum. Yeah ... It's really neat. Yeah, it's a very cool look. It actually works really well as a grip too. Yeah, it's not just for show. Now, there are people who can't handle the hole pattern. Um, there's like a phobia, trypophobia, I think it's called. Yeah, patterns of holes or yeah. So non-patterned holes get. And I I actually have seen someone, I think it was in the video I did of this or maybe, you know, I had one of these in a video and somebody was like, so you should not get this pencil if that's you. You'll know. You'll know because you want me to put it away right now if that's you. Um, but this is the pencil without the metal. And look, doesn't it look a lot like an advance without the looks? Almost exactly like. Yeah, that is that is very cool. Also, just just to clarify, even though Trypophobia has phobia in the name, it's really more of a discomfort than a fear. Okay. But it's very interesting. Well, you wouldn't want the pencil, probably. Um, no. So this also is like, oh, sorry, the nose also has like, it's weighted and it's aluminum with a yeah. This is brass weight in it. I yeah. So it's very pleasing to hold, the way the weight is balanced. And it's got the same tapered top as some of the other models we've discussed. The Kuru Toga high-grade is this one. This is what the that kind of profile. Yep. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Oh, so in my attempt to try to straighten everyone out on the different Kuru Togas, I hope I haven't just really confused people even further. You know, they're probably going to just release a whole new type of Kuru Toga as soon as this video is published, right? Yeah. Then we're just gonna have to do it again. We'll just have to do another one. Did I already mention this? Be I was obsessing so much about the grip that obviously it's the it is the Advance Plus that metal punching grip. So it is doing that rotation twice as fast and giving you the crisper 20 strokes. Yeah, rotating every 20 strokes instead of every 40 strokes. Um, yeah. So I they. And did you say which eraser? The S. So the only ones that don't use the S are the um, the higher the Kuru Toga high-grade model and the Kuru Toga roulette both use the C. Yep. Yeah. So um, okay, just real quick. I want to mention lead before we go. I want to say the Kuru Toga roulette was launched in November of 2013. Oh, the Kuru Toga R. Not not too far from the high. The Kuru Toga roulette. That's the one we don't have today because it's sold out, right? Um, yep. Okay. So a little bit about the lead. So I already mentioned they're not doing the Nano Dia anymore, right? And so now they do this smudge-proof lead. So you can get it in the cases like this. Now, this is like a recycled plastic or like biome mass. So it's following their plastic reduction rules. Um, however, if you're like, no, I want to even more Eco couple things that they've done with this lead line that I really appreciate is you can get the lead refills that come in cardboard, so you can keep reusing your case. But also, if you're like, I don't want the plastic at all, you can get one of these um cases, which would literally last you forever. Um, they're gorgeous. I love them. So when you get them, they come pre-filled with your choice of um, uh, the smudge-free smudge proof lead. But you can um, um, you know, refill with what, like however you want. You know what I mean? Like you could use this for whatever kind of lead you want. Um, and remind me, is it just 0.5, 0.3? Are your choices there, right? Yeah, it's only HB density lead, that that comes pre-filled. Yes. Yes. Right. But you can, of course, refill it with your very favorite. Yeah. Yeah. So but really, like most of the cost of buying this is going to be in the case itself. So if you don't totally love like HB lead or even Uni smudge proof lead, that doesn't mean this isn't a good Eco option for you. I actually think like if you know a mechanical pencil person who's also an Eco person, I think this would make such a cool Christmas gift. Um, yeah, it would. So it’s really neat. I really like it. It's like a zero-waste lead case. You know, and when you kind of open it, it turns into this little, it's kind of it stands up a little bit. So it makes your oh, yeah, that's right. I don't. It's hard for me to kind of like show on here, but you can actually lay it down like this. Yeah. And then you know, got your lead ready for it. It's so cool. I love it. It's nice. Very well thought. Gorgeous. It’s really nice and made in Japan. Says Japan on it. The only thing it says on it is on the front. It says Uni, like pretty subtly. And then on the back, very very subtly, it says Japan. Um, and then again, of course, you can refill with Eco refills. It's a really neat Eco product. Obviously, I'm a fan of it. I don't need to say any more about it, I guess. Um, um, one thing I want to sneak in here during the lead section is that if you remember, wasn't there a Kuru Toga branded lead? Yes, you're not crazy. There was. I'm sure it was probably Nano Dia on the inside. But it came in a like a little cylindrical case. And it was cool. Um, but it went away. Event. And now we're they're really just doing the smudge proof lead now. So um, you know, we'll see that might change. Maybe they'll. I think a lot of what's going on is there as they're transitioning to the more Eco um casing and packaging and stuff like that. They're just having to rethink some of their product line. So it doesn't mean that they won't yeah, come out with you know, more lead options in the future. But I think they had to at least be rethinking the way they package them anyway. Yep. Definitely. Yeah. Okay. Any other Kuru Toga comment from you, Frank, before we just open it up for everyone's questions, which I'll try to monitor in the comments? No, but I I'm I can tell you. I've kind of been looking back through photos of different Kuru Togas. That's where I'm grabbing out the dates that we were launching them. And I think we should at some point do an entire throwback Thursday video. Bring that series back for limited edition Kuru Togas because oh, that would be so hard. Any product like this that we've had over the years, there are so many cool limited editions that came and went. And it would be fun, I think, to share that with people. Dig into the archives and show them. Okay. Okay. Well, if you start getting it prepared, I'll do it with you. Okay. Alright. Um, well, I hope that everyone got the Kuru Toga mostly straightened out in their minds now. I still barely have it down, but I'm getting I'm getting there. Yes. Yeah, it's a complicated family, but there's a reason for each one to exist because they are different from each other in important ways. So I think this was a really useful discussion. And hopefully, it helped people if they're trying to figure out which Kuru Toga they that would be best for them. They hopefully they have a better idea now. Yeah. Okay. Till the next week. Bye.

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