PEN 15 club: pen CIL club OR "clutch" and "hold" are synonyms, that's weird

My endless onward march of consumption / acquisition ... marches ... onward, I guess: I have copped a new special friend! It is a Caran d'Ache Fixpenci 884. It is another 2mm lead holder, clutch pencil style (so when you—or, I suppose, I—advance the lead, you're harnessing the awesome power of gravity, not limited by the throw of the lead provided by a click of the button). This is a style well represented in my art supplies box, so not exactly a patch for a major hole. But it's been a minor grail pen(cil) for me since I discovered both my thick thirst for lead holders (see above) and also my steep affection for the Caran d'Ache 849 ballpoint form factor, which latter discovery took place in a two-step process: first, I saw one on The Gentleman Stationer, and mentioned it to Noodles, who, second, got me one, whereupon I fell in love with it immediately, and have been with only very rare exceptions not without it ever since.

So, when my pal took me to The Vancouver Pen Shop, and I saw one, I thought, well as well here as another, and I moved to have it, with money.

Eagle-eyed observers might note that this Caran d'Ache Fixpencil 884 is red, a perfect color for a writing instrument, and a good match for the 849, a beautiful shape for one. One might surmise that it is aluminum, the correct material, and I believe this surmise to be fact.

I pressed into service this pencil immediately, and have found it well-suited for all normal tasks: whether deployed for list-making, sketching*, or putting in a shirt pocket to look impressive / fancy, the Fixpencil 884 is fit for purpose!

(List.)

A couple things that I found surprising. First, the name seems different everywhere I look. Here, I'm deferring to what's written on the barrel. I don't know what a 884 is. I don't know why half the pictures I see of what looks like the samefa king thing say "2mm" and mine doesn't. I don't know! Second, I don't know what kind or grade of lead is in there, but I know I think it's nice, whatever it is. Third, please enjoy another picture.

(Another picture.)

Bask in its glory. Its sleek, appealing form, as though streamlined for efficient speed. Its potent color, strong in any and all lighting conditions. All this I understood, immediately. What I did not know, did not clock or comprehend, until I put these two beautiful objects together, is that my Caran d'Ache Fixpencil 884 and my Caran d'Ache 849 ballpoint may be sisters ... but they are not twins.

(Nestled. Snuggly. Similar, but NOT the same.)

This is a strange and confounding fact to me. But not one that doesn't delight.

* Also doodles both erotic and non-