Contrary to expectations, initial sales of mechanical pencils were sluggish. Stationers criticized its metallic outer shaft for being cold to the touch in winter or clashing with the traditional kimono. Nevertheless, Tokuji Hayakawa persevered.
Resistance to the pencil stopped abruptly when a large order was received from a trading firm in Yokohama. This was prompted by the pencil's popularity in Europe and the United States. Hearing of the demand in the West, Japanese wholesalers began to snap up the pencils as soon as they came off the production line. Demand quickly exceeded supply as wholesalers everywhere pressed him for more of his products.
The inventor established a new company, Hayakawa Brothers Shokai, which focused entirely on manufacturing metallic mechanical pencils.