High quality mechanical pencil

In summary: I've never been able to get them to work right. The lead just keeps coming out in a continuous loop no matter how many times I twist the lead advance knob. I've tried different leads, different pencils, different holder...nothing works.The leads just keep coming out in a continuous loop no matter how many times I twist the lead advance knob.I have the same issue with my 24 Bic mechanical pencils. I've tried different leads, different pencils, different holder...nothing works.In summary, the author has switched from using old-fashioned pencils to using mechanical pencils, and has found that they are easier to use and write with. He recommends a particular type of
  • #1
dipole
555
151
I recently have made the switch to mechanical pencils from old fashioned ones. I have to say I'm really enjoying them and my handwriting has improved (I used to write very hard and dark).

I find that I really enjoy this particular kind:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IEE4/?tag=pfamazon01-20

because I like the "twist to advance" mechanism, which also makes the lead break far less easily. I figure since I spend a good 20-30 hours a week writing on paper, I should just invest in a high-quality refillable mechanical pencil (I am aware its possible to refill the sharpwriters). I want one that is similar in design to the above ones, with a head that you twist to advance or retract the lead.

Any recommendations? I probably don't want to spend more than $20 on a pencil.
 
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  • #2
I won't use anything but a mechanicl pencil, and I've used some very expensive ones over the years. I can't the say the expensive ones were that much better for writing. Is your use mostly for writing as opposed to drafting?

Maybe someone here will have found some great ones.
 
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  • #3
Always us this, have had it for years and refuse to use another...0.9 mm lead

http://www.pentel.com/store/sharp-mechanical-drafting-pencil-3 [Broken]
 
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  • #4
Yea it's mainly just for writing. I just think it'd be nice to have a good quality one, I don't expect it to actually be more functional. Plus it feels bad throwing away plastic pencils when they're empty, a non-disposable pencil will feel nicer to own.
 
  • #5
I'd love to use a quality mechanical pencil. But I easily misplace things, especially writing implements. So I have to buy in bulk. I buy Bic pencils by the dozen.
 
  • #6
I like the simple 0.5mm lead type mechanical pencils.
 
  • #7
High quality mechanical pencil? None here. How about moderate quality, affordable...and did I mention affordable :biggrin:?

Papermate Logo, 0.5mm. I don't know what hardness of graphite it comes with -- no matter, I go through them so fast. The refills I buy are HB. I go through a lot of graphite before I run out of eraser.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B0B1O2/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Cheaper by the dozen!
 
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  • #8
Dipole, those pencils are the cats meow. I use them exclusively. I hate the clicky kind that don't let you adjust the lead length exactly. Instead you have to click, then hold, then press the lead in, then release and hope the thing doesn't suck the lead back up!

I haven't found anything better than those things. Plus they cost like 2 dollars for 10 at my local grocery store. The papermate logo is way expensive. I was burning through the yellow ones because I would toss it when the eraser was gone, but then switched to using a real eraser, external to the pencil, and it works great.
 
  • #9
I only use these. I use them so much (and carry one with me at all times) that I go through 3 or 4 a year.

I have been considering buying a stronger pencil, but I haven't convinced myself that paying $30+ for one pencil is a reasonable investment.
 
  • #10
I have quite a number of mechanical pencils, but my all-time favorite is a Caran D'Ache Fixpencil 2. It is always lying on the top of my desk and gets used in preference to markers, pens, etc. It is very old-school, but it is a wonderful instrument. It was the preferred pencil for sketching at the eyepiece when observing with a telescope. The larger lead (vs other mechanical pencils) didn't snag or poke through the paper when the paper got a bit soft during the night, and it's a whole lot easier to shade sketches vs smaller leads.
 
  • #11
intwo said:
I have been considering buying a stronger pencil, but I haven't convinced myself that paying $30+ for one pencil is a reasonable investment.

What does that rotating thing on there do? The thing that selects from B HB etc? How does the lead advance? Does the lead come out in an analog fashion, or is it a sort of quantized click?
 
  • #12
I used to use a Scripto P950 (0.5 mm). I should have bought several, but at the time, I bought one. The one I had finally broke.

Apparently Scripto doesn't make them (or other pencil products) anymore.
http://www.roger-russell.com/scripto2.htm

Prefer the clutch/click motion to rotating the tip to advance the lead. I use HB.

I now I use a Pentel Sharp™ Mechanical Drafting Pencil.
http://www.pentel.com/store/sharp-mechanical-drafting-pencil-3 [Broken]
 
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  • #13
I have been using the same Staples mechanical pencil for years now. I bought a package of them so long ago that I can't remember. Whenever I used up the leads, I would take the leads out of a new one and fill the reservoir of the old pencil with them. However, at some also unremembered time in the past I bought a package of 24 Bic mechanical pencils. Enough for a couple of lifetimes. Just the other day I went to fill up my old Staples pencil again only to find that I had used up all of them and had none left. I went to replace the leads from the new Bics, only to find out that my old pencils were .7mm and the new ones are .5mm. I made a few marks with a new one to make sure I could withstand the change and found that I couldn't tell the difference. I don't know why I bought these Bic's though. It would have made a lot more sense to buy the leads.
 
  • #14
Here's my test:

If the pencil pushes the lead out in such a way that when the lead is too short and one more click makes it too long, then the pencil is crap.

I'm using a $20 engineering mechanical pencil that I've had for about 3 years because I can get the lead to just the right length; not too short and not too long. It's also heavy so I don't have to press as hard on the paper.
 
  • #15
mechanical pencils always turned me off because of their "high maintenance"

I'll stick with pens
 
  • #16
Dembadon said:
Here's my test:

If the pencil pushes the lead out in such a way that when the lead is too short and one more click makes it too long, then the pencil is crap.
With the "clicker" depressed, you can push the lead back into where ever you want it. I just click them out past where I want them, then depress the clicker and push them back.
 
  • #17
zoobyshoe said:
With the "clicker" depressed, you can push the lead back into where ever you want it. I just click them out past where I want them, then depress the clicker and push them back.

Having to do that every time you need more lead doesn't annoy the hell out of you? What if you accidentally push it in too far? You have to do it all over again. It drives me nuts; I simply refuse to deal with such pencils! :grumpy:

This is something about which I'm unusually passionate. I can't explain why I get so aggravated over pencils, but I've had quite a few heated debates on this very subject with some of my classmates. :redface:
 
  • #18
zoobyshoe said:
With the "clicker" depressed, you can push the lead back into where ever you want it. I just click them out past where I want them, then depress the clicker and push them back.
Zooby, I highly recommend that you get a Caran D-Ache Fixpencil 2 with relatively soft lead. Given your skills at sketching and your need for a pencil that excels at shading, I'm certain that you will be happy. Fixpencils are decidedly low-tech and durable and can be had for around $20 or so if you shop around. I love mine! If it were lost or stolen, I'd get another. No chance it will break - they are too simple and tough.
 
  • #19
turbo said:
Zooby, I highly recommend that you get a Caran D-Ache Fixpencil 2 with relatively soft lead. Given your skills at sketching and your need for a pencil that excels at shading, I'm certain that you will be happy. Fixpencils are decidedly low-tech and durable and can be had for around $20 or so if you shop around. I love mine! If it were lost or stolen, I'd get another. No chance it will break - they are too simple and tough.
I already have a large number of clutch pencils, the kind draftsmen used to use, with a large variety of leads. I pick these up at the swap meet for a song, and have more than I actually use. The leads are 2mm. The great thing about these is the lead pointers: you can sharpen a clutch pencil sharper than any other kind. The drawback is they don't make leads for them softer than 5B, and those are hard to find. I have to resort to conventional art pencils for the 5B to 9B range of values.
 
  • #20
zoobyshoe said:
I already have a large number of clutch pencils, the kind draftsmen used to use, with a large variety of leads. I pick these up at the swap meet for a song, and have more than I actually use. The leads are 2mm. The great thing about these is the lead pointers: you can sharpen a clutch pencil sharper than any other kind. The drawback is they don't make leads for them softer than 5B, and those are hard to find. I have to resort to conventional art pencils for the 5B to 9B range of values.
I see. And yes, having a sharpener under the cap is a BIG plus. You can get one very fine point on a high-quality lead for fine work. I figured that you carried around sets of art pencils to do your art-work. You've already been there, done that with the clutch pencils. I've had mine for ~30 years. An advertising give-away from Proceq SA - manufacturer of non-destructive material testing equipment.
 
  • #21
turbo said:
I see. And yes, having a sharpener under the cap is a BIG plus. You can get one very fine point on a high-quality lead for fine work. I figured that you carried around sets of art pencils to do your art-work. You've already been there, done that with the clutch pencils. I've had mine for ~30 years. An advertising give-away from Proceq SA - manufacturer of non-destructive material testing equipment.
The included pointer is actually not very good and I always carry a separate lead pointer with me. They make small, plastic ones nowadays as opposed to the very heavy metal ones that used to be standard. These new ones are very portable:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/alvin-rotary-lead-pointer/

I actually carry a whole cigar box of pencils, all kinds of different ones, but I generally use the clutch pencils most because I have a range of lead hardness and they always stay the same length, as opposed to normal pencils which get shorter and shorter, obviously.
 
  • #22
What if you accidentally push it in too far? You have to do it all over again. It drives me nuts; I simply refuse to deal with such pencils! :grumpy:
It's sort of annoying, yeah. But while I agree, the dial-a-lead of the Papermates is a fine feature, I do not like the heft of them. They seem cheap and light. And the erasers suck (not that I use them - that's what my artgum wad is for)

A good heft is important.
 
  • #23
Dembadon said:
Having to do that every time you need more lead doesn't annoy the hell out of you? What if you accidentally push it in too far? You have to do it all over again. It drives me nuts; I simply refuse to deal with such pencils! :grumpy:

This is something about which I'm unusually passionate. I can't explain why I get so aggravated over pencils, but I've had quite a few heated debates on this very subject with some of my classmates. :redface:
No, it doesn't bother me. I use these kinds of pencils for both sketching and writing. I guess I'm over any inconvenience resharpening or reclicking presents.
 
  • #24
my pencil
20603-7005-1-2ww-m.jpg

http://www.dickblick.com/products/pentel-mechanical-pencil

There is a sleeve that comes out when the lead is advanced. The sleeve prevents the lead from breaking, and normal writing will cause the sleeve to retract as the lead is used up. Result, longer periods between advances.

The pencil is MUCH better than any disposables, but it doesn't cost too much. I don't know how much, because I've had the same one for about 15 years now.

I think this is the third time I've mentioned this on PF.
 
  • #25
I have a lot of Pentels. My wife generally gloms onto them, but that's OK because I love my Fixpencil.
 
  • #26
zoobyshoe said:
No, it doesn't bother me. I use these kinds of pencils for both sketching and writing. I guess I'm over any inconvenience resharpening or reclicking presents.

It's funny, I know I click for lead all the time (especially since I use a rather soft 0.5mm lead), but I barely even notice anymore.
 
  • #27
lisab said:
It's funny, I know I click for lead all the time (especially since I use a rather soft 0.5mm lead), but I barely even notice anymore.

Yeah. The only time I get annoyed is when I realize the lead has become too short. Makes me wish for a pencil that could violate Conservation of Mass.
 
  • #28
intwo said:
I have been considering buying a stronger pencil, but I haven't convinced myself that paying $30+ for one pencil is a reasonable investment.

Thanks for posting that link. I checked it out and read some reviews and everything pointed towards "It's the greatest pencil on the planet", so I got one. I just finished about 5 hours of Homework and sure enough, it's the best pencil I have ever used. It's certainly "stronger", feels like you can break a window with the thing.

I exclusively used the papermate pencils (from the original post) because of their "dial lead length" feature, but I like this click style better. The lead extends about half the thickness of a thin fingernail with each click. By comparison, the papermate requires a turn of 5 degrees to produce the same length. The Rotring is easier to get the correct length, especially considering the lead has no "play" (referring to the springy feeling of the papermate). It weighs as much as 6 papermate pencils, solid metal, and it's easier to get a darker clean line without cramping your hand. Worth the 30 bucks for me.

250s94y.jpg
 
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  • #29
I have used the Zebra M-301 + Pentel hi-polymer eraser combo since 2002.

I originally bought 3 packs of the pencils (they come 2 to a pack) and two packs of the erasers (3 to a pack) and two tube things of additional 0.5mm graphite ... I'm pretty sure ALL of that cost somewhere around $15-20.

I find them to be pretty durable (they are made of thin stainless steel everything + plastic grip). I have never broken one in the 10 years I've been using them. My fiancee used them instead of specialty architecture/drafting pencils (they have the same long metal tip that is good to use with rulers and whatnot) when she took a few architecture classes in college as her art requirement.

I still have 5 of the 6 ... I lost one over the decade I've been using them, but I use them all the time: I have one in my trumpet case, one with my clipboard, one at our desk, one in my briefcase, and one in an overnight backpack I use while traveling.

They are inexpensive enough that I don't worry too much about losing them, but also nice and sturdy so I never worry the tip will break (like those cheap BIC ones) or that their little pocket clip thing will break off either.

The Pentel hi-polymer erasers work wonderfully too since the zebra doesn't have that great of an eraser to begin with. I never liked using the erasers on mechanical pencils anyway. I like the ease of being able to erase whole blocks of scratch arithmetic while I'm actually working on a problem and not near a calculator. I also use the eraser all the time when I play musicals. People write up the books all the time with stage queues and cuts / repeats due to the staging/timing. I've used the Pentel erasers for years and have loved their performance and ability to not drag the markings over the paper or rub into it and tear ... it's just right.

here's a picture of the pencil by itself just for reference:

http://di1-1.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/84/82/8d/41681475-260x260-0-0_Zebra+Zebra+M301+Mechanical+Pencils+Silver+Barrel.jpg [Broken]

Good luck finding the right pencil. I'm sure there are many nicer ones, but I found these to be the best balance of durability, quality, and economy for my needs these past 10 years.
 
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1. What is the difference between a high quality mechanical pencil and a regular mechanical pencil?

A high quality mechanical pencil typically has a more durable and precise mechanism for advancing the lead, a stronger and more comfortable grip, and a higher quality lead that is less prone to breakage. Additionally, high quality mechanical pencils often have refillable lead and erasers, allowing for longer use.

2. How do I choose the right lead size for my high quality mechanical pencil?

The lead size for a mechanical pencil is typically indicated by the width of the lead in millimeters. The most common lead sizes for high quality mechanical pencils are 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm. The size you choose will depend on your personal preference and the type of writing or drawing you will be doing. Thinner leads (0.5mm) are better for precise and detailed work, while thicker leads (0.7mm and 0.9mm) are better for general writing and shading.

3. Can I refill a high quality mechanical pencil with any type of lead?

No, it is important to use the recommended lead size and type for your specific high quality mechanical pencil. Some mechanical pencils may only be compatible with certain sizes or types of lead, so be sure to check the manufacturer's instructions. Using the wrong type of lead may result in a malfunction or damage to the pencil.

4. How do I properly maintain and care for my high quality mechanical pencil?

To ensure your high quality mechanical pencil lasts a long time, it is important to keep it clean and free of debris. You can use a small brush or compressed air to remove any dust or debris from the mechanism and lead chamber. It is also recommended to store your pencil in a protective case when not in use. If the lead becomes stuck or the mechanism stops working properly, refer to the manufacturer's instructions for troubleshooting and maintenance tips.

5. Are there any advantages to using a high quality mechanical pencil over a traditional wooden pencil?

High quality mechanical pencils offer several advantages over traditional wooden pencils. They do not require sharpening, resulting in less waste and a consistently sharp point. The lead is also less likely to break, providing a more consistent writing or drawing experience. Additionally, high quality mechanical pencils often have a longer lifespan and can be more cost-effective in the long run compared to constantly buying new wooden pencils.

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