Take a Stand 20! Get the lead out

19 January 2023, 10:26 AM

big al

Mechanical.

After using a high quality drafting pencil for many years, anything else is like driving a sedan instead of a sports car. I usually use a 0.5mm pencil with HB lead. I occasionally use a 0.7mm pencil for heavier printing such as lettering on mylar drafting film with the special lead for that purpose. I like the Koh-i-Noor Rapidomatic pencil with the metal lead tip and grip. My heavy fist breaks plastic-tipped pencils in no time.

Big Al

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Money seems to buy the most happiness when you give it away.

Why does everything have to be so complicated, all in the name of convenience. -ShiroKuro

A lifetime of experience will change a person. If it doesn't, then you're already dead inside. -MarkJ

19 January 2023, 10:27 AM

Lisa

Ticonderoga. Black instead of yellow, because I just like the look better: https://weareticonderoga.com/s...-wood-cased-pencils/

Not a fan of mechanical pencils, though others in my family swear by them. I find the lead is both too sharp (I rip/scratch up the paper) and too fragile (I break the lead). Maybe I just write weird.

19 January 2023, 10:56 AM

ShiroKuro

quote:
I find the lead is both too sharp (I rip/scratch up the paper) and too fragile (I break the lead).

Try a softer lead!

Also, the quality of most notebooks made in the US is horrible, so that might be part of your problem

Japanese notebooks are soooo much better, with good quality paper and a good pen or pencil, the difference is enormous!

19 January 2023, 11:14 AM

pianojuggler

I have a couple mechanical drafting pencils. At least one of them was my dad’s Koh-I-Noor that has the name of his benevolent employer engraved in it .

But I lose things.

I love the BIC disposable mechanical pencils. They come in .5 and .7. They are inexpensive. I think there about five pieces of lead in each one. I have yet to run one out of lead. I lose them before they run out.

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pj, citizen-poster, unless specifically noted otherwise.

mod-in-training.

pj@ermosworld∙com

All types of erorrs fixed while you wait.

19 January 2023, 11:22 AM

wtg

Mr wtg is hooked on these:

19 January 2023, 11:39 AM

RealPlayer

Are Dixon Ticonderoga pencils even made in the US anymore? Once bought some at Staples (think they were Ticonderoga) and were dissatisfied because the leads were off-center and sharpened unevenly.

We buy General's Semi-Hex #2 by the box. They are good and made of real cedar in the USA...across the river from here in New Jersey actually.

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“It's hard to win an argument with a smart person. It's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person." -- Bill Murray

19 January 2023, 12:44 PM

AdagioM

I love mechanical pencils. I keep one in every knitting project bag for making notes while designing. The retractable lead means I’m not getting pencil all over my bag, knitting, pattern.

I like a pretty color, and a comfort grip.

19 January 2023, 12:48 PM

Steve Miller

quote:
Originally posted by big al: I like the Koh-i-Noor Rapidomatic pencil with the metal lead tip and grip. My heavy fist breaks plastic-tipped pencils in no time.

Big Al

I'm so old I learned to draft using a leadholder and one of those table mounted sharpeners you swirl the pencil around in to sharpen the lead.

I still have some but now I just use wooden pencils and keep a battery powered sharpener on the table.

19 January 2023, 01:16 PM

rontuner

Anything with a good eraser for choir music...

19 January 2023, 01:19 PM

Dan

Back when I worked for a living, I used Pentel mechanicals. Had both the 0.5 and 0.7 mm. Almost always HB lead.

19 January 2023, 02:17 PM

big al

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Miller:

I'm so old I learned to draft using a leadholder and one of those table mounted sharpeners you swirl the pencil around in to sharpen the lead.

I still have some but now I just use wooden pencils and keep a battery powered sharpener on the table.

I have a couple of leadholders as well, along with a couple of packs of leads, but I don't really find any use for them any more. My employer provided the sharpeners at each drafting board so I never bought one for personal use. For occasional sharpening, I used a a sandpaper pad. My main use for an electric sharpener has always been for colored pencils, mainly used for mark-ups.

Big Al

19 January 2023, 02:48 PM

Qaanaaq-Liaaq

I use mechanical pencils. I have two: a Pentel GraphGear with .7 mm lead and a Sharp Kerry with .7 mm lead. I like them both and switch back and forth between using them.

The Sharp Kerry has a removable cap that can fit over the tip when it’s not in use. This saves me from having the pencil poke holes in my shirt pockets.

A problem with most mechanical pencils is the tip of the pencil. Most of them don’t allow the pencil tip to retract inside the barrel to prevent poking. I could get a pocket protector but they’re kind of nerdy nowadays. I’ve had Pentels with a retracting sleeve in which the pencil’s tip can retract inside the barrel which spares shirt pockets from holes but it was expensive and the clutch mechanism kept breaking.

Another common problem with mechanical pencils is that when the lead is down to its last quarter of an inch or so, it’s beyond the pencil’s clutch mechanism. The clutch advances the lead when you press the plunger.

19 January 2023, 02:48 PM

Axtremus

Over-engineered mechanical pencils:

https://youtu.be/PESa3Du3udY (5.5 min.)

https://youtu.be/wGU9cyIyeFw (6.5 min.)

Even if you don’t need them, they are quite fascinating.