Uni Kuru-Toga

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

There appears to have been some interest in the Kuru-Toga. Having had one for several years, I had reviewed it in the past but never posted my review. Here is my review of both the standard and the high-grade versions.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7882424138_c0e4d89738_b.jpg

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7882423072_16b326abe0_b.jpg

 

Point ends:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7882429380_ab20193829_b.jpg

 

Nose cone off. Make note of the notch in the black piece on the pencil that the black tip pulled off. That allows the tip to be pulled off without cracking.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7882432866_684abd43ab_b.jpg

 

Eraser ends:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7882443484_f5b583eb08_b.jpg

 

Dillon

[HDoug]

I've had one for a few years and appreciate the "gimmick" of the rotating lead. (All I use it for is to draw text boxes in my journal and I roll my pencil when I draw lines so my leads are always perfectly conical rotating lead or no!) But I do like it enough to have bought several to give to friends who report it works as advertised when used "normally."

 

Doug

[bphollin]

Wow, Dillon. You're really on a tear with pencil posts lately. Thanks for the reviews. I've learned a lot and it is much appreciated.

 

-Brandon

[RLTodd]

I purchased two, a 0.3 and a 0.5 from Jet Pens some time back. The advertising pulled be in, it sounded like such an interesting concept.

 

Used them for a couple of days and stuck them in the coffee cup I use for desk storage of pens & pencils.

 

I almost never reach for them, usually grab a Pentel Click when I want a pencil.

 

Haven't analyzed it, just what I do.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I was into neat mechanical pencils before I got into fountain pens. I still enjoy my mechanical pencils and collect them, hence the posts. If anyone wants a review on the Uni shift, I have one, but didn't put one up yet.

 

Dillon

[humsin]

The lead rotates every time you lift the pencil and reapply it to the paper. The rotating lead works for writing Asian characters because the multiple strokes causes the lifting motion of the pencil. By doing so the lead is kept sharp and fine lines can be achieved. That being said, the rotating lead mechanism hardly works for Western languages and is completely obsolete when writing cursive.

[Dillo]

The lead rotates every time you lift the pencil and reapply it to the paper. The rotating lead works for writing Asian characters because the multiple strokes causes the lifting motion of the pencil. By doing so the lead is kept sharp and fine lines can be achieved. That being said, the rotating lead mechanism hardly works for Western languages and is completely obsolete when writing cursive.

 

It doesn't hardly work for Western languages. I've found that it works well, but to a lesser extent. My lead gets flat spots a lot less. If you look carefully, many letters in Western languages have multiple strokes as well. Not as many as Asian languages though. Japanese Hiragana doesn't have as many strokes either. It has somewhere in between 1-4 strokes each if I recall correctly. When writing cursive, I find that it still works, but to a lesser extent. You often lift your pencil a lot more than you think you do. If you are using a more wear-resistant lead like that made by Pentel, I find that it works even better than it does with the included Uni leads which are somewhat softer.

 

You are correct in your observations to which languages would give the mechanism more of a workout. In order in my experience:

Traditional Chinese

Simplified Chinese

Japanese

Yiddish

Roman letters

Hebrew

Cursive Roman letters

 

I do write traditional Chinese. I can speak it in survival mode, and I understand most everything spoken. I don't use simplified, but I have played with it. I wrote Japanese as well. I wrote lots of Yiddish with this pencil. Yiddish, while it uses the Hebrew alphabet, uses niqqudot (some call them diacritics or vowels) as well on specific letters to convey specific sounds. This requires extra strokes. English is my main language. Hebrew is my other main language. Hebrew in script form is remarkably short on strokes. Most written Hebrew is written in script, not block letters. Many letters in Hebrew script only need one or two strokes. Cursive is my usual hand.

 

I haven't played with Korean or Russian. I don't know either. I have relatives who grew up in Korea.

 

Dillon

Edited August 29, 2012 by Dillo

[terminal]

Have you had a chance to compare this to the mitsubishi auto-rotate mechanism?

[Dillo]

Have you had a chance to compare this to the mitsubishi auto-rotate mechanism?

 

Mitsubishi is Uni, so the actual name of this pencil would be the Mitsubishi Uni Kuru-Toga. In other words, the mechanism is the same. The Uni website in Japan says Mitsubishi Pencil on the top and the Mitsubishi logo is displayed on the packaging as well.

 

Dillon

[terminal]

Have you had a chance to compare this to the mitsubishi auto-rotate mechanism?

 

Mitsubishi is Uni, so the actual name of this pencil would be the Mitsubishi Uni Kuru-Toga. In other words, the mechanism is the same. The Uni website in Japan says Mitsubishi Pencil on the top and the Mitsubishi logo is displayed on the packaging as well.

 

Dillon

 

Oh -- duh... thanks

 

I didn't realize that

[Dillo]

 

 

Oh -- duh... thanks

 

I didn't realize that

 

All the new things we all learn every day. We never stop learning. I'm sure someone will come along with the same question sooner or later, and this will help them out.

 

Dillon

[XiaoMG]

I find it strange that nobody I know personally actually likes or uses these things, yet they are so intensely popular online. I have had several different models, and I ultimately gave them away because they do not work for me. The people I gave them to were pencil users as well, and the Kuru-Togas never get used. We all write in traditional Chinese, and after pages and pages of comparison with other pencils used comfortably, I could find no benefit to the KT mechanism other than an unpleasant give (sometimes a wobble) to the pencil tip that makes writing feel less precise...which I find important because I write fairly small. Tried the NanoDia 2B that came with it and it was too soft for the mechanism to usefully compensate, and switched to harder leads from Pentel, Pilot, and Mitsubishi that cooperated better with the KT rotation when looked at under a loupe but still didn't produce any better results than I got from my preferred leads with a non-rotating pencil and my normal writing habits.

 

Yet every time I read a review, I get confused why it works for online reviewers, but not for people like me or many others who write in the languages it's supposedly ideal for.

[Nonsensical]

I find it strange that nobody I know personally actually likes or uses these things, yet they are so intensely popular online. I have had several different models, and I ultimately gave them away because they do not work for me. The people I gave them to were pencil users as well, and the Kuru-Togas never get used. We all write in traditional Chinese, and after pages and pages of comparison with other pencils used comfortably, I could find no benefit to the KT mechanism other than an unpleasant give (sometimes a wobble) to the pencil tip that makes writing feel less precise...which I find important because I write fairly small. Tried the NanoDia 2B that came with it and it was too soft for the mechanism to usefully compensate, and switched to harder leads from Pentel, Pilot, and Mitsubishi that cooperated better with the KT rotation when looked at under a loupe but still didn't produce any better results than I got from my preferred leads with a non-rotating pencil and my normal writing habits.

 

Yet every time I read a review, I get confused why it works for online reviewers, but not for people like me or many others who write in the languages it's supposedly ideal for.

 

The angle that you hold it at is very important, and so is the pressure that you write with. My brother presses down quite hard when using a MP, and I can clearly see that the auto-rotate function works very well in his hands. For me, I write at a lower angle, and use less pressure. I also prefer softer leads (He uses HB, I use 2B or 4B), and therefore don't really get the auto-rotate function. I do like it just for the weight and feel of the Kuru Toga, though. It's quite a solid comfortable pen to use (roulette).

 

The grip, in particular, is exactly what I've been looking for. The MP has good weight distribution in my hands, as well. Then again, I usually write using cursive, so it basically functions as a normal MP.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Nonsensical

[Jadie]

 

The angle that you hold it at is very important, and so is the pressure that you write with. My brother presses down quite hard when using a MP, and I can clearly see that the auto-rotate function works very well in his hands. For me, I write at a lower angle, and use less pressure.

 

This is why the Kuru-toga doesn't work for me. =o I have to keep reminding myself to hold the pencil more erect, and to stop turning the lead because it turns itself.

 

Still, since I hardly use pencils, it's the one I turn to most when I need one. It's also nice to hear and see the click as the lead rotates~

[Silvermink]

I've got a couple of 0.5 Kuru Togas, a blue one and a black one. I honestly don't use pencils much, but the concept was just too cool for me not to get them.

 

I use pencils occasionally for a tabletop RPG I'm playing with friends, so I should start taking 'em along for that.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I just got a new Kuru-toga. This one is the one of the limited editions with flowers. It's from China instead of Japan and is 0.5 mm instead of 0.3 mm like my other two. I think this pencil is quite excellent despite the fact that it is now made in China. I tend to be quite light handed, write in cursive, and have a low angle of attack of about 35º, but I have never had a problem with the rotating function working. In fact, the lead of the pencil has a distinct cone-shape on the tip.

 

I'm quite happy with these pencils. This new addition is quite nice, and I have been writing with it a lot since I got it.

 

Dillon