Need Mechnical Pencil Help--PLEASE

[Poetman]

I am hoping some of you mechanical pencil users can help me I have 3 mechanical pencils, and they all have the same design, but I can't get any new lead to filter through the pencil. I bought these at Staples; they're Pierre Cardain and Bill Bass. Can some one help figure out how to load new lead? I've stuck the lead in the very center hole and the surrounding hole, but when I twist the pencil the lead won't come out through the tip.

 

Thanks for the Help!

[Tsujigiri]

I'm not familiar with those pencils, but I have a couple that load through the tip, with the body just being a tube to hold spare lead. Try loading it in that way and see if it works.

[Poetman]

If I load new lead through the tip, it falls right out. But, if I load new lead through the tip and use it all, how does the spare lead filter through to the tip again?

[Tsujigiri]

On those types of pens, you have to load each lead in manually from the tip. It's more common with pencils that have leads thicker than .5mm. If yours is that kind of pencil, screwing the top so as to advance the lead all the way out should deploy a little spike that pushes out whatever remaining lead there is. To load a new lead into an empty pencil, screw it all the way out, and then screw it back in a little before pushing a new lead in. It should find a little holder that will hold the lead by friction.

 

Come to think of it, all the pencils I have that twist smoothly to advance the lead have loading like this. Is yours a smooth twist, or does it click when you twist it and not twist all the way around?

[RayMan]

I'm not a mechanical pencil expert, but I have a few and I use them from time to time. I believe that you insert new leads into the tip (i.e., the same end where they come out), and then rotate the other end in order to pull them into the pencil. Sounds like you might be trying to insert the lead into the rotating end, under the eraser, which is intended for storage of extra leads.

[Poetman]

I'm not a mechanical pencil expert, but I have a few and I use them from time to time. I believe that you insert new leads into the tip (i.e., the same end where they come out), and then rotate the other end in order to pull them into the pencil. Sounds like you might be trying to insert the lead into the rotating end, under the eraser, which is intended for storage of extra leads.

 

This makes sense, but when I try to load the lead into the tip the lead falls out. How do I keep the lead in the pencil?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Tsujigiri]

I'm not a mechanical pencil expert, but I have a few and I use them from time to time. I believe that you insert new leads into the tip (i.e., the same end where they come out), and then rotate the other end in order to pull them into the pencil. Sounds like you might be trying to insert the lead into the rotating end, under the eraser, which is intended for storage of extra leads.

 

This makes sense, but when I try to load the lead into the tip the lead falls out. How do I keep the lead in the pencil?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Advancing the mechanism all the way and then retracting it a little didn't work?

[Poetman]

I'm not a mechanical pencil expert, but I have a few and I use them from time to time. I believe that you insert new leads into the tip (i.e., the same end where they come out), and then rotate the other end in order to pull them into the pencil. Sounds like you might be trying to insert the lead into the rotating end, under the eraser, which is intended for storage of extra leads.

 

This makes sense, but when I try to load the lead into the tip the lead falls out. How do I keep the lead in the pencil?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Advancing the mechanism all the way and then retracting it a little didn't work?

 

No--I hear the pencil click, but I can't get the lead to remain in the body of the pencil. The lead just falls out. And now, every time I rotate the pencil, I hear it click. It no longer rotates smoothly. This is really frustrating me. Thanks for the support folks!

Edited August 11, 2009 by Poetman

[RayMan]

I'm not a mechanical pencil expert, but I have a few and I use them from time to time. I believe that you insert new leads into the tip (i.e., the same end where they come out), and then rotate the other end in order to pull them into the pencil. Sounds like you might be trying to insert the lead into the rotating end, under the eraser, which is intended for storage of extra leads.

 

This makes sense, but when I try to load the lead into the tip the lead falls out. How do I keep the lead in the pencil?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Advancing the mechanism all the way and then retracting it a little didn't work?

 

No--I hear the pencil click, but I can't get the lead to remain in the body of the pencil. The lead just falls out!

 

Leads come in a wide variety of thicknesses. Are you using leads which came with the pencil? If not, perhaps you didn't buy the right size leads. The lead might be too fine. Your pen might be designed to hold thicker leads.

[jar]

You likely have a little bit of the old lead still caught in the pencil.

 

Can you post a picture of the pencil?

[Poetman]

 

Leads come in a wide variety of thicknesses. Are you using leads which came with the pencil? If not, perhaps you didn't buy the right size leads. The lead might be too fine. Your pen might be designed to hold thicker leads.

 

 

My pencil lead is thick--so I bought the .9 lead, which I believe is the appropriate width. It looks like the proper thickness, and it writes a similar line.

[Tsujigiri]

It could be a .7mm pencil, those are more common, but also thick leads.

[lovemy51]

My pencil lead is thick--so I bought the .9 lead, which I believe is the appropriate width. It looks like the proper thickness, and it writes a similar line.

 

hello poetman. the .9 lead sounds too thick for the newer bill blass pencil. i think Tsujigiri is right in saying the right lead could be .7!!!!

 

also, i thought these pencils/pens were made by Cross. why don't you try posting this question in the Cross forum?!!!

Edited August 11, 2009 by lovemy51

[ZeissIkon]

No--I hear the pencil click, but I can't get the lead to remain in the body of the pencil. The lead just falls out. And now, every time I rotate the pencil, I hear it click. It no longer rotates smoothly. This is really frustrating me. Thanks for the support folks!

 

Many years ago, my dad had an Eversharp rotary advance pencil that I (at the mature and experienced age of about nine) tried to reload. I overtwisted it and bollixed up the internal mechanism; it never worked again (and you could see, through the transparent barrel, the mangled plastic bits, so there was no question it was damaged). I fear something similar has happened to your pencil, but I don't know how you'd check it or whether it's repairable.

[aupoint]

On my newer pencils that advance by depressing the eraser, lead is introduced by removing the eraser and dropping one to several

into the opening. The eraser is reinstalled, and the eraser is repeatedly depressed until the new tip appears. On the old pencils that

advance by twisting the barrel halves, or barrel and eraser holder the advance is first twisted counterclockwise until no movement

remains. The new lead is pushed in through the tip, and advanced until the new tip shows. On many pencils it is necessary to push

down on the new tip (against a hard surface) to seat the other end of the lead against the advance mechanism. Otherwise, the new

lead can fall out. I hope that this helps.

[Poetman]

Every time I load the Pierre Cardin pencil then twist the body to dispense the lead, the lead shoots out of the pencil like a cannon ball. I'm suspicious that the spring is broken in it. As for the Bill Bass and other pencil, they twist fine, but once I load the lead through the tip when I turn over the pencil to write the lead falls right out! Is there a special way to load lead? I'm positive I have the right thickness. The Cardin is .9 and the others are .7. Thanks again!

[ZeissIkon]

Every time I load the Pierre Cardin pencil then twist the body to dispense the lead, the lead shoots out of the pencil like a cannon ball. I'm suspicious that the spring is broken in it. As for the Bill Bass and other pencil, they twist fine, but once I load the lead through the tip when I turn over the pencil to write the lead falls right out! Is there a special way to load lead? I'm positive I have the right thickness. The Cardin is .9 and the others are .7. Thanks again!

 

I've never seen a twist-advance pencil as thin as 0.7 mm -- but I agree, it sounds as if there's a problem with the Cardin. Try the Cardin lead in one of the other pencils, it'll probably stay in better than the 0.7 mm.