Who Else Thinks That A Mechanical Pencil Is The Next-Best Thing To A Fountain Pen?

[plumista]

Back to the original title...

why not admit once for all that a good mech pencil is obviously better than any good fountain pen, no matter what?

If you do not think the same, probably you have not used enough mechs yet, or/and not enough FPs.

I have always thought that, in case my FP collection disappears for any reason (stolen, flooded, abducted by aliens...), I will never buy again any FP (free at last!) but I would enjoy from then on only mechs.

plumista

[MYU]

^ Remember, mechanical pencils are not apocalypse-proof. But fountain pens are. The process of producing leads for pencils is much more complicated and delicate than creating ink.

 

But seriously, there's no good reason to pit fountain pens against mechanical pencils. They're two very different writing instruments each with their own advantages. No reason why one must choose one over the other. Sounds like you had some bad experiences, but this were true for everyone then nobody would use fountain pens. I'll give you this, though. Mechanical pencils are much easier to maintain!

[adim]

This may be a noob question, but how do you cope with pencil writing smudging? The softer the lead, for easier writing, the more prone it is to smudging and I even noticed that at times, in a notebook, the writing on one page smudges and wears off on the back of the previous page. It is even worse with sketches and shadings, say.

 

I really like writing with a pencil, I love the feedback on the page, but it does not seem to be as persistent and remain as clean as good ink.

 

I am sure this is dependent on the lead and paper, but if any of you had such problems, how did you solve them?

[MYU]

@adim - harder lead will smudge much less, but then you have to press a little harder. Some types of papers are better suited for pencil writing, holding onto the lead particles a bit more. But for sketch journals, it's probably a good idea to slip in some tracing paper (onion skin style) in between pages to minimize the smudging.

 

Can't post without including a little pencil porn...

 

[milkb0at]

That's a good looking pencil.

[MYU]

That's a good looking pencil.

Looks a bit like an old style rocket ship without the fins, doesn't it?

 

As for just all out handsome, I came across this one recently by Tombow with real wood accents:

 

[milkb0at]

Are Uchida and Tombow related? (I remembered your Reddit post where you mentioned Tombow too.) Although if Uchida were related to another Japanese brand, from the styling I would have guessed your usual Pilot.

 

Is the nut at the grip / body interface to do with the twist mechanism, or it it how it's disassembed?

[MYU]

Are Uchida and Tombow related? (I remembered your Reddit post where you mentioned Tombow too.) Although if Uchida were related to another Japanese brand, from the styling I would have guessed your usual Pilot.

 

Is the nut at the grip / body interface to do with the twist mechanism, or it it how it's disassembed?

Tombow and Uchida are actually separate companies. From what I understand the only thing they had in common was one pencil design that looked very much alike, and that was the earlier post I made. However, the Tombow has a click plunger mechanism to advance the lead, while the Uchida pencil uses a twist mechanism.

 

That "nut" shape you mention is actually a passive anti-roll device. The main tube slides off the core (friction fit) revealing a small eraser plug at the end, containing extra lead inside the core.

[milkb0at]

Thank you. I've never heard to Uchida before. Sounds like an interesting design, and certainly looks it.

[BorisoftheStars]

I find myself enjoying roller pens than pencils; although, mechanical pencils (and pencils for that matter) have the advantage of erasing your mistakes whereas pens lack that ability. I do realize that mechanical pencils are also refillable... I do not know about roller pens, though. I think I see why mechanical pencils are superior.

[Algester]

when I first looked at Uchida I first thought of a Chinese rip off company... <_< well they never market much of their stuff here in my country

they do have markers and brush pens

but I just started to dig some info just how exactly are uniball and uchida related

Edited May 26, 2018 by Algester

[MYU]

when I first looked at Uchida I first thought of a Chinese rip off company... <_< well they never market much of their stuff here in my country

they do have markers and brush pens

but I just started to dig some info just how exactly are uniball and uchida related

 

It appears that for Uchida, their mechanical pencil days are long past. For a period of time they were popular in Japan among professionals who used mechanical pencils, achieving professional grade quality in a slightly less costly package than Hi-Uni. They had a cheaper model of the Drawing Sharp, the "S", and it was sold for 1,000 yen. The "E" was their luxury edition that had a few variations. Made mostly of metal, with a hard aluminum shell for the barrel around a stainless steel core. Uchida was resold under a few other brands, like Kent.

[AL01]

I have a question....

 

In your humble opinion, would would be the ONE and ONLY mechanical pencil you would own if you had to?

 

Thanks!

 

(I think this may be a tough question... Sorry. )

[jmnav]

I extensively use mech pencils but, hell, they can't compare to the feeling of the real thing, a traditional wood-encased pencil... and the satisfactory privilege of sharpening it using an El Casco M-430 sharpener

[MYU]

I have a question....

 

In your humble opinion, would would be the ONE and ONLY mechanical pencil you would own if you had to?

 

Thanks!

 

(I think this may be a tough question... Sorry. )

 

This:

 

It's not the most glamorous mechanical pencil ever made. But it has just the "right stuff" for me that makes it my favorite.

1. Length/width/weight -- it suits my hand just right, with sufficient weight to feel substantial without being taxing.
2. Subtle grip -- the thin etched grooves in the stainless steel are just about ideal, deep and spaced enough to hold comfortably.
3. Minimalist design -- it's only when you look at it up close that you see the beauty of it. It has a twist mechanism and there's a black anodized knurled grip segment in the middle to aid with this, surrounded by polished steel bands. It looks stunning. And that motif is extended to the clip with an ornamental segment affixed at the top.
4. Function -- the retractable tip twist mechanism works very smoothly, simultaneously extending the tip and the rear push button. The lead expelling mechanism has a soft click to it that advances a conservative amount of lead (I find it too annoying with other pencils when they push forth too much).
5. Rarity -- This was released by PILOT only to the Japanese Domestic Market and I've never seen or heard of it anywhere else. There's no model number associated with it. I've been monitoring the most popular auction site in Japan and have only ever seen 4 of them appear in the past 4 years (2 of them last year, and 1 of them became mine). So far all I've found on-line are two Japanese bloggers who post about mechanical pencils having shown one of these pencils in their collections.

Runner ups would include another PILOT retractable mechanical pencil with a double-push mechanism [Photo] and the Pentel Mechanica [Link]. Also, for a no-nonsense solid retractable tip pencil, it's hard to beat the Pentel PSD5.

[AL01]

Man that's NICE!!!

 

I am looking for the best mechanical pencil I can find...

 

So thanks for your opinion!

[LazarusShort]

My mechanical pencil collection. The first photo is of most of my non-technical pencils. The stainless steel Schaeffer on the bottom is my daily driver. The second photo is of my technical pencils, most of which were given to me by a friend who used to work in the construction/architectural world. The bottom pencil is a Venus I have owned since high school.

[JotterAddict62]

I have a question....

 

In your humble opinion, would would be the ONE and ONLY mechanical pencil you would own if you had to?

 

Thanks!

 

(I think this may be a tough question... Sorry. )

I will go with a vintage Parker pencil [ The hard part is which model to choose from. ] I'll get back to you when and if I decide....

[MYU]

Man that's NICE!!!

 

I am looking for the best mechanical pencil I can find...

 

So thanks for your opinion!

 

Thanks. As for the "best," it will vary from person to person, as we've each got our own requirements. Sometimes the best can be very affordable. And that's one thing I forgot to mention... a model currently in production. If I had to pick one it would be the rOtring 800. When it was originally released, I believe it was close to $80. Today, it can be had for as low as $25. It has a retractable tip actuated by a knob at the rear. My only beef with it is that there's some slack to overcome when pressing the button to expel lead. So the travel is a little long. When you're used to pencils that don't have it, it stands out more. But I can overlook that, given all its other qualities.

 

Another pencil to consider is the Spoke 4, made by Spoke Pencils (Brian Conti). The "engine" is from the Pentel P200 series, and it has metal parts for the section and body. The P200 is one of the most reliable mechanisms ever made for the price. If I remember right, it costs $39. Money well spent, considering the quality that went into this.

[AL01]

I will go with a vintage Parker pencil [ The hard part is which model to choose from. ] I'll get back to you when and if I decide....

 

I once had the opportunity to buy a Grid P-75 ballpoint for 10$!!!!!

 

I am still kicking myself for not buying it.

 

My favorite BP is the Jotter.

 

Who knows....

 

I'll keep the Parkers on my radar.

 

 

 

Thanks. As for the "best," it will vary from person to person, as we've each got our own requirements. Sometimes the best can be very affordable. And that's one thing I forgot to mention... a model currently in production. If I had to pick one it would be the rOtring 800. When it was originally released, I believe it was close to $80. Today, it can be had for as low as $25. It has a retractable tip actuated by a knob at the rear. My only beef with it is that there's some slack to overcome when pressing the button to expel lead. So the travel is a little long. When you're used to pencils that don't have it, it stands out more. But I can overlook that, given all its other qualities.

 

Another pencil to consider is the Spoke 4, made by Spoke Pencils (Brian Conti). The "engine" is from the Pentel P200 series, and it has metal parts for the section and body. The P200 is one of the most reliable mechanisms ever made for the price. If I remember right, it costs $39. Money well spent, considering the quality that went into this.

 

I've heard many things about the 800.

 

And I have not found one for 25$.

 

(Maybe you are thinking of the 600??)