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

[pencils+pens]

I have several 2 mm clutch pencils. Most of them I got from my wife or her father (both engineers) or my father, who started as a draftsman in the early 1950s. All of them work after 30 to 60 years of service.

 

Eagle Turquoise Prestomatic 3377. Late 1940s-50s. A near indestructible aluminum pencil.

 

A.W. Faber Castell Locktite 9400 (made 1947-50)

 

Staedtler Mars 780 (Germany) 1978-present. This is my wife's pencil from the late 1970s.

 

Staedtler Mars Technico. The Technico and the 982 appear to be the same pencil.

 

The approximate dates from Leadholder - The Drafting Pencil Museum

[sine.nomine]

My pen of the day changes constantly, but there is *always* a Pentel S57 "Classic Deluxe" with 0.7 mm 4B lead close to hand.

 

The rest are a little harder to grab:

 

Pencils Photos by chthulhu | Photobucket

I would love 4B leads in my 0.7 Lamy Scribble, but I can't find any - even JetPens doesn't seem to have them! Where do you find them?

[Chthulhu]

anyone here a fan of the Autopoints?

Not sure you could call me a "fan," but I do have quite a few of them, ranging from "UTL" ("Ultra Thin Lead") 0.5 mm to (if memory serves) 0.120 inch checking pencils. Most of mine are either 1.1 or 0.9 mm, though.

[Chthulhu]

I have several 2 mm clutch pencils. Most of them I got from my wife or her father (both engineers) or my father, who started as a draftsman in the early 1950s. All of them work after 30 to 60 years of service.

 

Eagle Turquoise Prestomatic 3377. Late 1940s-50s. A near indestructible aluminum pencil.

 

A.W. Faber Castell Locktite 9400 (made 1947-50)

 

Staedtler Mars 780 (Germany) 1978-present. This is my wife's pencil from the late 1970s.

 

Staedtler Mars Technico. The Technico and the 982 appear to be the same pencil.

 

The approximate dates from Leadholder - The Drafting Pencil Museum

My favorite is a Koh-I-Noor Toison D'Or, but I do like the DJ Fugles, and would dearly love to find an Eagle Twelve at a reasonable price!

[Chthulhu]

I would love 4B leads in my 0.7 Lamy Scribble, but I can't find any - even JetPens doesn't seem to have them! Where do you find them?

I wish I could tell you! These were part of an eBay lot buy, and have no maker's name on the tube they were in; it was only marked "4B." The only decent listings I found were on Alibaba, so it's probably of Chinese manufacture.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Chthulhu

[flatline]

I tend to buy only the simplest designs avoiding anything complex or expensive. Had several Rotring 2mm holders explode after only a year or so. Cheap Steadtler ones are as good as any, perhaps. Good luck.

 

Did they explode from regular use or is there a story here?

 

--flatline

[beak]

 

Did they explode from regular use or is there a story here?

 

--flatline

Ordinary professional use - ten hours a day all week.

 

BTW, has anyone found a decent 2mm holder that is a little thicker in the barrel than normal? They seem to be offered only as very thin or ridiculously jumbo-thick, and after decades of holding the traditional thin barrel, my hand is complaining. Have had some success in using those knurled foam tubes; the removable grips that come with supermarket packs of children's pencils.

Edited September 29, 2013 by beak

[lovemy51]

Ordinary professional use - ten hours a day all week.

 

BTW, has anyone found a decent 2mm holder that is a little thicker in the barrel than normal? They seem to be offered only as very thin or ridiculously jumbo-thick, and after decades of holding the traditional thin barrel, my hand is complaining. Have had some success in using those knurled foam tubes; the removable grips that come with supermarket packs of children's pencils.

these, mentioned before by Chthulhu, might work:

http://www.jetpens.com/Ohto-Comfort-Sharp-Lead-Holder-2-mm-Orange-Body/pd/6961

 

http://static1.jetpens.com/images/a/000/024/24205.jpg

[Lyander0012]

Like a bunch of other people here, I started out using mechanical pencils (after that mandatory period of schooling here in the Philippines where everyone expects you to use ballpoints/rollerballs) before moving on to fountain pens about a year ago.

 

I actually had an extensive collection of Rotring Tikky mechanical pencils, which I feel are excellent mech pens for the price. They're what I use for drawing and the like, or writing on really insubstantial paper. I use FPs for everything else, FPs and felt pens (you try writing on a whiteboard with a fountain pen ). I say "had" because two of them, I'd lent to my classmates before they vanished without a trace, while the one red Tikky I had, which was my favourite, broke after a long period of service.

 

HB and F leads aren't really good to write with, since I've adopted a very light writing pressure after converting to FPs, so I use B-3B 0.5mm leads. I only use the HB leads for when I'm drafting out the design of a sketch or making guidelines on blank sheets of paper.

 

Cheers!

[Lyander0012]

The first of second duplicate posts. Could someone please delete them? Sorry

Edited September 29, 2013 by Lyander0012

[Lyander0012]

Duplicate (sorry!).

Edited September 29, 2013 by Lyander0012

[mports]

I've got to confess, I'm considering a couple of vintage models on Fleabay - I use a standard pencil draw faint lines when writing with my FP on plain paper, the idea of owning a vintage mechanical for that purpose is quite appealing.

 

Especially the vintage silver models with fancy scroll work,

[RMN]

Ordinary professional use - ten hours a day all week.

 

BTW, has anyone found a decent 2mm holder that is a little thicker in the barrel than normal? They seem to be offered only as very thin or ridiculously jumbo-thick, and after decades of holding the traditional thin barrel, my hand is complaining. Have had some success in using those knurled foam tubes; the removable grips that come with supermarket packs of children's pencils.

Have a look at the new Kaweco Special Black MP. I had the opportunity to see it yesterday at the Tilburg Penshow. It comes in several sizes including 2.0 and is about the length and thickness of a normal wood pencil (perhaps a tad wider)

 

D.ick

[orfew]

I have 2 MPs and I use them everyday.One is a Meisterstuck and the other is a 100 year Historical.

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh320/Orfew/2013-09-28224001_zpsa8cde7aa.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh320/Orfew/2013-09-28223729_zps8382c055.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh320/Orfew/2013-09-28223746_zps2d443b53.jpg

[whitedot]

Picked up a Staedtler Reg 925 85-07 today on a whim.

 

Well impressed.

Edited September 29, 2013 by whitedot

[flatline]

HB and F leads aren't really good to write with, since I've adopted a very light writing pressure after converting to FPs, so I use B-3B 0.5mm leads. I only use the HB leads for when I'm drafting out the design of a sketch or making guidelines on blank sheets of paper.

 

2B seems to be the sweet spot for me with my 0.3mm and 0.5mm leads. I'm less picky about the larger leads. HB, B, or 2B all feel fine in a 0.9mm or 2mm pencil.

 

I use very little pressure when I write, but I do tend to use heavier pencils that apply pressure for me.

 

--flatline

[Chthulhu]

these, mentioned before by Chthulhu, might work:

http://www.jetpens.com/Ohto-Comfort-Sharp-Lead-Holder-2-mm-Orange-Body/pd/6961

 

 

I stumbled upon another 2 mm propelling "lead holder" at Rhino Art Co. in Encinitas, California this morning: an Art Alternatives AA27233 Easy-Advance Lead Holder. This is slimmer and considerably heavier than the Ohto, or a bit thicker and still heavier than the standard 2 mm lead holders, with a round barrel, a nice knurled grip, and a sharpener under the button.

http://www.aceartsupplies.com/images/edu/big/nu/AM/AA_27223.jpg

(Later) The weight of the thing is due to its barrel being enamel over brass. The inner workings are very flimsy, mostly plastic and aluminum, and jam rather easily. I swapped in a different grade of lead, and, no matter what I tried, it wouldn't start unless the lead was loaded through the tip. It wouldn't feed a short lead (~1 inch or less) at all. The size and weight are good, but it would have been better off as a simple clutch lead holder.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Chthulhu

[rochester21]

Yes, mechanical pencils may be the next best thing to a fountain pen. I like the fact that they are maintenance- free, and replacement leads are pretty cheap. Generally speaking the pencils themselves are cheap and seem to last a lifetime.

I use a Staedtler Mars micro for quick memos and it`s pretty sharp

 

.

Edited October 3, 2013 by rochester21

[PrintersDevil]

anyone here a fan of the Autopoints?

I am. I bought one at the start of my first year of Junior College. Still have it; still works.

I also have a couple of Shaeffer see through mechanical pencils.

Used to use those in grade school; thought they were the coolest thing ever.

[betsypreston]

I love love love mechanical pencils. I have moved from very very thin pencil lead to .9mm and 1.1mm. My current fave is a MB Le Grand .9mm. But I still love my first 1.1mm Caran D'Ache Ecridor which I got used. And my Pentel P209s. I wore out a Rotring 600 Trio with a .7mm pencil before I moved up to thicker lead.