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

[Zookie]

Most newer mechanical pencils have crappy little erasers, but the Pentel eraser sticks are cool, so I keep one of those with me.

The Kuru Toga is nice. The lead rotates as you use it, so it stays nice and sharp.

[Tweel]

Yes, I think the Pentel Clic Eraser is one of the very best all-around erasers I've used, and I've used all sorts. It must be their vinyl formulation -- I've used a similar one by Staedtler, and it was pretty bad.

[AL01]

Beh... That clip lasted 1 sitting in my pocket, and POOF! it got bent.

[MYU]

I lucked into a rather unusual "double-knock" PILOT mechanical pencil, that sent me into the world of mechanical pencils again. My earlier re-acquaintance with them was while I was collecting Rotring fountain pens and bought the mechanical pencils as companions. Didn't really use them much.

 

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/MYU701/pens/Pilot/Pilot_VP_MP_all-steel_01.jpg

 

 

There are a number of very high end mechanical pencils that were made by Uni, Pentel, and Pilot. Some of them head into the many hundreds of dollars on the resale market, which I find absolutely astonishing. But you can get some nicely crafted and solid vintage mechanical pencils for some pretty fair prices if you hunt around long enough.

 

I recently picked up a Kuro Toga with retractable tip (newer design) and it's a splendid value mechanical pencil. Something great to keep around in a bag or pocket without fear of damaging it.

 

There's something so wonderful about the mechanism of a MP, and the convenience of writing in pencil (you can erase when needed). I find it the ultimate "idea authoring tool."

Edited December 24, 2016 by MYU

[milkb0at]

I'm the OP.

 

Since this thread started in 2013, I've bought a Graphgear 1000, a Rotring 600, a Kuru Toga, and a Kerry.

 

None of them is a patch on my favourite in 2013: the Pentel P205.

 

There. I've said it.

 

I'm similar. I like MPs, have used them since school, went through a period at university when I wouldn't write with anything else. Now I have a small collection of MPs, some cheap, some more expensive.

 

I like the P205 the best. In fact, I'd like a premium version, but I don't think one ever existed.

 

Runners up are my Pentel Kerry, Pentel Q1005 and Lamy 2000.

[milkb0at]

MYU, that Pilot is *gorgeous*.

[Aquaria]

I've never been a huge fan of pencil in general. The sound of pencil lead on paper is a sound that normally sets my teeth on edge. It was like fingernails down a chalkboard to me.

 

Back in the day, I liked the old red-green-yellow-blue set of Empire pencils and the beloved Blackwing pencils, because they seemed to have better/less irritating leads than the standard wooden pencils. But both pencils disappeared from the market (and the Palomino is not the same!).

 

Then came inexpensive mechanical pencils and they were rather meh at first, but got better. For some reason they aren't quite as bad about the scratchy sound, so now they're bearable for me to use. A good thing, too, since I'm majoring in math and Japanese and thus spend most of my day needing to write with pencil now.

 

I never really loved any mechanical pencil, though, until I got a Kuru Toga Alpha Gel. I have the version in lavender (I love anything purple), and it's the most comfortable pencil I've ever used. Now I love it second only to my FPs. I love it so much I bought a backup, in case something happened to this one.

[lovemy51]

 

What do you mean? MY pic didn't post? Is it not showing up for you?

nah, i meant your pix didn't post when i quoted your post -i dunno if i'm making sense- no big deal. as i said, lovely collection!

[lovemy51]

this might have been mentioned before -even by me- the Pentel Quick Dock is a great all around MP. Twist Eraser, Push Top, Ergo Grip, Reservoir that holds 12 leads, if the lead breaks when writing (and i use very foft leads, .5 or .7 mm), the sleeve slides back up so one continues writing w/o having to click again...

[lovemy51]

Most newer mechanical pencils have crappy little erasers, but the Pentel eraser sticks are cool, so I keep one of those with me.

The Kuru Toga is nice. The lead rotates as you use it, so it stays nice and sharp.

nice, yes, but the only thing is that it only rotates when one picks the tip off the paper... if you write in cursive, it won't rotate as much. honestly, i don't see a big thing about that -mind you, i own two, the cheaper and the more expensive version. just like the looks!!

[Jamesbeat]

I make pens, and the only thing I will stoop to using a kit for are MP's (apart from one ballpoint for my FP hating wife).

I feel like it's ok to use a kit for a pencil because they are similar in construction to their vintage counterparts, whereas fountain pen kits are not.

 

I like the ones that are a copy of the Duofold pencil.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Jamesbeat

[Mister5]

I've cought the MP bug. I think it's the more technical gidgety gadget aspects that I find appealing... I liked the Ticonderoga pencils that automatically extended the lead when you were running out. Lately I've returned to a Parker 51 that sat sadly unused for a number of years... Got that as part of a set back in law school days off eBay, and it works brilliantly. The lead didn't dry up in the barrel and I didn't have to flush it out for an hour. Lately I purchased a Kuru Toga which is interesting as the lead rotates as you write (personally I think it's more of an issue for larger lead sizes... Not the 0.5mm I have) I have a Bill Blass with the same 0.9 mm lead as the Parker 51, only the Bill Blass mechanism you twist the top. And now I have a Lamy Scribble 0.7 mm on the way, and some 2B Ain Stein leads coming.

I like that with the pencils you can just start writing w/o worrying about bleedthrough, or water ruining what you wrote. There are other issues though... Jams, smudging, and having to push a little harder than a FP (I push hard on FPs too and write more vertically than I should anyway), and I'll be clueless about a simple repair/jam.

[flatline]

If someone has a light enough touch to write with 0.3mm pencil lead, then they'll have no trouble with a fountain pen. I use this as a test before I let someone use my Vanishing Point. If they can't write with the pencil, then the only fountain pen I'll let them borrow is the Vpen.

 

--flatline

[milkb0at]

Ha, the one 0.3mm pencil I have has a auto-retracting sleeve so the lead is always protected. So that trick won't work for me

 

I'm always amazed by the fact that my super fancy mechanical pencils, with clever mechanisms or nice materials, are still really, really cheap. I mean, a top-of-the-line GraphGear 1000 is £20. Yes, you can spend big bucks on a Yard-O-Led or similar, but most of the time mechanical pencils are ludicrously cheap compared to fountain pens.

[RonLyke]

 

 

Great source for leads:

 

http://www.legendaryleadcompany.com/

[bearcat1]

If you like mechanical pencils then look at rOtring pencils at jetpens.

 

They are very nice coming from a person that has been using mechanical pencils for 35 years.

[Aquaria]

nice, yes, but the only thing is that it only rotates when one picks the tip off the paper... if you write in cursive, it won't rotate as much. honestly, i don't see a big thing about that -mind you, i own two, the cheaper and the more expensive version. just like the looks!!

 

I use my Kuru Toga for hours at a time, some of it cursive (but most of it numbers/Japanese scripts). It's still better than the old system of rotating the pencil yourself after every few words. The Kuru Toga will do it after every word, every time. And that cuts back on lead breakage, chiseling and railroading.

 

Every little bit helps when you're using a pencil as much as I am every day.

[flatline]

Looks like this thread has been going strong since 2013. It doesn't look like my taste in pencils has changed much since this thread started, but my preferred lead size has changed a bit. I used to use 0.3mm lead for just about everything, now I use 0.3, 0.9, and 2mm, depending on what I'm doing.

 

My current top 5 pencils (in no particular order) are:

Staedtler Mars Technico 780 2mm lead holder

Pilot s10

Pentel Sharp Kerry

Staedtler 925 35

Pentel 120 A3DX aka "Sensi-grip" (now discontinued...)

 

I recently bought a bag of the Bic disposable MPs in 0.9mm to stash one in every horn case and music folder so that I wouldn't ever be caught without a pencil at a rehearsal. Some were left over to give to the kids. The Bic disposable MPs aren't as comfortable as the Paper Mate disposable, but they're far more robust (which matters in a horn case).

 

--flatline

Edited February 18, 2017 by flatline

[Georges_S]

I have been using grapghgear 1000 for years, only 0,3 and 0,7, very solid and reliables for urban sketching. But if had to replace the 0,7 one, i would probably go for the pentel Shark kerry, it looks amazing.

[danbuter]

If someone has a light enough touch to write with 0.3mm pencil lead, then they'll have no trouble with a fountain pen. I use this as a test before I let someone use my Vanishing Point. If they can't write with the pencil, then the only fountain pen I'll let them borrow is the Vpen.

 

--flatline

 

This doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe it's my FP, but I have to press harder with it to get a decent line than I do with any gel pen or rollerball I own.