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

[Winegums]

I love my 0.5mm Rotring 800 in black. It's by far the best pocket friendly mechanical pencil I've ever used. The next best was the silver 600 that I got my wife for Christmas. The construction is amazing, the retracting tip is lovely to swipe with the side of your thumb, and the weight is just right allowing a great deal of control. I will always suggest that someone tries out a Rotring 600 or 800 if they can. You won't regret the purchase in my experience.

[MYU]

 

I recently acquired this. Best mechanical pencil I own. Even better than the retractable rOtring 800. It feels "just right" in my hand. And the clever twist mechanism is a joy to employ.

[AL01]

Pilot eh?

[voltron]

 

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.

Which pen is that? It looks like your pen has flow issues & either nib or feeds need adjustment.

Edited February 26, 2017 by voltron

[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.

 

Look at your nib under magnification. You may have a "baby bottom" shaped nib.

 

--flatline

[pyotrkot]

Hi everyone,

 

Fountain pens and mechanical pencils have fascinated me since seeing the first of each years ago. Since then I acquired several mechanical pencils (usually inexpensive, but a few premium ones too). My father used to say I had champagne tastes and a beer budget ;-)

 

I have a black and chrome, Pilot Vanishing Point Pencil model H-1005 that I plan to sell in the Classifieds forum here. It was used occasionally and had been in the pen drawer for years.

 

Last week I took it out and loaded some Pentel 0.5 mm B grade lead for a flawless performance. Nowadays; however, my preference runs to 0.2 mm & 0.3 mm leads. Hence my decision to sell this pencil that someone else may enjoy and appreciate the truly rare treasure it is.

 

Your collective guidance as to pricing would be very helpful. I would like to request a reasonable amount to promote a quick sale.

 

Looking forward to your suggestions,

K

[MYU]

Got this really interesting and uncommon Pilot mechanical pencil. Black window pane grid. What I didn't realize is that the body has a slightly larger rear section that steps wider at the seam. There's a black stripe mechanical pencil with that same design. Strange thing is the tip doesn't have an extending lead sleeve.

 

Click on thumbnails to enlarge.

Here you can see a comparison with a) typical black stripe steel Pilot mechanical pencil, window pane grid, and c) black stripe steel with enlarged rear body.

[Anne-Sophie]

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.

This lead holder engineering has not improved since that review.

 

I bought one to carry around for quick notes in my calendar/notebook, after using up the included lead, I could not refill it without dealing with a broken, slipping and finally jammed lead.

I am not even sure I can trust it as a lead container, it is, now, just a very expensive lead sharpener holder.

 

Since loosing my EDC, made in Germany, Staedtler, I use a clutch pencil from Alvin which is a great performer but doesn't have a built in lead sharpener, so the previous lead sharpener holder comes along for the ride.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Anne-Sophie

[flatline]

Since loosing my EDC, made in Germany, Staedtler, I use a clutch pencil from Alvin which is a great performer but doesn't have a built in lead sharpener, so the previous lead sharpener holder comes along for the ride.

 

I don't know where you live, but here in the Memphis area, German made Staedtler Mars Technico 780 are available from Michael's, Office Max, and Office Depot. I've got several Alvin lead holders that I like, but the Staedtler is my favorite. It's the only one I'd immediately replace if I lost it.

 

--flatline

[Tojusi]

Great source for leads:http://www.legendaryleadcompany.com/

Humbly beg to differ: site design does not permit shipping to outside the USA though that is not expressly mentioned anywhere but rather a fubpnction of the order form. Did not reply to repeated email queries even though I tried to make international shipping as easy as possible for the (did nyt even reply to say sorry but still no).

[elysee]

Clutch pencils have two or three "jaws" gripping a fairly thick lead at the tip of the pencil. These jaws are opened by pressing the cap at the end of the pencil allowing the lead to slide in or out as required.

 

Here are a bunch of clutch pencils at CultPens.

 

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Clutch-Pencils.html

Mechanical pencils are clutch pencils. For example, if you unscrew the silver end of a Pentel P205, P207, or P209 pencil, you will be able to view these "jaws" as you depress the button. In addition, if you unscrew the end of a Montblanc pencil insert, you will be able to view these "jaws" while depressing the button end of the pencil insert as well. It is these "jaws" in the pencil mechanism that advance the lead in mechanical pencils. The only difference between these pencils and those referred to as clutch pencils is that these "jaws" can be viewed at the end of a clutch pencil while these "jaws" are hidden inside other mechanical pencils.

[elysee]

While I prefer to have pencils in sets -- pencil, ballpoint pen, rollerball pen, and fountain pen -- here is one of the few stand-alone pencils that I own, a 0.9 mm Waterman C/F pencil. Enjoy! : )

 

[elysee]

Here is a pencil which elegant and solid -- a 0.7 mm Hexagonal Series Caran D'Ache Bicolor pencil. It has great balance, a solid click mechanism, and a nice weight.

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

'Ancient' ...well for designer anything '50-60's is that, A.W. Faber Castell TEKAGRAPH 9603,,,,Germany.

Imprinted for an elevator company.

The pencil Pencils+pens mentioned on an earlier thread.

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/Pencil%20F-C_zpsdus6b7pk.jpg

 

I have some real antique silver propelling pencils plus/minus 1900....and a '30's Parker flat top German clone....telephone number is only xxxx four digits long.

They just came along somehow....I didn't "collect" them....just like the TEKAGRAPH.

My P-75 ball point has a Parker lead cartridge. Perhaps I should try that pen. In I didn't like MP's, I never tried it as a MP, only as a BP.

 

I always hated Mechanical Pencils....never sharp enough, I guess. MP's got lost in the '50-60's school years and I didn't care. I of course still have a fossilized Jotter.

 

Then one day I picked up a Pelikan 450 that sat in the secondary pen box for ages.....and it was so well balanced..........100x better than the Pelikan 455 ball point. For some six weeks I used no fountain pen, only the 450.

 

Lack of use led me to think it was out of lead....the eraser was not screwed into the brass protector....so I was left wondering how to load it...and had no lead. It kept slipping my mind to get some lead....take it down to my B&M and find out how to load it.

I'd forgotten if one presses 'hard' and perhaps I had pressed it to the paper, retracting the lead. Problem solved, tad of old lead tossed, new lead from under the now screwed in eraser protector loaded.

450 in the fountain pen cups.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[TQuid]

Surprised to see no mention of the USA-made Autopoints. I love MPs and these are fun, with a different advance mechanism from most: you twist the nose cone. Unfortunately, the leads are somewhat proprietary, as they're shorter, and only available in a couple of hardnesses. I wish they came in something more like a 2B.

[FordPrefect8]

These days I use 80% of the time fountain pen, reminder is mainly mechanical pencil (ain stein leads ftw) and a dab of other exotics like Pilot Juice and Zebra Sarasa or Uni Jetstream hybrid ball pen for important documents and cheques (secure ink etc)

[dayrow]

Surprised to see no mention of the USA-made Autopoints. I love MPs and these are fun, with a different advance mechanism from most: you twist the nose cone. Unfortunately, the leads are somewhat proprietary, as they're shorter, and only available in a couple of hardnesses. I wish they came in something more like a 2B.

 

Autopoints are phenomenal pencils.

 

There's nothing proprietary about the leads, particularly if you use the more commonly available .9mm. (Some Twinpoint pencils also have .5 and .7mm options, of which just one is listed on the JetPens site: .7mm black, .9mm red.) Buy some leads—I use Pentel (Ain Stein)—and snap them in half.

 

I did read somewhere that someone had problems with a certain .9mm refill (Uni maybe?). It would slip right out. This would be because the Autopoints don't have a jaw that opens up and then grips the lead like most ratchet pencils; it just has a tube which is slightly thinner than the intended lead size, and a plunger that pushes the lead forward through the tube when you twist the nose. The trouble with this is, that there is variance between manufacturers (and sometimes grades) when it comes to lead diameters. A jaw can grip a lead within a small but definite range. If, however, a manufacturer runs on the thin side with their leads, the Autopoint won't be able to grab them. Uni must run on the thin side—unless my memory is off.

 

But again, Pentels work fine. Probably others.

Edited April 26, 2017 by dayrow

[aderoy]

Here is a good review / discussion on Autopoint pencils

 

http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.ca/2014/05/autopoint-interview.html

 

http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.ca/2014/06/autopoint-all-american-mechanical.html

[MYU]

Wouldn't you love to write with something like this?

 

 

It's made by TOMBOW. I don't know what model. All I know is that it's rather rare and pencil collectors bid like mad on them. This example closed for 9,800 JPY! Much too rich for my blood, given it's not a retractable. I paid that much for my much coveted twist retractable Pilot mechanical pencil, that I think is better made and probably more rare.

[milkb0at]

Wouldn't you love to write with something like this?

 

Wow, yes I would!