Posts filed under Mechanical Pencil

Tuesday Toolset, Top 5 Mechanical Pencils Edition

*Have you tried a capped mechanical pencil?*

Change because things have changed, or change for changes sake? That’s what I’m thinking about while working on these Top 5 list updates. The lists I’ve updated so far were the easiest in my mind because there was enough change to talk about. With subsequent lists, things get a bit more difficult.

And, even if there are no real technical changes to the products in the list, my tastes change. My thoughts and ideas about how I use products change. The products I want to recommend change. So the deck can be reshuffled, if you will. Here are my current thoughts on the state of Mechanical Pencils.

Top 5 Mechanical Pencils

Rotring 600 - What, you thought that lead-in meant the number one spot changed? Not so fast my friend! I think the Rotring 600 is the best mechanical pencil on the market. It’s also the most expensive mechanical pencil on this list. That doesn’t always translate into best, but in this case it does. The brass barrel is weighted perfectly, the grip knurling is properly edgy, and it can take a beating. (Buy)
Pentel Sharp - This pencil is more of the reason for the above commentary. Like the Rotring, the Sharp has been around for decades, but at a much different price point. In fact, this was a primary office supply pencil as recently as the 1990’s. Something about this traditional design and overall feel scream mechanical pencil to me, and make me want to pick it up and use it. (Buy)
Pentel Kerry - If you think mechanical pencils are boring, then you haven’t seen the Pentel Kerry. I’ve been on the bandwagon for years, but I need to be louder and more vocal about how great this capped mechanical pencil is. That’s right: Capped! (Buy)
Uni-ball Kuru Toga - There it is! You can argue this should be number one on the list, and you will get no argument from me. In fact, I’m sure I’ve had it there myself over the years. The mechanics work flawlessly, and if the lead rotation mechanism is something you need, then go for it. I just rarely pick it up compared to the rest of these. Bonus point for tons of design variety. (Buy)
Uni Shift-Pipe Lock - When it comes to mechanical pencils, pipe protection is important. This pencil does it effectively, and beautifully. Give me more color options and I might rank it ahead of the Kuru Toga. (Buy)

(Notes: If I’m feeling frisky one year I may knock the Kuru Toga off completely and replace it with the Tombow Mono Graph Shaker. It’s one of the best bang-for-your-buck mechanical pencils on the market.)

My personal use ranking:

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Top 5, Mechanical Pencil, Tuesday Toolset.

Pilot S3 Drafting Pencil 0.4 mm Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

One of the most fun stationery categories to explore the super affordable drafting pencils. I first fell into the pen addiction due to these accessible tools, and that endearment still grabs me today. A drafting pencil is a fairly utilitarian and simple tool, but I like exploring what the different brands offer in the way of their aesthetic take of these classic tools.

The Pilot S3 Drafting Pencil is a $5 mechanical pencil that comes in a variety of colors and lead sizes. To make it easier to identify each pencil's lead size, each lead size is assigned a unique color. If you have several pencils scattered across your workspace, this color coding makes it easy to grab the right pencil instead of being forced to look at the small label on the side of the pencil to determine the lead size. To lay out all the colors and sizes, here they are:

The main thing I love about the aesthetic of this pencil is the clear nature of the barrel material. There's plenty of saturated color, but the see-through quality makes it look like a piece of delicious candy. Aside from the black/gray 0.5mm version, I'm really tempted to collect all the other sizes so I can just enjoy the barrel colors in person. They're just a lot of fun!

Aside from the color of the barrel, the next most important detail is the grip and how it feels when using the pencil. In this case, the grip texture is amazing. It's a soft texture — meaning I can't feel any sharp edges — but it's still really solid between my fingers. I've had zero issues with the grip slipping while using the pencil. It's been quite a while since I've been this happy with how a pen or pencil feels in my hand. Combine the great grip feeling with the light weight of this pencil, and you've got a winning combo. I can't recommend it enough as an entry level drafting pencil for these reasons alone.

Moving around to the back of the pencil, there's a small Pilot logo along with the branding for the S-Series pencil and the lead size. There's a chrome clip that does a great job at doing clip-y things, but it's also easy to remove if you don't want it. If you do choose to remove the clip, there's a small bump on the barrel (at the very top of the grip area, toward the middle of the pen) that prevents it from rolling off when you set it down. This is a great detail for Pilot to include on such an inexpensive pencil.

The cap comes off to reveal the universally useless eraser that comes with nearly every mechanical pencil ever made. If you remove the eraser, the lead reservoir is exposed and you'll also notice that the underside of the eraser also has a lead pipe tool for clearing out debris and lead jams.

The TLDR; of this pencil is simple. If the colors/aesthetic grab you, buy it! I'm really impressed by the build quality of this pencil and the way it feels in my hand. It feels much more expensive than $5, and I've found myself reaching for it more often than my Rotring in the last few days. While it can't replace a premium drafting pencil, it's exceptional for the price and definitely worth checking out if you need to fill out a collection of utilitarian drafting pencils of various lead sizes.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on February 19, 2020 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pilot, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Uni Alpha Gel HD II Shaka Shaker Mechanical Pencil Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The more stationery products I see and use, the more I'm convinced that there is really is a specific product for every tiny use case you can imagine. In some cases, you might want the convenience of a "shake to advance" lead system in a mechanical pencil combined with the luxurious grip of the Uni Alpha series. It seems like a completely random combination at first, but I'm also glad that it exists in case someone does need this specific combination of functionality. And even if you don't care much about the nifty shaking mechanism, it's still a great mechanical pencil that features the soft Alpha grip section.

The (take a big breath for this one) Uni Alpha Gel HD II Shaka Shaker Mechanical Pencil is the exact combination I described above. At first glance, it looks like a Uni Signo with the Alpha grip. We've reviewed these gel refill cousins before, and they're fantastic for people who want a soft and gel-like cushion on the pen grip. The pencil we have here is the same concept, but with a mechanical pencil component inside. On top of that, you can also advance the lead by gently shaking the pencil.

I've used pencils like this in the past, like the Tombow Mono Graph Shaker and Pilot Mogulair, and the concept of shaking the pencil to advance the lead is quite interesting. With this feature, you can advance your pencil lead with one hand and without moving your fingers from the grip section. I can see where this can be convenient, but it's also partly a marketing gimmick to set this pencil apart from the many, many other options. That being said, it's a really well done gimmick that works great in practice.

Similar to the Tombow, you can lock the advancement mechanism on the Shaka so that it doesn't accidentally extend (and break) lead while being jostled around in a pocket or bag. To do this, you have to rethink the top button of this pencil. The top button can certainly advance the lead if you press it down about 80% of the way. One press advances roughly 1 millimeter of lead, and you can also press and hold to push the lead back into the pencil when it's time to pack up. But, if you press the top button all the way down (it feels like pressing the nock of a normal ballpoint or gel pen), it clicks and stays in place. When the top button is down, it means the shaking mechanism is disabled and won't advance lead while the pencil is in transit. It took me a few minutes to figure out how this works, but once your brain gets over the confusing aspect of how the button being down seems like the opposite of a "ready to carry" position, you're all set.

It's entertaining to picture someone furiously shaking this pencil like a dried up bottle of Wite-Out or a fresh Polaroid, but that's not the kind of effort you need to exert with the Shaka pencil. All it takes is a small flick of the wrist to extend the lead by a millimeter or so. I can easily do this without moving my elbow or shoulder, and I really appreciate how easy it is to use in this regard. Let's be real: if it required the kind of effort that I mentioned above, you're not likely to use this pencil in public.

Along with the cushy grip and unique lead advancing system, you get the usual perks of almost every mechanical pencil ever made. There's a small eraser under the top button, and you can add more lead by removing the top button and the eraser to open the lead reservoir.

If you've never tried out one of the Uni Alpha Gel grip pens, you really owe it to yourself to try one some day. It's not for everyone, but you never know until you try one.

At less than $8, the Uni Alpha Gel HD II Shaka Shaker Mechanical Pencil (seriously, who came up with this name?) is an excellent value. If you try it out and don't like it, you're only out a few bucks, and maybe someone you know will love it instead. The pencil only comes in 0.5mm lead size, and you also only have two choices of color: the white featured here, and a classy Navy with chrome hardware. It's a fun pencil that I can definitely recommend if you want a unique mechanical pencil experience for a few bucks.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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