Posts filed under Mechanical Pencil

Caran d'Ache 849 COLORMAT-X 0.7mm Mechanical Pencil Review

The Washington D.C. pen show was an exercise in sensory overload, so it is time to get back to the basics this week and tackle one of my favorite product categories: mechanical pencils.

“Basic” is a term rarely used when referring to Caran d’Ache products. Classic is probably a better term, and they do classic as well as anybody, as seen with this Caran d’Ache 849 Mechanical Pencil.

Given my love for the 849 Ballpoint and Fixpencil, both of which share a similar 849 barrel design as the mechanical pencil, I’m surprised it took me so long to try one out. My first impression when unboxing it? “Oh, yeah.”

*Top to bottom: 849 Ballpoint, 849 Mechanical Pencil, Fixpencil.*

That’s the sound of being familiar with a product lineup and brand, despite never using this exact model. The aluminum barrel of the 849 Mechanical Pencil is lightweight, sturdy, and comfortable. This model features a Blue COLORMAT-X anodized finish, giving the pencil a subtle sparkle and satin/matte feel. If the Pentel Sharp P Series mechanical pencil shipped with a metal barrel, it would look and feel a lot like this.

Staying with the Sharp comparison, the primary aesthetic difference between the two is the lack of a screw-on nose cone. The 849 barrel is one piece through the front taper, with only the tip of the mechanism appearing through the opening. It is not retractable into the barrel, unlike its ballpoint brethren.

The stock Caran d’Ache 0.7 mm lead is soft and dark. While I enjoyed writing with it, if this was primarily a writing pencil, I would look into swapping the lead out for something harder. But for artwork, drawing, and sketching, this lead is ideal. 0.7 mm width is your only choice, though.

While the lead is an easy swap, the price isn’t. This pencil is expensive for what it is, but that is the C’dA way. At around $23 it isn’t outrageous, and the similar 844 model is only a few dollars cheaper, so you are paying that Swiss premium for sure. Some of their products are easily worth that premium for me, and others have more competition.

I think the 849 mechanical pencil falls into that latter category, where I find the various 849 ballpoint and Fixpencil styles more “worth it.” I’m glad to have this pencil in the arsenal to play around with and compare to other products, but I’m not looking to add another one at this point.

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

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Posted on August 14, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Caran d'Ache, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Tombow Mono Graph Lite Mechanical Pencil Review

Is there a more underrated stationery maker than Tombow?

Their product lineup is not the biggest, and they don’t cover every corner of the stationery world. They are more Zebra than Pilot, for comparison. But everything they make, especially in the sub $10 price point, is outstanding. Often, that product is the best in its category.

Is the Tombow Mono Graph Lite Mechanical Pencil the best in its category? If not, it’s close. When I pick it up and use it, I smile. Sometimes stationery is that simple.

Oh, did I mention this is a $3 mechanical pencil? That’s right. This pencil would be right at home on a students desk as much as it would be on the drafting tables of an architectural firm. They still have those, right?

Why do I like this mechanical pencil so much? Design execution. You’d think companies wouldn’t obsess over a $3 pen or pencil, but the ones that do are clear. The plastic barrel is light and smooth. The rubber grip hits in the right spot and feels nice. The fixed lead pipe is long, but proportional to the overall length of the pencil. The clip color is designed to match the barrel across the lineup. And finally, a Tombow staple, the eraser doesn’t have a cap, it twists to extend and retract.

If I can overthink a $3 mechanical pencil this much, they must be doing something right.

*The stock 0.5 mm Tombow graphite is crisp and firm - exactly what I’m looking for. Written on the* *Kobeha Graphilo Square Notebook*.

This isn’t the first time I’ve gushed over a Tombow mechanical pencil or ballpoint pen. Their woodcase pencils and brush pens are pretty darn good to. They also make my all-time favorite color pencil in the Tombow Irojiten, so yeah, you could say I’m a fan.

Tombow isn’t the largest stationery brand in the world, but not everyone needs to be Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour to be important. Sometimes, three friends loading in and out from their Econoline every night, heading from Athens to Asheville to Amherst, is exactly what you need. Like a Tombow.

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

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Posted on July 17, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Tombow, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Delfonics x Pentel Sharp P205 Mechanical Pencil Review

Long-time stationery fans are certainly familiar with the Pentel Sharp series of mechanical pencils. On the market for over 50 years, they are a classic workhorse mechanical pencil, used by students, artists, professionals, and general stationery lovers like myself.

Why do I like this pencil so much? It is lightweight, with a narrow plastic barrel that tapers towards the metal nose cone. The entire feel and shape of this pencil is designed to disappear into your hand and provide exceptional control and sight lines from the tip. With this design, it became one of the most popular technical pencils ever made.

Over the past decade or two, Pentel has leaned into special editions for the Sharp series, mainly in the Japanese market. I’ve been able to add a few to my collection, and am always on the lookout for more. An orange barrel had always eluded me - unless I wanted to go the eBay route - until I spied this Delfonics x Pentel Sharp at Vanness Pens.

The product color is listed as red, but it is clearly a reddish orange in my book - even leaning more to the orange side of the spectrum. I purchased my favorite 0.5 mm lead size for those fine, fine lines, but it is also available in an 0.9 mm.

While the barrel color made the purchasing decision easy for me, I was curious about them working with Delfonics for this pencil. Pentel has dabbled in collaborations, most notably with Craft Design Technology, who has taken many of Pentel’s classic designs and reimagined them into a premium brand. This more direct collaboration with Delfonics surprised me in its simple styling, and is not something I recall seeing much of from the brand.

It wouldn’t shock me if these types of “Brand X Pentel” collaborations were more widely available in Japan. Delfonics, a Japanese brand themselves, is mostly known for their paper goods and stationery accessories, so collaborating with a big big brand on a popular product - even if that collaboration is a simple barrel stamping - is a good match for both.

For my money, Pentel has the best mechanical pencil lineup on the market. There are single pencils, like the Rotring 600 or Uni-ball Kuru Toga, that may be better, but as a full collection from top to bottom, no one does it better than Pentel. They are consistently high quality, fairly priced, and feature my favorite stock graphite in the Pentel Super Hi-Polymer. Even the eraser is top-notch.

The Pentel Sharp is an all-time stationery great. The only downside I can list is that the barrel may be too small and light for larger hands. Even the price is right, at under $6 for standard editions, and around $8 for limited and special editions, and collaborations like this one.

I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the classic black P205, or the pale blue of the P207. But these bright colors - I’ve added more since acquiring this one - are the ones I want living on my desk.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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