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:

• 0.3mm - Yellow
• 0.4mm - Red
• 0.5mm - Black/Gray
• 0.7mm - Blue
• 0.9mm - Turquoise

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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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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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Tactile Turn Stainless Steel Pencil Review

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

Tactile Turn is one of those names that the Pen Addict crowd have heard about at some point or another. Maybe you've seen the brand on Instagram, or seen one of the Kickstarter campaigns for their unique machined pens. Or, maybe you've seen one in person or even own one (or several) of these high-quality metal pens. Whatever the case may be, if you haven't heard of Tactile Turn before today, it's your lucky day.

Starting with a machined pen to hold either a Parker refill or a Pilot G2 refill, Tactile Turn made their debut many years ago with the Mover and Shaker pens. These are still available today, but not in their initial form. The team at Tactile Turn have iterated on these pens to make them the best possible version. They also make several other pen models, including a sliding bolt variety and even a fountain pen.

Most recently, the gang at Tactile Turn have produced an outstanding mechanical pencil that features the same design cues as the rest of their unique lineup. The mechanical pencil, dubbed the Pencil, borrows the shape and bolt design of the Bolt Action Pen but manages to squeeze in a mechanical pencil insert instead of a pen refill. And of course, what mechanical pencil would be whole without an eraser on top? The Pencil features a larger than normal black eraser for those mistakes that you just can't stand to leave on the page if you forgot your big eraser at home.

When purchasing the pencil, you can choose between a 0.5mm and 0.7mm lead size component, and you can also opt for a Damascus bolt over the standard titanium bolt. Not sure what Damascus is?

Titanium Damascus is different allows of titanium that are forged together and twisted to create a cool pattern. After they are machined, we heat them to bring out the pattern. Every bolt looks a little different. These are unique pieces and every one has variation from the next.

For an extra $20, I would go for the Damascus bolt every single time, and that applies to the Bolt Action Pen as well. The pop of blue-green-purple color on the all-business machined body is just too good to pass up.

The bolt is an interesting way to advance the pencil lead. Opposed to the Bolt Action Pen, which has a curved path for the bolt to slide down into action, the Pencil has a short 4mm path for the bolt to travel down. It doesn't feel entirely natural, but you can get used to it. Another aspect that doesn't feel entirely natural is the amount of force you have to use in order to advance the lead. It would be easier if the bolt was bigger or stuck out further, but that would ruin the aesthetic. Maybe a lighter spring on the internal pencil component would also help? Either way, I have found it slightly frustrating to operate the bolt on this pencil, but it's not a deal-breaker for me. After a little use, my thumb remembers how to operate it efficiently.

Another small design decision that gets under my skin is the fact that the lead pipe doesn't retract into the pencil body. This isn't something that you find on many mechanical pencils in general, but it's always nice to have. To be fair, I can't even imagine the engineering nightmare it would be to design a retracting lead component on this pen, and that's probably the end product lacks it. This omission doesn't detract from the pencil at all, as the point isn't very "pointy" and doesn't get stuck on things (like the insides of pockets) very easily as long as the lead is retracted.

Moving on to the rest of the pencil, you'll certainly notice the heft of the stainless steel model as soon as you pick it up. It's not a lightweight pencil! The entire body features the same uniform grooves that go around the body to create a tiny and textured grip surface that feels great to hold. On top of feeling great, it also gives the pen part of its unique aesthetic that all of Tactile Turn's products boast.

The clip is the same clip that you'll find on all the other Tactile Turn pens, and it does a fantastic job. It's strong enough to keep the pencil attached to whatever you clip it into, and the aesthetic matches the rest of the pencil perfectly.

The eraser looks right at home on this pencil, and also offers an instant visual cue that this is indeed a pencil (in case you have several Tactile Turn pens laying around on your desk). I wish there was an option to purchase an alternative cap for the pen if you want to leave the eraser behind and prefer a more streamlined look for the top of the pen. An option like this would definitely diminish the utility of the pencil, but I'd buy one pretty quickly to add to my Pencil since I don't really need the eraser built into the top.

Writing with the Pencil takes a little getting used to because of the significant weight. Most of the mechanical pencils I use are extremely light, so this one is quite an adjustment. Of course, this is one of the heavier options available. If you prefer a lighter pencil, I'd go with the titanium or aluminum models.

The Tactile Turn Mechanical Pencil is certainly an attractive looking pencil that looks great on my desk, feels good in my hand, and does a good job at making marks on the page. A few design quirks aside, it's an excellent writing instrument that I would happily recommend to anyone that is drawn to the Tactile Turn aesthetic. The Stainless Steel model shown here starts at $89, but you can pick up an anodized aluminum version for $69, a copper or brass version for $79, or a titanium model for $99. With each model, you can spend an extra $20 to upgrade to a Damascus bolt over the standard titanium, and I'd highly recommend it.

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