Posts filed under Pencil Reviews

Makers Cabinet Ferrule Pencil Extender Review

It has been difficult to get my review of the Makers Cabinet Ferrule started. What do I think of it? Who is it made for? Is it good, bad, or somewhere in between? What’s the hook?

When I don’t know where to start, the easiest place to begin is with a fact: The Ferrule is a $96 pencil extender. What I’ll try to decide the rest of this article is the opinion portion of the proceedings. Is it worth it?

There is no doubt that the Ferrule is expensive. In the grand scheme of Makers Cabinet products, that is the norm.

The job of the Ferrule is to extend the life of a pencil stub, aka the shortest remnant of the pencil barrel when it has been used past an easily grippable state. There’s a lot of good graphite left in there, so let’s try to get all of it out!

To do that, the Ferrule twists apart in the center of the barrel, opening a clutch mechanism to allow you to slide a 7-to-8 mm diameter pencil into the opening. A twist back the other direction locks the pencil in place for use. To sharpen, or extended the stub further, simply repeat the process to remove or adjust until the pencil is no more.

As you may have surmised at this point, pencils with erasers can be an issue. Standard ferrules and round erasers squeeze in there, but Blackwing’s rectangular setup need not apply.

(Note: Round ferrules are definitely an issue. I got one stuck when I was setting up the pictures for this post. After a moment of panic, I figured out a way to stick a long, skinny metal rod (thank you meat thermometer!) through the top of the barrel down far enough to push it out. Whew.)

Since the pencil is down to its final form as-is, I have no problem hacking the ferrule off to fit the Ferrule. That’s then entire reason for its existence anyway. It does ship with six Kitaboshi-core short pencils for use if you don’t want to use your own pencils.

Historically, pencil extenders are thin and lightweight, designed to mimic the traditional wooden pencil writing experience. The Ferrule is none of that. The brass barrel is heavy at 45 grams, and around 12 mm (I had to eyeball it, my digital caliper battery is dead,) at its widest part of the grip section. For me, these measurements are the biggest hangup. It turns a classic pencil into something completely different.

Different is ok, but the Ferrule is not additive to my writing experience. At this price, it needs to be. As I was using it over the last few weeks, I was hard pressed to find a situation where it would be my preferred writing choice. It’s too wide and heavy for much more than a quick note. Plus, I’m never short on pencil inventory, so if I get one down to the stub, it’s an easy choice to grab a fresh one out of the box. And who doesn’t love that?

This is primarily a drawing/sketching lead holder, similar to the 2 mm ones I enjoy. I think for extended drawing use you would have to grip it further back on the barrel and use broader strokes and movements. Another option would be for it to be a utility pencil; wood marking, for example. Any type of standard writing will tire your hand out quickly.

In the end, it’s a great design that turns a wooden pencil into something I don’t want it to be. I can also see where others could find good utility in the Ferrule, such as the person I borrowed it from. They like it so much they bought two!

(The Makers Cabinet Ferrule was loaned to me by a friend for purposes of this review.)

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Posted on September 26, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Makers Cabinet, Pencil Reviews.

Craft Design Technology 038W Pencil Review

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

It's been several months since I've tried a new pencil of any kind, so I was happy to sit down and switch gears for a while with the new Craft Design Technology 038W mechanical pencil. Immediately after opening the box, I knew I had seen the pencil before, but couldn't place where. Then I remembered seeing one on my dad's drafting table from decades ago. And then I remembered that the pencil I remembered was made by Pentel. Interesting. After investigating the box and small card that came with the packaging, it even gives manufacturing credit to Pentel for the pencil. At any rate, the 038W is a re-branded Pentel Sharp Kerry pencil in a unique colorway, and it's still the great mechanical pencil that Pentel has offered for decades.

If you've never tried a Kerry, you really ought to pick one up and give it a go. It's one of only a few mechanical pencils I can think of that features a capping design. All of the mechanical pencils I own are one piece, and you can easily retract the lead into the pipe when not in use. In some cases, the pipe and cone of the pencil retract into the body for safe keeping. But with the Kerry (or 038W), The cap completely covers the front half of the pencil from the grip section to the lead that protrudes out of the pipe. In this case, you can cap the pencil and stow it without remembering to retract the lead first. The lead won't get broken off in your back, pocket, etc. while not in use! This can be a big perk if you like the lead to stay at the same length in between uses.

The design of this pencil reminds me of fountain pens like the Pilot Murex or M90. While those fountain pens are of a higher quality (and price), there's something about the shapes that my brain can't help but compare. Sure, the Fisher Bullet pen or Kaweco Sport is similar in that the posted pen is a normal length while the capped pen is much smaller, but the Kerry just has a similar vibe as the M90 and Murex.

The pencil is fairly lightweight despite the use of metal in most of the parts. The cap is fairly long, but that gives the pencil a perfect balance when posted. You can also use the pencil without the cap, but it's a little too short for my taste.

The middle part of the body between the grip section and the back of the body is a textured metal that offers a subtle grip. For a standard grip, you won't use this metal piece when writing, but it does provide good handling feel when moving the pencil around when not writing.

The section and back part of the pencil body are made of a white plastic. Aside from these two pieces, everything else is metal. But the metal pieces all feature unique finishes that make them stand out. My favorite look is the cone and tip — it has a satin finish that I really enjoy. There are reflective chrome-like finishes on the nock buttons, and some reflective bits on either side of the middle decorative section. Honestly, I think the overall aesthetic could be improved by reducing the various finishes down to one or two.

Let's talk about the clicker, because that's one of the more interesting things about this pencil. The lead advancement button is on the butt of the pencil, just like most mechanical pencils. But, since this is a capped design, the button is covered when the cap is posted. No good! But Pentel provided an elegant fix for this. There's a "dumb" button on the cap as well that sits on top of the real button when the cap is posted. When posted, the lead advance button feels just like any pencil. It's solid and responsive and you'd never guess that it was detachable. I love it.

When writing with the pencil, the plastic grip does a great job of providing solid grip and control. The nose is tapered heavily and the lead pipe is about 2 mm long, giving you great visibility around the area you're focused on drawing or making marks with a straight edge. It feels great in the hand, and I've really enjoyed using it.

In short, I'm a big fan of the Pentel Sharp pencils, Kerry included. It's cool to see companies like Craft Design Technology put their spin on this classic pencil, and I hope it introduces more people to this great product. It is currently sold out at Yoseka Stationery, so if you want to pick up your own, you can find it on the Craft Design Technology website. According to current currency conversions, it costs about $20 before any shipping or other fees for international customs. If you're already in Japan, this is probably an easy thing to grab. Unless you really want the unique colorway featured here, you can pick up a standard Pentel Sharp Kerry in a number of other colors from your local stationery store or preferred online retailer. For the US, JetPens has several color variations for $16. The great thing about this pencil is that it feels like something that costs more than the price tag. It's a great pencil, and one you should try out if it looks even remotely interesting to you!

(This pencil was purchased from Yoseka Stationery at retail price.)

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Posted on September 7, 2022 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Craft Design Technology, Pentel, Kerry, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Mitsubishi 9800VB Pencil Review

Anti-microbial stationery goods have been around for decades, but they haven’t exactly been interesting for avid stationery fans such as myself. These products were generally a combination of low-quality/low-cost for bulk purchase and usage by schools, hospitals, and the like. And unless you wanted to go with a full copper-barrel product for it’s natural anti-microbial tendencies, a premium writing experience was hard to find.

Now, don’t let me lead you on too much in advance, thinking I’m going to tell you that the Mitsubishi 9800VB Pencil is going to break barriers and is the greatest pencil of all time. That’s not going to happen. But what I will tell you is the combination of what’s under the hood (i.e. the graphite core,) combined with a stylish and functional exterior, make for a pencil I want to use frequently-virus blocking or not.

Let’s get the marketing specs out of the way up front. The “VB” in the 9800VB product name stands for Virus Block. From Mitsubishi:

“Here's the interesting part: that lovely sky-blue coating isn't just paint. It's made with a new antiviral coating called "Virus Block" (hence the 9800VB model number) that was jointly created by Tokyo Institute of Technology and Keio University.

In lab studies, towels coated with Virus Block had 99% fewer viruses and fungi on their surface after 60 minutes than an untreated towel, and 99.9% fewer after 24 hours. That makes the 9800VB an attractive choice for public settings like schools and offices, which even in non-pandemic times are sites of cold and flu transmission.”

Awesome, right? Also, no one else will be sharing my pencil with me. That said, there are use cases you may have for this product, making them a good option. For me, I want great performance and beautiful design. The Mitsubishi 9800VB gives me both.

The key to any good pencil is a good core, and in using Uni Mitsubishi’s 9800 core as a base, this one is off to a good start. While it may be their entry level HB graphite, it is a clear upgrade to any basic yellow #2 pencil you will come across. The core is smooth, but has a firmness that provides excellent point retention. It does fall shy of being as good as more premium cores, such as those found in Blackwing pencils, but at a fraction of the price, they are more than worth it.

I’ll readily admit that the aesthetic of the 9800VB makes me love this pencil even more. The light blue barrel coating, combined with at the royal blue foil stamping is chef’s kiss goodness. The lack of an eraser never bothers me, and certainly was the correct choice in conjunction with the Virus Block feature of this pencil.

Do you need the Virus Block? If you are like me and will be the only one using this pencil, sitting at my desk, unshared with others, then no. Do you like the aesthetic, and the quality of Japanese pencils overall? For $1 per pencil, then yes. I’m clearly in the latter category. And for those who could use the Virus Block technology in their home or workplace, I think they are absolutely worth trying. I’d maybe even go for a bulk discount if you were looking at buying a gross (144 count) or more for your facility.

Mitsubishi 9800VB vs 9850 — *The 9850 is softer and darker.*

For a similar pencil, minus the Virus Block, you can grab the original Mitsubishi 9800, or for a softer, darker core (despite also being marked HB,) try the eraser-attached Mitsubishi 9850-both of which are at the same price point as the VB.

(St. Louis Art Supply provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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