Platinum Pro-Use 171 Mechanical Pencil Review

It's been a while since I really used a mechanical pencil in earnest, but I'm glad I decided to pick up the Platinum Pro-Use 171 recently. The name isn't great, but don't let that turn you away from this otherwise excellent pencil.

The Platinum Pro-Use 171 mechanical pencil is a drafting pencil made with premium materials, but it also sports a couple of neat tricks that make it a little nicer to use than your standard drafting pencil. Of course, it also has that tiny emergency eraser to erase the tiniest of mistakes.

Along with the metal body, knurled grip, and matte black finish, the pencil also features a fairly standard lead-grade indicator, a pocket clip, and a retractable lead pipe. Pretty standard fare in the mechanical pencil realm.

What sets this pencil apart is a couple of features that add some additional customization and adjustments to make this pencil fit your grip, style, or the specific job at hand.

First off, the lead pipe is completely adjustable in length. By rotating the cone back and forth, you can extend or retract the lead pipe from 0 to 4.5mm. At the 0 setting, the pencil is set for storage in a bag or pocket without the risk of poking through fabric. But when you're ready to write, draw, sketch, or use the pencil alongside a straight-edge, you can extend the pipe to the appropriate length to get the job done.

I've found that I enjoy using the pencil with the lead pipe extended all the way (to 4.5mm) because of the way it alters the grip. See, this is the main downside I have with the pencil. When fully extended, the knurled grip blends smoothly into the cone and gives me the grip that I prefer. When the pipe is retracted, that extra space (up to 4.5mm) is transferred to a gap between the grip section and the cone. The pencil still works just fine in this setup, but it does alter the grip feel. My fingers can't get comfortable when this gap is present. The smooth material between the knurled grip and notched cone just confuses my fingers and I end up fidgeting with it too much.

With my personal idiosyncrasies aside, it's still a really cool feature. I have plenty of pencils with retractable lead pipes, but they're either fully extended or fully retracted — no in between. It's nice to have this level of control for certain tasks.

The other feature, which I'm even more excited about, is the pressure-absorbing spring contraption inside the pencil that allows the lead to retract back into the pipe if you exert much pressure on it. This is intended to prevent lead breakage when you apply too much pressure when using the pencil, but it has the added benefit of making the pencil feel softer on the paper when using it. This feature is easy to turn on or off — just rotate the grip one way or the other. You can't tell a big difference at first between the two modes, but after writing for a good minute or two in one mode, it's much easier to feel how it can completely change the way the pencil feels when writing or drawing. I've really enjoyed writing with this pencil with the soft mode turned on. In my mind, it's a similar difference to how a soft gold nib feels as compared to a stiff steel nib of the same size. They both write great, but the gold nib feels a little softer. Depending on what you're doing with the pencil, the ability to switch back and forth is really cool.

As far as other options go, you can grab this pencil in a variety of sizes/colors. If you want the matte black version shown here, you have an option of 0.3mm or 0.5mm lead sizes. There are also 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm versions, and each is represented by a specific color — gray, navy, black, and white bodies with a silver knurled grip section and cone. The matte black versions both cost $34, while the other ones come in at just $20. From what I can tell, the only difference in price comes down to the materials used. The body of the matte black versions are metal, while the others are just plastic. Functionality-wise, they're the same.

The Matte Black Pro-Use 171 looks killer, and it's worth the extra 14 bucks to match that blacked-out aesthetic if that's your thing. If not, save some money and know that you're getting an equally great pencil!

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

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Penco Carry-Tite Case Giveaway

Sometimes I can’t help myself - I just have to buy cool looking new products even if I have no immediate use for them. What’s the worst that can happen, give them away to you? That’s exactly what I am doing with this Penco Carry-Tite Case. Penco makes bright, colorful, and useful stationery goods, and this case - more of a pouch really - looks like it is a popular one.

I have one in the pictured Light Blue colorway for giveaway, so read the rules below and enter away!

Penco Carry-Tite Case Giveaway

Otto Hutt Design 03 Fountain Pen Review

The Otto Hutt Design 03 is a prime example of the challenges buying a fountain pen without getting to handle it first. My process with this pen has gone something like this:

“Wow, that’s a great looking pen.”

Acquires pen

“Hmm, this is heavier than I imagined.”

Inks it up.

“The balance is towards the end of the pen, not the nib.”

Commits to using it daily.

“It’s fantastic!”

I’m fortunate that I am able to test and try a TON of stationery goods, and I want to relay my thoughts on them as best as possible to you. Sometimes, that means breaking down the materials, mechanics, and specs of the products. Other times, feel plays an outsized role. This review falls in the latter category.

It took using the Design 03 for an extended period of time for it to really click. I’m at the point now where I want to use it all the time, which is fantastic, because at $180, this is not an inexpensive pen.

Otto Hutt has been manufacturing pens in Germany since 1920. You may have already guessed that, with design nods from classic German brands like Faber-Castell and Lamy seen throughout the lineup. The Design 03 is no exception, but brings a more modern look to the brand.

The design is what caught my eye the most with this pen. It is simple, clean, and understated, but is subtly impressive. Of course, I love the all-black look, including the PVD coated black steel nib. In fact, the full name of this pen includes the word Allblack, because there is also Rosewhite, Darkgrey, and Lightgrey. Maybe they should change the company name to Ottohutt?

What they shouldn’t change is the design of this pen, no matter if I think the weight should be 1. Lightened, or 2. Shifted slightly. The Design 03 clocks in at 2.02 oz., which is weighty for a pen of this stature. For example, the Sailor 1911 Large is the pictures clocks in at less than half of that, at 0.88 oz. When simply holding the pen, that is noticeable. But when writing, not as much.

I think that is why the Design 03 reminds me so much of one of my all-time favorite pens: The ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen. Just look at the picture below:

Pretty close, right? And at 1.49 oz., it is closer to the weight of the 03 as well. They both have a thinner than standard section, too, which I don’t mind.

From a writing perspective, the Fine steel nib was perfect out of the box. You only choices for the 03 are Fine and Medium, which is why I didn’t choose an Extra Fine, but I’m pleased with the output. The nib is smooth, flows well, and I didn’t notice the PVD coating making the line wider than I would expect from a German Fine nib, or feel any different.

Finally, let’s talk price. I think $180 is at the upper limit of value for this pen. It’s fair, but there is a ton of variety and competition in this range. The aforementioned ystudio runs $160, and I think both could use a $20-$30 decrease to be more competitive. But that’s irrelevant, really. The price is the price, and if you’ll spend $150 on a pen, then you will spend $180.

If you couldn’t tell, I am enjoying using the Otto Hutt Design 03. Will you? That depends. I think there are necessary questions to ask up front, especially about the weight of the pen, the lack of nib options, and the price. For me, I look forward to seeing what else Otto Hutt has to offer.

(I purchased this pen at a discount from Vanness Pens.)

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