Posts filed under Mechanical Pencil

Staedtler 771 1.3mm 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.)

Every now and then, I get my hands on a writing instrument that is so far outside of my normal wheel of interest. Sometimes it's a delightful surprise, and other times it ends up being a short-lived interest. Either way, trying new things is the ultimate goal. In the case of this mechanical pencil, I've been grinning so much while using it to jot notes and doodles.

The Staedtler 771 mechanical pencil is a bold, playful pencil that features 1.3 mm HB lead that lays down thick, smooth lines of graphite. The 771 is comically large, and I really giggled when I first grabbed it. Despite the loud yellow and black color scheme, it's incredibly comfortable and easy to use. After using it a few seconds, it reminded me of the large diameter (10mm) pencils students were given in kindergarten and first grade while we learned to write our alphabet. The large diameter is easier to hold and control for little hands, and the same is definitely true for this mechanical pencil.

If I had to guess, one of the main business cases for this pencil is for school children who are learning to write. It's a robust, ergonomic pencil that doesn't require sharpening. Plus, it comes with a substantial eraser that will last quite a while since you can extend more as you wear it down.

The 1.3mm lead size isn't unheard of, but it's not common in mechanical pencils. This lead is wide, and it wears down to a flat surface in just a few strokes. If you continually rotate the pencil while writing to prevent a flat side, you end up with a wonderfully stubby round piece of lead that makes roughly 1mm lines when writing. For me, I don't really enjoy rotating this pencil as I write since it has a clip and a three-sided body that messes with how the pen feels in my hand.

While this pencil is great for young people who are learning how to write by hand, this is also a great choice for artists that want a wide line that maxes out at just 1.3mm. Graphite and pencils have a larger diameter core that eventually gets ruined by the necessity of sharpening the pencil or graphite stick. You can do a lot of shading with this 1.3mm pencil, and you never have to sharpen it or constantly determine how the line is changing as the lead wears down closer to the wood casing.

And you can also compare this to the more engineering-focused lead holders, though those typically use large lead sizes as well. Still, the perk of the Staedtler 771 compared to a lead holder is ease-of-use. Need more lead? Just click the back of the pencil to extend some more. Want to retract the lead so you can safely stow it in a pocket or bag? Easy. Not so much with a lead holder.

Along with the large body, triangular grip, and wide lead, there's also a lead cushioning system built in to the pencil to protect the lead from excessive pressure. Again, a great feature for people that are learning how to write. In my testing, it works well at preventing lead breaks.

Whenever I see a pencil with a tiny eraser, I mumble and complain about how pointless it is. If you're going to put an eraser on a pencil, make sure it's a useful one. The erasers you find a woodcase pencil are great, but when they're gone, they're gone for good. The 771 features an extendable eraser that should last for many mistakes, and does a great job at disappearing the wide 1.3mm graphite marks. And if you need more erasers, they're easy to replace and don't cost much either (about $2 for a 3-pack).

Writing with the pencil is comfortable thanks to the wide body, triangular shape, and rubber grip section, but this isn't a pencil that I reach for when I want to write notes. The large lead size just doesn't pair well with my relatively small writing style — the letters are hard to read. But, this has been a go-to for drawing and doodling since you can get a lot of different line widths from different sides of the lead, and it also does a great job at shading.

At $9.75, the Staedtler 771 1.3mm mechanical pencil is a lot of fun, and I think it meets its purpose beautifully. It looks silly, but that's okay. It's supposed to be fun because learning to write and drawing is fun. If the school-themed yellow/black colorway isn't your thing, there are other colors too (white, black, and blue)! Just be sure to pick up some extra lead with your order since you'll go through it quickly while rediscovering your inner child.

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

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Posted on May 15, 2024 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Staedtler, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Tombow Mono Graph Fine Mechanical Pencil Review

Tombow has been on quite the run with their mechanical pencil lineup for the last several years, and that run continues with the Tombow Mono Graph Fine Mechanical Pencil.

This pencil has everything I am looking for in a drafting-style pencil: a lightweight barrel with the weight balanced toward the front, good visual clearance of the tip, and a comfortable grip section. The Mono Graph Fine checks all of those boxes, and adds in Tombow’s amazing eraser - a twist eraser, at that - a solid clip, and a clean aesthetic.

What’s not to love? For me, I can’t think of a single thing.

The only question I had after unboxing this pencil was how the grip was going to feel. Would it be too smooth and slick? Is that weird depression really needed? It’s definitely not too slick. According to the product description, it is coated with a “grippy soft-touch finish,” and while I’m not sure that is the proper technical term, it is an accurate description of how it feels. I’ve had no slipping so far.

The low profile notch is nice in the fact that it doesn’t get in the way if your fingers are not seated in it perfectly at all times. Mine aren’t, and I never noticed it. I tended to start right in the middle of it, but my fingers move up and down the grip and the notch edges are so minimal it never bothered me. In fact, I never noticed it while writing at all.

One design decision companies make at this price point is to use a metal grip section in combination with a plastic upper barrel, and that’s what Tombow has done here. This gives the pencil that front-weighted feel that technical pencils need for good line control. You know, for all of the engineering I do. Still, this is expectation for this design, and it feels great in hand.

As someone who is eraser agnostic when it comes to any type of pencil, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how fantastic Tombow’s erasers are. I used this one more than I hoped, and it performed brilliantly. Most, if not all, of the graphite was removed from the page, and no eraser dust was left behind to brush off - it sticks to the eraser.

*Top to bottom: Rotring 600, Tombow Mono Graph Fine, Pentel Sharp P205, Spoke Model 6.*

Like with many of their other pencils, the eraser is part of a twist mechanism to extend and retract as needed. A feature of the Mono Graph Fine is that when the eraser is extended, the pencil knock locks in place so you don’t accidentally extend the lead when erasing. Does anyone press down that hard with their eraser to have this problem? Chalk this feature up to marketing, not necessity.

The final piece of the puzzle is price, an area that Tombow is extremely competitive in. The Mono Graph Fine is $13.75, which positions it perfectly against the competition. While I’d go as far as saying their other pencils such as the Mono Graph Grip Shaker and Mono Graph Lite are underpriced, this model is bang on price-wise. And, like those other two pencils, it would make a great addition to your mechanical pencil collection.

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

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Posted on February 19, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Tombow, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Namisu Pulsar Polycarbonate Mechanical Pencil Review

In the stationery space, Namisu has been known mostly for their fountain pens. I’ve backed several of their Kickstarter campaigns, and have always been happy with the end result. With the launch of the Pulsar, Namisu took that fountain pen aesthetic and applied it to a fresh mechanical pencil design. Successfully, I might add.

As is the norm with Namisu, choosing the style of your writing instrument poses the biggest challenge. The Pulsar comes in three different barrel materials - Aluminum, Titanium, and Polycarbonate - with each featuring different colors and finishes. How could I choose? Well, just have a look:

The Polycarbonate barrel with Steel grip and Petrol finish stood out to me, and would bring a different style to my writing library compared to my other mechanical pencils. Little did I know how different it would feel in hand, as well.

The best way I can describe how the Pulsar Polycarbonate feels is “different.” Not different bad, or different good, just different. I’m used to metal grips and acrylic/plastic barrels in pens and pencils, and even prefer that setup in many cases. I like it in the Pulsar as well, but I’ve yet to stop thinking about the feel of it in my hand.

The Polycarbonate barrel has a thick wall, and combined with the bolt mechanism in the last quarter of the barrel, the balance shifts towards the rear. Not terribly, but enough that I keep thinking about it.

Mechanical pencils, even more so than most types of pens, need to feel one of two ways for my needs: weighted towards the front, or ultralight. Most mechanical pencils are designed around tip control for detailed writing or drawing. The Namisu Pulsar is designed for regular writing.

Being designed for writing is perfectly fine in my book, which is why I enjoy the Pulsar. But I think of it more as a pen than a pencil, given its more stout design, and pipe-less tip. I also have it loaded up with the 0.7 mm mechanism, which leads to more of a writing style. I have’t tried to swap in the 0.5 mm - I think the wider size suits the barrel better, but it is a nice option to have.

I also wonder if the aluminum model feels different, and more front balanced. It has a 23g total weight, versus 31g for the Polycarbonate model, so it’s likely. The Titanium model checks in at 33g, for reference. Aluminum may be the choice if you prefer 0.5 mm lines.

The Pulsar Polycarbonate looks amazing and feels great. It is built well, too, which is a Namisu staple. My only hangup is when do I choose to use it over any of my other favorite mechanical pencils?

During the Kickstarter campaign, I paid around $42 for this model. It is currently $58, with the Aluminum Pulsar at $55, and Titanium at $85. If the style is something you like, I would have no hesitation recommending this pencil. Just be sure to consider how you will use it to ensure that it is a good fit for your graphite writing needs.

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