Month: February 2008

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Bic Criterium 2613 2.0mm leadholder

Bic Criterium 2613 2.0mm leadholder

Bic needs no introduction. Makers of much more than ballpoint pens, their many woodcase pencils seem to rarely be exported outside of France. Similary leadholders. I would love to be able to try some modern pencils from the country that gave the world the technique of blending graphite with clay – but I have rarely seen them for sale.

The Criterium’s website says that this leadholder has been in production since 1939, and comes in plastic and aluminum varieties. I would love to get the aluminum version, but feel lucky enough to have found any model.

The Uncomfortable Chair (in Japanese) and Leadholder.com both provide some excellent photos of the aluminum version.

The 2613 has a hexagonal black plastic body, metal clutch and tip, metal clip, and a metal cap. The plastic feels quite solid, and the pencil (with full lead) weighs in at a comfortable 9.5g.

Bic Criterium 2613 2.0mm leadholder

The clutch is opened and closed by pressing the cap. The cap is innovative, containing an eraser and sharpener. The sharpener is literally a hole in the cap, which at first glance appears to be just a design element. It is one of those elegant ideas that seems obvious once you know about it – yet someone had to think of this idea and design the implementation.

Bic Criterium 2613 2.0mm leadholder

The grip area has grooves in the edges of the hexagonal body. I find it to be quite comfortable.

Bic Criterium 2613 2.0mm leadholder

Overall, I like it. The understated look and the cap sharpener are the winning features.

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Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder (and Nikka Single Malt 10yo “Yoichi” Whisky)

Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder

If you think luxury writing instruments and leadholders are mutually exclusive categories, look again.

Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder

The Mitsubishi Pencil Company offers the Pure Malt leadholder, with the body made from oak reclaimed from Malt Whisky casks! (The clutch, tip, clip, and cap are metal.)

Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder

It has a very sleek, clean appearance. The woodgrain is dark, smooth and elegant. Plus, it was made from a whisky cask!

Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder

It has the great feature of a retracting clutch, making it quite portable and pocket-safe. (See photos.)

Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder

I found the hold and feel quite comfortable, and like the manner in which it carries off being both a leadholder, and a fine looking writing implement.

Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder

Mistubishi Pure Malt 2.0mm leadholder

The small instruction booklet indicates there is a matching lead pointer, in a cask shape! I would love to get that item, but have not seen it for sale.

The unusual materials motivated me to seek out some actual Japanese whisky. Living in a place with a government liquor monopoly, my choice was the usual – no choice. Nikka Whisky Distilling Co.’s 10 year old single malt is the sole current offering. So Nikka it is.

(I have no knowledge of which distillery, Nikka or otherwise, provided Mitsubishi’s wood.)

Nikka Single Malt 10yo Yoichi Whisky

The bottle is a pleasing shape, and the stopper seems to have a deep coating around the cork – something I’ve never before seen.

Anyhow, on to the whisky. It is a dark straw or tea colour. The nose is pleasant to me, but at a time of year when a “warm” day is -8 degrees, I won’t claim that I can discern much. The taste is full of nuts, toffee, and fruity notes. It’s a very nice dram – as smooth as a Tombow 6B pencil. The character is very much that of a nice scotch whisky, though made many miles away.

The bottle will certainly not survive as long as the leadholder.

Two great products, not necessarily for enjoyment at the same time!

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Craft Design Technology pencil

Craft Design Technology pencil

It is a great pleasure to be able to write about this new pencil.

Craft Design Technology is a Japanese brand which produces home and office goods with an emphasis on a consistent, clean design aesthetic. They are associated with a number of manufacturers. If my understanding is correct, the brand is oriented towards functional and aesthetic goals, rather than “luxury”. Most of their website is in Japanese, which I am not able to read.

Luckily for pencil aficionados, their products include item 17, which are HB pencils.

Craft Design Technology pencil

The pencils are unsharpened, and richly varnished in a vibrant light green – almost a washed mint or green tea ice cream colour. Very unusual and pleasing. There are no bands or cap markings, and text is thankfully minimal, in black:

Obverse: Craft Design Technology

Reverse: Made in Japan [logo] item 17: Pencil – HB

High end Japanese pencils use gold or silver colour paint for lettering, and the black is a nice alternative on this already attractive pencil.

The pencil sharpened easily, and the lead was exceptionally dark, smooth, and rich, with no crumbling. CDT’s website says the pencil is made by Pentel, and Pentel’s name and logo are on the box. In my opinion, this is the right way to do it. I don’t like mystery pencils, and If I had a pencil made, I would absolutely want the provenance known. I appreciate CDT’s disclosure.

Craft Design Technology pencil

After trying the pencil, the next thing I did was reach for a Pentel Black Polymer 999. I was really astounded – I believe the CDT pencil to be noticeably smoother that the 999. And that is saying something. I next reached for an HB Tombow Mono 100 , and I had the impression that the CDT could keep up. While I haven’t put them through any lengthy paces yet, my sense it that this really is a first rate pencil.

Craft Design Technology pencil

It comes in just HB, so it’s not aimed at artists and designers. But as a general purpose office or writing pencil, it is a remarkable new entry in the market.

Craft Design Technology pencil

If you decide to buy some (I doubt you’ll be disappointed), be aware that they should be a normal price for a quality pencil – I’ve seen them offered online with astounding markups.

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Mirado Black Warrior pencil

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

After posting about pencil shapes and round pencils, topics which inevitably reference the Mirado Black Warrior, I decided to give these pencils a try, and use them at home and work for a couple of weeks. Many of my observations about their quality have already been noted by past commenters.

A few years ago, I didn’t typically see them at retail, but today they seem to be available from a variety of retail sources, such as department and office supply stores. They are part of the PaperMate brand, which is owned by Sanford, a division of the Newell Rubbermaid corporation. The official product page of the pencil is here.

The pencils are round, and painted black. They have a gold coloured ferrule with a red band, and a “Pink Pearl” pink eraser.

They are marked with gold colour lettering:

USA Mirado Black Warrior B 1 [logo]

The box is pleasant enough, and announces that they are “The World’s Smoothest Writing Pencil – Guaranteed!” As least Sanford can spell the word. And the guarantee looks real – they have an address for returning the product “if it fails to perform to your satisfaction.”

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

My first impression of the pencils is not good – the black paint has crept up over the ferrule, and even on to the eraser on a number of pencils. (I bought two boxes in B/No. 1 grade.)

The stamping appears quite second-rate, with the gold letters in “Mirado Black Warrior” blurring into one another.

Some people say round pencils are harder to sharpen, but with various handheld sharpeners, including the “long point” variety, I didn’t perceive any special trouble.

Now let me address the issue of the pencils rolling away on one’s desk – most of these pencils are warped, right out of the box, and won’t roll away. One of them has a deep vertical crack. I couldn’t believe it, but it’s true.

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

Perhaps these came from a bad lot or batch. Still, Newell Rubbermaid is a huge corporation that must have the capacity for some sort of quality control.

Now I know there are people who adore this pencil – but presumably you are not regularly seeing these serious quality issues?

For writing, I think it’s possible that the round shape is more comfortable over the course of a day. It’s certainly a personal preference.

The lead is okay, and did not break, but I don’t think it’s as smooth as our reference Lumograph 100 or the Castell 9000. To be fair, the Black Warrior is sold at a much lower price point than those pencils.

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

Overall, I am somewhat perplexed. The pencils are so badly made that they occupy their own unique category. I cannot recall ever buying any other brand of pencil with so many quality issues. Yet, the Mirado seems to have commercial success, with an ongoing following. Is this because they are almost alone in the category? Would the market have room for a higher quality round pencil?

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Lamy Safari Fountain Pen/Ballpoint Pen set

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen/Ballpoint Pen set

There may be hundreds of reviews of the Lamy Safari out on the net. I agree with their general sentiment: the Lamy Safari is an excellent pen in and of itself, and one of the best overall values in fountain pens today.

I have a Pelikano Junior that’s also doing extremely well, but it’s new so I won’t place it in the Lamy’s category just yet. (Nor is the Pelikano even close to the same design level.) I also have other fountain pens that require a regime of rinsing, cleaning, and choosing the right ink. That’s okay, but convenience has some merits. The Safari, though abuse would be unwise, doesn’t require any of that sort of pampering. For me, it always just works. It is a great pen for someone who may be curious about fountain pens, but doesn’t want to spend too much.

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen/Ballpoint Pen set

The Safari comes in many colours, and Lamy released a white version last year. The set in the picture also includes a matching ballpoint pen.

The aesthetics of the Lamy are current and modern. I think it’s a great looking pen. The plastic box housing the pens is itself a great piece of design.

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen/Ballpoint Pen set

Now let me mention a couple things that you might have to learn the hard way if you buy a pen like this somewhere other than in person at a specialty fountain pen shop (where they typically know their stuff).

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen/Ballpoint Pen set

It will come with a handy ink cartridge. That’s nice, but be aware that this is a proprietary Lamy-only size. If you want to use these cartridges in non-Lamy pens, or use “standard” cartridges, such as from famous ink manufacturer Herbin, you are out of luck. Lamy makes a few colours, and that’s where your choice ends.

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen/Ballpoint Pen set

The ballpoint, which is also quite stylish and usable, takes a proprietary Lamy M16 refill. For someone like myself in a small city – the problem is that the local big box office supply store doesn’t carry this item.

Lamy Safari Fountain pen cartridge: T10

For the fountain pen – there is a path to more choices which I recommend – the (again proprietary format) Lamy Z24 format converter allows the use of bottled ink. This is to me a defining merit of the fountain pen – there are hundreds if not thousands of ink varieties available, ranging not just in shade, but density, wetness, drying times, and many other factors. The converter sets you free to try whatever ink you choose.

Lamy Safari Ballpoint refill: M16

To review, the Lamy Safari Fountain pen and ballpoint pen use these refills:

Ballpoint refill: M16
Fountain pen cartridge: T10
Fountain pen converter: Z24

Overall, I think they are great writing implements, but I have just a bit of concern about the non-standard formats – the ballpoint in particular.

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Staedtler Mars micro drafting pencils

Staedtler Mars micro drafting pencils

Along with the Pentel 120 A3 DX drafting pencils that I acquired last month at a university supply store, I purchased the rival Staedtler Mars micro line.

The micro, which may be Staedtler’s least expensive drafting pencil, has a metal tip, rubber grip, plastic body, metal clip, and metal cap. The lead advances by clicking the cap. A replaceable eraser is inside the cap. Just like the Pentel, a larger diameter pencil advances more lead per click than a smaller diameter pencil.

Staedtler Mars micro drafting pencils

I’ll admit that I immediately preferred the Pentel, and a month later, still do, for several reasons.

The Staedtler is a heavier pencil – about 13.2g to the Pentel’s 8.3g. The balance and hold on the Pentel seem (quite subjectively) superior to me, with the micro being unwieldy.

The grip on the micro is a patterned hard rubber. While I found the Pentel’s spongy grip pleasant, the Staedler was quite uncomfortable.

In appearance, I also much prefer the Pentel. It at least doesn’t seem to be taking itself so seriously.

For context, these are fairly inexpensive pencils, pretty much the cheapest that can make any claim at being a professional tool. Their price is equivalent to two to three quality woodcase pencils.

If you found yourself at a store with only these two drafting pencil choices, I’d recommend the Pentel.

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