Mechanical pencil lead diameters
Photo (L-R): Leads in 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, 0.9mm, 1.18mm, 1.3mm, 1.4mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 3.15mm, 3.8mm, and 5.6mm diameters
Mechanical pencil users have a lot of choice in lead diameters. Between thin leads used for drafting and wide leads used for sketching, most of us should be able to find something suitable.
0.2mm
That’s not a typo! Introduced by Pentel in 1973, the 0.2mm lead is used by the PG2 (or PG2-AD) Pentel pencil. It is extremely thin. Refilling a pencil with this lead is not unlike threading a needle. While I expected this diameter to be essentially unusable, I didn’t find any problems in practice. I’ll give some credit to Pentel here - it seems almost impossible to me that this lead wouldn’t continually break, but it didn’t.
0.3mm
For drafting, this is the thinnest lead made by a variety of manufacturers.
0.4mm
Also for drafting, this diameter is a Japanese specialty. Some ranges of drafting pencils are sold with this width in Japan, and without elsewhere.
0.5mm
The thinnest writing and general use diameter, it is also used for drafting.
0.7mm
A larger diameter also for writing and general use, as well as drafting.
0.9mm
Introduced in 1960, this was once the “standard” thin lead pencil diameter.
Today, it is used for drafting and a few general use pencils.
1.18mm
Prior to the 1960s, the standard lead diameter. Still used by Yard-O-Led, and a few others, including some companies that didn’t exist when this diameter was the norm!
1.3mm
Pentel and some other Japanese manufacturers have made light use of the 1.3mm diameter, and Staedtler recently introduced a pencil in the category.
1.4mm
The Faber-Castell Emotion was the only pencil using 1.4mm lead until Lamy changed their ABC from 3.15mm to 1.4mm. Still, an unusual lead.
1.5mm
The lead shown is a historical variant. (This example from Faber-Castell.) Fedra and others once made 1.5mm leadholders, but I’ve not been able to find one.
1.6mm
(Not Shown.) One of two in production diameters that I’m aware of that aren’t shown here. Faber-Castell Brazil makes 1.6mm pencils. (Brazil is also where the 1.4mm leads are made.)
2.0mm
The diameter of the lead in a standard woodcase pencil, 2.0mm is the beginning of ‘wide’ rather than ‘thin’ lead in many definitions. The standard for many drafting clutch leadholders made around the world, and carried in ‘big box’ stores, it is possibly the most available lead width apart from 0.5mm and 0.7mm.
2.5mm
(Not Shown.) Koh-I-Noor is the only modern manufacturer of this lead that I am aware of.
3.15mm
The outer realm of drafting lead diameters, this lead is today mainly used for sketching, though some drafting-syle clutch leadholders are still sold. The quite amazing Lamy Scribble introduced many of us to this format.
3.8mm
Used by Pilot, Caran d’Ache, and Koh-I-Noor, this diameter is also inside many art pencils (graphite, colour, and other). Strictly for drawing.
5.6mm
The largest standard lead that will be found in an art supply store, there are 5.45mm and 5.5mm subvariants. Very useful for sketching, pencils in this diameter continue to have a market.
There are a number of historic diameters not mentioned, but I think this list is correct at present. Let me know if I’ve missed something!
So, which lead diameter do you use?
August 6th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I prefer B .9mm leads.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I’m a big fan of 0.7mm mechanical and 2.0mm clutch pencils for everyday writing, and I’ll occasionally use a 2.0mm clutch for sketching as well. My Staedtler 925 25-20 is my current workhorse. I like that it functions just like a mechanical pencil and fits in my Tru Point. Though I do most of my drawing with regular woodcase pencils or a 5.6mm “sketcher” depending on the format.
August 7th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Mainly 0.7mm and 2.0mm. Comparing various widths of leads is a fun!
August 7th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Good post. I have the 1.4mm Faber-Castell Emotion.
August 7th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I like the Pental 0.5mm in B or even 2B in clicky mechanicals, and Lyra Orlow 2.0mm in HB for lead holders. My favorite woodcase pencil is the Lyra Orlow in B, or maybe the Palomino in HB.
August 7th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Interesting diamaters, I only knew 0.3/4/5/7/9 and 2.0
I use 0.5 for regular use and have a 0.3 that I use every once in a while.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Is the 1.8mm the size Scripto uses?
Scripto- especially the 2B grade- leaves a mark very much like that of a wooden pencil.
The other size I favor is the 2mm, which fits clutch holders like Fixpencil and Koh-i-Noor.
~A
http://laviegraphite.blogspot.com/
August 7th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
The .9mm lead was widely available in the 1940s. It was known in the US by its English size equivalent, .036″.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Thanks. I must have been taking Pentel’s PR a bit too literally. They probably meant polymer vs. clay leads.
Another interesting point is that these diameters are essentially ‘labels’ - the leads aren’t necessarily exactly the stated diameter.
August 7th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Abraham, your comment just came through, though the timestamp places it ‘out of order’. Sorry for that.
Scripto - their current pencils use what they call 1.1mm lead, which is another label for 1.18mm lead, shown in the photos. The brand is still around, though I haven’t seen their products at retail.
1.8mm lead (a typo, when you meant 1.18mm?) is an historic lead diameter.
August 8th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Yes, that’s right- I meant 1.18mm (Scripto). Thank you!
This size, as well as the 2mm clutch size, rarely snaps while writing- and is especially good for those who bear down while writing.
I find these work really well on that waxy “Rite in the Rain” paper.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:11 am
Pentel also produced the PS1042 with .2mm lead. I will be getting one of these shortly, and i have its counterpart in 0.5mm.
I have yet to .4mm lead pencils, but i have written with a few sent for inspection. its like using a .3mm without the breakage. I know as i get older, fine motor skills become distant. :)
August 10th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Hi Germ. Hmm, the PS1042 is all metal. Thanks for the information.
These super fine widths are definitely not for casual use by those with a heavy hand, a category which includes myself. :)
August 16th, 2008 at 2:08 am
I use 5.6 mm 4B (Koh-I – Noor) leads for writing. Mainly because I’ve fallen in love with a “Gessner” pencil, a replica of the “original pencil” from 1400something. It is not always practical even though I have to sharpen less than I expected. The “rotating technique” helps a lot.
I
also use Pentel’s twist erase 0.5 2B Ain. BTW I wonder why the 0.5 mm lead size has fallen out of grace with the luxury brands? More heavy writers? Us light writers seem to have less to choose from in this category these days.
However, most of the time I use wood cased pencils – and the Palomino is unbeatable, no matter the grade.
Regards Henrik
August 20th, 2008 at 11:11 am
1.18 in my yard-o-led altough I don’t use it very much as I tend to use woodcase pencils much more. No. V from Graf von Faber-Castell :D
August 26th, 2008 at 5:36 am
I am a big fan and happy user of 0.4mm pencils; my favourites are the Pilot S10, the Pilot H-1094 and the Pentel AccuGraph PG-1804 (of course the fact that they are quite exotic in Germany adds to the excitement). Does something have any information about the origin of that diameter? Has it been produced just to fill the gap between 0.3 and 0.5 or has there been a particular demand for it? Are there any other manufacturers besides Pentel, Pilot, Mitsubishi/uni and Ohto that had or have 0.4mm mechanical pencils in their range? And which mechanical pencil is considered the first with that diameter? – By the way: I use mainly Pentel Ain lead in B and 2B for these pencils and I am very happy with it.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:04 am
The ISO 9177-n documents (which I think I learned about from Gunther) might have some relevant information. Unfortunately, the set of three standards is 126 Swiss Francs, and is comprised of just 11 pages (total) of documentation!
Completely speculating here - just as one has an arithmetic sequence that may be useful for clear line width differentiation in the 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mmm sequence, the existence of a 0.4mm lead allows for a similar but finer sequence with the 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm, and 0.5mm leads.
September 8th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I use the only diameter lead worth using (IMHO) and that is 0.3mm in HB grade. I mostly write with it but when I draw I also draw with it. When I worked for a company where I had to press hard enough to go through several layers of carbonless paper I used a 0.5mm HB pencil/lead because 0.3mm would tear the paper and the lead would break.
Recently I was introduced to the uni Kuru Toga 0.5mm rotating clutch pencil. The clutch turns the lead 9 degrees each time the pencil lead touches paper. Amazingly enough this produces a 0.3mm line! It has quickly become one of my favorite pencils. A very short while ago I ordered a 0.3mm Kuru Toga. By my calculations it should produce a 0.1mm line! If anyone is interested I’ll post results here when it arrives and I’ve had a chance to use it.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:50 am
To OneLoneMan:
Yes please, I am interested in your results re “resulting line width” from a 0.3mm Kuru Toga. I consider the Kuru Toga a splendid idea — if it were not for the fact that you have to press quite hard in order to make the lead rotate; i.e. it calls for more pressure than what I have been taught
to use :-)
Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden