Category: leadholders

The “dollar store” isn’t typically a place I’d look for anything, let alone writing implements. Yet, I was recently in one, and found this 2.0mm mechanical pencil, with a package of mixed-grade refill leads. For one Canadian dollar – which is currently about 86 US cents, or 63 € cents.

The bilingual (English/French) packaging doesn’t indicate much. The pencil comes with a mixed grade package of HB, B, 2B, 3B, and 4B leads. The mixture is appreciated, though the spectrum seemed narrower than I expected in testing.

The pencil can be refilled through either the tip or the cap – a nice feature.

The pencil is extremely lightweight – 7.6g unfilled, and appears to be made of lightweight plastic and metal with a blue rubberized surface. The grip area is triangular.

My general expectation of a “dollar store” product would be low quality, and while this pencil is definitely not going to replace my Staedtler 925 25 20, neither is it unacceptably cheap. The design does seem original, with a nice enough colour palette choice. It is comfortable to hold, functional, and very lightweight. While this blog doesn’t favour no-name items, for this price, the pencil and refill leads are an almost shocking offering. Maybe it is the Tata Nano of leadholders.

Has anyone else found any interesting discount office supplies?

So what is a “leadholder”? The shrine is at leadholder.com. My abbreviated nutshell summary is that they are simple mechanical holders for wide diameter leads. Wide usually means 2 millimeters (mm) or more. Today, there are three common wide lead diameters – 2mm, 3.15mm, and 5.6mm.

If you aren’t familiar with these writing implements – and there is good reason to not be, since they won’t be found easily – it is my recommendation to try one if you are interested.

The simple part is the “clutch” – which clamps a lead with three jaws. Other variants are essentially mechanical pencils, which have an internal clutch, and a button to expel the lead.

2mm is the same lead diameter as most woodcase pencils. 3.15mm is a larger variant. Both are used in traditional drafting, architectural, and mechanical drawing disciplines. Since most of these professions switched to computer based drawing one to three decades ago (with notable holdouts), these pencils today are probably more in the domain of students learning traditional drawing methods, and artists. They are of course both perfectly useful for general writing.

5.6mm is definitely in the sketching and arts realm. At this diameter, various chalk and charcoal media can also be used. I like the sanguine and sepia refills that these pencils accommodate.

While thin lead (meaning 0.2mm though to 0.9mm) mechanical pencils may be the trend or norm – and many have sophisticated internal mechanisms to support their very fragile leads – wide lead pencils are the antithesis. Wide lead pencils are simple, and can be used freely in one’s hand, without any fear of lead breakage. And a thick lead can be used to create marks with considerable line width variations, or in a soft grade, to just sail across a large piece of paper! If you want to sharpen the point, there is no shortage of methods!

Kaweco, a brand of Gutberlet, recently introduced a new line of pencils. What makes this line special is that Kaweco is embracing all three wide lead diameters!

Sold in five basic colours, the blue series is shown here. I bought these at retail, and they are a great example of the benefits of the brick and mortar store. Online, all the colour variants seemed good to me – yet thank goodness I didn’t buy them online, because some were not at all appealing to me when I saw them in person.

The 2mm version is a cap button advance mechanical pencil, while the 3.15 and 5.6mm versions are clutch leadholders. The 5.6mm pencil additionally has a sharpener inside the cap.

The pencils are highly unified in appearance, yet each differs – the tip, the cap, and of course the lead.

They are budget priced writing implements which perform without problem, and have a finish just as sophisticated (excepting the removable clip) as far higher priced alternatives.

Highly recommended.

Caution. Avert your eyes! This is a joint post, and you should first head on over to Dave’s Mechanical Pencils to learn about Ancient Kauri wood. Then head back here.

It isn’t too often that a letter carrier arrives at my door bearing a package with the markings of the New Zealand postal authority.

I’ll admit that I knew in advance about this parcel, and was eagerly looking forward to receiving it.

There was said to be some magic inside – ancient Kauri wood. And not in the form of a swamp log – but transformed into a mechanical pencil.

The pencil is indeed quite something – made from an ancient and historic wood that is important in traditional Maori culture.

It is now winter in Canada, and sunlight can be scarce. On a bright day, the wood just gleams and shines. Some surfaces have three dimensional aspects, and the entire surface is engaging. Bits of sap are translucent and shiny. The patterns call for twirling the pencil and careful examination. Different aspects of the wood are revealed in different light conditions.

The pencil itself is 137mm long, with Kauri body and gold plated metal accents. It weighs a modest 24.4g with the included lead. It takes a 2mm diameter lead – and is in the format of a mechanical pencil, with the cap acting as a lead advance button.

The clutch leadholder format is more common for 2mm leads. Yet recent years have also brought wide lead (defined as 2.0mm and greater) mechanical pencils such as this to the market.

This particular pencil has a nice advantage – some mechanical pencil style wide lead pencils don’t have sufficient rotational grip to support the use of sharpeners – but this pencil easily meets that goal. A minor disadvantage is that this pencil cannot accommodate a standard 130mm refill from manufacturers such as Mitsubishi or Staedtler, and about one third of a refill lead will have to snapped away to be made usable.

The advance mechanism requires a forceful click, but functions in a reliable manner.

The cap contains a basic lead pointer, functional in an emergency.

The grip and shape seemed visually “not quite right” to me, but have been completely fine in practice.

I’ll try to quickly mention the one flaw in my view – the appointments. The cap, clip, mid-section, and tip, though plated in gold, are generic and of inferior design. The Kauri seems to have no relationship with the trim. The appointments detract from the history and majesty of the pencil. No serious manufacturer could actually offer this level of quality at retail. Unfortunately, pen turners seem to have access only to extremely generic kits such as this.

The pencil writes nicely, and even if it isn’t one’s standard grip, holding the pencil on the Kauri area is irresistible!

The unique origins are another intriguing aspect – for me, contemplating the history in this pencil is very engaging.

Overall, this pencil has a fascinating history, and I am thankful for Dave’s generosity in commissioning it and sending a specimen to me.