L. to R.: Stanley knife, Pentel Side FX 0.5 PD255, HEMA vulpotlood, Pentel Function .357, Uni Kuru Toga 0.5, Kaweco Sport

Since my schooldays, I haven’t done much work with a mechanical pencil. I have an education as a pre-press graphic designer and graduated in 1995. The Mac had taken over the pre-press world but our school was a little late to the party, so I still learned to work with paper, ink, huge cameras and chemically developed, rasterized film.

Outside of school and some internships I never used these (literally) old school techniques any more, but I still love the tools of the trade. I can’t resist buying them every once in a while, when I’ve found a new one that looks promising. Mechanical pencils (vulpotloden in Dutch) are among my favorites. Penciltalk.org was a eye opener. Apparently I am not the only one who likes mechanical pencils.

You’d think that, with the increased use of computers and the digital lifestyle becoming the standard, items like mechanical pencils would be used less and less or would even disappear completely. Fortunately, this is not the case, although they don’t get a lot of attention. They are there, but they are not advertised much. Still, I think some of these items have never been so high in quality while so affordable as now, in the 21st century.

I’m not a very active collector, but whenever I visit a warehouse or bookstore, I like to check the assortment of mechanical pencils. Of course, you’ll often find dozens of cheap lead holders usually mostly made of plastic, designed without any fantasy. Dull.

However, at the HEMA, a series of Dutch department stores, I found a nice exception. A full metal mechanical pencil. It comes with a single 0.5 mm lead to get you started and even though the eraser is too small for frequent use, the weight of it alone gives you confidence that it’s a serious piece of equipment.

HEMA is known for their ‘own’ products. Most are produced specially for them, to their specifications. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised if these mechanical pencils are not available anywhere else.

It is sturdy and handles well. The surface looks like aluminium but given the weight, I’d say it’s steel covered with a layer of aluminium. The metal clip is strong but flexible enough to be really useful. The body is sleek but the lower part is slightly wider, which makes it more comfortable to hold. The diamond shaped profile makes the grip much better and en passant makes it look like a piece of a fine mechanical instrumentation. In the center of the grip are some deeper laying rings that amplify this effect even more. All together, it’s a little gem among those plastic elements.

A closer look at the different parts of the HEMA mechanical pencil

Sincere thanks to Leon for contributing this excellent article. Photos and text by Leon. Since composing the article, Leon has noticed that the HEMA clip appears to be identical to that of the Rotring 600.

Congratulations to Dave’s Mechanical Pencils for a milestone fifth anniversary!

Dave’s blog is a wonderful and entertaining source for information about mechanical pencils.

The Porsche Design P’3120 series of writing instruments are machined from single blocks of aluminum. There are pencils and ballpoints in the series – no fountain pens or rollerballs. They are made by Faber-Castell, though press announcements indicate Pelikan is slated to take over manufacture of the Porsche writing implements. I’m curious if Pelikan can or will continue the current designs, or if there will be a new slate of products.

The first P’3120 was the aluminum version. Though expensive for a mechanical pencil, the sleek lines and unified look appealed to me, and I picked up the first of this set.

Two later versions in “anthracite” and “titanium” finishes changed the milled ring pattern to a tighter line.

The latest version is in black, part of the “Edition 1″ series. It differs from predecessors in having Porsche markings on the body rather than the clip.

I hope the photos speak to the appearance, and I’ll mention some other aspects:

The grip is formed by three scallops in the pencil. It does require keeping the pencil in place in one’s hand, rather than rotating.

The clip looks beautiful – yet the weight and length of the pencils don’t work well with shirt pockets, and the clip is too tight to work well with jacket pockets. It is what I would call a desk pencil.

The refilling of the 0.7mm lead is done via a Faber-Castell cartridge. As with most pencils I buy, I immediately replaced the manufacturer’s lead with the fantastic Pentel Ain lead.

The lead advance is achieved via twisting the cap (which is also the top half of the pencil). The P’3120 cartridge mechanism is one of the good ones – it works well, and there is very little lead breakage, though this is a heavy pencil and I suspect I write with what some might call a ‘heavy hand”.

There is a small “emergency only” eraser under the “cap”.

The pencil weight is 30g – not Yard-O-Led territory, but heavier than most mechanical pencils. Again, making this a desk pencil rather than a contender for the pocket.

Despite these great characteristics, in the end it is the overall aesthetics that won me over. The sleek, modern machined look is appealing. The pencil sits well in the hand, and functions well. I like each of the four versions, and use them all in rotation. I have not previously been drawn into the “get one of each” approach to buying writing instruments, but somehow was won over in this case.

As well, the machined aluminum resists scratching and day to day wear, quite unlike other writing implements I own. I think I would be content with a used version of one, which isn’t my typical approach.

Overall, I like the P’3120, and wholeheartedly recommend it with the noted reservations.

One more inexpensive multipencil. Please see the previous post on the Uni Style Fit for comparison.

Pilot also makes an inexpensive multi-refill writing implement, the Hi-Tec-C Coleto. Like the Style Fit, any combination of appropriate refills works. There are 2, 3, and 4-refill bodies, and by my count, 45 different pen refills, varying by diameter and colour. As well, Pilot makes a stylus and a 0.5mm pencil refill.

I ordered the 3-refill body ($US2.20 at Jstationery) and three pencil cartridges. As an international customer, I like Jstationery’s shipping policy – always charging the customer only the exact postage incurred.

My intent was again to create a multipencil, but this time in a tri-grade graphite format rather than tri-colour. I used Pentel Ain lead in 4H, HB, and 4B to create a nice graphite spectrum.

The Coleto has a number of differences with the Style Fit. First, the selection and advance mechanisms are not part of the pencil body, but rather attached to the refills! It looks odd to me, but works quite well in practice.

The body is more of a standard cylindrical shape, the clip much more able to actually clip something, and the grip area has a rubberized pattern overlayed. Overall, I find it much better thought out and practical than the Style Fit.

While it started as an experiment, I really like the result. The 4H/HB/4B pencil combination is definitely appealing and something I will use.

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Today we’re going to look at the Uni Style Fit. The Style Fit is an inexpensive multi-implement writing system known for a vast array of refill types and colours. Here is an official Mitsubishi Pencil Co. press photo showing the lineup. I count 16 body and 103 refill choices! 102 of those refill choices are pens – a wide range of gel diameters and colours, and a smaller ballpoint selection. There is also a single pencil refill – 0.5mm Nano Dia HB lead.

Though there are many multi-pens on the market, they typically have a set configuration – two ballpoints and a pencil, for example, or three ballpoints – which can’t be changed.

What is really interesting about the Style Fit is that you can put in any combination of the 103 refill types. This made me think that it could be configured as an inexpensive multipencil. I ordered a 3-refill body (all of $US3.00 at Jstationery) and three pencil cartridges.

I changed one cartridge to red lead and another to green. There seemed to be very little tolerance in the cartridges, so replacing the leads required a steady hand. (see below)

The mechanism seems complicated, yet is reasonably practical. The clip is also a lead selector, and two other spokes also function in this capacity. I attached the graphite cartridge to the clip, and the red and green leads to the smaller spokes. You select a lead by sliding the appropriate clip or spoke. This in turn extends the cartridge. The cartridge will lock in place, and the lead is extended by making smaller clicks of the clip or spoke.

Overall, I’m pleased. While admittedly a bit of a novelty, it is also an inexpensive and functioning red-green-graphite multipencil. There is some rattling noise inside the pencil, and it doesn’t exactly look like a luxury writing instrument. Yet at this price point, neither consideration seems important. Also available in single and 5-refill bodies, there are a lot of possible uses for such a customizable item.

Update (March 14, 2010): I had mentioned the challenge of replacing the default lead inside the cartridge. This was based on attempting to reload a stand-alone cartridge. If you first place the cartridge in the pencil body, replacing the lead becomes simple.

Graphite is not the only refill available for mechanical pencils and leadholders. Colour lead refills, red in particular, are available in several formats. They might be be used by teachers, accountants, or anyone seeking to make a noticeable mark. The thicker versions might have uses in carpentry and masonry. Let’s examine ten of them.

0.5mm Pentel PPR-5 Red – a faint but usable red.

0.5mm Staedtler Mars micro color 245 05-2 Red – much more vibrant and saturated colour than the Pentel lead, yet also fragile – frequent breakage seems to be the tradeoff.

0.7mm Pentel PPR-7 Red – also faint but usable.

0.7mm Mitsubishi Uni Color Red – a bit softer than the Pentel, also a redder hue.

0.9mm Pentel PPR-9 Red – the format makes the marks more readable than the thinner versions.

Overall among the thin leads, the Pentel leads are slightly orange, while the Staedtler and Mitsubishi leads are truer reds.

2.0mm Koh-I-Noor 4300/5 Red – previously seen here, the lead is somewhat orange, and seemed faint.

2.0mm Fueki (???) RA20 Red – this is a brand that was previously unknown to me, and I thank isu of the uncomfortable chair for kindly sending this lead to me. It is quite good, with vibrant colour and on the softer side.

2.0mm Mitsubishi Uni Red – not bad for writing, it seems to keep a point, and is on the orange side. It should be noted that the leads have an attachment that prevents them “falling through” clutch leadholders. This may make them unusable in certain brands. There is also a risk of this ring getting stuck in a leadholder.

3.15mm Lamy M42 Color Red – surprisingly hard for a lead of this diameter, it is a nice refill for a 3.15m pencil.

3.15mm Wörther Spare Leads Red – very soft, they are almost like wax crayons – a marking tool rather than a writing implement. They’re also easily the most vibrant.

Among the thin leads, I like the Mitsubishi because it seems to be an accurate red. The Pentel, though performing well, has a slight orange hue that seemed not right. Though the Staedtler lead has great colour, it was too prone to breaking to be useful.

Among the thick leads, the 2.0mm Fueki and 3.15mm Lamy were the standouts from a writing perspective due to their truer red lead. The Wörther would no doubt be good at rougher tasks.

Ten samples is by no means a complete survey of the category. Are there other brands that you like or special uses for red lead that you might have?

Yard-O-Led is a famous writing implement manufacturer. For those who appreciate graphite writing implements, their products have a unique appeal. The company’s original offering, the mechanical pencil, is still made in historic styles and formats by a team of six in Birmingham, England. Unlike many other fine writing implement manufacturers, their pencils are not derivatives of a pen offering – the pencils have a unique mechanism and format which has remained essentially unchanged from 1934 to the present.

This particular pencil was chosen carefully. Though other traditional formats appealed to me, my experience with a vintage Yard-O-Led pencil indicated that some were a bit hard to hold in my hand. I wanted this pencil for daily use, and not to be banished to a shelf. For me, the Edwardian pencil got it right – round, heavy, with a long tapering that allows for a wide variety of comfortable grips.

The weight is 45 grams! Consider that a modern woodcase pencil is about 4g, and a large modern metal pencil like the Porsche Design P’3120 is 30g – the Edwardian is a substantial heavyweight. Yet the weight is nicely balanced, and the 134mm long pencil is comfortable to hold.

The body is sterling silver, with a barleycorn pattern finish. The nose has a very long taper. There is a clip with serial number and the “Yard-O-Led” name. The flat top cap is marked “Made in England”.

The barleycorn has two interruptions – a space for hallmarks, and a space suitable for engraving.

The cap twists to extend and retract the 1.18mm lead. An advantage of the twist mechanism is the ability to retract the lead.

The lead refill mechanism is much smoother and more usable than on the vintage pencil, which should not be a surprise. The instruction booklet is still welcome – it isn’t a typical refill system for 2009.

I have been using the pencil at work for about one month. While one month is not a long period of time for a pencil that truly was made to last for years, I’ll say that I am absolutely delighted with it. It writes, looks, and feels like something special – which it is.

The pencil is not inexpensive, yet I have no trouble saying it is definitely worth the price. In fact I regret having purchased so many cheaper mechanical pencils the last few years (especially those aimed purely at drafting purposes) – most are now stashed away unused in drawers, and cost in aggregate much more than this Yard-O-Led.

The guarantee states that Yard-O-Led pencils with serial numbers will always be serviced, and there is ample testimony around that the manufacturer faithfully honours this statement.

It will not be my last Yard-O-Led!

Further reading:

Pentrace article on the history of Yard-O-Led.

Previous post at pencil talk on a vintage Yard-O-Led pencil. That post was privileged to receive a comment from Mr. Colin Keates, the grandson of Yard-O-Led founder Ludwig Brenner.

The Rotring 600 is a cult classic, a metal mechanical drafting pencil with legions of fans. The pencil (and a product line that includes a fountain pen) doesn’t seek to appeal to everyone, and focuses on a technical look rendered in heavyweight brass.

With a hexagonal body and round knurled grip, the pencils have a very solid, sturdy look and feel, with an engineering aesthetic.

The Rotring company was acquired in 1998, and is now but a brand in the Newell Rubbermaid conglomerate. Rotring once made staples of drafting and design, starting with the Tintenkuli, a needle-nosed fountain pen that we would today call a technical pen.

The official Rotring site shows the company’s historic highlights. There are so many that the 600 line doesn’t even get a mention!

The 600 series may arguably be most famous for the fountain pen – yet mechanical pencil users also delight in this drafting pencil.

There seem to be a few varieties around. The oldest versions have the body marked “rotring 600 / [lead diameter]“. Later versions are marked with just the lead diameter. There are also variants with a gold sleeve, and the non-drafting Newton 600 series. I am not aware of a complete taxonomy – if you know of one, please share.

Today, the 600 series pencils seem to be marketed only in Japan. I am not sure of the status of the other writing implements.

More than one source says Parker (itself also now a Newell Rubbermaid brand) is the manufacturer.

I have two 0.7mm pencils, one recently purchased (2008) from Japan, and one from about 2000 from a US vendor. They have some minor differences.

The packaging has certainly shrunk over time – the new pencil has a small cardboard box and Japanese language instructions. The older packaging has a cardboard box containing a plastic display, and instructions in English and French. Both boxes mention the same Hamburg address.

Internally, the newer pencil has a metal casing around the lead tube. On a scale, it outweighs the older pencil 22.7 to 21.7 grams. That’s the only difference of note that I could find.

A more subtle variation that may interest some, is that the older pencil’s clip is marked “Japan”.

So what’s so special? It isn’t the the only metal pencil, or the heaviest, or the most extremely technical in appearance. Comparing it side by side with some other well regarded pencils, what I notice is that it is the slimmest – at a similar weight to larger pencils, it keeps traditional proportions. It is definitely the most dense and solid feeling pencil, and subjectively seems to be the best made. There is nothing wrong with the products from Staedtler and Ohto, and I may prefer their round shape. But they just don’t have the Rotring’s solid feel. I’ve picked up several thin lead drafting style pencils over the last couple of years (probably due to certain online influences :-), and I’m thinking the money would have been better spent on higher quality, though fewer, pencils such as the Rotring 600.

If you’re curious about the thin lead drafting style of mechanical pencil, you could do far worse than trying a classic such as the Rotring 600.

Sorry for recent website outages – some rough weather was playing havoc with local power on the weekend.

Today, let’s reach way back in the pencil cupboard and pull out a vintage multipencil. This particular one has four colours. Thanks to leadholder.com’s archives, I can see that this pencil appeared on page 47 of Faber-Castell’s 1957 catalogue. Silver-plated, it originally sold for 11.50 DM. A sterling version was 18 DM.

Thank goodness this pencil came with a manual!

The first thing I learned is that the cap can be depressed/released to reveal bands indicating the colour of choice. Twist the cap to align the color band with the clip, and the colour is changed.

I was pleasantly surprised that these perhaps fifty year old leads write so richly.

The manual revealed another surprise: There is a spare lead set under the cap.

So how do you advance the lead? Here’s where modern pencils show an advantage – you have to extend the mechanism with one hand, and grasp the lead clutch with the other – and twist the clutch clockwise to extend the lead. I kept looking at the manual and the pencil and saying to myself, “this can’t be right”, but, it worked and that’s how the lead is ejected:

How would you replace a lead? Essentially, by performing the reverse of the lead advance, screwing in the replacement lead with counter-clockwise twisting. I haven’t done this, and good grief, don’t look forward to trying it. Colour leads are typically brittle, and I suspect that this would be very challenging.

One other interesting aspect – this pencil uses indelible (copying) lead that contains aniline dye, so the required manual manipulation of the lead is definitely undesirable from a safety perspective.

While it has many charms, for me, the operation is too problematic for this to become a daily use pencil.

Hmm, has anyone noticed this aspect of mechanical pencil refills?

Pentel Ain refills (just to pick a particular brand) are all the same price.

And all are 60mm in length.

But they contain:

0.3mm – 20 pieces
0.4mm – 30 pieces
0.5mm – 40 pieces
0.7mm – 40 pieces
0.9mm – 36 pieces

What gives? Thinner lead costs more? I would think one would get more pieces of thin lead per dollar.

If you calculate volume = length * pi * radius * radius

Then single pieces of lead are:

0.3mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.15mm * 0.15mm = 4.24mm³
0.4mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.20mm * 0.20mm = 7.54mm³
0.5mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.25mm * 0.25mm = 11.78mm³
0.7mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.35mm * 0.35mm = 23.08mm³
0.9mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.45mm* 0.45mm = 38.16mm³

That’s right – a 0.9mm lead is 9 times the volume of a 0.3mm lead! (Which makes sense as the volume is proportional to the square of the three-times-larger radius.)

So as to how much lead is in a Pentel Ain box:

0.3mm: 20 * 4.24mm³ = 84.80mm³
0.4mm: 30 * 7.54mm³ = 226.20mm³
0.5mm: 40 * 11.78mm³ = 471.20mm³
0.7mm: 40 * 23.08mm³ = 923.20mm³
0.9mm: 36 * 38.16mm³ = 1373.76mm³

That’s right – for the same price, a 0.9mm user gets 16 times more lead in a box than a 0.3mm user!

Curious?

In 2006, Dave’s Mechanical Pencils had a great review of some interesting puzzle pencils from Retro 51 – mechanical pencils decorated with puzzle images.

Here are two more. I’ll mention that they are sold at much lower price points than Retro 51′s offerings.

The Xonex Crossword pencil and Autopoint Sudoku pencil both convey fun and practicality – bold graphics, and uncapped oversize erasers (unusual in mechanical pencils), for those of us who like to be able to correct our mistakes.

The Autopoint features 0.9mm lead, with a tube of B grade refills and three replacement erasers. It is made in the USA.

The Xonex has a more modern 0.7mm diameter lead, with unstated grade refills, and six replacement erasers. It is made in Taiwan.

Both seem solid, and good values for their price. The Autopoint is thinner, longer, and more traditional in appearance. The Xonex is definitely on the modern side. I also like the Xonex’s vinyl eraser, though the grey Autopoint eraser also works quite well!

Their packaging is not as elaborate as that of the Retro 51 (especially the near-generic Autopoint), but either would make a fine gift.

The pencil was not well received at first – Sharp’s website mentions that the pencil was said to feel cold in winter, and clash with Japanese clothing in appearance. Still, Sharp claims overseas orders led to success. (Though US success is questioned in an article by fountain pen dealer Mr. Nishimura of vintagepens.com.)

The pencil received a US patent in 1926:

The story is tinged with deep tragedy. The Great Kant? earthquake in 1923 killed Hayakawa’s wife and children, as well as destroying the factory. The rights to the pencil were subsequently sold.

Platinum Pen Co. has decided to celebrate this history with a reproduction of Hayakawa’s seminal pencil. I don’t know if Platinum has a formal relationship with Sharp or other firms that dealt with Hayakawa. The pencil doesn’t seem to be widely available, and I can find no mention on Platinum’s website.

The pencil is presented in a very plain yet elegant wooden box.

The spirals, cap, and two-tone clip are all prominent features. One can read “Platinum Japan 0.5″ in fine lettering.

The 0.5mm lead is advanced by twisting the cap. The original pencil no doubt used a wider lead.

The balance point seems a bit higher up than other pencils I am familiar with.

I have no idea about the internal mechanisms, and if they reproduce the original.

The pencil handles and writes well, and the shape is certainly more comfortable than expected. I don’t know if the dimensions match the original.

I applaud this tribute to Mr. Hayakawa’s creation and the history of the mechanical pencil. The lettering and lead diameter (I hope) distinguish the pencil from the original.

References and further reading:

1. Platinum Pen Company

2. Hayakawa’s US patent Note: the document is in TIFF format, which requires special software to read.

3. A Tale of Two Pencils: Keeran’s Eversharp & Hayakawa’s Ever-Ready Sharp

4. Sharp Electronics page on Hayakawa’s pencil

5. Osaka Business Update, Vol. 3, 2006 – Great People of Osaka