Mechanical pencils

[Spikebolt]

Pencils are crap, unless you’re an artist or something.

Chalk (on a slate blackboard, natch) and pens are the only true writing instruments.

I actually prefer to write on actual paper rather than a chalk. A chalk is usually on a wall, not on my desk, and is shared by everyone. I'd rather have a notebook and write whatever I want, whenever I want, and take it to a meeting if need be.

I usually prefer one of those uni-ball pens though

[fohat]

I ride with that one

The Rotring looks very nice, but the tip seems exceptionally thin for a 0.7mm.
Is it just my eyes or is the body thicker than other models?

[cookie]

I have actually no clue what the thickness of my pen is, I got it as a gift from my dad.

I think it is 0,5 mm

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[amospalla]

You all made me remember my young times when I used 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 2.0 mm mechanical pencils. I've got them at parents home, but reading you all I couldn't wait to take them on my next visit in two weeks, I had to buy a new one and spend 20$ on a new 0.9/1.0 mm one and a box of 2B mines for it.

Now I can't wait to arrive.

I could not decide between a Faber-Castell Tk-Fine VARIO L and a Pentel Graphgear 500, but I finally got the former:



I'm using pencils both at home and at work, pens are great, but I enjoy much more using pencils. Also, I can't stand pens not writing when you are not using them facing down and that's something I need at work sometimes.

[jacobolus]

Pencils are crap, unless you’re an artist or something. ¶ Chalk (on a slate blackboard, natch) and pens are the only true writing instruments.

I actually prefer to write on actual paper rather than a chalk. A chalk is usually on a wall, not on my desk, and is shared by everyone. I'd rather have a notebook and write whatever I want, whenever I want, and take it to a meeting if need be.

Chalk is for (a) writing while explaining something to other people, (b) putting things on a wall where you want them to stay visible for a while. Obviously you shouldn’t use chalk to write your journal or whatever.

As for pen width: 0.25–0.4 mm is the only reasonable range. Anything wider than that requires huge writing, and is completely worthless for scribbling in the margins of books or in compact pocket notebooks.

* * *

One reason mechanical pencils suck is that if you want to write with a thin one, there’s a binary choice between having the tip break all the time or writing in too light gray a color to be legible.

Wooden pencils are pretty good for sketching if you plan to make an illustration or painting or something over the top though. Mechanical pencils might even make sense for an architect or an animator or something.

* * *

Anyone obsessive–compulsive enough to prefer erasing to strikethroughs when writing prose should just get a laptop and be done with it.

[need]

This mechanical pencils never breaks because of its suspension system.

And it's specifically for journalists making fast note taking.

I have it, and find the 0.9mm pencil lead extremely effective in doing this, and sketching too.
Plus the lead just never breaks.

And that's what a mechanical pencil good at - lead that never break.

[cookie]

I don't wan't to derail this thread, but how about fountain pens?
Is anyone into those? I actually like to write with them

[vaxxi]

I don't wan't to derail this thread, but how about fountain pens?

Don't go there ... aren't mech keyboards enough of a money pit ?

[cookie]

Ohh sorry sorry, just ignore that!!!

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[jacobolus]

Geekhack fountain pen thread. (I haven’t ever read it, but cookie, it might be up your alley.) https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=59329

[Scarpia]

Derailing challenge accepted! I have a couple of fountain pens, including the ultra-practical and inexpensive Lamy Safari and the flashy (but not actually that great of a writer) Montblanc Meisterstück.

By the way, anyone interested in (fountain) pens should spend some time on http://www.gouletpens.com/ - it's a small family business selling all the best inks, their blog is great, they do these cool Adafruit-style videos showing new products, and they geek out over writing instruments, paper, etc. I've gone down that rabbithole before and it goes deep.

[cookie]

I've gone down that rabbithole before and it goes deep.

I wish I have done that with keybaords... Just Kidding #regretNothing

[livingspeedbump]

I ride with that one

This is my favorite as well, though I've not really tried too many. My father did bridge design for years and years, and he always used these. I acquired a few from him, and got myself an 800 as a bday gift to myself last year

[bhtooefr]

I personally use a Kuru Toga Roulette in 0.5 mm, but the Kuru Toga mechanism isn't the most reliable at actually rotating the lead with my writing style. (Oddly, a cheap plastic Kuru Toga actually is more reliable for me...)

[Chyros]

Oh the rotation thing is a total gizmo, it doesn't really work I think xD . They're just nice pencils in general .

[amospalla]

I've been writing with my new 0.9mm one and I do enjoy it quite a lot.

Thank you thread for remember me about these great pencils.

[keycap]

Mine is a rubber dome unfortunately

[Phenix]

Im using an an Namiki Vanishing point to take notes/write texts. Does if also count as 'mechanical pen'?

typos due to my touch screen are possible[size]

[lancre]

I use a Lammy Scribble. I put purple lead in it, it's pretty fun to write with. If I'm at work and someone comes up to me and asks me something and I feel like elucidating by scribbling something, the conversation goes like this: "Woah, is that a purple pencil?"

"Yeah".

Then I go back to scribbling.

[Phenix]

That ITT Courier board had a virtual pencil case built into the top, though xD .

can you please provide a link/pic? Sounds amazing
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My daily is an Namiki - do they count as mechanical pen

[GEIST]

I've got a lot pencils, far more than I could use in 10 years I guess, cause I draw a lot, but love buying pens even more. These two are my favorite mechanical pencils, even if they're both nothing special.
The top one is a Pilot Color Eno, which draws blue. It is usually used by comic artists for sketch layers, but I just like to draw in blue. The bottom one is a GraphGear500 (which seems already mentioned in this thread) from a trip to Japan, which gives him some emotional value (and I really like the design. It looks more like a tool, then a pen)

pencil.jpg (558.07 KiB) Viewed 6074 times

[adhoc]

That ITT Courier board had a virtual pencil case built into the top, though xD .

can you please provide a link/pic? Sounds amazing
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My daily is an Namiki - do they count as mechanical pen [/img]

Nice. My dailies are Lamy 2000 and a Namiki as well. Red/gold one. I purchased another Namiki just yesterday, having a tough decision between dark blue/gold, blue carbonesque and matte black. In the end, I went with the dark blue/gold one.

While Lamy is butter smooth (even more than the VP!), I really like the practicality of Namiki capless fountain pens.

Here's the Lamy 2000 with it's oh so famous design. You can see it's German made through and through. Such attention to detail. Love it!



And here's the VP I ordered yesterday. I'm using the picture from the seller I purchased it from.



Here's the mechanical pencil I love the most:

[Stabilized]

Cool, this thread is turning into a fountain pen thread

My daily fountain pens are Pilot 823, Delta Fusion 82 (Demostrator), and Pelikan M215. At some point in the future I endeavour to try out a Lamy 2000, just to see what all the fuss it about.

No need for a mechanical pencil really, when I did have to write scores and stuff I used one of these which was the best thing I could find at my local stationary shop:

[adhoc]

Cool, this thread is turning into a fountain pen thread

Hell yeah!

I've got about 20 fountain pens but only a single mechanical pencil. Looking forward to offtopicthoriting this thread.

[Stabilized]

I have quite a few fountain pens, but a large percentage of them I never use but they were cheap and I wanted to try them out (Indian and Chinese pens mostly). I also have a couple of TWSBIs that I thought were amazing when I first got them, but compared to my current daily writers they just do not compare.

I did try a VP, but I didn't like it enough to keep it. It's a nice pen but not worth what they charge for it in Europe!

[Phenix]

The pilot capless is awesome for taking quick notes - biggest advantage of the mechanism! And writes really smooth

[adhoc]

The pilot capless is awesome for taking quick notes - biggest advantage of the mechanism! And writes really smooth

Exactly. I love my post and thread pens, but when I need to write something down on the go or give a fast signature to, for example, mailman, capless beats all pens in that regard.

[ulnevrgtit]

I do....Rotring 600 all day

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[andrewjoy]

This mechanical pencils never breaks because of its suspension system.

And it's specifically for journalists making fast note taking.

I have it, and find the 0.9mm pencil lead extremely effective in doing this, and sketching too.
Plus the lead just never breaks.

And that's what a mechanical pencil good at - lead that never break.

I just ordered a japan import of this ( apparently the ones you can get in Europe are crappy made in china clones)!

Thank you , will let you know how it goes .

[chip chop]

Pilot of Japan is the way to go.... my daily pencil is the 6B Pilot Croquis.... 4mm lead!