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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Reviews of Mechanical Pencils

I love product comparisons, and really like this one: Dave's Top 25 Mechanical Pencils. First, there's the sheer redonkulousness of having a blog devoted to mechanical-pencil reviews. But it's also a great list of good mechanical pencils in five price ranges - from the economy Staedtler Triplus Micro 774 to the $150+ Caran d’Ache Varius Ivanhoe.

I saw the $5 Pentel P205 at Staples the other day, and based on the review I think I'm going to nab one.

Pentel pencils
Remember these? Photo by mr_t_77.

posted by Jonathan at 1/18/2009 11:27:00 a.m.

8 Comments:

  • I've had a black P205 and a blue P207 for over 20 years. I recommend HB or 2B leads!
    Simon

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/20/2009 11:59 a.m.  

  • Thanks Simon - I'll try 2B!

    By Blogger Jonathan, at 1/20/2009 10:29 p.m.  

  • This might sound stupid for all of you experienced users of mechanical pencils but...... first time user of a mechanical pencil(Pentel P205)-I have just used up my first piece of lead. BUT I can't figure it out. The lead will not stay in the opening. What am I doing wrong?

    Please give me directions to refill the pencil. I feel like a fool not being able to refill the d*** thing!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/05/2009 10:03 a.m.  

  • Hi Anonymous.

    To refill, I remove the eraser cap, remove the eraser, put in a dozen sticks of lead, then replace the eraser and replace the eraser cap.

    What do you mean by “The lead will not stay in the opening”? Does it keep sliding back into the pencil when you try to write? Maybe your P205 is busted.

    By Blogger Jonathan, at 8/06/2009 12:07 a.m.  

  • I need help placing a new piece of lead into the pencil point. How do I do that? I have tried to unscrew the tip then while pushing the eraser end down(which opens the lead opening)putting the new lead into the tip but the lead does not go all the way down. It only goes down an eigth of an inch. What am I doing wrong?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/06/2009 8:55 p.m.  

  • Ah. Don’t unscrew the tip. You’re supposed to put in the lead through the eraser end, not the tip end.

    By Blogger Jonathan, at 8/07/2009 1:39 a.m.  

  • And when you get down to the last 3/4" of the lead, it won't advance well...it advances but as soon as you write it pushes back in..... so advance, grab with your nails, toss it and click to reload any lead in your chamber. P.S. I can't stand the .5 lead.....too thin, breaks constantly. I use .7 HB and am happy as a clam.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9/25/2009 1:46 p.m.  

  • Yes, 7mm is better for a strong pencil pusher. The 5mm looks nice but a bit too fragile. Remember the old Cross were 9mm. Too thick

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2/06/2011 4:14 p.m.  

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