Mech Pencils, Pentel , for Santa List

[ETAF]

I have seen on an older Peter Millard youtube video , using a
Pentel Graph Gear 1000 Mechanical Drafting Pencil 0.5mm
Which I am thinking of adding to the santa's list
However, I also see 0.9mm mentioned as a better size for woodworking.
I think the 0.5mm was for a Mirock Ruler, also thinking of adding
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/549...-nice-gift-for?ref=pla_sameshop_listing_top-1
Maybe with HB & 2B leads

just wondered what others have used and anyone with experience of these pencils.

I have a birthday soon and of course xmas , so always being asked and started looking

 

[sxturbo]

I grab handfuls of free pencils when I go to IKEA, I'm down to my last 20 now taken me 3 years to get them down, most get misplaced or stuck through the washing machine by accident. I don't plan on going to IKEA again for some time so quite interested in this thread

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

0.5mm are very delicate, even with care on paper.

 

[ETAF]

just had a reply from Mirock , need 0.5mm for the holes - so that may decide, if i do get the measure , but also looking for general use.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I grab handfuls of free pencils when I go to IKEA, I'm down to my last 20 now taken me 3 years to get them down...

Bet you're the same at Screwfix. No wonder there's never any in my local branch when I go there

I don't plan on going to IKEA again for some time so quite interested in this thread

Why? Do you think they'll still be waiting for you?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

just wondered what others have used and anyone with experience of these pencils.

i have tried 0.5mm mechanical pencils from Staedtler, Pilot and Pentel for woodworking. The nose pieces on the latter two have a tendency to unscrew themselves in your pockets, the 0.5mm leads are too prone to breaking IMHO when the pencils are dropped (all three). Also tried a 0.7mm Pentel. Much the same as the o.5mm but leads slightly less prone to breakages. You get some idea how I feel when I say that I currently buy Staedler Norris pencils, shsrpened with a KUM dual sharpener

 

[ETAF]

@JobAndKnock - i also have Staedler Norris school pencils on my amazon DIY list, so I think you have confirmed what i suspected, I have used some cheap bic mechanical pencils before and they just kept breaking off. Also most of the other pencils i have the leads are broken in the pencil, each time they break and i sharpen only to have the lead break again , so throw a load out the other day when getting frustrated when marking out, a cupboard i was building.

One thing i know I'm always looking for pencils.

HB is the usual lead i use, 2B does seem to be a bit soft

Thanks.

 

[sxturbo]

Bet you're the same at Screwfix. No wonfer there's never any in my local branch when I go there


Why? Do you think they'll still be waiting for you?

No don't pick the Screwfix ones up, I always do click and collect and send the wife in as she works pretty much next door.

I don't plan on going IKEA any time soon as I don't need or want to go there, it's a 2-3 hour round trip, bit excessive just to pick up some pencil's. Also since covid they've stopped the free pencils lol.

I'm not that tight really and the post was said as tongue in cheek, I haven't really got 20 left, I've just been and counted and I have 6.

Along with IKEA pencils which I did grab a handful of a few years ago, I have also got steatdler carpenters pencils which I purchased from CPC, but every time I sharpen them the lead falls out, all but 3 of them seemed to have shattered lead right through the length of the pencil so threw away 9 of the pack of 12. The IKEA pencils are similar, and they don't like to be sharpened with the casing usually splitting in 2 across the join rendering them as useless as the steatdler ones Albeit they were free so don't mind throwing them away or misplacing them or dropping them.

Interested in this thread as I do really need to get something better than what I've been using, maybe something I can clip into a pocket to not lose it etc.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Honetly, I was only joking. I've used the odd IKEA or SFX pencil from time to ime, but not often, only in a dire emergency. Honest

The pencils I use are the red/black ones rather than the yellow/black ones - they sharpen better than the yellow ones simply because the wood is better quality cedar, and they really do withstand being lugged around in pockets, tool belts, behind ears, etc as well as being dropped omtp concrete a few times. I don't normally use those big numb "carpenter's pencils" because you I struggle to get a fine point on one, which makes marking an accurate line quite difficult. That's maybe OK-ish for framing where a few millimetres aren't critical, although for that I use a 2B standard pencil (which will fit behind my ear even with spectacles on - the big ones won't), but when it comes to marking pre-finished panels, skirtings, architraves, doors, etc I use either a 2H or an HB making a very fine line because pencil lines can be the devil's own to remove

I keep thinking that one of those 3mm clutch pencils with built-in sharpener may be the way to go because the leads should be thick enough to take a bit of rough handling. Maybe for my Chritmas list from the missus?

 

[ETAF]

I keep thinking that one of those 3mm clutch pencils with built-in sharpener may be the way to go because the leads should be thick enough to take a bit of rough handling.

Any particular make/model you have been looking at, I looked at those a while ago and they also had some poor reviews.
Added the Red/Black pencils to my list, as i have had those in the past and remember they were good.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Any particular make/model you have been looking at, I looked at those a while ago and they also had some poor reviews.

Not really. I was hoping someone on here may have had some experiences

 

[ETAF]

i have been looking at some reviews while watching the T20 cricket today.
Just to get some idea, as i'm being asked now by family for idea's for Xmas & Birthday....
not found anything special, one of the popular seems to be the 5.5mm lead, and then reviews say replacement expensive and difficult to get dont need that...
So i also await some real life thoughts here.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I did find one mechanical pencil which looked interesting and has good reviews - all metal body, mechanically simple (and therefore, presumably, reliable), Japanese made - the Rotring 800 2mm. The only problem is that they are £80! OUCH! That's a LOT of Staedtler pencils.

Then there is a much cheaper one with some good reviews - the Mitsubishi Uno 2mm. At £15 to £20 this is at least affordable and has a solid metal nose/mechanism. That'll go on Santa's list, I think

You've even got me looking at 0.5mm pencils again, and in particular the highly recommended Uni-Ball Kura Toga. There is a metal bodied version of it available and they feature a unique (as far as I can tell) revolving lead holder, but the problem is still that 0.5mm leads don't last long and I'm still unconvinced about lead life, although I'm informed that at least part of the solution is to buy better quality high polymer content leads.

 

[ETAF]

An Update - i was given the deephole Tracer pencil and spare leads
https://www.toolstation.com/tracer-deep-pencil-marker-lead-set/p27544

not used yet, but my son-in-law uses them all the time and gifted me one for xmas

 

[conny]

An Update - i was given the deephole Tracer pencil and spare leads
https://www.toolstation.com/tracer-deep-pencil-marker-lead-set/p27544

not used yet, but my son-in-law uses them all the time and gifted me one for xmas

I found one of these in a distribution cupboard in work just before Christmas. Think it must belong to a spark who was doing some testing. I'll hold on to it for him as he is due back around May. The lead in them seems quite thick. Have to have a proper look at it when I go back to work next week.