mechanical pencils

HowardH

HowardH

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Joined
Jan 23, 2007
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I've never seen this discussed here before so here goes.  I want to get a good, solid, quality mechanical pencil for marking boards.  I've discovered that a .5mm lead is way too thin as just a little pressure and it snaps off.  I think if I got a quality unit I would take care of it and make sure I don't lose it.  Is .9mm a good size and what would be a good unit for the money?  Don't want to be stupid about it price wise but I do like quality.  I wouldn't have all that Festool if I didn't.  Suggestions?

 
I agree with Ken / TOOLTOWN: my mechanical Drafting lead holder is 20 years old and going strong. Faber Castell "Locktite" 9400using 2mm lead sharpened in a rotary sharpener which uses abrasive rather than a knife to point the lead . Sold by engineering supply and artist supply companies. Very sturdy lead and writes as fine or "fat" as I want. You'll never go back to the tiny leads used in the office environment when you're working in the woodshop.
Of course a marking knife can't be beat for precision where that is called for.
 
I've heard good things about the Pica.  I just use the cheap disposable .5mm ones.  All of my critical marking is done with a knife. 

There is a thread that I followed on the garage journal forum that got fairly in depth on a high end mechanical pencil tangent.  If you search "Moto Mecca Makeover" you will find it.  I lost a couple of days to reading through it all.  Essentially, a member of the FOG moved from NY to Seattle and documented the rehab of his new house.  A lot of Festool stuff in the thread.  If you like motorcycles it's a bonus as his day job was a motorcycle photographer.
 
I purchased the accutrax for myself and my father, I ended up sending them both back as the overall quality wasn't as advertised  (in my opinion). The lead blade wasn't very sharp and the clip was fidgety as all heck, even detaching from the rest of the pencil regularly. I really wanted to like it because all the videos and reviews I checked out pointed to it being awesome.

After I returned the accutrax pencils I ordered two Pica's. I am in love with this pencil. At $15 it may seem expensive but it's been worth it and more for me so far. First of all its hard to lose it as the neon green stands out almost anywhere. Second, the clip has a sort of three stage clamping design and when slid all the way to the third clamp it's incredibly tight. I slide it in either my front or back right hand pockets clipped onto the pocket itself and I have to yank fairly hard to pull the entire pencil out. That's a good thing. The actual writting pencil pulls out of the overall casing but is also snugly fit. It's a mechanical pencil with a sharpener build into the holster. Very nice quality overall.

My vote is for the Pica.
 
Currently, I'm a fan of Alvin mechanical pencils because of their availability. In years past, Staedtler-Mars and Faber Castell were more readily available because of my previous life...all three of them are made in Germany. They're available in .5mm, .7mm & .9mm diameters.

Remember, that along with the lead diameter, the hardness of the lead makes a huge difference in overall strength/toughness of the lead. A soft lead like 4B, 3B, 2B, B creates a dark line but is very easy to break, while a medium lead HB or F creates a medium density line and a hard lead like H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H or 6H, while being very tough, creates a very light line but will actually dent/groove soft woods.

My favorite for marking wood is a .7mm in HB or F. For drawing & sketching, I prefer an H or 2H in .5mm.
 
I bought the Incra 0.5mm mechanical pencil to go along with their precision rule.
The pencil was quite expensive for what seems to be a cheap branded item.
I got through virtually all the lead in my pencil (a few sticks) before I developed the fine motor skills needed to make a mark and not break the lead.

I will try one of the recommended ones on here next. Thank you.
Simon.
 
I got one of the Pica pencils, and it was great - for about 3 months. Then the mechanism packed in, and it no longer propelled the lead out making it completely useless.

I still have a couple of packs of spare leads for it floating round in my toolbox...

I've tried a few 0.5mm mechanical pencils, and I've now settled on Rotring 'Tikky' ones. They're good quality but not ridiculously expensive.
 
Klemm said:
I agree with Ken / TOOLTOWN: my mechanical Drafting lead holder is 20 years old and going strong. Faber Castell "Locktite" 9400using 2mm lead sharpened in a rotary sharpener which uses abrasive rather than a knife to point the lead . Sold by engineering supply and artist supply companies. Very sturdy lead and writes as fine or "fat" as I want. You'll never go back to the tiny leads used in the office environment when you're working in the woodshop.
Of course a marking knife can't be beat for precision where that is called for.
Click to expand...

If you look in my top pocket on most of my videos I have a pencil like this tucked in the top. I have four of them and not one has ever failed in about the same (20 year) timeframe. You can get different hardness of leads, they are easily sharpened to a point suitable for most carpentry work.

I also have a 0.5 mm propelling pencil which I use with my brilliant Incra Precision T Rule. I agree that the leads can break but if one takes care they are fine. I rarely use this pencil for anything other than marking with the Incra PTR.

BTW - I have the Pica Dry with soft crayon leads which is super when I am grading wood, identifying defects, doing rough out marking before jointing and planing or end marking after cutting components.

Peter

Peter
 
Pentel P205 and Pentel Ain Stein 0.5mm HB Pencil Lead - it's supposed to be "about 10% stronger than existing Pentel leads
thanks to a ceramic cell structure" whatever that means. In practice, I don't often break leads so maybe it's a combination of the pencil and the lead. Used frequently and especially with my Incra rules.

As others have said, I use a knife for some marking.
 
I have the pica, it was fantastic for a few months, then the sharpener stopped working and it's pretty hard to use. For the cost I guess it's fine.
 
JD2720 said:
I use these from Amazon.com. They work well. They work well in compasses also.

Bic .9mm pencils
Click to expand...

+1  This is what I use too.  Cheap, works well, don't have to worry about losing it.  I find the 0.9mm lead is still thin enough to write sharp lines but is durable and doesn't wear to quickly.
 
HowardH said:
I've never seen this discussed here before so here goes.  I want to get a good, solid, quality mechanical pencil for marking boards.  I've discovered that a .5mm lead is way too thin as just a little pressure and it snaps off.  I think if I got a quality unit I would take care of it and make sure I don't lose it.  Is .9mm a good size and what would be a good unit for the money?  Don't want to be stupid about it price wise but I do like quality.  I wouldn't have all that Festool if I didn't.  Suggestions?
Click to expand...
If all you need to do is scribble writing on a board then 0.9 would be ideal. Personally I use 0.3mm and occasionally 0.5mm for drawing lines to cut to. If I used a 0.9 for that I wouldn't know where to cut ! - halfway on the line, left side of the line or somewhere in between. Only other thing to add is I use 2h lead which seems a bit more robust then the normal lead usually supplied with the pencil.
Good luck with your search.
 
I've been using the Pentel P209 .9mm pencils, commonly available at Office Depot, Staples and the like.  The leads are the right size for use with Woodpeckers marking guides and are nowhere near as fragile as .5mm leads.  The Pica pencil is nice, but I can never seem to find it when I need it.  I never have to sharpen the Pentel either. 
 
Peter Halle said:
Here is a pencil that I have started to use when I am doing trim:

[attachimg=1]

It has 2 mm lead and can be sharpened to a sharp point, and besides the sharpener shown in the picture it also has a mini sharpener / pointer inside the cap.

Here is a link:  http://www.woodcraft.com/product/158546/20mm-lead-technical-pencil-set.aspx

Peter
Click to expand...

My choice also as only a few screws in the attached sharpener gives you a really sharp point.

[member=1674]Peter Halle[/member] Which lead do you prefer?
 
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