Recommend me a good mechanical pencil...

[Doingupthehouse]

Hi,

Can anybody recommend me a good mechanical pencil (0.5mm lead) that doesn't break its lead if you so much as sneeze on it? ](*,)

I love my Incra rules, but am forever breaking the pencil leads no matter how gentle I am with them. Have tried a few different pencils at the cheap end of the market but am very frustrated with them. Tend to sharpen a conventional pencil to use, but a couple of lines and it's too blunt to fit the hole and needs resharpening.

Happy to pay a reasonable amount for something that works - maybe the leads have a bearing too?

Cheers
Simon

 

[Jacob]

Buy ordinary good quality wooden pencils they are much more useful and durable. Bin there dunnit. Took me some time to work it out but mechanical pencils are just another extension of gadgetry - the bane of woodworkers lives!
If you must buy gadgets then a pencil sharpener is one of the few worth having.

PS mechanical pencils are good (but not at all essential) on the drawing board, but not for woodwork.

 

[Doingupthehouse]

I only tend to use wooden pencils for most things and have a very good sharpener! But I do tend to use my Incra T rule quite a bit. Just wondering how much difference there is between a £20 mechanical pencil and. £2 one...

Cheers
Simon

 

[NazNomad]

Just wondering how much difference there is between a £20 mechanical pencil and. £2 one...

About 18 quid.

 

[Jacob]

I only tend to use wooden pencils for most things and have a very good sharpener! But I do tend to use my Incra T rule quite a bit. Just wondering how much difference there is between a £20 mechanical pencil and. £2 one...

Cheers
Simon

Hate to say it but "Incra" is just another word for gadget. Bin it (or ebay it).

Having said that - I have sometimes used a home made rule for circular curves - a lath marked up like a rod, for a circular window frame, with 1.5mm holes for a mechanical pencil and a panel pin at the centre point.

 

[MARK.B.]

I only tend to use wooden pencils for most things and have a very good sharpener! But I do tend to use my Incra T rule quite a bit. Just wondering how much difference there is between a £20 mechanical pencil and. £2 one...

Cheers
Simon

About £18 at a guess :twisted: :lol:

 

[MikeJhn]

Go to Ryman's and buy 2H leads: http://www.ryman.co.uk/ryman-leads-0-5mm-2h-pack-of-40 at the moment you are probably using HB hardness, which will mark very well, but is so soft it will blunt very quickly and break if you pressure it when you sneeze, personally I use 6H which you can use as a marking blade as well. :wink:

Grading scale: https://pencils.com/hb-graphite-grading-scale/

Mike

 

[wide74]

Pentel Graphgear 1000 are brilliant. The pointy tip retracts when you close it so you can put in in your pocket without it breaking the lead and snagging on the material. Had mine 2 years or so and it's used daily without issue.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Simou1]

+1 for the Pentel Graphgear.

Superb pencil, no more bent shafts as it retracts, and excellent Pentel HB leads too. Used in Incra T and Bend rules and perfect for the job.

Because it is such a fabulous bit of kit and a delight to use I have bought the other sizes from Amazon.

 

[MattRoberts]

Rotring rapid pro is a great pencil

 

[bugbear]

The classic, made-for-decades, Pentel P200

post1119323.html?hilit=pentel#p1119323

BugBear

 

[Doingupthehouse]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Have ordered a pack of 2H leads as suggested, will give them a go and see how I get on. Will also look into the pencils mentioned. I do love the look of that Rotring - takes me back 30+ years to when I first started as a graphic designer - Rotring pens, rubber solution and paste-up!

Cheers
Simon

 

[MattRoberts]

I actually prefer the rotring 600, but the tip doesn't retract, so if you drop it then it can easily bend. Beautiful pencil though!

 

[MrTeroo]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Have ordered a pack of 2H leads as suggested, will give them a go and see how I get on. Will also look into the pencils mentioned. I do love the look of that Rotring - takes me back 30+ years to when I first started as a graphic designer - Rotring pens, rubber solution and paste-up!

Cheers
Simon

Do you remember the little machines with rollers and molten wax?

 

[Doingupthehouse]

Do you remember the little machines with rollers and molten wax?

Was still using one of those 20 years ago! Always preferred the Cow Gum though - easier to reposition... oh how that 'gadget' the Apple Mac changed things!

Simon

 

[bugbear]

Do you remember the little machines with rollers and molten wax?

Was still using one of those 20 years ago! Always preferred the Cow Gum though - easier to reposition... oh how that 'gadget' the Apple Mac changed things!

Simon

One could argue the LaserWriter (with PostScript) was actually more of a game changer; near contemporaneous, of course.

BugBear

 

[Doingupthehouse]

One could argue the LaserWriter (with PostScript) was actually more of a game changer; near contemporaneous, of course.

BugBear

Certainly true. The perfect storm of Mac, LaserWriter and Aldus Pagemaker.

Simon

 

[Simou1]

Ah Rotring, quality through and through. Invested in loads pre-computer days and still going strong. Saved my bacon many times on exercise and operations with the Rotring Tactical Map stencil!

But in my shed the Pentel reigns supreme as I have bent too many Rotring 600 tips.

 

[Doingupthehouse]

Ah Rotring, quality through and through. Invested in loads pre-computer days and still going strong. Saved my bacon many times on exercise and operations with the Rotring Tactical Map stencil!

But in my shed the Pentel reigns supreme as I have bent too many Rotring 600 tips.

Noted. Not sure I could justify spending nearly 30 quid on a pencil anyway - had more than one disappear up my extractor hose!

Simon

 

[Simou1]

The Rotring is expensive but the Pentel at £9 ish on Amazon is a bargain and fits the Incra stuff superbly.