u/IchiramenPotato

Saw this pencil posted here a few days ago, I decided to take some photos of mine, and give some thoughts about it. A beautiful and annoying piece of art.

Push-button incremental ratchet mechanism like the Staedtler 925 25, some might say this is not a real leadholder, however, as tradition, one can remove the lead retainer rubber ring to make it drop clutch. Metaphys makes this job super easy by providing a second threading at the tip, unscrewing the black cone (picture 2) and the lead retainer is right there.

The metal finish is beautiful, matte and smooth like Copic SP fineliners, or Parafernalia, very elegant and sturdy at the same time.

I don't know what to say about the clip. From the cone to the barrel, the minimalism is well shown, then the clip makes a totally different design direction, funny, the same design on Rotring 900 is super nice, but on Metaphys, it feels weird. The clip also longer than any common pencils in my toolset (picture 4), is it a good thing? Who knows...

The grip is acceptable, not slippery but the weight might make this pencil slip from my hand if I don't pay attention.

My biggest complaint comes when I have to sharpen the lead. If one holds the barrel and uses it with a common pointer (like the UNI's), the whole internal rotates with the lead in this process and as a result, sharpening this pencil is very unintuitive. I found out later that I have to hold the pencil and the clip at the same time to counter the unwanted rotation. As a person who worships the sharpening routine, this is a loss.

I've said in another post, I would choose Caran d'Ache Fixpencil or Staedtler 780 over this one for daily use. But on a random beautiful day that I want to shuffle my tools a bit, why not Metaphys?

Edit

List of pencils in the last photo

- 3 Metal Languo Mechanical Pencil from Alixpress in 0.3mm 0.5mm and 0.7mm (I want to explore some affordable pencils myself, instead of reading reviews only, these 3 are pretty good).

- The Metaphys 2mm

- Tombow Zoom L2 Matte Black 0.5mm

- Tombow Zoom C1 0.5mm

- Draf-tech by Meister by POINT

Cleaning the drawer and playing a bit with a Leroy tool, just like those dip pens with fancy ink - leadholder version. It feels wrong and it feels right at the same time 😁

It's an old habit from my drafting days. Back then, I always needed a full set of Rotring Isographs to properly finish a technical drawing. While that's obviously not necessary for work anymore, the habit stuck. I still find myself carrying various sizes of identical hardness around at the same time just in case.

As I've started drawing more, this habit has become useful again. Alongside variations in hardness, having different lead sizes brings a ton of versatility to the routine 😁

• Koh-i-noor 5228 2mm
• Koh-i-noor 5358 3.2mm
• Koh-i-noor 5340 5.6mm

And an anotomy picture of these pencil at the end.

A coproduct by the stationary brand Kaco and Coca Cola. It inherits the minimalist design of Kaco Rocket Mechanical Pencil, with some final touch representing Coca Cola : bubble lines grip and its logo.

Plastic body, metal cone, brass clutch, a light pencil (9g) with a midrange grip (10mm), only supports 0.5mm. Writing? With the 3-prong brass clutch and the fixed cone tip, the lead play is practically zero. It’s got a remarkably stable, wobble-free writing feedback that rivals some pencils twice its price. Its design somehow reminds me of the Sun-Star Nocfree.

To be completely blunt: It is a very basic, lightweight plastic pencil. It won't replace your Rotring or your Kurutoga Dive. But for a cheap, fun, branded desk toy that actually writes exceptionally well thanks to its brass internals? It’s a neat little piece of stationery candy.

With old pieces, it's very often that I found them broken/tarnished and missing parts. Though it shows that the tools are (well) used, I can't help but sometime want to see the piece brighten like it was. Hence the fun and frustration of polishing, fixing and retouching. Forgot to take a before picture, I can only blame myself.

One Criterium is polished by an old handkerchief.

One Criterium with no cap so I made a replacement in wood and strong tape.

Finally a case originally for ballpoint refill but I repurposed it to a lead case. I can store four 2mm leads, pretty nice.

While writing and drawing are the obvious uses, I honestly get so much joy out of just taking my pencils apart.

It reminds me of the exploded view diagrams in childhood science books. Reverse engineering them not only satisfies my curiosity about how the mechanics work, but it’s also a lifesaver for troubleshooting when something jams.

Pencils (leadholders) in the picture

Koh-i-noor 5228 2.0mm

Koh-i-noor 5358 3.2mm

Koh-i-noor 5340 5.6mm

Cleaning the balcony after the heatwave and gathering some leaves...

Some modern looking lead holders by architect Lucio Rossi. Ergonomic is questionable but they look cool.

Personal highlights should be the D10 with a large barrel diameter and the DKyoto as a close Faber Castel TK9604 alternative.

Mechanical pencils with different paints are surely eyecatching and charming. It's just sometime I wanna see the bare metal. Kinda reminds me of the design principle "Truth to Materials" (Materialgerechtigkeit) (*). Hence the personal pencil rotation for July.

Left to right

• Kaweco Sport Brass/Al/Steel 0.7mm
• Nightshift 0.5mm
• Wingback 0.5mm
• Kaweco Special Brass 0.5mm
• Marquise 703 Radar 2mm
• Manufactum 0.5mm
• Hemingway 0.5mm
• Namisu 0.5mm
• Lamy 2000 0.7mm
• Faber-Castell Tk Matic L 0.5mm

(*) The core rule is : A material must never be coated, painted, or manipulated to look like something else.

I've started my lead holder journey with 2mm (with Staedtler) then 3.2mm from Kaweco, mostly from my drafting experience. Once the interest sparked, I discovered quite a few more: 1.18mm, 1.3mm, 1.4mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, 2.8mm, 3mm/3.15mm/3.2mm/3.25mm, 4mm and 5.2mm/5.6mm. Hidden in between there is 3.8mm, which is, to me, a real gem, the more I research about this size.

Not many brands support this size, I can name a very few : Pilot Croquis in plastic with twist to advance mechanism, Bohin which is originally made for people who work with fabric, and Uchida in the past. And of course Koh-I-Noor, they seem to have every sizes.

The Koh-I-Noor 5356 is a metal, drop clutch, an absolute unit of a lead holder. From my experience, 3.8mm fits better for drawing than drafting (there's no way to control the precise thickness of diameter greater than 2.5mm). The 3.8mm sounds random at first, but it has the exact size of color pencils core (compared with the Faber-Castell polychromos, they have the same diameter). And to my surprise, KIN offer some watercolor leads to work with KIN 5356 as well. Side story : I was looking for some watercolor leads for a long time but only Caran d'Ache has that in some (2mm) of its special editions. Well, 2mm is preferable but 3.8mm is not bad, knowing now I can remove the wooden part of Faber-Castell polychromos to get whatever color I want. So great.

Also in my research, I discovered that in Japan they sell watercolor leads too, in 3.3mm by Kita-Boshi (last photo), and it fits the KIN 5356, viva the Versatil!

Here are some pictures of this lead holder, and some comparisons which helps my long text more understandable.

Switching the material a bit, carbon fiber (CF) is certainly an interesting option. It's durable with a fraction of weight, a different experience. My current CF rotation :

• D8 II FOMO by LRD, an upgraded version of Designer-8 on Venvstas, by the original designer Lucio Rossi. [2mm]
• Matte CF with Pentel 200 internal by Nicholas Hemingway. [0.5mm]
• IWI Fusion old version (before they changed fixed 4mm sleeve to cone). [0.5mm]

I'm a fan of drafting mechanical pencils. However for a long writing session (2-4 hours), standard drafting pencils can eventually chew up my fingers or cause serious hand fatigue. A long writing session requires a totally different balance, grip, and weight distribution than quick drafting work. Here is my recent rotation for marathon writing

• Pentel Smash

• Rotring Newton

• Muji Wood Hexagonal

• Faber Castell Ambition

• Tom's studio

All are filled with 2B lead, which is the real MVP I think.

There are more criteria to decide pencils for long writing session : simplicity, ergonomic grip, auto advance, lead rotation etc. would love to see other approaches here.

Have fun writing!

Penac is the à la maison brand of Kotobuki, and while Kotobuki make several pencils for other brands in Japan, sometime we encounter identical pencils, with a bit of color play.

Among the 3 Kitera KS, the KS-03 with the double chuck is the one I find having a bit more character, only in 0.5mm. Back then while reviewing Kitera KS, I was thinking, a lead variation would be nice. Penac Protti answers that, with 0.5mm and 0.7mm ᐠ( ᐛ )ᐟ.

Together with Platinum OLEeNU, Muji ABS, Pilot Clutch Point... mech pencil fans have more options to enjoy the lead to the last few mm, which I sometimes see questions raised in this sub.

For 3.25mm (325/100) lead, Criterium had a few models, one of them is this 2605. Built like a tank, full metal body and metal internal, 12cm long, beautiful color coded cap with no eraser nor sharpener. Out of the box, they don't have clip, offering a default simple look. Been around during 1950s and discontinued nowadays.

Criterium 2605 can hold from 3.2mm to 2.8mm lead, below that, the lead may slip when sufficient force is applied. Anyway, as intended use is for 3.25mm with a bit versatility of the clutch, 3.15mm of Faber-Castell or 3mm of Caran d'Ache work just fine (and other similar leads from Kaweco and Koh-I-Noor).

It feels amazing in hand, and the lead range of 3mm offers such a fun experience.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Have only these 3 colors to mix. Some combo looks good, some combo looks weird.

Always a fan of drafting pencils and these were among my favorites. They were made around 1970s-2000s.

There's a few interesting things about this pencil. The metal ringed grip is so nice (a bit like Pentel GG600 or FC TK Fine nowadays). The balance is well done (centre of gravity falls close to the logo on the body). And the coolest feature is the lead indicator. Instead of a rotating window on the grip or a spinning cap that gets loose over time, it can be done by sliding the colored piece on the very back end of the barrel. It’s tight, stays put, and keeps the barrel looking sleek. The softest it goes is B though (3H -> B). Finally, the tip is retractable, with a bit of initial force to activate.

There is also 0.9mm/1.0mm but I let it aside, too lazy to hunt a rare one. This trio is more than enough for my drafting activities.

The only professional look for 1.4mm choice (*), and it's a cool one. This pencil is more ergonomic than it seems to be from its look, super smooth from the writing feedback and the lead advancing mechanism (twist action). Some might consider this pencil as an executive desk piece, however I myself spam it for every sketching session.

(*) There are Lamy ABC, Stabilo EASYergo, and Faber-Castell Scribolino who support 1.4mm, they more likely described as 'ergonomic', kid-friendly.

A budget friendly lead holder, KIN 5219 has knurled metal grip (a bit slippery), plastic body and plastic lead tube, rendering a tip heavy lead holder.

The metal push button has an intergrated lead pointer (the classic KIN's design), can unscrew itself fairly easily so pay attention when storing.

The KIN 5219 fits the Steadtler 502 pointer, the cone may unscrew itself while sharperning, a bit annoying, counter-clockwising sharpening may be a solution. Also, when trying to tighten the cap (the pointer), one can unscrew the cone at the same time, that's how this lead holder designed.

Overall a nice one, can be a recommendation for starters.

There are also KIN 5228 or 5217 in a nice tin box for anyone wants another colorful set.

A set of colorless and unbothered tools.