^(From the sea to stardom.)

• MODEL:

Tombow FUMI – model SH-FM11
0.5 mm (only available in 0.5 mm)    

• MATERIALS:

The FUMI is one of those mechpens defined by its materials. The body and the eraser cap are made of Nagori™, a composite material derived from seawater minerals, developed by Mitsui Chemicals. It’s hard to describe how it feels, but think of something between ceramic and a plastic resin, very cool to the touch. It has a matt finish, like non-polished resin, (very) slightly coarse. The pocket clip is stainless-steel and the cone tip is metal (tin?). Internally, though the lead tube is plastic, the FUMI has perhaps the most beautiful full-brass clutch that I have ever seen. And as expected, the spring is stainless-steel.

• ERASER:

Though I l-o-v-e Tombow’s erasers (in fact, I’m using a MONO zero ULTRAFINE right now), the erasers they supply for their mechpens are sad. Not that the rubber compound is bad - in my opinion it’s almost as good as the MONO zero that is right in front of me. The problem is that it’s ridiculously small 🤦‍♂️.

• MEASUREMENTS:

The FUMI measures 143 mm from tip to eraser cap, and has a fusiform body. Right below the pocket clip it has a diameter of 11.3 mm, that tapers to 11 mm around the middle of the body and then to just 7.5 mm right at the cone tip. Though I was expecting something much lighter, the FUMI weighs 19.6 g (!). It is slightly tip heavy, with the center of mass located at 66 mm from the tip.

• FEATURES:

As I said above, what the defines the FUMI is the use of Nagori. Other than that, it’s a general-purpose (dress?) mechpen with no mechanical feature.

• AESTHETICS:

Sober – that is the word for the FUMI. It is discreet and has a classy air to it, so I think it looks great. The writings on the body are engraved and not printed, which gives it a more refined look. The seam, between both parts of the body, is REALLY fine, you can almost miss that it has two parts. With all that, I think it’s safe to consider the FUMI as a dress mechpen. Tombow offers the FUMI in Stone Black (this one), Sea Blue, Shell White, and Sand Gray. In my eyes, Stone Black is THE color for it, especially because the others are not homogeneous, so there might be some contrast between the upper and lower parts of the body. Mine, however, looks almost as made of just one solid piece. According to Tombow, because of the manufacturing process, no two FUMI are identical, which in my mind is a plus.

• ERGONOMICS:

Fantastic! Not only the dimensions, weight and weight balance are great, but the Nagori material feels great in my hand. Interestingly, it feels cool to the touch, and after using it for a while it doesn’t warm up as what you see with plastic or even metal. For people with sweaty hands, I’m sure that is a plus. However, in terms of traction it’s not very grippy, so if your hands do get sweaty, maybe it will become slippery.

• MY THOUGHTS:

When I bought the FUMI, I wasn’t certain what to expect. Honestly, I bought it because it was something new from Tombow, so I got essentially for collection purposes. Nonetheless, to my surprise, I enjoyed using it much more than I expected. Though I usually favor drafting models, the FUMI would be a pencil I would look forward to using all day long. It just looks great, and more importantly, writes great. If I had to say something negative about it would be the puny eraser. Yet, many other models are guilty of that same fault, and besides, I always prefer to use a pen eraser, so for me at least it’s a non-issue. All that said, the FUMI rocks. If ever Tombow releases the FUMI in other calibers, it would be a must-buy for me. Yeah, I really liked it 🤩!

^(The best STAEDTLER ever?)

• MODEL:

Staedtler HEXAGONAL – model 925 77-05B
0.5 mm (only available in 0.5 mm)    

• MATERIALS:

As far as I can tell, the HEXAGONAL is full-metal. I say “as far as I can tell” because you can’t disassemble it further than unscrewing the cone tip and removing the eraser cap 🤷‍♂️. The body is either aluminum or brass (judging by the weight, I would guess aluminum) covered in a sort of rubber coating. The eraser cap, cone tip and lead sleeve are also metal (tin?), while the pocket clip is stainless steel. The clutch is full-brass and absolutely gorgeous, and the spring is (stainless) steel. Removing the eraser cap, you can see that at least the top part of the lead tube is aluminum, but I bet that the tube per se is plastic.

• ERASER:

STAEDTLER wanted to give this mechpen a vintage look, so they went with a pink latex rubber eraser. Seems to be good, but I always have the impression that white latex is better 🤔. For the price, I would expect it to have a metal collet AND a lead-jam clearing rod, but nope, nothing of the sort.

• MEASUREMENTS:

As a “classic” drafting pencil, measurements here are what you would expect. It measures 147 mm from tip to eraser cap, with a 4 mm-long lead sleeve. It weighs a very nice 17.4 g, with, to my surprise, a slightly rearward weight balance, at 75 mm from the tip. As the name says, the HEXAGONAL has a hexagonal body, with a diameter of 8.6 mm.

• FEATURES:

Once again, I’ll remind you that the HEXAGONAL is a classic drafting pencil, so the only mechanical feature is a lead hardness indicator. The eraser cap has a (metal!) over cap that when twisted, can display 3B, 2B, B, HB, F, H and 2H in the small window. However, what makes the HEXAGONAL stand apart, is the rubber coating applied to the body, making it a dream to handle. Probably the nicest mechpen to hold that I have.

• AESTHETICS:

Maybe (probably) I’m getting old, so I’m not the greatest fan of the tacticool look anymore. And yes, all that black with just the writings on the body in silver does give it a tacticool vibe… Conversely, I can also say it’s a classic drafting pencil, so it should look just simple and effective. Which it does. So, in the end, I do like the looks. But if this black one is too tacticool for you, STAEDTLER also offers it in blue (two tones), silver, gray, yellow (the coolest?) and red, yet be prepared to pay LE prices. Just keep in mind that this regular black one is NOT cheap, so, yeah… ☠

• ERGONOMICS:

Outstanding! I really liked how it feels in my hand. That rubber coating is a heckuva nice thing, making the pencil a true pleasure to use. Take note that for me to like A LOT a pencil with a sub-9 mm diameter means that STAEDTLER did something really right here. The hefty weight also contributes to that, and the slightly rearward weight balance is not an issue. Besides, ZERO rattling and solid lead sleeve! If I were to use only one word to describe the HEXAGONAL that word would be smooth.

• MY THOUGHTS:

I can honestly say that the HEXAGONAL blew my socks off. I was actually expecting the feel of a 925 25/35, but with a hexagonal body. In fact, I was expecting it to be probably less nice than the 925 25/35 😬. To my surprise, the HEXAGONAL is much better than (until now) my top STAEDTLER pencils. Heck, it’s even nicer than the vaunted REG! Without a doubt it overachieved, and I can say it’s one of my best mechpens. And by that, I’m including it in the Top 3!

HOWEVER, not everything are roses… You can find on the interwebs complaints that the rubber coating doesn’t last very long, and is easy to scratch. Moreover, in my experience, this kind of soft rubber has the tendency to “melt” with time – it becomes sticky. So, for now I’m totally delighted with the HEXAGONAL, yet my opinion can radically turn in some years.

Let’s wait and see. And hope 😕.

Different from mechpens (very differently, in fact), in no way do I collect erasers. Thank the Gods, I already collect too much stuff for sanity... Yet, I do have a few erasers because I need them. And yes, I do admit that I have more than I need, but that's neither here nor there, so lets get on with this, shall we? In general, I frankly prefer those pen erasers, with retractable rubber. In terms of precision, I think they are much better to use than block erasers. That being said, my go-to eraser was always the Tombow MONO zero retractable eraser. But with Pentel’s release of the Clic Eraser FOR PRO, that I think looks cool af, I had get one just to check it out. Because I'm one of the cool kids. Moreover, I also got the Eraser Clic 2, to see how Pentel’s budget model performs. Armed with white A4 paper I did a simple test, using 0.3 and 0.9 mm mechpens, both loaded with Ain 2B. Testing done, here’s the results of my totally not-scientific but true seat-of-the-pants analysis of how my current erasers stack up against each other:

 

• SAKURA SAKURAFOAM

THE BEST eraser I have ever used. Period. Absurd erasing power, doesn’t produce too much dust and doesn’t get “stained” with lead dust despite having a lot of surface. The only issue with it is that SAKURA doesn’t offer it in click pen form. As a block, it’s FAR from precise when you want to erase one letter or a small word. Even so, for me this is the eraser that sets the bar for all erasers that I use, and that’s why I have to start with it. So, despite not being very precise, it’s the best I have.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

 

• Tombow MONO zero

I have all three sizes: 2.5×5 mm (rectangle), 3.8 mm (round) and 2.3 mm (round). The 3.8 mm is called MONO Knock 3.8 and the 2.3 mm and 2.5×5 mm is called MONO zero ULTRA-FINE, respectively, 2.3 and 2.5×5 mm. They all use the exact same latex rubber compound, so what varies is the format and surface. Moreover, all three use a regular knock system – click the top cap and the rubber advances out the tip. And yes, it’s the same rubber compound used on Tombow’s mechpens. With that, I think you can group them together, because performance is exactly the same. They erase very well; the knock pen system works great and they don’t leave too much residuals. In terms of comfort the 2.5×5 mm is a little awkward to use because of the rectangular format; it works better if you rub along the long axis of the rectangle. Consequently, less rubbing surface, less area covered. On the other hand, the 2.3 mm has laser precision, and you can erase a comma in a sentence without messing with the words around. Great erasing power, yet a little shy compared to the SAKURA.
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

 

• Pentel Clic Eraser 2

According to that sticker on the body, the model is ZE11T-C, and it is Pentel’s mass-produced and budget model pen eraser. The rubber seems to be the exact same compound of the Z2-1N erasers of their mechpen, but in a diameter of 6.6 mm. The feeding system is one of the most stupid systems I’ve ever seen in the industry. To advance the rubber, you have to push down on the pocket clip, that advances through a ratchet on the side of the body. With that, if the rubber is almost used up, you can’t clip it in your pocket because the pocket clip will be all the way down. Yeah, yeah, to put it in your pocket you just have to retrieve the eraser back into the body. But what if I want to leave the tip of the eraser out, ready to use? Stupid 🤦‍♂️. Well, at least the ratchet is solid, I didn’t have any problems with it slipping while using the eraser. Yet, a very good eraser, that works well, doesn’t stain and doesn’t produce too much dust.
⭐⭐/5

• Pentel Clic Eraser FOR PRO (ZE31)

Pentel offers the new FOR PRO eraser with three options of rubber. These are the ZE31 (mine), with black body and light gray rubber, for “precision” erasing; ZE32 (tan body, white rubber) for “general purpose” lead erasing and the ZE33 (gray body and black rubber) for oil-based ink. In terms of erasing power, I think it works at least as good as the MONO, but probably better. However, that fancy rectangular metal body S-U-C-K-S 😣. The rectangular format, with its live edges makes it uncomfortable to use. Worse of all is the ratchet system that keeps the rubber in place. You push the rubber out by sliding down that button on the side, and that is kind of loose. Therefore, when you press the rubber against the paper, sometimes it slips back up. If you only rub along the long axis, however, things are a bit better, but it still slips sometimes. And of course, you’ll have less erasing area, so you can’t use it on larger surfaces. Looks the part, but doesn’t work well, even though the eraser is (very!) good.
⭐/5

 

• STAEDTLER Radett

This is my oldest eraser; I think I have it for at least some 15 years. At the time, when I basically could only get brick erasers, this was THE eraser to have. And it still works well to this day. To advance the rubber out you slide down the black button on the side of the body, and it doesn’t slip. The rubber compound, however, is not the greatest. Its performance is okay, not great, yet it has a very annoying issue. Specially with softer leads, the latex rubber “stains” with lead dust, and turns black. If you don’t rub that off, it will get the paper dirty. If it wasn’t for the staining issue, I would rate it just below the MONO.
⭐⭐/5

 

RESULTS:

If SAKURA ever produced a pen eraser, that would be the be-all-end-all eraser. The Clic FP was a total let down, and I’m mad to have wasted money on it – cute but terrible. On the other hand, the Clic Eraser 2 also isn’t great, but at least it’s cheap, so I can’t complain much. With that, Tomobow’s models are, in practical terms, the best, with the exception of the 2.5×5 mm. That rectangular shape doesn’t work great. So if you need a heavy-duty eraser, you’ll have to rely on a block eraser, since the Knock 3.8 I can’t consider as big enough to be “heavy duty”. On the other hand, for precision erasing, the 2.5 mm reigns. The Radett, unfortunately, is annoying to use because every so often you have to clean the rubber or you’ll get lead stains on your white paper around where you’re erasing.

Bottom line, I would recommend the following. For heavy duty erasing, SAKURA Foam is the best, bar none. For minute erasing, one of the MONO, especially the 2.3 mm.

^(One word: classic.)

• MODEL:

Pentel PG5 – model PG5-AD
0.5 mm (only available in 0.5 mm)    

• MATERIALS:

The PG5 has a plastic body, knock cap and lead-hardness selector ring, yet everything else is metal. The pocket clip, lead sleeve and spring are stainless steel, while the clutch is full brass and the cone tip and lead tube are metal (tin and aluminum, respectively, or both tin?).

• ERASER:

WE DON’T NEED NO STINKY ERASER!!! Nonetheless, the knock cap comes with an impressive and funky lead-jam clearing rod 🧐.

• MEASUREMENTS:

Think about an old school drafting pencil: 148 mm from tip to cap (4 mm lead sleeve) and a body diameter of 8.2 mm right below the pocket clip, that narrows down to 7.2 mm right above the cone tip. And of course, it’s a feather-weight, tipping my scale at 9.6 g, with the center of mass located 68 mm from the tip.

• FEATURES:

Being something old school, the only feature of the PG5 is that yellow lead hardness indicator. Twisting it around, you can select 4H, 3H, 2H, H, HB and B. Interesting to see how it differs from modern drafting pencils, that usually have a selection that includes 2B and sometimes 3B although with less hard lead options.

• AESTHETICS:

In my eyes, this is where the PG5 shines. It looks exactly like something from the 70s – well, it did come out in 1972... I think that needle look won’t appeal to all, yet at least for us old-timers, many will have a soft spot for it.

• ERGONOMICS:

Though I’m very pleased with the PG5 in the looks department, in the works department I’m not that enthusiastic. I can’t help it, but thin mechpens just don’t agree very well with me. I would say it basically handles like a Sharp P205, yet a little better. And that’s because of the grip – though too thin, the concentric grooves on the plastic gives a better sensation than the Sharp’s much smoother grip. That pattern allows a firm grip, so even with sweaty hands I don’t think it would slip. However, being so thin, it was tiring to use 😕. Nonetheless, no rattling and the lead sleeve didn’t wobble a micrometer.

And I forgot to mention the loading method. To add a lead stick, you have to unscrew the top silver part and remove the funky click button+weird lead-jam clearing rod. The only issue is that you need to pay attention to the lead hardness window, that for sure will have rotated out of position. Not the speediest way to load a mechpen but no biggie.

• MY THOUGHTS:

Talk about classic stuff: Pentel first released the PG5 in 1972, as the Pentel Graph line. All the models, in 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 mm followed this same style and were a no-frills down-to-earth drafting pencil. Think of a professional drafting mechpen - that was the PG5. Pentel still produces the PG5, and the only reason I can think of for them to do so is nostalgia or perhaps to keep collectors happy or the “flame burning”. I’m not complaining; though it’s far from the best mechpen I’ve used in terms of comfort, I think it's a GREAT collection piece. It’s something from a bygone era, when parameters were different. With that, unless you go after vintage models, I can’t think of any other current mechpen that have this vibe.

So, as a collection piece the PG5 is totally awesome - I should have gotten this sooner. However, as a writing tool or even a drafting pencil, I think there are quite better models available. It ain’t bad, but it’s definitively not great to use, especially for extended periods.

^(Nice, but not nice.)

• MODEL:

LEUCHTTURM1917 Drehgriffel Nr. 2 – model 366187
0.7 mm (only available in 0.7 mm)    

• MATERIALS:

This will be a long one, so let me start from the outside. The hexagonal body is aluminum, and I think that the knock knob on top also is. The last portion of the body is a cone, also metal (aluminum?). Removing the knock knob, you can see that its innards are plastic. When you unscrew the tip, you expose what I would call a “cartridge”, that contains the clutch mechanism. This cartridge is plastic, and on the top there’s a sort of plastic plug that closes the lead tube (plastic) and connects the knock knob with the clutch system. If you press down on that plug the lead advances just like with a normal knocking pencil. You can further unscrew the exterior cone tip, exposing the “inner” cone tip, that is stainless-steel. The cone tip proper can also be unscrewed, revealing a delicate full-brass clutch. That’s as far as you can go without breaking anything, but my magnet reveals steel (stainless, for certain) spring(s) inside the cartridge.

• ERASER:

LEUCHTTURM1917 supplies the Drehgriffel with one of those regular invisible and non-existent erasers.           

• MEASUREMENTS:

The Drehgriffel is on the short side in terms of length, with just 129 mm from tip to knock knob. It’s also pretty light for an almost all-metal mechpen, tipping my scale at 13.29 g - I was expecting something around 18 g. Even so, the weight balance is slightly forward, with the center of gravity located at 60 mm from the tip. The body is hexagonal, with rounded corners, having a “diameter” of 9.1 mm. The knock knob on top is slightly wider, with 9.3 mm.

• FEATURES:

Well, I could say that the Drehgriffel has ­negative features, since it doesn’t have a pocket clip and neither an eraser…🤔 Yet, I’ll focus on what made me interested in this mechpen – the knocking system. In general terms, a mechpen has essentially four types of system to advance the lead. Nowadays the HUGE majority of mechpens uses what we call the knocking system where you press down on the eraser cap or top cap and that “knocks” the pencil, pushing lead out. However, you still have “shakers” (shake the pencil to propel the lead), “twisters” (rotate the body or part of the body to push lead out) and more rarely, “knock bodies” (bend the body a little to advance the lead). The Drehgriffel is quite different, because it’s a blend of a normal knocking system with a twisting system. Therefore, to propel the lead, you have to rotate clockwise that knob on the top. However, you can only rotate ¼ of a turn, and that will advance the lead 1 mm, every time. Once the knob hits the stop, a spring pushes it back to where it started. If you want to push the lead back into the cone tip, you have to twist the knob, hold it there, and push the lead back in. A system with typical Teutonic precision, but it’s a two-hands job 😕. And to load lead, you have to unscrew the bottom part and unplug the cartridge, then load like a regular knocking mechpen.

At LEUCHTTURM1917’s site there’s a video showing how to use the rotating knock mechanism and how to load it - click here.

• AESTHETICS:

In terms of looks, the Drehgriffel looks quite nice, especially if you like a discreet pencil. However, in my eyes this black one is too discreet. From all the commercial pics available online, I was led to believe that the knob, bottom part and writings on the body would be in gray. However, as you can see, those elements are just slightly lighter than the black body, offering little to none contrast with the black body 🙄. I don’t think it looks bad, but more contrast would make it look MUCH better.

LEUCHTTURM1917 offers a total of 25 (!) color combinations, from black to white to everything in-between, though the top knob and point are always black or grayish. On the other colors, however, the contrast is actually there, so I think they look M UCH better than the black one.

• ERGONOMICS:

The Drehgriffel feels kind of good in my hand, and I can’t say anything better. It’s too thin to be comfortable, and that cone is even thinner, so my fingers will rest on something around 8 mm in diameter. So, unless I place my fingers higher, making it really awkward to use, it’s just too thin to be comfortable. Besides, it is totally smooth, so if you have sweaty hands, it will be slippery. And then there’s the operation, that demands both your hands, which is cumbersome. To that you can also add the loading process, which requires you to disassemble the mechpen. All in all, the Drehgriffel is NOT a breeze to use 🤷‍♂️. However, it suffers from ZERO rattling and the tip is rock solid.

• MY THOUGHTS:

According to LEUCHTTURM1917, the Drehgriffel is a revival of a concept from the 1920s. Drehgriffel, in German, means “twist stylus”, so I guess the original mechpen (or pen?) must have been a twisty. In 2020, Drehgriffel Nr. 1 (the pen version) received the Red Dot Design Award, and the Nr. 2 repeated the feat in 2022.

As a mechanical pencil, I liked the Drehgriffel, but as a writing instrument, I didn’t like it. As I wrote above, what enticed me about it was the unique operating system – what I would call a “rotating knock system”. I’m a gearhead through and through, so any unique mechanical feature will pique my interest. So, in terms of “mechanical features”, I find the Drehgriffel VERY cool.

However, when I put all that to use…😣 First is the hexagonal body, that is too thin to be comfortable. Moreover, without a pocket clip, it’s prone to roll around, especially because of the cap: it’s slightly wider than the body 🤦‍♂️. And then there’s the knocking. As interesting as the system is, it’s cumbersome to use, and the same goes for loading lead sticks into the pencil. And to make things worse, it’s hard to push the lead back into the tip. For instance, let’s say that you have 0.3 mm of lead sticking out, and you want to advance it a bit more. If you twist the knock knob, you’ll push exactly 1 mm out, so now you have 1.3 mm sticking out. But that’s too much, you fear the lead will break, so you have to push it back in. You can, but only if you push all of it in, so then you will start with zero – turn the knob and you get 1 mm out. And for all that effort you will need both hands. With that, it’s neither easy to use nor intuitive to use.

Bottom line, I think that the Drehgriffel is quite cool, both in looks and (specially!) in mechanical terms. And GREAT craftsmanship! But as a writing instrument it has some serious issues. I honestly wanted to like it more, and award winner or not, it really doesn’t deliver.

^(A killer mechpen.)

• MODEL:

Kitera LIFT+ – model LI2500.05-WH
0.5 mm (only available in 0.5 mm)    

• MATERIALS:

Full-metal! Or better yet, full-metals, because there is more than one metal here. The body is composed of two parts. The lower 1/3 part, the grip, is hexagonal and made of brass, while the upper body is an aluminum cylinder. The pocket clip is stainless steel, the eraser cap is tin (with a plastic or resin over cap) and the cone tip is brass. Inside things get even more interesting, though the lead tube is plastic. To connect the grip to the body there’s a chromed tin inner tube, with an O-ring on the lower half and a thread on the other end. While the grip is secured in place by the O-ring through friction, the body is screwed in place, with a plastic/rubber section in between the grip and body to keep things tight. The clutch is a mixture of brass, for the chucks, and stainless-steel, for the collet. And obviously, the spring is stainless-steel.

The paint job is nice and VERY smooth; however it looks to be on the thin side for my tastes. With that, I would worry about scratches if you’re not very careful with where you put it.

• ERASER:

White latex rubber eraser with no metal housing or lead-jam-clearing rod. Yes, I was expecting it to have a lead-jam clearing rod, especially at the price point 🤨. By the way, it’s the same exact eraser that comes with Platinum Pro-Use models, like the 171.

• MEASUREMENTS:

The LIFT+, from tip to cap, is 144 mm long, with a 4 mm lead sleeve. The body is 8.9 mm wide, while the hexagonal grip is 9.9 mm. With all that metal, as expected, it’s on the porky side of the scale, weighing 26.42 g. It’s also tip-heavy, with the center of mass located 62 mm from the tip.

• FEATURES:

As is the custom with most (good) drafting pencils, the LIFT+ comes with a lead hardness indicator. Located on the eraser cap, if you twist it around you can display B, HB, F, H, 2H or 3H. And maybe I could also cite the full-metal construction as a feature? But that’s it.

• AESTHETICS:

Available in two “color” schemes – white & black or totally black – the LIFT+ looks the part. Specially this white one, that I’m 100% certain that will be nicknamed “Stormtrooper” in the near future. Ah, us nerds…🙄

• ERGONOMICS:

IMHO, one of the best pencils I have. Why, you may ask? Well, 9.9 mm of grip and over 26 g of weight. I like my mechpens thick and heavy (go ahead, joke all you want, I know I asked for it… 😣). Besides, for my hand the weight distribution is perfect. The hexagonal grip has rounded corners, so it doesn’t hurt your fingers, even if you have a death grip. Yet, since the paint is really smooth, perhaps for sweaty hands it can be slippery. And as a plus, the lead sleeve is rock-solid and there’s no rattle whatsoever.

HOWEVER, there is one true issue: the pocket clip. It is 10 mm too long, and perhaps more importantly, it has sharp edges. With that, the tip hits the meat between my index finger and thumb, and that’s not nice. Therefore, when I rotate the pencil to sharpen the lead, sometimes I’m reminded that the pocket clip has sharp edges. Nothing terrible, but NOT ideal.

• MY THOUGHTS:

Kitera Shouji is a Japanese stationary brand, from Osaka, that eventually uses their brand name on products from other companies, using OEM designs. They operate something like MUJI, and even have a special edition of Pentel’s Smash. The LIFT+, however, is an inhouse effort, consequently with an original Kitera design. Well, with the exception of the eraser, that is... And the box, that is the exact same thing that STAEDTLER uses for the HEXAGONAL. The name LIFT+ comes from the concept that such a good mechpen will “lift” the user 🧚‍♂️. Okaaaayyyy…

I was really excited to get the LIFT+, specifically because of the construction and materials. And of course, it’s also really pleasant to the eye. I’m a total sucker for full-metal pencils, and this one geeked me out.

Why? Well, you have a brass grip connected to an aluminum body. When I heard that, I immediately thought “WTF, don’t they know what galvanic corrosion is?!?”. However, then I saw that Kitera didn’t fumble: there’s that chromed inner tube connecting both parts. Unless they used titanium, whatever metal they used would suffer galvanic corrosion with time, especially in a humid environment. Though a chromed metal tube is not the best solution possible, as long as the finish stays “chromed”, corrosion won’t be a problem. Moreover, the only part that could have an issue would be the aluminum body, since it’s screwed to the inner tube. The grip, since there’s that O-ring acting as a spacer, it doesn’t touch the metal, consequently no problem there. So, clever 😉. Right then and there I had a nerdgasm.

I’m a complete sucker for clever mechanical solutions, and Kitera certainly delivered. Well, of course, they could have just made the whole thing out of only one kind of metal, and then there would be zero risk of galvanic corrosion. Nonetheless, this thing looks VERY good, and just as important, it walks the walk and talks the talk. Excepting that sharp pocket clip, that is 😕. Even so, all in all, a GREAT mechpen – like my Top 3 best!

^(OHTO sucks.)

• MODEL:

OHTO WN02 – model WN02-SP5-BL
0.5 mm (only available in 0.5 mm)    

Since the WN02 is EXACTLY the same mechpen as the SHARP PENCIL, I won’t bore you with the same review. Whatever I wrote for the SHARP, it’s the same for the WN02. Therefore, if you’re curious, just read my review of the SHARP.

So, why did I get another SHARP? Because I really liked the Sharp? Because I really like OHTO? Hell no! I only got this because stupid OHTO makes the same exact pencil with a different model number 🤦‍♂️. And because of that, since this WN02 is in a different blue color than the SHARP (the other three are in the SAME colors), I thought they were both different mechpens. Yeah, I did see pictures, but as a general rule, sales’ photos generally suck moose balls, and text in Chinese does not make things very clear. I honestly thought they were different. In fact, I was certain that this would be a WN01 with a pocket clip. Kind of like the WN02 being the “luxury” version of the WN01. But no… Stupid OHTO just made the exact same SHARP in a different tone of blue.

Damn, I really hate OHTO right now…🤬

Okay, I guess?

• MODEL:

Uni 552 – models M5552 & M7552
0.5 and 0.7 mm (available in 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 mm)

• MATERIALS:

The 552 has a plastic body and a metal cone tip, grip and eraser cap, while the pocket clip and lead sleeve are stainless-steel. Internally, the clutch is full brass and springs are stainless steel – everything else, though, is plastic.

• ERASER:

A white latex rubber eraser in a decent size and in a metal collet.

• MEASUREMENTS:

The 552 is what I consider a “standard” drafting pencil, and the numbers confirm that. It measures 142 mm, with a lead sleeve that is 4 mm long. The whole body is essentially a cylinder, with 8.3 mm in diameter, though the grip is slightly wider: 8.7 mm. It’s on the light side, weighing just 12.26 g, but the weight balance is heavily pushed forward because of the metal grip. With that, the center of mass is found at only 58 mm from the tip.

• FEATURES:

Being an archetypical “draft pencil”, as far as features go there isn’t much to talk about. Well, other than a lead-hardness indicator ring on the body, that is. You can turn that blue ring and select between, 2B, HB, F, H, 2H, 3H and 4H – I guess Uni intended the 552 for the hardcore lead crowd 😋. Joking aside, that is a LOT of options. The color of that ring varies according to the caliber of the model. Therefore, you have yellow for 0.3 mm, orange for 0.4 mm, red for 0.5 mm, blue for 0.7 mm and finally, green for 0.9 mm.

• AESTHETICS:

Quite nice, in what I call a “professional draft pencil” kind of way. As a writing tool, I think it looks great. But from a more let’s say “artistic perspective”, I guess it’s fair to say it looks plain. I think that that happens especially because of the grip, that looks like a cheap chrome job. And probably that is a cheap chrome job…

• ERGONOMICS:

The 552 is a writing tool, and from that perspective it’s fine. Dimensions are good, though I would prefer it being heavier. The real issue for me is the weight balance, that I consider sub-optimal. With the heavy metal grip and cone tip, the plastic body is too light to balance things up. With that, there’s a lot of forward bias. Not exactly bad, but not ideal nonetheless. Conversely, the grip delivers a great tactile sensation, which is further enhanced by the rock-solid tip.

• MY THOUGHTS:

As a drafting pencil, I say that the 552 is quite good – don’t think I can say it’s very good. Yet, there’s one caveat here: the pronounced forward weight balance. Being as it is, I’m certain that some folks (like me) will feel that the ergonomics is a bit lacking (or perhaps, a bit “weird”). Other than that, it’s a nice mechpen to hold, has a good eraser and is fairly inexpensive.

I just wanted to try the 552, but I found these 0.7 mm + 0.5 mm sold as a set for a very good price, so what the hey. Therefore, does that mean I’ll try to complete the series 🤔? Well, since it didn’t bedazzle me, I won’t go bonkers after it. But if the other three fall on my lap… The flesh is weak 😁.

PS: The seller also sent me two cases of Chanss lead. Absolutely a-w-f-u-l-I 💀! I tried the 0.5 mm and it’s really soft and fragile.