Simple Mod - Kitaboshi 2mm Leadholder
The Kitaboshi “Adult Pencil” 2mm lead holder was the closest for me in terms of form factor to a wood cased pencil. It is almost perfect in all aspect except one.
The one thing that bothered me was the somewhat less ideal grip (for my hands) as it tends to slip while my hands are dry (in the office with AC) and also while my hands are sweaty (not in AC and I’m in Malaysia so weather is hot and humid).
So decided to perform a simple DIY improvement to it. I wrapped both metal ends with masking tape, then proceeded to use 320 grit sandpaper to sand away the glossy finish. Less is more here so was gentle and kept checking the feel of the wood as I did not want to oversand it.
While the barrel was done, then proceeded to sand the hexagonal bit that meets the
metal rounded tip. Originally the hexagonal barrel
ends abruptly with the metal tip and I didn’t like that feel.
When all was done rubbed on some small amount of vaseline and buffed it out with a cotton rag. Maybe next time to use a proper wood finishing but I didn’t want to risk it having that slippery finish again amd vaseline should be adequate moisture protection since this will be in my pencil case.
To summarise, very satisfied with the results and it feels absolutely wonderful to write and sketch with.
I am now going to perform the same mod to my Muji 2mm and similar final awesomeness is expected. Will post the results when I’m done with that.