r/mechanicalpencils

Decided to go with the GraphGear 1000 for this week's setup. Resting on a clean aluminum cover, this metallic blue finish looks incredible in natural light. I just love the tactile click of the clip mechanism. What's everyone else carrying this week?

Tell me oh, what can I do?

Sem dúvidas,essa cor verde e a laranja,são as cores mais bonitas da Graphgear 300.

I used to buy whichever lead brand I could find on stores. Then I read here about the Stein brand. I gave these a shot yesternite and man, are they silky! It's such a pleasurable experience to feel it almost liquefying itself onto the paper. Love them. Thanks to this group I now have a forever brand.

Pentel Pg1804
Tombow Variable 0.4mm

For some reason, Several Japanese 0.4mm mechanical pencils seem to be green.

I found these old Rotring Tikkys in a drawer. One clip is stamped with "W.Germany", which suggests it was made before 1989, while the others just say "Germany". The bodies look identical, but there are differences in the details: the 0.9 mm versions have engraved rings on the metal tip, whereas the 0.5 mm versions have smooth tips without rings. There are also a few different variations among the endcaps.

Starting from the 1970s, Colleen began differentiating itself as a brand by focusing on double-knock mechanisms, and visual flair that cast a wider appeal for men and women. They popularized 'gold coated' leads that not only looked nice, but also helped dainty fingers avoid graphite smudges.

So the 'SCOOP' took me by surprise as it looked more like something that Sakura or even Zebra might have dreamed up. It is decidedly futuristic, from the sleek double-slope cone, smooth all-aluminum body, to the slotted clip and mechanistic bellows sleeve under the domed button.

Other nice features: the MP has a retractable sliding sleeve and the metal clutch comes with spring cushioning. No cleaning pin, but the eraser well uses an O-ring to help grip the dome cover securely.

Lastly, the name was only discovered when I came across a post on X showing the last picture with the SCOOP in its original packaging. A fellow collector remarked: if the pen didn't have the Colleen price sticker on it, you'd never suspect it was a Colleen!

​

I finally got rid of that slippery, annoying metal grip on my Pentel Stein. Writing with it was honestly unbearable for me. I don't know why it never occurred to me to just remove it—I actually thought it couldn't be removed. Turns out, it was incredibly easy, and the difference is night and day.

The plastic underneath isn't knurled or anything, but it actually has a really good grip and feels much more comfortable to write with. My hand feels so much better now.

Do you guys think I made the right call removing it, or did I ruin the Stein? 😂 I honestly don't understand the point of these slippery metal grips when they seem to make my hand hurt more than if there was no grip at all.

Here are more of my newest pencils.

My students are LOVING all the new paraphernalia! 🥰🤣

I just made this brass body for my Pentel P207 the other day. I was really missing a way to clip it to my pocket. So with some scrap 14 gauge wire, a hammer, a properly sized drill bit and some pliers wrenches... I was able to fabricate this clip. Really happy with the way it turned out. Since the copper is as soft as the brass I don't really see any scratches from fitting it on there.

Hi,

What is this notch for, on top of the pencil?

How do you replace the leads?

Thanks!

Hello,

I found my Faber-Castell TK Matic 0.5 at the bottom of a moving box.

I took it apart and cleaned it, but the lead is still stuck in the tip.

Do you know how to fix this problem?