r/mechanicalpencils

I’ve always liked hex barrel designs but it’s extra nostalgic when they come in wooden bodies like old school pencils. Here’s my line up for the week:

• J.S. Staedtler 1001 Technico 2mm lead holder (1960s)
• PG5 custom by Nokyang (Green Sun) Workshop of Korea - swapped with PG7 internals
• OHTO WN01 0.5mm
• Object Index Needle Point Pen (OEM by OHTO)
• Uni recycled wood lead case (1990s?)
• Kokuyo RESARE eraser

The Nokyang is my first custom wood PG5 and I decided on it for a couple of reasons:

1. I wanted it to be all-wood to experience the organic feel of the material instead of the wood upper/metal grip combination used by other brands like Steef.
2. It has a relatively slim width indicating skilled crafting to maintain structural strength
3. Included custom metal parts for the lead grade indicator if you didn’t want to use the original colorful plastic ones.
4. Well handled slope angle transition from cone to body, slightly rounded edges for comfort.
5. Reasonably priced find on Mercari at below 6000 yen

And since it was made for PG5 I can swap for any of the other Graph Pencil sizes as and when I like.

I tried making a Kerry out of ebonite. Since the theme is fountain pens, I think this idea fits perfectly. I made the frame out of stainless steel, so it’s really sturdy—and heavy. It seems like a much better option than paying 5,500 JPY for a limited-edition Seaser.

Bem capaz de eu não tirar essa Graph600 e a Graph1000 da embalagem…E as raras PS315 e a PS523.Obras primas da Pentel.

Was getting some stuff, and the seller threw in this broken P207 as a bonus. It's in quite good condition, apart from the broken tube & detached clutch assembly, nothing too hard to fix. A nice opportunity to take a pic of it too, since that part is not meant to be disassembled.

From the date code on the tube & this looks to be made in 1980.

I’ve been hearing lots of good things about the KT metal, so when I saw the orange in store I had to buy it!

Pairs well with the KT Dive in orange!

Just picked this up at the same market I got my Scripto pencil (also pictured here)!! Super excited to start using this one!!

^(CHEAP double-knock.)

• MODEL:

Sakura Writoll – model NS505W#43
0.5 mm (available in 0.3 and 0.5 mm)           

• MATERIALS:

Being a budget model, plastic abounds here. So you have a plastic body, rubber grip, metal (tin?) eraser cap and cone tip/lead sleeve; pocket clip is stainless-steel but with a plastic base. In the inside you get a full-brass clutch and stainless-steel springs, but the rest is plastic.

• ERASER:

A generic white latex rubber eraser, with just a metal collet. It’s the exact same one rOtring uses in the R600.

• MEASUREMENTS:

“Opened” or “closed”, the Witroll measures 140 mm from tip to cap, with the center of gravity found at 75 mm from the (extended) tip. The boy is a cylinder with 8.4 mm in diameter at the tip of the pocket clip that expands to 9.5 mm at the edge of the grip. The rubber grip is 10 mm wide, and extends for 26 mm. With so much plastic the Writoll is a lightweight, weighing just 10.24 g.

• FEATURES:

The neat thing about the Writoll is that it’s a “double knock” mechpen. What that means is that if you knock it hard, you will extend or retract the lead sleeve/cone tip, while a soft knock, when the sleeve is out, will only advance the lead. Each soft know pushes out about 0.5 mm of lead. Finished using it, press hard on the eraser cap and the sleeve retracts, making the pencil safe to carry around. What I like about SAKURA’s approach is that it’s not the lead sleeve that extends and retracts, but the whole clutch assembly + sleeve. And why is that good? No sleeve wobbling. Neato 😎!

• AESTHETICS:

I have the impression that SAKURA didn’t want anyone to think the Writoll was anything else but a budget pencil. Therefore, they used the shiniest chrome possible with huge lettering on the body, so it looks really cheap. Why??? And though there are other colors, all look cheap 🤦‍♂️. The 0.5 mm version is available in black, dark blue and red/burgundy, while the 0.3 mm can be found in green, light blue, white and gray.

• ERGONOMICS:

Even though it has an a-w-e-s-o-m-e mechanical feature, in terms of ergonomics the Writoll is quite poor. For my tastes, it has the worse combination of features possible: too slim, too light and with a rearward-weight balance. What makes things really bad is the short grip and the rubber used. Since it’s only 26 mm long, you have to precisely position your fingers, without much wiggle room. And because the rubber is a bit rough, and you can’t move your fingers much, the rubber produced a sore spot on my middle finger. And to add more issues, it’s a bit noisy; not OHTO-noisy but not silent. The sleeve, however, is rock solid, which is a solid plus on a retracting-sleeve mechpen.

• MY THOUGHTS:

I honestly didn’t have high hopes for the Writoll, and it did not disappoint. Nonetheless, it has THE best lead sleeve protection system I’ve ever witnessed – a breeze to use and reliable, with no downsides. However, the ergonomics are just too bad for my hand; maybe someone with smaller hands won’t have so many issues as I had. In the end, the most pocket-friendly writing pencil that I have, but with serious ergonomics issues.

And one last thing, about the name. Does Writoll come from “write all” 🤔? If so, allow me once again to crack up with Japanese translations to English 😋.

Ever wonder about the story behind those classic US government-issue Skilcraft pens and pencils? It all ties back to a powerful program started in 1938 called AbilityOne, creating incredible job opportunities for Americans who are blind or have significant disabilities.
In my latest video, we are doing a massive stationery deep dive. We go under the hood of iconic models like the Fidelity, the "Double Ender," and the Draft Pro, comparing them side-by-side with commercial legends like the Pentel GraphGear 500. We’ll tear them apart to look at the internal brass clutches and see how these rugged utility tools actually stack up.
Watch the full breakdown here: https://youtu.be/C8wmwgwERZ4

for context, i stole this 0.5mm lead mechanical pencil from my stepdad about 6-7 years ago and have been using it ever since.

this has been my trusty companion ever since, supporting me throughout the entirety of high school until now when i am finally starting uni. i’ve long since wanted to find out what brand or model of pencil this is because i’ve tried a lot of them and i keep coming back to use this. hell, the rubber(?) grip part broke apart on me one day and i covered it in tape so i could still use it.

if it helps he mentioned that he bought it when he lived in japan but does not remember where he bought it or what it is. everything on the pencil, if there even was anything, has basically been scrubbed off so long ago for me to even remember. i’ve wanted to replace it for so long but it has been my ride or die that i cannot fathom having something else replacing it so easily😭 i’ve tried to look up descriptive words or reverse image search it before but am not sure if they match. please help!

As the title implies I’m looking for some help identifying this Scriptco pencil I picked up recently. All I know is that it takes 0.9mm lead, so any and all information would help!! Thanks!!

I think I'm starting to get addicted

I’ve been using the Uni Kuru Toga Advance 0.5mm (M5-559) since it first came out, probably around 2017 or 2018, and I honestly can’t go back to any other mechanical pencil now. The lead-rotating mechanism makes every line so crisp and consistent, and it held up amazingly well over time. I’ve used this thing through high school, uni, and now grad school, and it’s still going strong.

I’ve been thinking about getting a spare (either in 0.5 or 0.3 mm) or maybe upgrading to the Uni Kuru Toga Advance Upgrade (M5-1030). For anyone who’s tried both, how does the writing experience compare to the standard advance one? Or would you recommend another model from the Kuru Toga line?

The world of Smash is so full of variety that collectors often don’t know where to start… or even when to stop :-)

When I first tried to collect the old run of Loft full-color exclusives, I ran into some issues:

1. The painted grips often didn’t seamlessly match the color of the plastic uppers. Though to be sure, Pentel has improved a lot since 2014.
2. The text markings were sometimes in black and other times in white in order to maintain legibility against the color of the body. I hated this inconsistency.

And so I’ve arrived at my own set of rules for collecting Smash:

1. It must be a shade of color that that I don’t already have;
2. The text markings must be in black, so that they can match…
3. … My preference for a black grip, clip and button.

A couple of years ago there was a huge discount on Rakuten for standard issue Smash in black, so I bought about 10 pieces so that I would have plenty of black grips for my collection. 😎

KT pencils are emerging as my favourite, I especially love the roulette. I think I'm more a 0.5 guy which surprises me as I really liked 0.7 when I started collecting. Excited to try this out.

Rate it?

+ dk why the pic is upside down srry