Author Topic: Pencil fetish  (Read 70878 times)

woollypigs

  • Mr Peli
    • woollypigs
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #275 on: 12 August, 2018, 03:31:30 pm »
https://www.amazon.com/rOtring-0-3mm-Mechanical-Pencil-502503N/dp/B001A1PORW

That one is a 500, I'm sure mine is a 600. I scraped the decal off mine as that made it easier to find in a class of 20 all armed with Rotring's.

Looks like it is more 0.35mm than 0.3mm.

Just looked at the Rotring website and I can't find a 0.3mm there.
Current mood: AARRRGGGGHHHHH !!! #bollockstobrexit


Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #277 on: 12 August, 2018, 04:33:17 pm »
https://www.amazon.com/rOtring-0-3mm-Mechanical-Pencil-502503N/dp/B001A1PORW

That one is a 500, I'm sure mine is a 600. I scraped the decal off mine as that made it easier to find in a class of 20 all armed with Rotring's.

Looks like it is more 0.35mm than 0.3mm.

Just looked at the Rotring website and I can't find a 0.3mm there.
The two 600s I have, the entire barrel is fashioned from brass.
On the contemporary one only the knurled section is brass (or other metal). The rest is plastic.
An excellent way for  the bean counters to kill the quality of a product, in one fell swoop. :(

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #278 on: 12 August, 2018, 04:46:19 pm »
https://www.amazon.com/rOtring-0-3mm-Mechanical-Pencil-502503N/dp/B001A1PORW

That one is a 500, I'm sure mine is a 600. I scraped the decal off mine as that made it easier to find in a class of 20 all armed with Rotring's.

Looks like it is more 0.35mm than 0.3mm.

Just looked at the Rotring website and I can't find a 0.3mm there.
The two 600s I have, the entire barrel is fashioned from brass.
On the contemporary one only the knurled section is brass (or other metal). The rest is plastic.
An excellent way for  the bean counters to kill the quality of a product, in one fell swoop. :(

I was looking for an all-metal mec pencil and the Rotring 600 was one I was considering:
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/RT27369/rotring-600-drafting-pencil-silver
Quote

rotring 600 mechanical pencil - an old favourite now made available again. Heavy metal hexagonal barrel with cylindrical knurled grip. 4mm fixed sleeve. Removable metal pocket clip. Lead grade indicator (2B-4H including F). Eraser under the push-button. Matt silver finish - also available in black.

Supplied in a card box.

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #279 on: 12 August, 2018, 04:54:05 pm »
https://www.amazon.com/rOtring-0-3mm-Mechanical-Pencil-502503N/dp/B001A1PORW

That one is a 500, I'm sure mine is a 600. I scraped the decal off mine as that made it easier to find in a class of 20 all armed with Rotring's.

Looks like it is more 0.35mm than 0.3mm.

Just looked at the Rotring website and I can't find a 0.3mm there.
The two 600s I have, the entire barrel is fashioned from brass.
On the contemporary one only the knurled section is brass (or other metal). The rest is plastic.
An excellent way for  the bean counters to kill the quality of a product, in one fell swoop. :(

I was looking for an all-metal mec pencil and the Rotring 600 was one I was considering:
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/RT27369/rotring-600-drafting-pencil-silver
Quote

rotring 600 mechanical pencil - an old favourite now made available again. Heavy metal hexagonal barrel with cylindrical knurled grip. 4mm fixed sleeve. Removable metal pocket clip. Lead grade indicator (2B-4H including F). Eraser under the push-button. Matt silver finish - also available in black.

Supplied in a card box.
Oh! that looks very nice, and is competitively priced.
The only issue I have is that the lead sleeve isn't retractable - which can lead to holes in legs, and it is quite vulnerable if you drop it  - as it isn't a lightweight instrument.
More modern instruments have overcome this either by making the sleeve retractable, or the pencil light in weight.

I've just been searching for Rotring Rapidoliner piston filled, fountain pens - which was, I think, the first Rotring instrument I owned.
They're rare.
And prices are eye-watering.
Enough about ink on this pencil thread!!

woollypigs

  • Mr Peli
    • woollypigs
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #280 on: 12 August, 2018, 05:35:56 pm »
https://www.amazon.com/rOtring-0-3mm-Mechanical-Pencil-502503N/dp/B001A1PORW

That one is a 500, I'm sure mine is a 600. I scraped the decal off mine as that made it easier to find in a class of 20 all armed with Rotring's.

Looks like it is more 0.35mm than 0.3mm.

Just looked at the Rotring website and I can't find a 0.3mm there.
The two 600s I have, the entire barrel is fashioned from brass.
On the contemporary one only the knurled section is brass (or other metal). The rest is plastic.
An excellent way for  the bean counters to kill the quality of a product, in one fell swoop. :(

I was looking for an all-metal mec pencil and the Rotring 600 was one I was considering:
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/RT27369/rotring-600-drafting-pencil-silver
Quote

rotring 600 mechanical pencil - an old favourite now made available again. Heavy metal hexagonal barrel with cylindrical knurled grip. 4mm fixed sleeve. Removable metal pocket clip. Lead grade indicator (2B-4H including F). Eraser under the push-button. Matt silver finish - also available in black.

Supplied in a card box.
I got that one too, I was smarter then as I etched in my name on the body. I like this in the description "Ink Type: Graphite" :)
Current mood: AARRRGGGGHHHHH !!! #bollockstobrexit

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #281 on: 13 August, 2018, 08:17:21 am »
https://www.amazon.com/rOtring-0-3mm-Mechanical-Pencil-502503N/dp/B001A1PORW

That one is a 500, I'm sure mine is a 600. I scraped the decal off mine as that made it easier to find in a class of 20 all armed with Rotring's.

Looks like it is more 0.35mm than 0.3mm.

Just looked at the Rotring website and I can't find a 0.3mm there.

I couldn't either.  Crikey, the prices go from pocket fluff to bloody hell.  I'll maybe nip into Haguenau and see what the Maison du Livre (House of Liver) has to offer.

https://www.cultpens.com/c/q/explore/product-type/pencils/mechanical-pencils#:=&g_tip_size=02mm :thumbsup:

Cheers.  Amazon here carry quite a few too.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Woofage

  • Tofu-eating Wokerati
  • Ain't no hooves on my bike.
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #282 on: 14 August, 2018, 06:09:07 pm »
Mr Woofages online emporium is very good I've bought fountain pen things from their before

Thank you, sir :thumbsup:. Although we're fountain pen specialists we do carry a nice selection of pencils, both traditional wooden and mechanical.

BTW, we're not just on-line as we have a real shop where you can come and properly look and try things. Proudly independent too!
Pen Pusher

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #283 on: 14 August, 2018, 06:41:12 pm »
Mr Woofages online emporium is very good I've bought fountain pen things from their before

Thank you, sir :thumbsup:. Although we're fountain pen specialists we do carry a nice selection of pencils, both traditional wooden and mechanical.

BTW, we're not just on-line as we have a real shop where you can come and properly look and try things. Proudly independent too!
TPINGWAL








This post is no good without a link
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #284 on: 14 August, 2018, 06:57:05 pm »
Mr Woofages online emporium is very good I've bought fountain pen things from their before

Thank you, sir :thumbsup:. Although we're fountain pen specialists we do carry a nice selection of pencils, both traditional wooden and mechanical.

BTW, we're not just on-line as we have a real shop where you can come and properly look and try things. Proudly independent too!
TPINGWAL








This post is no good without a link

My bold.

woollypigs

  • Mr Peli
    • woollypigs
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #285 on: 14 August, 2018, 07:24:41 pm »
If you click on the message that Woofage quoted above aka the message from pcolbeck, you will find full post which includes the URL :)
Current mood: AARRRGGGGHHHHH !!! #bollockstobrexit

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #286 on: 14 August, 2018, 07:48:13 pm »
If you click on the message that Woofage quoted above aka the message from pcolbeck, you will find full post which includes the URL :)

No, I think the links in pcolbeck's message are to two other places. Woofage's modest emporium is, I'm pretty sure, The Writing Desk.  Here's a link:
https://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #287 on: 14 August, 2018, 08:56:19 pm »
What I want is a device with Apple Pencil functionality that at a twist or a press reveals it’s hidden graphite pencil mechanics.
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #288 on: 14 August, 2018, 11:26:58 pm »
Rotring 800+ does that I believe...

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #289 on: 19 August, 2018, 10:40:18 am »
Are there any actual all-metal mec pencils?

It seems the £23 Rotring 600 and the £43(!) Rotring 800 whilst both having metal barrels have plastic parts inside.

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #290 on: 19 August, 2018, 11:51:03 am »
What I want is a device with Apple Pencil functionality that at a twist or a press reveals it’s hidden graphite pencil mechanics.


Not available at the present time


Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #291 on: 19 August, 2018, 12:22:41 pm »
Are there any actual all-metal mec pencils?

It seems the £23 Rotring 600 and the £43(!) Rotring 800 whilst both having metal barrels have plastic parts inside.

Loclen L3
When you're not writing with it you can use it as a boat anchor.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #292 on: 19 August, 2018, 12:54:04 pm »
Costs what it says on the box: "raw brass".
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #293 on: 19 August, 2018, 04:58:47 pm »
Costs what it says on the box: "raw brass".
"Hand crafted in Italy"
What were you expecting?

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #294 on: 19 August, 2018, 05:23:00 pm »
"Handcrafted" in a CNC machine:




Well you need someone to use their hands to take the pen out of the machine.

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #295 on: 06 July, 2019, 02:26:15 pm »
I've finally got round to getting some "metal" pencils!



Ignore the first pencil, I got it years ago and just happens to be in the photo.

The 3 middle pencils are made by Ohto and are aparently all metal except for the plastic tube that holds the spare leads and which connects the click button to the clutch. The barrel is made from aluminium and I guess brass and steel for the bits at the lead sleeve and clutch.

The bottom one is a Rotring 600 which has a brass barrel. Comes in silver or black. The silver is supposedly some sort of plating and is harder wearing whereas the black version is maybe a type of paint and wears off more easily.

The Ohto are:
Promecha 505P £6

This is very light and has a fixed lead sleeve. On my pencil, the lead advance button is loose on the barrel and rattles (fixed with a bit of sellotape), and the lead sleeve is slightly bent (straight but at at an angle to the pencil). The click has a light action and gives a clear and distinct click.


Promecha 1005P £8

This is much heavier and has a "retractable" lead sleeve. The lead sleeve is actually fixed and doesn't move, it's actually the rotating knurled grip that screws up and down the barrel that covers the lead sleeve.

I think this is better than a retractable lead sleeve that moves in and out. Retractable lead sleeves can have wobble at the tip and is an additional complication.

Again, the lead advance button is loose and rattles (fixed with a bit of sellotape). The action is heavier and slightly mushy.

The point of balance is towards the bottom writing end and the grip makes the pencil wider to hold. But the knurling is very smooth and doesn't provide much grip.


Super Promecha 1505P £10

Similar to the Promecha 1005P, about the same weight but has an adjustment to vary the length of lead advanced per click.





I think the click button, lead indicator and clip has a better looking design, the type of clip that just clips onto the pencil looks a bit crap to me.

However there's some downsides compared to the Promecha 1005P. The grip rides on very shallow males threads on the barrel, they're only about 0.2mm deep.



The pencil with the brass threads is the cheaper Promecha 1005P.


The grip is also a loose fit, a bit of tape on the threads removes the wobble and makes it smoother to turn.

And the cutouts for the lead advance adjusting wheel weakens the barrel quite a lot.

The click button is also loose and rattles, on 4 out of 6 examples.


Rotring 600 silver, about £21* (black is usually cheaper)



This feels much more solid. The click feels better with more distinct "click". But the point of balance is at the middle of the barrel and the knurled area is more grippy but narrow and further down, with the pencil at an angle for normal writing your thumb would not be on the knurling. I think I prefer a bottom heavy pencil.

The click button is a very loose fit with a huge gap between it and the barrel. It only rattles a bit though, as I think there's less side to side movement of the spare lead tube inside the barrel. Needs 2 layers of tape to get rid of the gap.

The lead sleeve is fixed, but a Bic Round Stic cap fits and matches perfectly to protect it when not in use.

It's also expensive, double of the Ohto Super Promecha 1505P. Although I paid £16.50.

The box saids "full metal ... pencil" but it has plastic part(s) inside. And made in Japan.

*the price varies quite a bit, black is £17.50 currently on Amazon.

Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #296 on: 14 July, 2019, 03:50:54 pm »
 

Some Venn diagram overlap with my collection there, Hubner.

From the top:
Pentel PG  1019 Ammo =0.9
Super Promecha. Ammo = 0.9
Pentel Shaker. You advance the lead with a deft flick of the wrist. Lovely action. Ammo = 0.3
My daily scribble, I probably have a dozen or so of these Pentel 209s knocking about, all with their tips ground down to a couple of mm. So you can pocket it without perforating your leg. Ammo = 0.9
Faber-Castell Alphamatic, automatic feed. This was hideously expensive when I bought it in the late 80s - something like £25.00. I understand that these are quite desirable in the world of pencil collecting, these days. I've seen a secondhand one, paired with a pen on thiefbay for $1,000.00   Ammo = 0.3
Rotring 600. My oldest pencil, I bought this when I was at secondary school, and deliberately gave it a patina / weathered look by attacking it with a file. It has also been embellished with a Faber-Castell top cap, and I put it on a Bridgeport and milled 2 x 3mm slots on opposite faces of the hexagonal barrel (you can just about see this on the lowest face) so that you could ascertain how much lead you had in your pencil. Only you can't, because the tube which holds the graphite is plastic and becomes occluded with graphite dust, so you cannot tell what is in there anyway  ::-). Ammo = 0.5
Another Rotring 600, the way it left the Rotring factory. The wide-angle lens on my iPhone makes it look much shorter than the 600 above it. It's not. Ammo = 0.5.
A Rotring, the model of which escapes me. This one has a retractable cone and tip. In addition to which, I've shortened it by around 10mm in order to make it fit a wallet I was using at the time. Ammo = 0.5
Loclen L3 in silver. Very heavy, but sits in the hand beautifully. Minus points for no integral eraser - no good for me doing crosswords. Ammo = 0.9
Loclen L3 as above, but in black.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #297 on: 14 July, 2019, 04:04:53 pm »
I've gone back to wooden pencils in the workshop: you can't draw a 50cm line on wood with a mechanical pencil without the point breaking.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Clare

  • Is in NZ
Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #298 on: 23 April, 2020, 03:05:46 pm »
I tell you what, they are very good those Writing Desk people. My order arrived today, nicely packaged and all as it should be.


Shouldn't have looked at the Yard-O-Led blog though.



Re: Pencil fetish
« Reply #299 on: 25 April, 2020, 10:18:59 pm »
I have a Lamy 2000 pencil that I use quite a bit. It’s the 0.5 mm version - sometimes wish I had bought the 0.7 tbh.

I am finding the Lamy HB 0.5 mm lead too hard and want a darker line. Can I use a B from another brand? There are 0.5mm B leads from Rotring and Pilot but the length is not listed.

https://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/ink-refills/pencil-leads/