Low-smudge mechanical pencil "leads"

[Goodwhiskers]

Marks and words by most wood-cased (and recycled sawdust/paper-cased) HB (Number 2) pencils, which must be sharpened, do not smudge very much.

 

Marks and words by most twist-advancing and click-advancing mechanical pencils I've tried (0.5 mm, 0.7 mm and 0.9 mm) smudge really easily. I've tried a few different brands of leads, in HB and H grades. All of those leads have been "hi-polymer" or "high-polymer." The H grade smudges less, but it's too light for my taste in these widths. My favorite width in these pencils is 0.9 mm.

 

I have felt two advantages of "hi-polymer:" smooth writing and enough flexibility to prevent most breakage.

 

The high smudging of "hi-polymer," though, has been disappointing.

 

I haven't tried "clutch" mechanical pencils enough to find out whether any low-smudging leads for them are easily available in the USA.

 

Are low-smudging leads for mechanical pencils available?

[Splicer]

I am wrong to think that HB is softer than a #2 pencil. If memory serves me correctly, you want 2H to equal a #2. You were right that HB is like a #2. Regardless, you may want to seek out 3H 4H or 5H leads.

 

"Clutch" type lead holders can work, but I've had a hard time finding leads for those that aren't soft.

 

I'm having the best success lately with 2H 0.3mm leads. Of course, you'd need a 0.3mm mechanical pencil. They're not impossible to find, but they aren't all that common.

 

[Edits in bold or strikeout]

Edited February 13, 2008 by Splicer

[Goodwhiskers]

Splicer, thanks for your useful remarks.

 

I must confess I've tried H grade leads in the 0.5 mm width only. I'll try H and 2H in the 0.9 mm width. :hmm1:

[Bernie0104]

Have you tried Caran D'Ache pencil leads? I recently saw a review of these leads on davesmechanicalpencils.com, and one of the characteristics mentioned was their resistance to smearing. Dave's site is worth checking out if you use mechanical pencils a lot.

 

Bernie

[atmydesk]

I have a .3 mechanical pencil around somewhere. It was my first push-type mechanical pencil, bought 30 yrs ago when I didn't know much. My boss picked it up from my desk and wrote a bit with it and said "It's like writing with a pin!" It's great if you need to squeeze a word into a small space, but generally the lead breaks too often for everyday writing.

[QM2]

Have you tried Caran D'Ache pencil leads? I recently saw a review of these leads on davesmechanicalpencils.com, and one of the characteristics mentioned was their resistance to smearing. Dave's site is worth checking out if you use mechanical pencils a lot.

 

I use a Caran d'Ache Ecridor Retro pencil with Caran d'Ache led; no smearing.

[Goodwhiskers]

Have you tried Caran D'Ache pencil leads? I recently saw a review of these leads on davesmechanicalpencils.com, and one of the characteristics mentioned was their resistance to smearing. Dave's site is worth checking out if you use mechanical pencils a lot.

 

Bernie

Thanks, Bernie!

 

That's an excellent blog. The URL is

 

http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/

 

Enjoy!

[Goodwhiskers]

The "Lead Cup" comparison tests of 0.5 mm HB lead from 16 manufacturers are entertaining and informative! They start on

 

http://dmporganiser.blogspot.com/2006/10/leads.html

 

Re-examining the stats from the angle of smear resistance, I got the following "fantasy league" winners: Montblanc, Faber-Castell and the Korean brand Insung Hands.

 

The high scorers in smear resistance in the opening rounds were

Montblanc (against Caran d'Ache, Cross and Micro),

Pentel (tied with Parker against Staedler and Students Choice),

Parker (tied with Pentel against Staedler and Students Choice),

Faber-Castell (against Rotring, Zebra and Waterman),

and Insung Hands (against Lamy, Papermate and Pilot).

 

Montblanc showed itself very erasable, interestingly enough. It failed to advance from the first round on blackness and strength. Caran d'Ache was the overall winner of that round, and it went on to second place in the tournament, actually beating Pentel in smear resistance while losing in blackness, erasability and strength.

 

Parker and Pentel tied in both smear resistance (top in their round) and erasability (second place). Parker failed to advance from the first round on blackness and strength. Pentel went on to the championship, losing to Caran d'Ache in smear resistance only.

 

Since Montblanc beat Caran d'Ache in smear resistance, and Caran d'Ache beat Pentel there, Montblanc beats Pentel there too (assuming Dave's test methods were consistent).

 

Faber-Castell was tops in its opening round in both smear resistance and erasability. It placed last in its opening round on blackness and strength.

 

Insung Hands was tops in its opening round on smear resistance but not erasability. It placed last in its opening round on erasability, blackness and strength.

 

Faber-Castell and Insung Hands never competed against each other or against Montblanc, so I suppose I could run a match myself. Stay tuned .

Edited February 16, 2008 by Goodwhiskers

[jmkeuning]

I have a .3 mechanical pencil around somewhere. It was my first push-type mechanical pencil, bought 30 yrs ago when I didn't know much. My boss picked it up from my desk and wrote a bit with it and said "It's like writing with a pin!" It's great if you need to squeeze a word into a small space, but generally the lead breaks too often for everyday writing.

 

I used .3mm pencils every day during law school - writing all my notes in the margins of the books.

 

EDIT: I left my book in class one day. The next day the prof held it up and send, "Someone left this book in here; there is no name but there is some really tiny writing in here."

 

Funny, I was not in class that day, but my friends claimed it for me - they did not even have to ask!

Edited February 16, 2008 by jmkeuning

[Goodwhiskers]

I used .3mm pencils every day during law school - writing all my notes in the margins of the books.

 

EDIT: I left my book in class one day. The next day the prof held it up and send, "Someone left this book in here; there is no name but there is some really tiny writing in here."

 

Funny, I was not in class that day, but my friends claimed it for me - they did not even have to ask!

Levenger used to sell a fancy 0.3 mm mechanical pencil from Faber-Castell (with a spring in the barrel to allow more flexibility to prevent breakage), advertising it for just the purpose James put his pencils to.

[Goodwhiskers]

Here is a summary of another point from Dave's Mechanical Pencils, on this page, related to my comment at the start about wooden pencils vs. mechanical pencils:

 

Most woodcase pencils have leads made of graphite, wax and clay, with the clay holding it all together. From the clay part, Dave (and others in the field?) calls them "ceramic leads." This is the older lead recipe. Dave says that the clay was replaced by polymer materials for narrower mechanical pencils in order to make the leads more break-resistant.

[BobR]

I hate pencil smudging! In a previous job, most of the work was doen by pencil. I long ago decided that a Scripto pen suited me--it was not push-button, but twist. I fortunately bought out the stock of a couple of stores before the pencil was discontinued years ago (although they're mechanical pencils, they do eventually wear out).

 

To go with it, I found that Sheaffer .9mm lead worked best, preferably Type F. Again these are old, they come in the neat yellow "coffins". I hadn't been able to buy these in a long time--since everyday stationery stores disppeared, but scored a boxful on Ebay a couple of years ago I found that the lead was not too soft, not too hard, and I could write quickly as is my habit, with no smudging. These might still be available on Ebay if if have a suitable pencil and interest.

 

Thanks for the interesting information in this thread.

[Bernie0104]

Have you tried Caran D'Ache pencil leads? I recently saw a review of these leads on davesmechanicalpencils.com, and one of the characteristics mentioned was their resistance to smearing. Dave's site is worth checking out if you use mechanical pencils a lot.

 

Bernie

Thanks, Bernie!

 

That's an excellent blog. The URL is

 

http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/

 

Enjoy!

 

Glad to be of assistance! I see you are enjoying Dave's site... I hope you find your perfect smear free lead. Keep us posted!

 

Bernie.

[Hélène]

I hate pencil smudging! In a previous job, most of the work was doen by pencil. I long ago decided that a Scripto pen suited me--it was not push-button, but twist. I fortunately bought out the stock of a couple of stores before the pencil was discontinued years ago (although they're mechanical pencils, they do eventually wear out).

 

To go with it, I found that Sheaffer .9mm lead worked best, preferably Type F. Again these are old, they come in the neat yellow "coffins". I hadn't been able to buy these in a long time--since everyday stationery stores disppeared, but scored a boxful on Ebay a couple of years ago I found that the lead was not too soft, not too hard, and I could write quickly as is my habit, with no smudging. These might still be available on Ebay if if have a suitable pencil and interest.

 

Thanks for the interesting information in this thread.

Pendemonium has them, I am just a satified customer.

[Goodwhiskers]

I decided to try a Staedtler Mars Technico 780 C clutch-type leadholder, which holds 2-mm leads. Of course it came with one Staedtler Mars Carbon HB 2-mm lead, which according to the technical sales document is a "ceramic" lead (clay, wax and graphite, as in the leads for woodcase pencils), not a "high-polymer" lead (coked thread, wax and graphite, as in the 1.2-mm and thinner leads for click-advance pencils). I just tested the lead for smudging on a very smooth-surface paper, and I was pleased to confirm that this lead is just like the lead in woodcase pencils: very smudge-resistant, even in HB hardness!

[zenctheo]

I agree with Caran d'Ache leads. They hardly smudge. Avoid Staedtler high polymer (lumograph) leads. Also the Faber Castell 2mm leads I bought are quite good.

However with Caran d'Ache you don't get a "strong black" when you write, only if you use very soft leads like 2B or 3B but you get some "smudging" with them