Mechanical Pencil That Minimizes Lead Waste

[Meteo]

All the pencils that I use waste about 1/3 of the lead. Ive read about a few pencils that minimize waste such as the Uni-ball Millino but they are no longer for sale. Does anyone know of a pencil that minimizes lead waste that I could buy right now? And not too expensive/rare preferably.

[ThirdeYe]

Try the Platinum Oleenu.

Edited September 11, 2011 by ThirdeYe

[FLJeepGuy]

Ummm... you might want to clarify what you mean by wasting 1/3 of your lead.

 

I have both a Rotring 600 and TWSBI Precision and neither wastes that much lead unless I'm constantly breaking it off. As long has I have a new lead coming in behind the one that's being used up, I can use nearly all of each lead (aside from breakage). I also have several inexpensive Zebra MPs at work that all work in a similar fashion.

Edited September 11, 2011 by FLJeepGuy

[Dolganoff]

In rotring 600/800 you can use up all the 100% of the lead if you use some caution towards the end.

[ajcoleman]

If you take the tip off a standard push button mechanical pencil, you will find the lead held in a three prong "gripper" that pushes the lead forward then opens when the button is depressed to advance the lead. After the gripper, the lead moves through a rubber "gasket" in the tip that holds the lead still while the gripper retracts and then closes on the lead. After the rubber gasket, the lead goes into the sleeve, typically 2-4 mm long on a drafting pencil, and then out. When the piece of lead is so short that the gripper can no longer hold it when the button is retracted, the lead may be loose and wobble or slide back into the sleeve. If you grab the exposed lead with your finger tips you can pull it right out when this is the case. I take it that is the wasted lead you are referring to.

 

To minimize this, one would look to avoid drafting pencils with a long sleeve. This will minimize the amount of lead wasted after it is too short for the advancing gripper.

 

Pencils using a different mechanism can avoid this altogether. The Autopoint "All-American" pencil grips the lead at the very tip of the pencil, and uses a twist-advance metal rod to force the lead through the "grip-tite" tip. This mechanism makes it possible for the pencil to hold a very short piece of lead (~ 2 mm or less) as firmly as new piece. Practically no lead is wasted. The simple mechanism is about impossible to jam. I have Autopoint pencils older than I am that work as good as new. See www.autopointinc.com.

[FLJeepGuy]

When the piece of lead is so short that the gripper can no longer hold it when the button is retracted, the lead may be loose and wobble or slide back into the sleeve. If you grab the exposed lead with your finger tips you can pull it right out when this is the case. I take it that is the wasted lead you are referring to.

 

To minimize this, one would look to avoid drafting pencils with a long sleeve. This will minimize the amount of lead wasted after it is too short for the advancing gripper.

 

Many (most?) MPs with this type of gripper and sleeve will queue up and push the next lead through behind that small piece your talking about. As long as there is additional lead in the pencil, even the last few mm of the current lead can still be used. But honestly, we're talking a mm or two. I've never really considered it that big of an issue.

[Meteo]

If you take the tip off a standard push button mechanical pencil, you will find the lead held in a three prong "gripper" that pushes the lead forward then opens when the button is depressed to advance the lead. After the gripper, the lead moves through a rubber "gasket" in the tip that holds the lead still while the gripper retracts and then closes on the lead. After the rubber gasket, the lead goes into the sleeve, typically 2-4 mm long on a drafting pencil, and then out. When the piece of lead is so short that the gripper can no longer hold it when the button is retracted, the lead may be loose and wobble or slide back into the sleeve. If you grab the exposed lead with your finger tips you can pull it right out when this is the case. I take it that is the wasted lead you are referring to.

 

To minimize this, one would look to avoid drafting pencils with a long sleeve. This will minimize the amount of lead wasted after it is too short for the advancing gripper.

 

Pencils using a different mechanism can avoid this altogether. The Autopoint "All-American" pencil grips the lead at the very tip of the pencil, and uses a twist-advance metal rod to force the lead through the "grip-tite" tip. This mechanism makes it possible for the pencil to hold a very short piece of lead (~ 2 mm or less) as firmly as new piece. Practically no lead is wasted. The simple mechanism is about impossible to jam. I have Autopoint pencils older than I am that work as good as new. See www.autopointinc.com.

 

yes thats what I meant by the wasted lead. Ill check out those autopoint pencils, they look like what Ive been looking for. thanks

[nxn96]

Autopoint is a good choice. In addition to the current Autopoints, there is always a large number of vintage Autopoints on eBay, usually at pretty reasonable prices. The vintage Autopoints have more variety than do the current models in terms of eraser caps, barrel design, etc. However, if you go with the vintage Autopoints, you're pretty much restricted to .9 and 1.1mm lead sizes (there are a few .5mm models, but that was pretty late in the old Autopoint era); whereas the modern Autopoints offer the broader range of lead sizes. Another thing to keep in mind if you look at the vintage pencils is that Autopoint was very much an ad/specialty company, so what's out there often has some company's name on it.

 

New or vintage, Autopoint is a great answer to your concern.

[BrandonA]

Not sure what the industry standard is for this but my MB pencils leave less than a CM when they come to the end. I've never really had a problem with this, especially when you consider how much writting you get out of each lead.

[shea2812]

I have found a cheap Oleenu from local Daiso. I removed the clip and voila... I have a pencil that I really like. Can twirl about and worry not if the lead will break inside even if the pencil is dropped. Its the extra sleeve system in the Platinum's Oleenu that does it. I suppose leads are cheap enough that most dont really care about using it to the last bit. I believe Platinum makes a higher end model of the Oleenu but I have not seen or try any of those.

[Aramchek]

Another two options are the Pilot Clutch point and the Zebra Delguard.

[flatline]

Many (most?) MPs with this type of gripper and sleeve will queue up and push the next lead through behind that small piece your talking about. As long as there is additional lead in the pencil, even the last few mm of the current lead can still be used. But honestly, we're talking a mm or two. I've never really considered it that big of an issue.

 

When I notice the lead get "loose", I generally pull it out and start the next piece of lead behind it. At worst this wastes maybe 1cm of lead which comes to maybe 20% of the lead stick and isn't really something I worry much about.

 

If you really want efficient use of lead, get yourself a 2mm clutch pencil (aka "lead holder"). The leads typically start off about 12-13cm long and you can use all but the last 5 or 6 mm.

[Algester]

I'd also recommend pencils with an automatic chuck as they are also efficient with lead usage

Edited November 22, 2015 by Algester

[shea2812]

There is that Staedtler Integrity and its equivalent Faber Castell Max Grip 1371 with their dual clutch system that may provide good solution. Been doodling with one for a few days and its pretty good. I can see that some stragglers are still being offered online. I bought the Faber version and find those tiny clutch works at holding the lead firm at the tip. Much better than the usual sleeve. I use mine with 4B 0.5mm lead, I thought it would not work with softer leads but it does. With the clip removed its easy to rotate despite being on the shorter side.

[a_m]

This is such an informative thread. Thanks everyone for the information provided.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Some pencils waste less lead than others. I recommend looking at some of the Pilot Dr. Grip G-Spec or Pilot Symmetry pencils. I also have liked the Uni Alpha Gel Slims. These pencils, especially the Pilots, have some of the shortest lead stubs when the lead is finished that I have seen. Other pencils that are good are those that have a continuous twist mechanism like the Cross 0.9 mm pencils which are no longer made or even a lead holder. The caveat with the leadholder is that they need sharpening which does waste some lead.

 

Dillon

[Icywolfe]

You can try the Pilot Automac as there is 2 griping points. Also the Pilot Clutch point advertises to use the lead until the last 1mm.

[sztainbok]

I don`t know if anybody is still reading this thread. The Rotring Rapid XL was advertised as a lead saver that advances the lead to the end.

Here is a link to the 1999 Rotring catalog where the mechanism is described in page 5. https://www.rotring.ro/cataloage1/Rotring/Catalog-Rotring-1999.pdf

Of course it's out of production now, but it might be available on line.

[inkstainedruth]

If the original poster is still around, I'll put in another vote for lead holders. I've had a Berol Turquoise or two since I was in college . They're a little pricier and the leads aren't cheap -- but I had a package of leads last for about a decade of moderate to heavy use. And every once in a while you can get a lead sharpener on sale (I picked up one for a buck a few years ago in an art supply; and once happened onto a heavy duty metal one that someone literally had put out on the sidewalk for trash pickup -- that one stays in the house).

The advantages are that the leads last a long time, so are cost effective, come in a range of hardnesses (I mostly use 2H but picked up a pack of 3H at a thrift store specializing in arts and crafts supplies), and you can get the points really sharp (much sharper than on a standard mechanical pencil), and you can use the leads till they're really short (then use the remainder in a decent quality drafting compass). Plus there's a lot less mess than with a regular pencil (and I used to know how to make my own carbon paper with the graphite dust and IIRC rubber cement thinner).

Staedtler Mars also makes lead holders that are a little cheap than the Berol, but I don't like mine quite as well.

They're available at most art supply stores, and I think sometimes you can pick them up at places like Michael's as well (at least here in the US) but they're more likely to be the Staedtler Mars ones).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[aderoy]

Caran d'Ache Fix Pencil and Koh-i-noor 5905CL lead holders are full metal bodies also. They even have pointers (sharpeners) in the cap when a tub pointer is not on hand. Keep a few loaded with different hardness. More packages of lead than I could use in 20 years, does not stop me from trying.

Edited June 14, 2019 by aderoy