Drafting Pencil And Durability?

[Mr.Algoh]

Hard Plastic,Rubber,Wood or Aluminum?

 

i recently got my first drafting pencil, a pentel graph 1000 and it look cool and nice standard lines when i write with it but rubber grips from what i heard becomes smelly after long use?.But i question the durability of the materials use to create the the drafting pencil.

i want to use it to go through the rigors of everyday.One that can lasts you many years? perhaps maybe a decade or longer? and i take care of my pencil and wont drop it.

 

I used to use traditional pencils,back then I always use it for many of my works and somehow grew tired of constant sharpening,i wouldn't want to be convinced to return using traditional pencils.I'd like more elaboration on each of the four elements and its durability.I do traditional art,comics and work long hours throughout.

 

This is my first time on fountainpennetwork.

[Pemako]

"Hard Plastic,Rubber,Wood or Aluminum?"

 

None of the above. I have a Rotring rapid pro and love it. I believe it is made of brass. It is like new after about a year of reasonably heavy use.

 

For more info: http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.co.nz/2011/03/rotring-rapid-pro-mechanical-pencil.html

[Tweel]

I can't say how the rubber will hold up, but if you take care of the pencil the mechanism ought to last a long time. I have several simple Pentel PG305's, and one or two P205's, that I've been using for about 30 years.

[aderoy]

Retro pens also makes a mechanical pencil, all metal exterior but of course plastic tube, and retaining ring inside feeding the lead.

Caran d'Ache or Faber-Castel are excellent quality and of course longevity.

 

Yard-o-Led full metal pencils will outlast but are not 'drafting'.

 

Have some Caran d'Ache and Faber pencils over 30 years of daily use that still 'get the lead out'.

[VanRocket]

You cannot go wrong with a Rotring 600 pencil. They are solid brass and made to last.

 

 

 

Jeff

[pencils+pens]

I own about 93 mechanical pencils. My oldest three are a Pentel Graphic PG5, Pentel P205 and a Pentel (Original) Quicker Clicker in 0.5mm. I have had them since the late 1970s and they all work. However, my everyday home pencil is a Rotring 600 in 0.7mm. Rotring 600s are built like tanks. If the plastic Pentels are 30 years old and still going, I wonder how long the metal Rotring will last - probably forever.

 

The GraphGear are very good pencils. I have the full range. Becuase they are pockt-safe they are in the rotation as goiing-to-work pencils.

 

The Staedtler 925 25 series are also very good metal drafting pencils in metal. They are somewhat unique in that the 2.0mm leadholder functions like a push-bottom mechanical pencil and not as your typical leadholder, ie push the button and the lead advances, it does not go flying out of the pencil. The 2.0mm leadholder is also pocket safe but the rest of the set is not.

 

Two all metal pencils that gear heads love are the Ohto Super Promecha and the Promecha. The Super lets you adjust more things on a mechanical pencil then I knew existed. The Promecha leaves a few of the adjustments off at a lower price.Since the sleeve is retractable they are also pocket safe and therefore in the going-to-work rotation.

 

The Faber-Castell TK-Fine Vario series is also very good. Two features they have that you don't often see on other drafting pencils are the twist-eraser and the other is the lead cushioning system. The cushioning lets you set it to hard for drating or soft for writing.The pencils are plastic on the top and metal on the bottom.

 

Another good plastic/metal combination pencil is the Pilot S10.

 

You can still put together a full set of Pentel PG series pencils but you will have to dig. The PG series have metal nose caps, tops and clips with plastic bodies.

 

And you can't overlook what is probably the most used drafting pencil in the world, the Pentel P200 series. The P203 shows up on eBay from time to time. The P205, 207 and 209 are readily available at any big box discount store. I understand the P204 was only sold in Japan. The PG series have metal nose caps, clips and top buttons with plastic near industrible bodies.

Edited May 9, 2012 by pencils+pens