What Is "the Best" Lead Holder?

[a m a r g o]

 

Oh, thanks for the info. It does look to have the right length to me. I won't mind picking one up if I see it on line. Like you've said, don't see it in stock easily.

 

 

I just checked out the Worther Slight. Looks interesting. The lead is 1.18mm? That's the only pen I see in this spec.

 

Yes, Rotring is nice. I recently picked up a 800 (in 0.7mm) in black and love the feel of it. I already have the Staedtler 2.0 mechanical pencil so I won't get the Rotring 800 2mm. I prefer the old school clutch 2mm. It's not available in my area so I will need to search for that online.

 

A lot of lead holders in the past used the 1.2 mm lead, but only a few now... I enjoy it a lot, for sketching and writing, but isn't my favorite for sketching, the lead softness could be a lot better, it's a bit hard for that purpose, and of course you could only source out the leads from Wörther.

[flatline]

The Staedtler Mars 780 is my favorite so far. Just make sure you get one made in Germany.

[pcravis]

maybe a METALLIC KOHINOOR VERSATIL 2.5mm

YOU CAN PUT BALLPOINT REFILLS /TABLET STYLUS PENS /

OR 2 -3 SMALL 2mm PENCIL LEADS REFILLS

/I USE A B LEAD AND SMALL BALLPOINT REFILL AT THE SAME TIME

 

MANY PENCIL LEADS CAN TAKE FROM INSIDE CHEAP WOOD PENCILS

Edited February 24, 2016 by pcravis

[flatline]

maybe a METALLIC KOHINOOR VERSATIL 2.5mm

YOU CAN PUT BALLPOINT REFILLS /TABLET STYLUS PENS /

OR 2 -3 SMALL 2mm PENCIL LEADS REFILLS

/I USE A B LEAD AND SMALL BALLPOINT REFILL AT THE SAME TIME

 

MANY PENCIL LEADS CAN TAKE FROM INSIDE CHEAP WOOD PENCILS

 

Do you actually extract the lead from a wooden pencil to use inside a lead holder?

 

I've pondered trying that on occasion, but never found a good way to remove the wood without damaging the lead inside the pencil.

[Moynihan]

My current favorites are (all 2mm):

 

Rotring 600 2.0mm

 

Caran d' Ache Fixpencil 22 (which is a replica i think of their first, and the world's first lead holder/clutch pencil)

 

Rotring Rapid Pro 2.0

 

Koh-I-Noor 5616 (simple and very heavy)

 

A very small one, Koh-i-noor 5608 Notebook

[pcravis]

 

Do you actually extract the lead from a wooden pencil to use inside a lead holder?

 

I've pondered trying that on occasion, but never found a good way to remove the wood without damaging the lead inside the pencil.

i I USE A CUTTER CUT THE WOOD TO THE LONG SURFACE AND TRY WITH A SMALL SCREWDRIVER TO OPEN BUT SOME PENCILS ARE EASY SOME NOT THEY ARE GLUED

Edited February 26, 2016 by pcravis

[RMN]

Pcravis, would you mind turning of your caps-lock? All-caps is not easy on the eyes.

 

 

Thx.

 

D.ick

[inkstainedruth]

Not an all-metal body like the OP is looking for, but I've been fans of Berol Turquoise since college. While I learned about them in a graphic arts class, I have used mine for sketching and drawing as well.

I like lead holders a whole lot better than mechanical pencils because it's easier to get a super sharp point, and because of the wide range of lead hardnesses available (I generally use a 2H). And because one box of leads took me about a decade to go through.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Anne-Sophie]

Not an all-metal body like the OP is looking for, but I've been fans of Berol Turquoise since college. While I learned about them in a graphic arts class, I have used mine for sketching and drawing as well.

I like lead holders a whole lot better than mechanical pencils because it's easier to get a super sharp point, and because of the wide range of lead hardnesses available (I generally use a 2H). And because one box of leads took me about a decade to go through.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Berol Turquoise is one brand I have yet to try, I have been a Caran d'Ache lead holder user almost as long as I have used fountain pens.

 

I use a Staedtler Mars Technico made in Germany.

 

I added a no-name 2mm lead holder destined to replace the Staedtler in rotation, but the no-name doesn't feel as sturdy and the lead mechanism doesn't seem as reliable. I just found out that is an outer design knockoff/clone of the Alvin B/3 Ben.

 

I also bought a blue Alvin 2mm lead holder.

 

 

Finding the perfect lead holder is much like finding the perfect fountain pen, at the beginning of the search, one has to go with trial and error to get the ideal balance, girth, width and mechanism.

 

You might want to hunt locally for sales at art stores, antique fairs, garage/estate sales.

 

Check the FPN classifed or post a wanted in the same area.

The PIF, loaner subforum is a good place to find fellow all sorts of pens looking for a free home.

 

At pen shows, some collectors have an interest/trade in mechanical pencils, some are (Lamy) or were parts of fountain pens, rollerball, ballpoint, pencil sets.

[sciumbasci]

Pentel Graphgear

[flatline]

Pentel Graphgear

 

There's a Pentel Graphgear 2mm pencil?

[sciumbasci]

Eeeew apologies, I completely ignored the 2mm part

[freshy17]

 

Yes I do have a Staedtler 925 35-20. It's in blue. The only draw back is the tip doesn't fit into the Staedtler lead sharpener very well. I have to advance the lead out of the comfort zone and risk breaking it as I sharpen. Clutch holders are better in this department.

 

 

Oh boy. I just got my new 925 35-20 also in blue and it's gorgeous. Nice weight, nice construction. It feels comfortable in my hand. But when I wanted to use my trusty lead sharpener I wanted to jump out the window. Well, I'm exaggerating but you get my point. I really like my sharpener, I've used it for over 20 years (wow! I'm feeling old now) and I wanted to use it with this new Staedtler. What I did was to get the lead out, put it inside my old Staedtler lead holder, sharpen the lead as always, take it out of the old ind insert it back into the new. Not something I'm looking forward to every time I need to sharpen the thing.

[jabberwock11]

 

Oh boy. I just got my new 925 35-20 also in blue and it's gorgeous. Nice weight, nice construction. It feels comfortable in my hand. But when I wanted to use my trusty lead sharpener I wanted to jump out the window. Well, I'm exaggerating but you get my point. I really like my sharpener, I've used it for over 20 years (wow! I'm feeling old now) and I wanted to use it with this new Staedtler. What I did was to get the lead out, put it inside my old Staedtler lead holder, sharpen the lead as always, take it out of the old ind insert it back into the new. Not something I'm looking forward to every time I need to sharpen the thing.

The Uni 2mm lead sharpener works beautifully with the 925 35-20...and really every 2mm lead holder that I have ever used. Alternatively, you could always use some sandpaper to sharpen the tip, it's a bit low tech, but it works.

 

 

Here's a link to the Uni sharpener:

http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-2-mm-Pencil-Lead-Sharpener/pd/5386

Edited May 22, 2016 by jabberwock11

[a m a r g o]

The Uni 2mm lead sharpener works beautifully with the 925 35-20...and really every 2mm lead holder that I have ever used. Alternatively, you could always use some sandpaper to sharpen the tip, it's a bit low tech, but it works.

 

 

Here's a link to the Uni sharpener:

http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-2-mm-Pencil-Lead-Sharpener/pd/5386

The difference between a straight fixed blade like the Uni sharpener and a rotary tube blade like the Alvin or Staedtler lead sharpener is huge in terms of quality of the point and durability of the lead. I've found that the straight cutting edges chops off huge amounts of lead...

 

Indeed the best option would be using a sandpaper...

[flatline]

The difference between a straight fixed blade like the Uni sharpener and a rotary tube blade like the Alvin or Staedtler lead sharpener is huge in terms of quality of the point and durability of the lead. I've found that the straight cutting edges chops off huge amounts of lead...

 

I second this. The rotary sharpeners are so much better, enough so that I won't buy a lead holder that is incompatible.

 

--flatline

[a m a r g o]

I second this. The rotary sharpeners are so much better, enough so that I won't buy a lead holder that is incompatible.

 

--flatline

Indeed...

 

I just couldn't restrain myself and ended up buying a few Caran d'Ache Fixpencils and a Rotring 600, which cannot be sharpened in the Staedtler rotary sharpener without damaging the finish of the metal barrels.

 

An M+R rotary sharpener with several attachments tubes could be the solution. I'll buy it soon and spread the word if it's the solution to this issue:

 

http://www.cultpens.com/i/q/MR29642/mr-lead-pointer-tub

 

The Faber Castell straight edge sharpener for 2mm and 3.15mm it's the only option I've found to be tolerable in the amount of lead wasted, it's also buttery smooth; a real upgrade from the Uni sharpener (M+R has an identical sharpener much much cheaper, don't know who does the production for whom, but I'll my guess for M+R to be the one):

 

http://www.cultpens.com/i/q/FC05457/faber-castell-tk-lead-pointer

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

For leadholders, I like things that are lightweight, and I much prefer the Staedtler 788C to the 780C because of this. People I have talked to generally seem to think the 788C is too "plastic" for them though. I have also had good results with the Rotring 300 and an Uchida leadholder. Both of those are lightweight and primarily made of plastic. The Uchida is particularly disappointing to some because it is very bare. It is basically a plastic straw with a mechanism screwed into it. It doesn't have a built in emergency lead pointer (and neither does the Staedtler 788C).

 

If you like a 3.15 mm leadholder, I like the Lamy Scribble. I have two of them, and neither have a built-in lead pointer, but the mechanism is so silky smooth and the pencil itself has a nice feel in the hand. The leads Lamy provides are quite good too. I use them for everything, and they don't smear on the paper much and are very smooth. For me they are my favourite leadholder. I have had the 3.15 mm Kaweco Sport, but the mechanism was not very good. The clutch was sharp and would cut away at the nose cone of the pencil. After a while the spring would rub against the metal tube that held the lead in the pencil and it would make it feel rough.

 

I have had the Caran d'ache Fixpencil in the 2.0 and 3.0 sizes. What bothered me about them is that they tend to make rattling noises. I also had a quality control problem with one of my Fixpencil 3 leadholders. The cup on the mechanism that held the button was not welded on properly. It was only welded in one spot and when the button was pressed, the button would come up leaning to one side. On my other Fixpencil 3, this cup was welded all the way around, so it felt solid when I pushed the button, and the button came up straight. When I sent it to Caran d'ache USA, they took my money, then sent it back several months later without any repairs and with the button on the back leaning at a more extreme angle with a note telling me the only thing wrong was that it was out of lead. I sold most of my Fixpencils after that. I still keep one Fixpencils 3.

 

I also don't happen to like the knurled metal grips on many leadholders. Whenever I use something with that kind of grip, I tend to wear them down to the brass beneath. That happened to my Staedtler 782C and Pentel Graphgear. I've had much better luck with pencils with plastic grips.

 

For most people, I recommend the Rotring 300. It's very well balanced and has a lot of the amenities that people seem to like such as a built-in lead pointer, a lead degree indicator, and sturdy-feeling plastic body. In the hand it doesn't feel as plastic as the Staedtler 788C or the Uchida. It also has a very crisp and smooth mechanism that makes the Staedtler 788C feel unrefined in comparison. It seems to be even crisper and smoother than the 780C or Uchida. If you do get a Staedtler 780C, steer away from the Staedtler 980. The Staedtler 980 is made in China and is a clone of the 780C. The quality is not anywhere near as good. The 780C is a lot higher quality, and may last you much longer. In the past, the Staedtler 980 was an entirely different leadholder made by a company in Taiwan. Those were not much better though. They were made of metal, but mine didn't last very long and went to pieces in about six months.

 

About lead pointers, in the United States, the Staedtler 502 is a completely different lead pointer than the Staedtler 502 sold in other countries. The one in the United States is made in Taiwan or China and is a clone of the 502 that is sold in other countries. I have a current model 502 that was shipped to me from Germany, and one that I believe I acquired from Cult Pens in the UK, and both are made in Germany. The United States 502 which is made in China or Taiwan has stepped ribs on the sides. It also wears out a lot faster. I wore out mine within a few months of use. The German made 502, which you can get from Cult Pens if you want it, has smooth ribs up the sides. It seems to have a harder, sharper blade that points leads much better. It has a plastic centre post, and the top cap snaps into the bottom part. The fit and finish is a lot better and is very smooth and clean, and it seems to do more cutting and less tearing of the leads.

 

Aside from the Staedtler 502 rotary lead pointer, I actually prefer the Gedess lead pointer. I have had mine for years, and it does not do just 2.0 mm leads, but also 3.15 mm leads as long as your 3.15 mm lead holder can fit in the hole on the top. I use my Caran d'ache Fixpencil to hold my 3 mm leads when I point them in the Gedess, but I believe Faber Castell makes a 3.15 mm lead holder that also fits in the top. The Gedess seems to fit more different leadholders than the Staedtler 502 does, so leadholders that get stuck in the 502 can be pointed in the Gedess. A difficulty can be getting hold of a Gedess. I got my Gedess a while back from a stockist in the states who seems to be out of stock most of the times when I have checked. Cult Pens seems more reliable at stocking the Gedess. They don't have the replacement abrasive rings though, and I haven't asked if they can get them. They might be able to, and maybe next time I need one, I'll ask. I've had mine for 9 years and only needed to replace that abrasive ring once. My last abrasive ring has been in my Gedess for about 7 years, and it is still very sharp. If you use your lead holders a lot, I'd recommend a Gedess. It seems really good, and has outlived a lot of my other lead pointers. It also is more universal.

 

Dillon