Pencil: Seeking Review of low cost good quality

[woodwindmaster06]

I am looking for a pencil that is of high quality but not too expensive, say not more than 40 USD: What are your favorites and give a short little review of it.

Thanks

Tim

[KCat]

what lead size do you want? I hightly recommend any of the Faber-Castell pencils. I have the "e-motion" style in plastic but that is 1.4mm lead. Pelikan D200s are great (.7mm) and Faber-Castell makes some nice "low end" mechanical pencils in different materials ranging from wood (very lightweight) to plastic to metal. All are good but the metal has a nice feel to it, IMO.

[Garageboy]

Ok, this is gonna be a weird suggestion, but I REALLY like the Pentel Sharp series of drafting pencils.

[Titivillus]

Ok, this is gonna be a weird suggestion, but I REALLY like the Pentel Sharp series of drafting pencils.

Nope that's not weird. I have about a dozen of them is 0.5 & 0.7 mm. Nice pecils that are solidly built and in the 20 years I've been using them had very few problems. If you are looking for a workhorse this is it. And at around $3 very reasonably priced and found pretty much everywhere.

 

 

I also have a 0.35mm Rotring 600 that I use at work as well.

 

 

But if you want fancy I have a 0.7mm Waterman pencil in black with gold fittings that I never use that I'd give up for a very reasonable half of your requested cost.

 

Forgot the Parker pencil I have as well 0.7mm lead too.

 

 

 

K H

Edited July 19, 2005 by Tytyvyllus

[Kees]

The best pencil I’ve ever used is a 0.5mm Pentel “Sharp Kerry”, pretty much top of the Pentel line. Mine is at least 10 years old and still perfect. It offers a clever and surprising solution for the eraser. No problem with soft leads (BB are the softest I can get).

 

What FP lovers may particularly like about it is that it has a cap (which even I am used to keep posted).

Edited July 18, 2005 by Kees

[Daniel Shih]

Kees, how big is the cap on the Sharp Kerry? I found some pictures of the pencil, but none with it capped. Does it seem like the cap is small enough to be easily lost?

 

The pencil that got me through many math classes is Dr. Grip. A comfortable barrel, and very durable. Best of all, it's cheap. I know someone who swears by the Pentel Sharp pencils because of their reliability, but they are just too thin for me to hold comfortably.

[Kees]

Daniel, the cap is about half of the whole pencil: 6.5 cm closed, 6.8 cm under writing conditions. Take it off, post it on the other half (which makes the pencil just a little longer*); only then you’ll have access to the eraser, which is hidden in the cap. If I remember well, the picture on pentel.com is with the cap posted.

 

The nice thing is that the lead tube (if that’s how it is called) is fixed –with retractible tubes the leads are always prone to breaking–, and still is perfectly safe when you carry it in your pocket. The clip is also very good (most Pentel clips are).

 

*13.2 instead of 12.4 cm

[pearlfox]

I don't have any luxury brand recommendations since my fanciest writing instruments are fountain pens. My favored pencil throughout college was the Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph, but mine tend to stay on a desk since their tips are unprotected and non-retractable. The Pentel Sharp Kerry was much better for dropping into my jeans pocket without worrying about damaging it (or me!) Vintage pencils're usually pretty nice too, from Eversharps to this cheapie Empire I keep clipped to a sketchbook, and I rather like their thicker 1.1mm lead. If I were looking for a luxury brand pencil I'd have to give Yard-O-Led consideration--but that's a bit past your budget limit.

 

Other than that, I rather like standard Derwent cedar pencils. Easily under $40. :-)

[Daniel Shih]

Thanks for the detailed response, Kees. I didn't know the pen in the pentel picture was already posted. Very interesting!

 

One more question (I think): what's the width of the gripping barrel comparable to? A Parker 51? Thanks!

[Kees]

I would really like to compare it to the Parker 51, but I still haven’t got one... :bonk:

 

In the waist, this Pentel has a diameter of about 11mm. Compared to FP’s, neither thin nor corpulent, I would say (corpulent, perhaps, for a technical pencil).

 

One thing I can say for the metal grip section: it’s the spot where I’d actually hold the pen, and I think that’s typical: design is original, yet clearly intended to suit the user. Apart from that, it’s very well made ... well, I already said I liked it very much, didn’t I?

[Daniel Shih]

Thanks again for the reply. You really need to get that Parker 51. It's boring, but the ultimate workhorse pen. However, after six hours of taking notes in the library today, the Namiki Vanishing Point was so great that it's making a serious push.

 

If I buy another pencil, I'll need to get that Pentel Sharp Kerry. It depends on how many math problems (ugh) I'll have to do once I get to college--I generally don't use pencils for anything else.

[woodwindmaster06]

How about lead and erasers for the d200 pelikan where would I get that at???

Tim

[Aitch]

I have always had a tiny Pilot Birdie Pencil and Ballpoint with me wherever I go ..... never leave home without them

 

Super small and very well made (for the dirt cheap money!) .... perfect for doing the crossword in the newspaper

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I like the Cross Classic Century 0.9 MM propelling pencil. I also like the Staedtler Marsmicro which has some bounce in it and the point is fixed for drafting, but retracts with a push of the lead advance button.

 

Dillon

[Kees]

Yes, it would perhaps be advisable to settle on the leads first. I think I’ve used anything between 0.3 and 4mm (the latter only for sketching and very heavy text correcting...).

 

I’ve used the Parker Eversharps (0.7) for several years, but then a 0.5 pencil seemed to suit me better. For me, leads must be soft, but shouldn’t break easily, and strokes must be fine. That makes writing comfortable. I’ve had more expensive pencils than the Pentel Kerry (Montblanc, Waterman etc.), but never a better one.

[cmeisenzahl]

Check out the Faber-Castel E-Motion pencils.

 

http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/2005/0...-and-faber.html

[KCat]

here is the plastic version of the e-motion. I preferred it to the wood but can't tell you why. Just my preference. And lower cost with the same functionality.

 

http://www.apenloversparadise.com/graphics...wist_action.gif

 

no association with APLP other than a customer. Very nice folks there.

 

if you scroll down on this page to the "basic" pencil, this is essentially the pencil I'll be getting for hubby but the wood is way too light for his or my taste and they make a model that is a little heftier metallic barrel. I can't find it on-line but have seen it in pen shops for about $12 i think.

 

http://www.apenloversparadise.com/faber_misc.shtml

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Does anybody know if the wood version of the e-motion weighs more than the plastic version?

 

By the way, I could also recommend another pencil, the Rotring Tikky, but it is mostly availiable in Europe. It is a drafting pencil that works well for drafting, writing, and note taking. The grip is comfortable. http://www.rotring.de

 

Dillon

[KCat]

they're about the same. The wood might be slightly heavier. I've held both but can't remember anything about the wood version that stood out as "better" than the the plastic. Other than it is wood and of course, quite nice to look at and warm to the touch.

 

don't forget that these are 1.4 mm leads. Thus far, FC tells me they have no plans of making a smaller-bore version.

[woodwindmaster06]

I was looking into gettting maybe a Parker Vacumatic Mech. Pencil: the link didn't give what type of lead it takes, does anybody here know????????

Thanks