Recommendations for Mechanical Pencil and Lead

[Bad Handwriting]

Looking for recommendations for mechanical pencils. Preferably ones that write with .3 or .5 size lead. 
 

Also, interested in lead that is strong. I haven’t had much luck with .3 lead.

 

I frankly do not know the differences between the lead manufacturers. 
 

Many thanks in advance. 

[TitoThePencilPimp]

Pentel Smash. One of my favorite. You can always go up in price and get a rotring 600/800. However, the rotring 800 has a bit of wiggle, but its not really an issue. I think the issue is exaggerated, but just wanted to mention that. You also have the graph gear 500, 1000. The graph gear 1000 is retractible, and priced at around $10-15 dollars on amazon.

 

I would go for smash. But I think its only 0.7? or maybe 0.5 exist.

 

For leads, Pentel Ain Stein. It is the most affordable lead with amazing quality. Tombow is also great, but the online sellers really jack up the price. Same for hi uni lead (Mitsubishi). An equal quality lead priced near the Ain Stein is the nano dia, also by Mitsubishi.

[flatline]

If you get a 0.3mm pencil, I recommend the Pentel Ain Stein 2B lead. 2B lead will be less likely to break since it will not snag on paper fibers as easily as a harder lead like HB. It will also be darker so you will be less tempted to apply pressure while writing.

 

 

[flatline]

Generic recommendations in 0.3 and 0.5:

pocket safe: Pentel Sharp Kerry, Zebra Delguard

drafting style (fixed sleeve, not pocket safe): Pilot s10, Pentel GraphGear 500, Alvin DraftMatic, Rotring 500, Zebra Color Flight, Staedtler 925-75

non-drafting style: Zebra M-301

 

If you've never tried one and are not opposed to sharpening a mechanical pencil, I heartily recommend trying a 2mm lead holder like the Staedtler Mars Technico 780, Faber-Castell tk9400, or Sanford/Prismacolor Turquoise.

 

If you tell us what you like, we can give more specific recommendations.

 

--flatline

[Misfit]

Jet Pens has an article on mechanical pencil lead. 
 

https://www.jetpens.com/blog/the-best-mechanical-pencil-leads/pt/887

Near the top, their top choice includes break resistance as a part of their choice. 

 

[kaissa]

I had an experience with writing 0.5 red leads. It turns out that colored leads are much weaker than regular leads. That led me to try several leads and pencil combinations. KuruToga turned out to be the best pen and DelGuard as the worst pen. I was really suprised by DelGuard but my Jotter was much better than it.

 

Regarding leads Uni Nano Dia was the strongest, followed by Pentel Ain Stein. These two were above the rest.

[D B Holtz]

I concur with Flatline on the Ain Stein 2B leads.  I am currently using two Kuru Toga pencils, in 0.3 and 0.5, which work well for me.

 

DB

[SF Susan]

For 0.5mm there are endless choices. My personal favorite is the Platinum ZeroShin because it has a double clutch mechanism that holds the lead steady until almost the very end. If you want 0.3mm (or even 0.2!) I suggest the Pentel Orenz. It’s unique in that you don’t extend the lead past the end of the sleeve, but as you write the sleeve slides up to expose just enough lead to write. With any other 0.3mm pencil I have to be exceedingly careful to keep a light touch or I break the lead. 

[BigBlot]

On 3/25/2021 at 4:50 PM, flatline said:

Generic recommendations in 0.3 and 0.5:

pocket safe: Pentel Sharp Kerry, Zebra Delguard

drafting style (fixed sleeve, not pocket safe): Pilot s10, Pentel GraphGear 500, Alvin DraftMatic, Rotring 500, Zebra Color Flight, Staedtler 925-75

non-drafting style: Zebra M-301

 

If you've never tried one and are not opposed to sharpening a mechanical pencil, I heartily recommend trying a 2mm lead holder like the Staedtler Mars Technico 780, Faber-Castell tk9400, or Sanford/Prismacolor Turquoise.

 

If you tell us what you like, we can give more specific recommendations.

 

--flatline

I've used a Zebra M-301 for years as a drafting pencil. I prefer it to a Pentel standard drafting pencil, since both the pencil and the sleeve is shorter. The dirty little secret of drafting pencils is that you don't have to spend a lot of money for a good one. This is from a man who now uses a discontinued Sharp drafting pencil with retractable point. Yet I keep a M-301 on standby just in case.

 

I'm not a big fan of 2mm leads for drafting because they need frequent sharpening. A 2mm lead is to 0.5 and 0.3 mm leads as a dip pen is to a fountain pen. I've used 2mm leads many a day to mark up plans, and used pointers and sharpeners, and much prefer a 0.5 mm pencil due to convenience.

 

I prefer HB lead simply because that's what's commonly available.

[Geslina]

I like the Pentel Graphgear 1000.  I have a 0.3 and a 0.5.  I like that you push on the clip and the lead/point retracts back up into the barrel with a satisfying click. There are some rubber areas on the grip, so it’s comfy to hold. It’s slim, sturdy, has a nice weight to it and is not too expensive.  Comes in different sizes and you can use any type of lead.  I have a variety of softer leads, since I use mine mostly for graphite drawing.

[mr T.]

On 3/25/2021 at 2:18 AM, Bad Handwriting said:

Looking for recommendations for mechanical pencils. Preferably ones that write with .3 or .5 size lead. 

 

Are you looking for a disposable or a more durable pencil? Do you want to use it for writing or drawing? Retractable tip? If the pencil will be used for writing: consider a .7 or a 2mm pencil. In general: for a .3 or .5 mechanical pencil the best ones in my experience are made by Pentel. Recommended are especially the P200 series (P203, P205, P207) and the 120A3DX series (A313, A315). The BIC Xtra-Precision/Bic Matic is also a decent affordable (disposable) mechanical pencil with decent leads.

[ajcoleman]

For 0.3 lead I would use the Pentel Orenz pencil. The polished sliding sleeve protects the lead all the way down to the paper. I haven't used it with 0.3 mm lead, but they claim it works great with 0.2 mm lead even. It is a favorite of mine for 0.5 mm.

[Temenos]

Muji produces some really nice and affordable mechanical pencils and leads.

[flatline]

So what did you get?

 

--flatline

[APEG0D]

My favorite 0.3 would be the Platinum Pro-Use Pencil Msd-300. Super light, good solid construction and looks cool too. As for lead I highly recommend the Pentel hi-polymer 0.3 HB. But if you just want a no bells and whistles regular 0.3 I highly recommend the Pentel P203. For something colorful and pleasant, look into Pilot AirBlanc 0.3.

[MYU]

Pentel Ain Stein lead is amazing. I've seen photos of heavy coins resting on them perched atop two containers, bending, but not breaking. And they put out a good line.

 

There are SO MANY mechanical pencil choices today. it's mind boggling!  Thankfully there's a lot of them in fairly inexpensive price ranges. I would definitely pick up a Pentel SMASH as someone suggested. They're FUN! I like the design and there's so many color options being offered now.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

15 minutes ago, MYU said:

Pentel Ain Stein lead is amazing. I've seen photos of heavy coins resting on them perched atop two containers, bending, but not breaking. And they put out a good line.

 

There are SO MANY mechanical pencil choices today. it's mind boggling!  Thankfully there's a lot of them in fairly inexpensive price ranges. I would definitely pick up a Pentel SMASH as someone suggested. They're FUN! I like the design and there's so many color options being offered now.

My favorite ME pencil. I own the black and the grey version. I have about 50 ME pencils, but have not used a ME pencil in 8 years. I collected ME pencils before fountain pens. Since I did not have the money to own multiple fountain pens at that point in time.

 

You can also find Pelikan ME pencils cheap on eBay, but it requires a bit of patience and daily checking. I was able to score a few m400-m600 between the $40-$60 range.

 

A cheaper alternative are the vintage pentel p205. I believe these were the pencils used during the Space Race.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

Oh. and the best ME leads are the leads made by IBM (they are called Electrographic), or the Turquoise made by Eagle Pencil Company. The IBM are very hard to find, and are expensive when available. The Turquoise leads (must be vintage Eagle and the other iterations) can be found cheaply.

[essayfaire]

On 3/24/2021 at 9:18 PM, Bad Handwriting said:

Looking for recommendations for mechanical pencils. Preferably ones that write with .3 or .5 size lead. 
 

Also, interested in lead that is strong. I haven’t had much luck with .3 lead.

 

I frankly do not know the differences between the lead manufacturers. 
 

Many thanks in advance. 

I have a Retro 51 mechanical pencil that I am quite fond of if you want pretty.  Otherwise, there's a huge variety available on JetPens, and you can search by lead size and what mechanism you like.  We like the ones that you shake into place.

[flatline]

One mechanical pencil that I don't see recommended very often but is amazing to use is the Tombow 505 Zoom.

 

Give it a look.

 

--flatline