2mm lead holder for an architect student?

[kaissa]

Hello,

 

 My daughter will start her architecture program at a university next month. They told her to purchase a 2mm leadholder / mechanical pencil.

 

 Maybe my search was not great but I could not find a review on these pencils. Dave's Mechanical Pencils site has a top 10 but the top 2 he recommends seem to be out of production. 

 

  What shaII I look for in a pencil like this? Any model recommendations?

 

Thank you for your time,

[A Smug Dill]

54 minutes ago, kaissa said:

Dave's Mechanical Pencils site has a top 10 but the top 2 he recommends seem to be out of production. 

 

None of those in the photo, on the webpage to which you linked, appears to be a 2mm pencil lead holder.

 

These are 2mm pencil lead holders:

https://www.cultpens.com/c/q/explore/product-type/pencils/clutch-pencils#:=&g_tip_size=2mm

 

(Note: I have no affiliation with Cult Pens, but just am a reasonably happy repeat customer, who uses the site a lot for information gathering.)

 

54 minutes ago, kaissa said:

What shaII I look for in a pencil like this?

 

Good ergonomics; whether there is a clip (and whether the user wants a clip) on it; whether it has a built-in lead sharpener; and an acceptable price, I suppose.

 

The characteristics and quality of the lead refills used will probably make more of a difference to the user experience.

[D B Holtz]

I am using a Staedtler 780 and highly recommend that with the Staedtler 502 sharpener.  I  also have another holder that came free with some Tombow pencils; the brand name is "barunson" and I can't find any information on the company.

 

For me, the sharpener is what makes the lead holder useful.  The 780 and 502 were designed to work with each other, and I can get the super-sharp point that I like.  For the other, the best sharpener for me was the small Otho-- it's cheap and works well, but doesn't hold the graphite dust.  You also cannot replace the blade when it gets dull, so buy several if you decide to go that route.

 

I'm using Mistubishi Uni leads in both holders, but any of the other mainline manufacturers make good products as well.

 

Hope this helps.

DB

[DaveQuail]

I use the rOtring 300 2mm lead holder in my work and find it extremely reliable. It even has a small Lead hardness window which you can set to the hardness of the lead in the holder, should you have more than one holder. I also have the rOtring Rapid Pro 2mm holder. This is more costly than the 300.

[amberleadavis]

Also have you tried Jet pens? 

 

The Kaweco looks great, but they appear to have a nice selection of 2mm lead holders.

 

https://www.jetpens.com/2-mm-Lead-Holders/ct/2544

 

They also have the first one on your list.

 

https://www.jetpens.com/Staedtler-925-25-Silver-Series-Lead-Holder-2-mm/pd/4704

 

However, I would listen to the advice of those who use lead holders.  (I am an ink junkie and don't have an opinion on which of these would work best, I only offer a reseller that I have used).

[gmax]

16 hours ago, D B Holtz said:

I am using a Staedtler 780 and highly recommend that with the Staedtler 502 sharpener. 

I also use this combination, and I find them ideally suited for architectural drafting, as well as being durable and good value.

[amberleadavis]

@kaissa We haven't heard back from you.

[inkstainedruth]

Well, if the OP comes back, I'd say to look at an art supply store for Berol Turquoise or Staedtler-Mars lead holders.  I just checked and Berol Turquoise leads are the size the OP's daughter needs.  
I love mine, BTW (I have both brands for the leadholders).  And the Berol Turquoise leads come in a wide range of hardnesses.  A twelve-pack of the leads may not look cheap, but I had a 12 pack of 2H leads last me for a decade.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PatrickA]

I can recommend the Faber-Castell Clutch pencils (TK series), I use them a lot for drawing and the FC leads are also great. 

 

FC also has a very small sharpener for 2mm leads, easy to carry with you and easy to use.

[ParramattaPaul]

This:  Alvin Pro-Matic Lead Holder | BLICK Art Materials (dickblick.com)

 

[ParramattaPaul]

On 8/26/2022 at 12:34 AM, kaissa said:

Hello,

 

 My daughter will start her architecture program at a university next month. They told her to purchase a 2mm leadholder / mechanical pencil.

 

 Maybe my search was not great but I could not find a review on these pencils. Dave's Mechanical Pencils site has a top 10 but the top 2 he recommends seem to be out of production. 

 

  What shaII I look for in a pencil like this? Any model recommendations?

 

Thank you for your time,

I'm surprised they told her to get a 2mm lead holder because they are really, really old school.  We used them in the middle 1960s!  As for the more modern mechanical pencils I switched to Faber-Castell mechanical pencils when they became available.  I can recommend their TK Vario pencils.  She will need a set of them from 0.35mm through 1.0mm if she has to do any manual drafting/drawing with them.

[inkstainedruth]

Back in the late 1970s-early 1980s, I took a Graphic Delineation class (basically doing 3D projections of objects from the top, bottom and three sides) and we were supposed to be using the old style ruling pens that looked like this: https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-us/jakar-ruling-pen-ideal-for-applying-masking-fluid

I was pretty p*ssed off when a couple of guys in my class used Rapidographs and both got an A (I squeaked by with a C, so barely passed) -- because the professor didn't notice.  

Of course I also spent a small fortune on the right kind of paper, because they drawings were supposed to be PERFECT, with no extraneous marks or the lines going over past the stopping points.  OTOH, that's the professor I learned about Berol Turquoise lead holders from....  And have used lead holders almost exclusively for drawing and drafting ever since.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Anne-Sophie]

 

I used the Criterium lead holder in high school then bought the Staedtler lead holder, described below, in college when I was asked to buy Staedtler wood pencils of various lead strength to draw maps.

 

I bolded the fact that both lead holders have built in lead pointer integrated in their push button, life savers when in the middle of a class or worse an exam.

 

I bought a second set of those lead holders in 2000, I am still using the first package of leads for both.

 

Bic Criterium 2613 2.0mm leadholder

 

https://www.penciltalk.org/category/leadholders/page/6

 

Lead pointer integrated in push-button.

 

Staedtler
Mars Technico 2mm 780 C Leadholder

 

Lead pointer integrated in push-button. 

 

Integrated lead pointer: Simply remove the push-button, insert the lead into the metal opening and sharpen.

 

 

I also have the same Alvin as ParamattaPaul, which doesn't have a lead pointer, it is very light because it is plastic, including the push button, perfect for homework.

 

It uses a stand alone lead pointer.

 

 

Do not buy the Art Alternative 2mm lead holder, mine stopped working after a month, I don't even trust it as a spare lead carrier. There is an exposed lead pointer, which is very sharp, at the bottom of Its push button, useful, if the Alvin falls and the lead is somewhat broken.

 

 

The lead pointer must have a container for lead dust, Staedtler has a really nice one.

 

But the best is this one, picture is in the link 

 

https://www.kum.net/en/long-point-sharpener/

Automatic AS 2 M

Art. Nr. 105.31.21
     
For extra long pencil, shapes the wood and then the lead, automatic brake prevents overshaping, includes two spare blades, includes leadpointer for 2 mm and 3,15 mm leads

 

 

I didn't have a stand alone lead pointer at school and and almost ruined a couple of science class drawings.

 

In college, I made sure to have a piece of scratch paper to empty the content of the push button lead pointer by lightly tapping the upside down lead holder.

 

That was done after refilling my fountain pens, making sure my ink bottle was closed and placed far away from the lead dust cleaning area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kaissa]

Thank you all for the recommendations. She is a Rotring fan and it was easy to purchase one here so I ended up buying a Rapid Pro which just arrived today. It does not come with a sharpner and does not have a lead grade window. Other than that "I" like it  

 

  I am sure I will end up buying other pencils for her as I grew her up as a pen junkie like myself. Still not a FP fan though but whe will get there. 

 

Warm regards,

[jesus iribarren]

I dream of a Olympia Carrera, or more easy for an Olympia SM3.