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First purchase of the new year: new lead holders!

amper

By amper
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amper Extremely Rare

amper

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I searched my house again, and I just cannot find my vintage Koh-I-Noor Select-O-Matic II lead holders, which I've had since the early 1990s. I'm doubly bummed out, because one of them had my last stick of Staedtler Mars dry highlighter lead, which is no longer available. Ah, well, a good excuse to buy new lead holders!

On the way to me are three new Uni Field 2 mm lead holders, one of each color. I want one with red color lead, one with black color lead, and one with HB graphite lead. Sadly, while Mitsubishi makes a red color lead, they do not make a black color lead. The only high quality black color lead I can find is from Koh-I-Noor/Hardtmuth, and the only place I can find that actually sells it is in the Czech Republic, so shipping times will be forever and a day to the US, but I guess I have no choice. Staedtler also makes Red and Crimson color leads, but no Black. My only other choice is Chinese off-brands, and I don't want to go down that road if I don't have to (because the quality is unknown, and I don't want to be a crash test dummy), or the short Pentel Multi8 leads.

 

1700390910_Screenshot(472).thumb.png.a2fa54ddd4b86c4f8d9973d212634c24.png

Paige Paigen

Gemma Seymour, Founder & Designer, Paige Paigen

Daily use pens & ink: TWSBI ECO-T EF, TWSBI ECO 1.1 mm stub italic, Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing

 

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amberleadavis

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Congats

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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amper Extremely Rare

amper

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My lead holders just arrived, and the first thing I noticed is that the Uni Field has an advance mechanism, like a mechanical pencil, rather than a simple clutch. I was not expecting this, and have never before owned any 2 mm lead holders with advance mechanisms. This will not affect my usage, however.

The red lead is a bit harder than I was expecting, so the color is a bit faint on the page; however, I have no recent experiences with other brands, so I cannot offer a comparison. I am going to try the Pentel Multi8 color leads, next, since they are available now. After that, I will try the Koh-I-Noor color leads (stock is expected next month), and if that red doesn't work out, I will try the Staedtler Lumochrom Red and/or Crimson. Only Pentel and Koh-I-Noor still make color leads in Black.

Strangely, the graphite leads do not seem to be marked with their grades, which is a bit of a concern, since they may get mixed up.

Paige Paigen

Gemma Seymour, Founder & Designer, Paige Paigen

Daily use pens & ink: TWSBI ECO-T EF, TWSBI ECO 1.1 mm stub italic, Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing

 

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ajoe Collectors Item

ajoe

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If you are into big lead, you might want to check out the Koh-I-Noor 5310 5.6mm holder.

 

822970643_KIN5310.thumb.png.816b7a614bd3538bfcdc0672df891600.png

“ I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant” ― Alan Greenspan

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Lithium466 Extremely Rare

Lithium466

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On 1/27/2023 at 10:36 PM, amper said:
Strangely, the graphite leads do not seem to be marked with their grades, which is a bit of a concern, since they may get mixed up.

Uni field leads are not marked, but regular Uni leads are silkscreen with their grade.

 

It's hard to find a good red lead. The Pentel leads for the Multi 8 are very waxy. You might want to try the Kitaboshi red leads, but as they are softer they are also more fragile than the Uni. Staedtler are nice but hard...and the Caran d'Ache are very good but their price is just crazy (and also only sold in set if 4 colours I believe).

Koh-I-Noor are very decent for the price.

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amper Extremely Rare

amper

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On 2/19/2023 at 8:44 AM, Lithium466 said:

Uni field leads are not marked, but regular Uni leads are silkscreen with their grade.

 

It's hard to find a good red lead. The Pentel leads for the Multi 8 are very waxy. You might want to try the Kitaboshi red leads, but as they are softer they are also more fragile than the Uni. Staedtler are nice but hard...and the Caran d'Ache are very good but their price is just crazy (and also only sold in set if 4 colours I believe).

Koh-I-Noor are very decent for the price.

 

I just recently received a packet with Koh-I-Noor red and black leads. The Koh-I-Noor red is softer than the Uni, and it is a more true red, compared with the more scarlet color of the Uni leads. The Koh-I-Noor red is also somewhat more easily erasable than the Uni red.

Paige Paigen

Gemma Seymour, Founder & Designer, Paige Paigen

Daily use pens & ink: TWSBI ECO-T EF, TWSBI ECO 1.1 mm stub italic, Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing

 

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Lithium466 Extremely Rare

Lithium466

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On that topic, many "red" Japanese leads (and pencils) are vermilion as it's consider nicer for grading than truer/darker reds (considered "rude").

 

If you want a nice and erasable red (vermillon) pencil, the Uni/Mitsubishi K2451 are really nice...I wish they'd sell just the leads!

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amper Extremely Rare

amper

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7 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

On that topic, many "red" Japanese leads (and pencils) are vermilion as it's consider nicer for grading than truer/darker reds (considered "rude").

 

If you want a nice and erasable red (vermillon) pencil, the Uni/Mitsubishi K2451 are really nice...I wish they'd sell just the leads!

 

Interesting. I'd never heard that before.

 

Paige Paigen

Gemma Seymour, Founder & Designer, Paige Paigen

Daily use pens & ink: TWSBI ECO-T EF, TWSBI ECO 1.1 mm stub italic, Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing

 

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