twsbi TWSBI Precision RT 0.7 mm first impressions

[jthole]

There are several video and text reviews online already for the TWSBI Precision mechanical pencil (no lead hardness indicator, so would it be a drafting pencil?), and I am not going to add another one.

 

But here are my first impressions of the pencil, after a few days of ownership. In those days, I have used the pencil mainly for notes taking and drawing simple diagrams. And to be fair, that's all I need from a pencil anyway.

 

 

I bought my TWSBI Precision online, from a Netherlands shop (Fontoplumo), partly because it looks different from the Rotring 600 and less common. You may also call it curiosity. Of course the retractable tip was a big plus as well.

It's available in silver and black, in 0.5 and 0.7 mm, with a fixed or retractable tip for the same price. Unfortunately there's no 0.9 or 1.0 mm, otherwise I probably would have chosen that one. I have a strong preference for black or dark colored pencils and pens, so that was an easy choice.

 

Like I said, the pencil arrived a couple of days ago. As already mentioned in the various reviews online, it comes in a plastic box, which also contains a generous amount of extra lead and erasers. Since then I have used it daily at work.

 

To get to the essentials, here are my impressions of the pencil so far (TWSBI Precision RT 0.7 mm in black).

 

Positives:

• The pencil is very nicely balanced, with the center of gravity approximately in the middle of the pencil (a bit in front of the first dash).
• This version has a retractable tip, and both versions (fixed and retractable) are sold for the same price. Retracting the tip takes some force, but can be done against my finger.
• The TWSBI Precision has a large eraser, and comes with extra erasers. That's a nice gesture, even if I prefer using a dedicated eraser.
• There also is a tube with ten extra leads included, plus two additional leads inside the pencil itself.
• The quality of the black paint is excellent, without any blemishes. Of course I cannot say anything about the durability yet.
• There were complaints online about frequent lead breakage when using the eraser; I have not noticed anything yet, despite using the eraser a few times.

 

Neutral:

• Despite the nice balance, this is still a heavy pencil with 25 gr. That makes it a bit heavier than a Rotring 600 and about the same as a Rotring Rapid Pro.
• The supplied leads (HB?) are good and write with a dark line, but there is no information about the manufacturer (unless TWSBI produces them themselves).
• There's no lead grade indicator. It's not a big issue for me, since I don't plan to buy multiple TWSBI pencils anyway (I have multiple Rotring 500s, so there it is important to me).

 

Negatives:

• The black paint isn't as matte as on a Rotring 600, and the chrome parts are fingerprint magnets. I would have preferred a black or brushed clip.
• The knurling looks nice, but it is less grippy than I prefer. The pencil doesn't stick to my fingers like for instance the Rotring Rapid Pro does.
• I am not a big fan of the clip. It's too stiff and the underside is not flat.

 

In general, I really like the pencil. It's different in appearance and feel from the Rotring 600 (so if you expect a Rotring copy, you will be disappointed). TWSBI did most things right, in my opinion, and this is a great pencil to have always packed in my laptop bag.

 

 

[PennyTheDog]

33 minutes ago, jthole said:

There are several video and text reviews online already for the TWSBI Precision mechanical pencil (no lead hardness indicator, so would it be a drafting pencil?), and I am not going to add another one.

 

But here are my first impressions of the pencil, after a few days of ownership. In those days, I have used the pencil mainly for notes taking and drawing simple diagrams. And to be fair, that's all I need from a pencil anyway.

 

 

I bought my TWSBI Precision online, from a Netherlands shop (Fontoplumo), partly because it looks different from the Rotring 600 and less common. You may also call it curiosity. Of course the retractable tip was a big plus as well.

It's available in silver and black, in 0.5 and 0.7 mm, with a fixed or retractable tip for the same price. Unfortunately there's no 0.9 or 1.0 mm, otherwise I probably would have chosen that one. I have a strong preference for black or dark colored pencils and pens, so that was an easy choice.

 

Like I said, the pencil arrived a couple of days ago. As already mentioned in the various reviews online, it comes in a plastic box, which also contains a generous amount of extra lead and erasers. Since then I have used it daily at work.

 

To get to the essentials, here are my impressions of the pencil so far (TWSBI Precision RT 0.7 mm in black).

 

Positives:

• The pencil is very nicely balanced, with the center of gravity approximately in the middle of the pencil (a bit in front of the first dash).
• This version has a retractable tip, and both versions (fixed and retractable) are sold for the same price. Retracting the tip takes some force, but can be done against my finger.
• The TWSBI Precision has a large eraser, and comes with extra erasers. That's a nice gesture, even if I prefer using a dedicated eraser.
• There also is a tube with ten extra leads included, plus two additional leads inside the pencil itself.
• The quality of the black paint is excellent, without any blemishes. Of course I cannot say anything about the durability yet.
• There were complaints online about frequent lead breakage when using the eraser; I have not noticed anything yet, despite using the eraser a few times.

 

Neutral:

• Despite the nice balance, this is still a heavy pencil with 25 gr. That makes it a bit heavier than a Rotring 600 and about the same as a Rotring Rapid Pro.
• The supplied leads (HB?) are good and write with a dark line, but there is no information about the manufacturer (unless TWSBI produces them themselves).
• There's no lead grade indicator. It's not a big issue for me, since I don't plan to buy multiple TWSBI pencils anyway (I have multiple Rotring 500s, so there it is important to me).

 

Negatives:

• The black paint isn't as matte as on a Rotring 600, and the chrome parts are fingerprint magnets. I would have preferred a black or brushed clip.
• The knurling looks nice, but it is less grippy than I prefer. The pencil doesn't stick to my fingers like for instance the Rotring Rapid Pro does.
• I am not a big fan of the clip. It's too stiff and the underside is not flat.

 

In general, I really like the pencil. It's different in appearance and feel from the Rotring 600 (so if you expect a Rotring copy, you will be disappointed). TWSBI did most things right, in my opinion, and this is a great pencil to have always packed in my laptop bag.

 

 

Thats great information about a pencil I’ve been considering purchasing… thanks!