Sometimes...

Recently I did a review of the Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 Multi pen.  One of the inserts that I put in mine was a 0.3 mm pencil.  Avid readers of this blog are well aware of my fondness for 0.3 mm drafting pencils, so I was stoked to have a 0.3 mm pencil in a multi pen.  My write up was rather glowing, and perhaps a bit premature!  As you can see it proved to be a bit fragile!  The pencil refused to advance lead when I tried to use it the other day so I removed it from the Coleto body to see if I could find the problem.  my investigation proved fatal for the poor fragile pencil.  It broke at the swivel point where the plastic push button meets the metal body.

Now as to why the pencil stopped working I'm not 100% sure, but my guess is static electricity!  ).3 mm pencils often have this problem, probably due to the fact that the lead is so small in diameter that there is not enough weight to break the lead free of the adjoining pieces.  It could be any number of problems, but the fact is I have had quite a few 0.3 mm pencils fail to feed over the years and I have had to tear them down and clean them out before they will feed again.  I guess it's the nature of the beast.

I wrote to jetpens.com to inform them of the breakage and to say that I should have bought a 0.5 mm pencil instead, believing them to be less susceptible to feeding problems.  Lo and Behold, I received and email informing me that I was being sent, free of charge a 0.5 mm insert as a replacement form the broken 0.3 mm insert!  Wow!  That was unexpected!  But I guess I really should have expected something like that to happen considering my past dealings with JetPens.

Sometimes it's not about the sales, or the product being sold, sometimes it's all about the service after the sale.  Sometimes it's all about the Customer Service.  If JetPens is about nothing else it's about customer service!  Not lip service, but real, honest, "the customer is always right" Customer Service!  I have dealt with all kinds of customer service personal with all kinds of companies, both small and giant, both via phone and email but I can count on one hand how many of them have been as customer oriented as the people at JetPens!  Everyone I have dealt with at JetPens, from employee to co-owner has treated me with the utmost kindness and respect!  They treat me as if I matter to them, and I believe that I do, as all their customers do to them, I'm sure!

It's not that I received a freebie from JetPens (which is a heck of a lot more than I've often got from companies 10 to 1000 times their fiscal size), instead it's about how I was treated, how I am genuinely thought of as an important customer to JetPens, even though I am sure I am not one of their most prolific customers!  But I am treated as one!  As if I buy high ticket items in quantity all the time!  It's the type of customer service lots of companies reserve for such "important" clients!  But JetPens gives out such customer service to each and every customer they have!

Sometimes it's not about what you buy, it's about who you buy it from!  Sometimes it's all about the people behind the counter, or in this case across cyberspace, that matter.  If all Customer Services personnel across the world were like the Customer Service personnel at JetPens then this would be a much nicer world.  So guys and gals at JetPens, take a bow, you've earned it!

Attention Readers.  I would very much like to read about your experiences with JetPens customer service.  So please leave a comment or drop me an email about your experience with JetPens customer service.  I'll pass along the comments I get to JetPen.

Please check out all the latest items JetPens has to offer by visiting jetpens.com.

Pacific Arc DP-03 0.3 mm Drafting Pencil

The regular readers of my blog know that I have a fondness for 0.3 mm drafting pencils.  I have a particularly keenness for the Pentel 0.3 mm P203, which some years back I discovered was discontinued... "Discontinue!  No discontinue, Stephenie!".  Pardon my "Short Circuit" parody, bit I just couldn't help it!...  Well I could help it, I just didn't!  When I inquired about why the response from Pentel was that it was being discontinued due to a lack of sales!  What?  A lack of sales?  I did not believe it then and I do not believe it now!  The pencil sold for about $4.00back then, now they are $10.00, when you can find them!  As far as I am concerned Pentel made one of the biggest mistakes the company has ever made when they discontinued the P203!  The P200 series pencils have been one of the most copied and cloned and modified mechanical pencils in history!  Case in point the Pacific Arc DP-03, 0.3 mm Mechanical Pencil.

When I saw the pencil I was intrigued.  A P203 clone or copy (clone - all parts are interchangeable with a Pentel P200 series pencil.  Copy - they are not all interchangeable, though some might).  The DP-03 0.3 mm mechanical is a copy.  I discovered this when I disassembled the pencil, along with a P203 and tried to interchange some of the parts! The tips, erasers and push buttons exchange but the non-tapered Pentel mechanism would not fit into the Pacific Arc body, though the Pacific Arc mechanism did fit the Pentel body.  The parts look similar but there are subtle differences such as the shape of the metal tip.

The 2 pencils are very close in size and balance, but the Pentel is slightly heavier at 11 grams verses 9 grams for the Pacific Arc.  The feel of the Pacific Arc is also different due to the slight difference and slightly more forward balance.  It also sounds less solid, more clunky when the push button is used to advance lead.  Lockup of the lead is as solid as with any such pencil but there were 2 things I didn't like about the Pacific Arc DP-03.  One is that a single 'click' does not quite advance enough lead to write with, for me any way, but a second advances too much!  With the Pentel the advancements are in very small increments which means it takes at least 3 'clicks' to advance enough lead to write with.

The second is that the the lead protruding from the tip of the Pacific Arc pencil has considerable lead shake.  That means that the interior of the lead sleeve is slightly over sized inside the tube.  Thus the lead does not fight as tightly in the tube as does the Pentel!  This, along with the over extended lead meant that there was considerable lead breakage when I used the pencil.  Now I was using the Pacific Arc lead at the time, so I replaced it with Pentel lead and got about the same amount of breakage!  The Pacific Arc lead is a high polymer and comes 24 pieces per tube. 2 tubes per package, for only $2.00 as of Saturday, February 1, 2011, from Hobby Lobby.  While I like the price what I don't like is that the pour spout is recessed into the mouth of the cap so it has to be removed by hand and inserted into the lead reservoir.  No direct pouring of lead into the lead reservoir from the container!

I had high hopes for the Pacific Arc DP-03.  I was hoping that I had found a low cost ($3) alternative  to the Pentel P203.  While I did find a bargain in the lead, the pencil is another matter.  Aside from the lead breakage/enlarged lead sleeve the product seems to be more cheaply made than I thought!  As I was disassembling the pencil for photographic reasons, the lead retainer fell out of the tip!  This is never good!  Now I have some experience replacing lead retainers so I tried to replace it.  Dang if I somehow didn't loose it!  I don't know how, but when I went to see if it was in the tip, it wasn't!

For most people this would be a lost cause and no matter how little or how much (I've had a similar problem with an $80.00 pencil) the pencil cost, it would now be rendered useless.  Without a lead retainer the lead falls straight through the pencil when you try and advance the lead!  But for me, it proved a challenge, nothing more.  After some searching I found a piece of small gage wire where the sheath was an adequate substitute.  With some work I got the pencil to function properly once more.  Hooray for me!

But the bottom line is, while I really like the shape and feel of the pencil, I can not and do not recommend the pencil for any reason.  Yeah, it's only $3.00, but one can do better by buying a different style pencil from jetpens.com.  Or if you must have a Pentel P203, than $10.00 on the net.  So my advice is to avoid the Pacific Arc DP-03 0.3 mm pencil, at least for now.  However the lead is another story.  It seems of good quality and the price is unbeatable.

Pilot S20, Elegance In Wood

 

The first experience that I had with the Pilot S series was a pleasant surprise!  I really enjoyed my experience with the Pilot S10.  I liked it so much that I ended up buying an S3 and an S5 in 0.3 mm and an S3 in 0.4 mm.  But circumstances would not allow me to buy an S20.  But recently I was gifted an S20, the only one in the series made of wood.  There is no material more naturally elegant than wood.  And the Pilot S20 is nothing if not elegant! 

 

The other pencils in the series are made of plastic with either a plastic grip (S3), rubber grip (S5), or a metal grip (S10) and have a straight grip where the grip of the S20 is nicely curved near the tip.  The over all look of the shape of the pencil adds to it's elegance.  With the satin finish metal components the dark wood with it's satin finish gives the S20 a very sleek and elegant appearance.

 

But appearances alone do not make the pilot S20 such an elegant pencil.  The feel of the pencil is also elegant.  The shape along with the satin finish allows for a good grip and a good feel.  Writing with the S20 is a pleasant experience in part due to it's satiny smooth finish and shape, but the balance point is approximately 65 mm from the tip, just 6 mm shy from center.  This combination for me makes for a nice writing experience.  The pencil is not hard to hold and the wood feels so good in my fingers.

 

But enough gushing over the appearance and feel of elegant wood, let's get down to some stats.  Over all the S20 is approximately 146 mm long and 11 mm in diameter at it's widest.  it weighs 17.5 grams making it a semi heavyweight.  But I like a  weighty pencil, but then again I like a lightweight pencil as well.  Come to think of it, I like drafting pencils of all kinds and weights. Each delivers it's own experience.

 

 

Unlike the rest of the series, with the exception of the S3, the S20 breaks down into only 5 major components, the grip/body along with the metal pocket clip, the tip/end cap, the eraser with clean out rod and the lead indicator/push button.  I am sure that the pencil can be broken down further, but probably at the cost of breaking the pencil.  Besides there is no need to break the pencil down further in order to clear a lead jam.

 

The S20 is a ratcheting/clutch pencil which takes just two presses of the push button to advance enough to write with.  The mechanism is not loud enough to be a bother and the the mechanism is tight.  The lead reservoir is  cavernous enough to hold a tube of lead or more but works best with a tube or less.  To change the lead grade in the lead grade indicator window the push button must be removed so the tube can be held as the top is turned to the desired lead grade.  The pocket clip is removable but I would never do so for fear of damaging the wood. 

 

Weather you use the S20 at home or at the office, it will defiantly make a statement.  It's design, It's juxtaposition of wood and bright metal, both satin finish make the S20 the most elegant of the Pilot S series drafting pencils.  The entire series is available from our friends at JetPens.com.

Pentel Graph PG2 0.2mm Drafting Pencil

When is small too small?  I am a big fan of 0.3 mm drafting pencils and I own a few!  I like the very thin line that the lead produces, albeit at a cost - lead breakage!  So in order to use a 03. mm pencil I have had to train myself to write with a light hand.  If, like now, I use some other lead size, like a 0.5 mm lead sized pencil, such as the Kuru Toga Rouletta, then I have to retrain my self when I go back to a 0.3 mm lead size!  I like the Kuru Toga because I can use a pencil with the stronger 0.5 mm lead size yet get a near 0.3 mm line.  Lately I have been using a 0.3 mm Kuru Toga because it produces a sum 0.3 mm line!  But lead breakage is still a problem.

Then comes the Pentel Graph PG2 0.2 mm Drafting Pencil.  No, it's not a typo!  Not 2 mm but 0.2 mm!  Now that's a thin line (for a pencil)!  The pencils has been around for a while, since the late 70's, but I didn't notice it until a few years ago.  With my propensity for thin line lead pencils had I known of it's existence back then, I would have had several by now!  Or would!?

The lead grade indicator has 2 readings, HB and B and that's all the lead grades the 0.2 mm currently comes in!  Oddly enough the lead is also made by Pentel.  The Pentel Graph PG2 may be the only 0.2mm pencil made!  A quick search of the Internet provided some proof of my claim as the only 0.2 mm pencil that came up was indeed the Pentel Garph PG2!  And there may be good reason for this!

But before I get into this  lets dive into some stats!  Now who doesn't like to read about the stats of a fine drafting pencil (not a word out of you, Tommy Turquoise)?  All the mumblers tossed out at this point have been rounded to the nearest whole digit.  The PG2 is approximately 146 mm long making it of average length.  it is approximately 8 mm in diameter making it a slim pencil.  It's balance point is approximately 68 mm from the tip making it a little top heavy but you'd hardly notice and it weighs approximately 10 grams making it a feather weight!  It almost feels like there is nothing in my hand!

The grip area of the pencil is a set of concentric close set rings approximately 14 mm long.  They are smooth to the touch, probably rounded instead of square, providing a good non-slip grip with out a sharp bite.  The chromed metal pocket grip appear to be of the same type if not the same one used on the P200 series Pentel drafting pencils.  The good grip area along with the light weight and good balance would make the PG2 easy to control and fatigue free, except for one fact.  More on that later.

The construction of the PG2 is as what would be expected from Pentel, a leader in the world of fine and affordable drafting pencils.  It's solid, well made and easily torn down.  The body is plastic, along with the lead reservoir retainer/ lead grade indicator body and clean out rod handle.  The pocket clip, tip of the pencil, entire clutch and lead reservoir assembly and the but stock are metal.

The pencil can be torn down into 7 major pieces/ submersibles.  The body and removable pocket clip, the tip, the clutch/reservoir assembly, the clutch/reservoir retainer/lead indicator body, the lead indicator window, the clean out rod and holder/push button assembly and the tail stock.

 

To disassemble the PG2 into it's major components first unscrew the tip, which screws to the clutch assembly.  Unscrew the tail stock, lead grade indicator window and the clutch/reservoir retainer then pull the clutch/reservoir free from the pencil then pull the clean-out-rod holder/push button free. Reassembly is just the opposite.  due to the potential of losing an important part of the pencil, I recommend the average user do not break down the PG2 this far.  In order to clear a led jam all you have to do is remove the tip, tail stock and clean out rod/push button assembly.

The PG2 is a sliding sleeve retracts with the lead as it is used up, but only about 1/2 the distance to the base of the tip.  In my humble opinion the pencil would have been better if the sliding sleeve would have retracted all the way to the tip!  This would have given the pencil a little more versatility.

Now at the beginning of this review I ask the question, "When is small too small?"  The answer to that question, in this bloggerss mind, is when small become impracticable.  To me a 0.2 mm lead size is impracticable, which is maybe why there is only one pencil made in that lead size.  An extremely light hand must be used in conjunction with a slow, fluid writing style in order to prevent lead breakage.  But a light hand, even with HB lead, produces a light line.  This lightness combined with sheer 0.2 mm line width makes the writing/drawing produced with such a fine width extremely hard to discern by many people.  Even with the sliding sleeve the instrument is impracticable because the tip of the lead sleeve contacting the paper scratches and drags and one day will wear out.

While I do not recommend this pencil to anyone with out who does not have the lightest of hands and the keenest eyesight, does not mean that I don't like the pencil!  I do like it.  I like it's looks, light weight, balance, etc.  I just don't like using it.  A softer lead, like grade 'B' would be more practical, offering a dark line with less lead breakage.

Bottom line, for all practical purposes the Pentel PG2 is not for every one and certainly not for every day use.  It even has limited use as a drafting pencil.   It is however an elegant and beautiful pencil and it looks good in my pencil case.

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 Multi-Pen

I have never been a fan of multi-pens.  Mainly because of the early ones like the Bic 4 color pens.  They were always ball points and in four colors, red, blue, green and black!  And the slimmer 2 color pens that came in either red and black or blue and red, again in all point.  Not a big fan of ball point pens either.  Refills, if the pen was refillable, were hard to find, expensive and the reservoir was small!  But over the years things have changed.  Now there are all kinds of refillable multi-pens!  Some are still ball-point pens, but even so many of these come with a built in mechanical pencil!  The best are the ones that are 3 to 4 pen/pencil multi pens that are sold empty.  The user them customizes their own multi-pen with a wide variety of refills, from ball point to gel to mechanical pencil.  Some can even be fitted with a stylus!  These multi-pens are a far cry from the earlier ones and can be custom fitted to suit the need of the user!

One of the very best of these is the very versatile Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 (now that's a mouth full)!  This pen comes as a pen body with nothing in it!  A blank slate ready to be filled with the users desired components!  The components are each sold separately.  The body comes in Black, Metallic Blue, Metallic Pink, Silver, Blue, Gray, Pink, soft Green and White as sold by JetPen.com.  Mine is in silver.  The Hi-Tec-C gel pen refills come in 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm & 0.5 mm sizes in 15 different colors!  The mechanical pencil refill comes in 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm.  There is also an eraser component and a stylus component!  WOW!  That's a lot of different refills!  Choices, choices, choices!

I ended up choosing the 0.3 mm mechanical pencil (a no-brainer) and a black gel pen in all 3 sizes!  Sweet!  I'm happy with my choices as I do use gel pens often.  And 0.3 mm is my favorite lead size.  I carry with me, in a pocket protector, a 0.5 mm drafting pencil, a uni Signo 207 Micro, a Pilot 0.38 mm G2, a stick eraser, a retractable EF Sharpie and an X-Acto style hobby knife.  In a second pocket protector I carry a small top ring note book.  My lovely wife calls them my "Geek Gear".  Cute.  But at one time or another while out and about, I've had need of every item in the pouches!  What I am considering doing is to replace the 2 gel pens and the pencil with the Coleto Lumio 4!  I like it that much!  But to be perfectly honest, if I had not been gifted the body, I probably never would have bought one and the refills to fill it.

Filling the Coleto is easy as popin' the top!

Sliding in the refill, making sure all the grooves and tabs align (they practically thread themselves and lock in with a noticeable feel)!

Then closing the top!  It closes with a snap!  The Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 is now ready for use, eh almost!  Before you insert the pencil component into the pencil you should put a few pieces of lead into the reservoir.  This is easily done as the tip separates from the reservoir easily where the plastic part of the tip connects to the metal reservoir.  Add a few pieces of lead to the reservoir then reassemble the component.  NOW insert it into the body...

Using the Coleto is as simple as any other multi-pen only smoother.  The components go down with a smooth, easy motion using very little pressure because the springs in the pen are light but strong enough to do the job.  Releasing the locked down component is equally as light and easy!  As far as the feel of the pen components goes, they feel like any other Hi-Tec-C gel pen of the size chosen.  Same goes for the 0.3mm pencil.  The tips of the pencils and pens look very similar.  This means the pencil's lead sleeve is short making it definitely a mechanical pencil component, not a drafting pencil component.  So long as excess lead is not extended and excess pressure is not applied then the pencil writes fine.

Pencil tip

Pen tip

Now I guess you blog readers want me to give you some stats!  Well I'm not going to do it!  Nope, not this time!  Ain't gonna do it!  Well, OK!  You talked me into it...  Or was that just the voices in my head...?  Anyway, the Coleto Lumio 4 is a lightweight weighing only15.7 grams filled as I have it.  Different components are going to change the weight to some degree.  The over all length with the components detracted is 142 mm making it of average length.  The upper body diameter is 12.3 mm and the diameter of the grip is 11.4 mm.  The balance point is approximately 72 mm from the tip of the pen body.  This makes the pen nearly perfectly balanced at the pens center.  The pen body is plastic with a metal pocket clip.  The body separates from the grip so the components can be accessed without excessive wear and tear on the pens cap.  The texture of the finish on the plastic is excellent!  Despite there being no roughness to the surface the surface provides an excellent gripping surface!  I have no problem holding onto the pen!

Bottom line...  Like I stated earlier, I would probably never have bought a Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 Multi-pen if it had not been for the gift of the body.  I like the pen so much I am now considering buying another one, maybe in blue, and filling it with both pencil components, the eraser component and the stylus component!  I'll certainly review it if I do!  So, if you are in the market for a good, customizable, multi-pen then I don't think you could go wrong by purchasing a Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 from JetPens.com.

The Old Geezer

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Giveaway

 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and since my lovely wife is a survivor of breast cancer I wanted to give away these special uni Signo Pink Ribbon gel pens.  I wanted to do this earlier in the month to help promote Breast Cancer Awareness, but I could not find the pens until now.  So better late than never!

 

All you have to do to win these pens is to send me an email with Breast Cancer Awarness Month in the subject line and include your name of on-line handle.  Please, one entry per person, please!

 

The Giveaway will lastuntil midnight the 31st of October.  The winner will be chosen by the Randon Integer Generator. at the end of the blog.

 

You can also enter my other giveaway, the "October Giveaway".

Enter now before it's too, late!

 

Thanks to all who entered, but the Giveaway is now CLOSED.

 

 

October Giveaway

I know it's late in the month for a giveaway, but better late than never, right?...  Right?...  Brother, tough crowd.  Anyway this month up for grabs is a Mitsubishi uni a-gel HD 0.5mm mechanical pencil.  Get this, not only does it have a squishy gel grip that some people love, it's a shaker!  That's right, blog fans!  Just shake it to extend the lead!  Or just used the push button!  Either way, lead gets extended!  But there's more!  To prevent lead from being extended accidentally while the pencil is getting jostled, (jostled, does anyone use words like jostled anymore?) around it has a catch.  Literally, there's a catch!  By pressing the push button all the way down until an audible "click" is heard the mechanism is rendered inoperable!  This helps prevent the user from getting stuck with a length of graphite!  It also helps prevent lead loss by preventing lead from being accidentally extended then broken.

Anyway, it's a nice looking pencil with a blur gel grip, chrome tip and collar between body and grip, chrome & plastic pocket clip, blue transparent collar around the push button, chrome push button and argent (graphite gray) body with silver lettering!  It's new, never used and it's up for grabs!

All you have to do to have a chance of winning this squishy grip pencil is send me an email, theoldgeezer@live.com. telling me why you like squishy grip pencils!  Because I can't stand them and can not fathom why anybody would!  So enlighten me, please!  Oh, in the subject line of the email put October Giveaway.  That way I'll spot it and keep it!  Please only one entry per person per email addy!  That's all there is to it!  Entries will be accepted until midnight on Oct. 31.  After midnight I'll use the Random Integer Generator at the bottom of the page to select a winner.  Entries will be assigned a number from 1 to whatever in order in which they are received.

So, thanks for reading my humble blog.

Oops!  Is my face red!  I forgot to publish the Giveaway soon enough!  So I'm extending the deadline until Monday, November 5th at midnight!   Sorry, blog fans!  Even the Old Geezer makes a mistake every now and then...  Don't you say a word, Tommy Turquoise!

Pleas, no more entries as the giveaway is now closed.  Thank you for reading my blog.

The Old Geezer