Staedtler 925 25 03 Drafting Pencil

Now let's get one thing straight from the beginning, this is a beautiful pencil! It just wreaks elegance with its hard straight lines and 3 tone silver metal finish! The Staedtler 925 25 03 has the looks that many other pencils strive for but fall short of. There is no waisted bulk, the pencil is slim and trim and ready for a lifetime of faithful service. It's like an arrow, a bullet, yes, even a missile in its design, yet fully functional all the same. It was designed to write and draw and it does both with timeless grace. If I were a sculptor it would be my chisel. If I were a painter it would be my brush. If I were a carpenter it would be my hammer. But I'm none of those artisans and it's none of those tools, it's a pencil for cryin' out loud! Just how glamorous can a pencil be? Quite, actually. As I wrote in the beginning, this is a beautiful pencil.

OK, so we have established that I like the looks of the Staedtler 925 25 03 Drafting Pencil. What else do I like about the pencil? The fact that it's a pencil and the fact that it's a 0.3 mm pencil! OK, we all know that I like 0.3 mm drafting pencils so what sets the 925 25 03 apart from any other drafting pencil? Well, it's remarkable good looks for one. Its sleek timeless design for another (more on that in a minute) and it's craftsmanship for yet another. The 925 25 03 is solidly built of brass, steel and aluminum. There's a little plastic involved as well but not that you can readily see. It's designed by the Germans, masters of engineering, but built by the Japanese, masters of manufacturing.


The design is simple, really, and in that lies its beauty. The chrome plated brass end cap/lead sleeve snugs up to the satin finished, finely knurled aluminum grip, sealing tight against vibration by use of a rubber 'O'-ring. The slender grip is divided into 13 raised rings by 12 evenly spaced circular cuts. The raised rings are very finely knurled giving the fingers the feeling of grasping fine sandpaper. The grip is part of the integral chuck assembly, grip, and lead reservoir. The chuck being brass and the lead reservoir being made of plastic. The eraser with the clean out rod fits snugly into the open end of the lead reservoir. The thick walled satin finished upper body holds the lead grade indicator markings on one end and a brightly chromed removable steel pocket clip on the other. The lead grade indicator markings are silver on a black background and are covered by the brightly chromed metal lead grade indicator which has a square window. On the side of the upper body, in a stately steel gray color are the Staedtler logo and the Staedtler name. Upon the brightly chromed steel pocket clip is the imprint of the Staedtler logo. Behind the pocket clip, between its tines, is the single word "JAPAN". The upper body slides over the lead reservoir and screws snugly against the lead grade indicator ring, securing it in place. In order to adjust the setting of the lead grade indicator it is necessary to loosen the upper body. Finlay, the satin silver barrel shaped mushroom style push button slides over the lead reservoir tube concealing the eraser. The barrel portion of the push button has 5 evenly spaced raised rings separated by 4 circular cuts reminiscent of the grip. And let us not forget that on top of the push button is the lead size painted in the ISO designated color for the lead size, yellow.

Now for some stats! The 925 25 03 is 143 mm long making it of average length for a drafting pencil. It is a slender 8.8 mm in diameter at its widest point (everywhere). Its balancing point is 71.4 mm from the push button making the pencil perfectly balanced! But beauty is a heavy weight weighing 17.1 grams. It must be because of all the metal it's made of!... Ya think? The ratcheting mechanism is extremely quiet, firm with a good solid feel to it. The 925 25 03 pushes out lead in small increments, a feature that I like a lot. It takes only 2 clicks to produce enough lead to write with without producing to much. The lead reservoir is cavernous for at least 2 tubes of lead but one will suffice.

The Staedtler 924 25 03 is a pleasure to write and draw with, not that I do much drawing anymore. I especially like the finely knurled grip. It does not feel sharp yet its fine points make a nearly perfect gripping surface. I wish more pencil manufacturers would take this page from Staedtler's 'How To Build A Better Pencil' book! The grip and its perfect balance help make the writing experience almost effortless despite the pencils weight. The weight almost seems to disappear when I use the 925 25 03. Even just hefting the pencil seems pleasantly odd due to it's perfect balance.

The Staedtler 925 25 03 is a beautifully designed and well built pencil ment for the professional as well as the amature. It's an elegant addition to any desktop, briefcase, drafting table or workbench. So I suggest that if you want a hard working tool or an elegant and grafeful writing instrument or just something that looks good on a coffee table as a work of art that you get yourself a Staedtler 924 25 03 Professional Drafting Pencil ASAP.

Many thanks to STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG for the pencil in this review.

Staedtler 925 03 Drafting Pencil

This was my first introduction to Steadtler drafting pencils, but not my first introduction to Staedtler-Mars products. I've had a set of Staedtler-Mars Technical pens for a good number of years now and I have enjoyed them immensely. I've used their erasers for a goodly number of years as well so the name Staedtler is no stranger to me. But up until recently I had no experience with their drafting pencils. That's when I decided to buy the Staedtler 925 03 drafting pencil. I happened to purchase the "New Model". There was a revamp of the pencils design and for some time there were 2 different models of the same pencil available, the "Old Model" and the "New Model". Had I the funds at the time I would have purchased both although I think aesthetically the "New Model" is more appealing.

A habit that I got into a long time ago, when I was but a wee tot was taking things apart to see how they worked. I wasn't always able to get things back together in working order, which displeased my parents no end. Well, I've gotten a little better at putting things back together in working order mainly because I no longer take anything too complicated apart and if I break it I have to pay for it. But I still take down a new pencil to it's bare bones as soon a I get it. The 925 03 breaks down into 8 major components.

They are the brass chuck assembly and integral lower body, the lead grade indicator markings and the the lead reservoir. Into the lead reservoir goes the eraser with the attached clean out rod. Over the outer tube of the lead reservoir goes the gold colored mental lead grad indicator ring with the lead grade indicator window. To secure this the upper body shell with the detachable chromed metal pocket clip slips over the lead reservoir and screws down tightly. To adjust the lead grade indicator it is necessary to loosen the upper body. The barrel shaped plastic push button with the convenient lead size indication on top slips over the lead reservoir to protect the eraser. The grip is of black rubber, probably of closed cell neoprene, and slips over the lower body from the business end of the pencil. The grip is thin but is backed by the hard plastic of the lower body so it is not squishy. A squishy grip on a pencil is something I find disgusting. Last but not least the chromed metal end cap/lead sleeve screws onto the lower body covering the chuck assembly. Under normal usage, unless there is a lead jam, the user will find that disassembly of the 925 03 will be limited to the removal and replacement of the push button and eraser in order to replenish the lead.

Now for some stats. The 925 is 139 mm long making it just shy of average length. At it's next to widest point it is 9.2 mm in diameter. The widest point is at the pocket clip but since you don't grip the pencil up there, it doesn't count! The pencil balances 76.2 mm from the top of the push button which means that the pencil is almost perfectly balanced. And weighting only a scant 9.2 grams means it is as light as a feather, well, OK, as several feathers but it feels as light as a feather in the hand.

It's near central balancing point, light weight and rubber grip combine to make the 925 03 one of the nicest pencils in my collection to write with. It's easy to control and fatigue free. Sometimes I have to look at the pencil while using it to make sure it's still there! The ratcheting mechanism is solid with a positive feel to it, which is nice. One thing I like about some drafting pencils is that they increment lead in very small increments because I have a habit of advancing more lead before it's needed. The Steadtler 925 03 advances lead in small increments. About 3 clicks is what it takes to advance enough lead to write with without advancing too much. A nice feature of the pencil. The lead reservoir is cavernous enough to hold a couple of tubes of lead, but one should suffice.

The 925 03 is an attractive pencil being black silver with a touch of gold. The lines are clean with the pencil being almost a straight, elegant line broken only by the bulb like swelling at the pocket clip. The metal end cap/lead sleeve is a bright polished chrome which is set in contrast to the flat black of the rubber grip. The grip is broken by 18 evenly space rings dividing the grip into 19 mostly equal length raised rings. Only the two ends are of unequal length, the wider ring being closest to the lead grade indicator ring. A spacer of plastic separates the the grip from the metal lead grade indicator ring and its silver on black markings visible through the square window of the gold ring. The semi gloss of the black plastic upper body snuggles up tightly to the lead indicator ring keeping it from moving undesirably. Set against the darkness of the upper body is the Staedtler logo, the Staedtler name and the pencils designation, 925 03, embossed in silver. The highly polished chromed metal pocket clip with its impressed Staedtler logo points the way to the gloss black barrel like push button with its 5 groves and 6 evenly spaced raised rings, reminiscent of the grip, topped by the yellow ISO colored lead size designation of .3. Ah, what a beauty.

Staedtler is a name that I have come to trust for fine quality engineered drafting and drawing products and the 924 03 falls right in line with that level of trust. The 925 03 and it's brothers may be on the low end of the price range for drafting pencils they certainly are not on the low end of quality. The Steadtler 925 series of Professional Mechanical Pencils are designed to give the end user years of fine use. So do yourself a favor and pick up one, or more, in your favorite lead sizes today.

Staedtler Triplus Moble Office

This one is a bit of an odd tale. I was on the JetPens forum when I came across a post by mackemsam, a gentleman from across the pond. I saw in his signature that he had a blog called Future; Nostalgic. So I followed the link to his blog and read a few things. There I learned about number one cat who had perished recently. He was an old cat, which hit home as we have an old cat who is sickly and probably won't live another year. So right off I had a connection with Sam, the owner of Future:Nostalgic. So I signed up to follow Sam's updates. Turns out I was the first one to sign up. I thought that was neat but no real big deal. Little was I to know what that would lead too.

I received a PM on the forum from Sam thanking me for following his blog. He also wanted to send me something to review if I would mention his blog, Future Nostalgic, in the review. I was both flattered and intrigued! Gifts from strangers from across the pond! He wouldn't tell me what it was which peaked my interest all the more! How could I refuse? So in a few days a package arrived from England. In the package were 2 gifts. One was an English mouse, a gift for Spencer, our aging cat. The second was the Staedtler Triplus Mobile Office featured here.

When I saw the TMO I was excited as I have a set of the Triplus Finelines in 0.3 mm and I like them very much! So I was very interested in doing a review of the product.


The entire set weighs in at 63.6 grams. The case weighs 24.6 grams and measures 168,3 mm long by 46 mm wide. Just the right size to fit into a jacket pocket. The case also doubles as a stand for convenient access to the four instruments inside while working. A very clever idea by the folks at Staedtler.

The contents of the Mobile Office are a Triplus Fineliner 0.3 mm porous point pen, with black ink. A Tripuls Ball(point pen) in medium point with blue ink. A Triplus Micro 0.5 mm pencil with a hide away conical point. And lastly a Triplus Textsurfer fine point highlighter in fluorescent yellow.

The Fineliner is 161.9 mm long, 8.8 mm across the flat to the apex of the triangle, and weighs 7.4 grams. The Ballpoint pen is 161.9 mm long, 8.9 mm across the flat to the apex,and weighs 11.8 grams. The 0.5 mm Micro Pencil is 161.9 mm long, 8.8 mm across the flat to the apex and weighs 12.7 grams and the Textsufer (highlighter) is 161.9 mm long, 8.8 mm across the flat to the apex and weighs 7.1 grams.


The Triplus Fineliner is a porous point pen with a 0.3 mm tip which to me is perfect for writing. The triangular shape makes it easy to hold. The ink is very dark and dries in an instant so there is no smudging. I like the triangular shape of the pen. It helps not only in griping the pen but helps keep the pen in the correct orientation. The lack of a textured or rubber grip does not affect my ability to hold onto the pen.

The ballpoint pen is touted as a medium but to me it produces a thinner line than 0.7 mm. The ink in this case is blue and is fast drying so again no smudging.

Staedtler has this to say about the ink in the ball point pen: "STAEDTLER's ballpoint pens with indelible ink corresponding to ISO 12757-2 are lightfast, waterproof, chemical and solvent-resistant, smudgeproof and non-erasable. " I can't test all of these qualities in a very short time, so I'll just have to take their word for it. I did find that the pen wrote very smoothly and the ink does not smudge. The body is rubberized, something I find nice. It helps a great deal in holding onto the pen.

The stud on the back of the pen is cylindrical and has a groove around the base. The groove matches the lip on the cap. However when the cap is posted it wobbles! Unless the cap's pocket clip is resting on an apex. Then the cap rests nicely.

The refill is accessed via the cylindrical stud on the back of the pen. Just unscrew the stud and pull the refill out. The reverse is necessary to replace the refill. Just push it into the inside of the stud, insert it into the pen and screw the stud tight.

Here's a little something extra. If you can not find a refill for the ballpoint pen, the refill for the Pentel RSVP fits it perfectly!


The Micro 0.5mm pencil is a writers pencil, not a drafting pencil. It has a conical hide away sleeve that projects out with the first press of the push button. To retract the lead and point all one does is press the button and while holding it, push the lead and point back into the cone sleeve. This makes it a safer pencil to carry around than most mechanical pencils.

The pencil is a pleasure to wright with the triangular shape lending it self to helping keep the lead sharp. Simply rotate the pencil 120 degrees, one rotation of the triangle, and continue writing. This is not unlike the principle behind the Kuru Toga pencil. The eraser twists up from the push button and is actually large enough to erase medium areas of text easily. The pencil separates at the plastic spring to reveal the lead reservoir. The lead reservoir is large enough to hold about 10 pieces of lead easily.


The last item in the case is the "Textsufer" as Staedtler calls the highlighter. It has a tapered finepoint so that you can high light with a single cross through by using the side of the tip you can cover the entire text.


All three writing instruments left a line between 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm wide. The Fineliner ink proved not to be waterproof and the ink bled through 3 additional sheets of paper when held on the top sheet for 10 seconds using normal writing pressure. The ballpoint pen ink was a different story. It seemed to live up to the hype about it. The ink is free flowing and the pen writes smoothly, almost effortlessly. The pencil works flawlessly as well. The first click pushes out the conical lead sleeve and a second click produces enough lead to write with. While writing the lead can be kept sharp by rotating the pencil 120 degrees, 1/3 the pencils diameter, every now and again.

Last words: The quality of the product is what I have come to expect from the Geman company, having aquired several Steadtler products over the years. All in all the Staedtler Tripuls Moble Office is a unique and handy office tool for the busy business person on the go as well as the less mobile of us who just like to have the most useful office tools handy in one spot. I think just about anyone from the casual letter writer to the business professional will find the Staedtler Triplus Mobile Office well worth the cost.


Rudy, the English mouse.

Pens And Pencils June Giveaway

In November of last year I ran across a 5 pack of pens by Peachtree Playthings sold under the Inc. label called Magna Tank Gel Pens. I'd never see nor heard of the company or the product before. But I was intrigued. 5 gel pens with three times the ink supply as other gel pens for under $3.00! And in 0.5 mm point size yet! I just had to try these out so I bought a pack. I was impressed enough to do a review of the pens. Little was I to know that my review would stir up a mini buzz! I received quite a few comments from people asking just where they could find these unique pens. It seems that there was a scarcity of Magna Tanks! Wal-Mart was where I bought mine, but others wrote that they have seen them at Walgreen's and The Dollar Store. A search of my local Walgreen's and Dollar Stores turned up nothing. Even my local Wal-Mart didn't seem to be able to keep them in stock!

Well, I finally found some at my local Wal-Mart one day recently so I bought some. The express purpose of buying the Magna Tanks was to give them away! But just how to give them away! Should I have 5 individual winners or should I have a single winner of all 5 pens? Boy that was a toughy! It took me all of 30 seconds to decide on giving all 5 pens away to a single winner! So up for grabs are 5 brand new Magna Tank gel pens still in the blister package! This is an assortment package with one each of the colors black, blue, red, green and violet.

So, just how does one go about winning the Magna Tank pens? Simple, just leave a comment on the post (casting a vote for me as Emperor of the North Pole) before midnight Friday the 12th of June. Then check back on Saturday, June 13th after one AM to see if you are the winner! Easy, yes? Oh, but there are a few rules to follow. First only one comment per person, please. Duplicate comments by the same person will be ignored. If you sign in anonymously you must leave some type of identifier such as the handle you commonly use on other websites. I can not identify an anonymous poster. Such posts will be ignored so please lease some kind of identifier if you post anonymously. Please do not leave an e-mail address as an identifier unless this is the email addy that you leave open to the public! Remember this is an open blog and anyone stopping in can see your email addy. Lastly, please do check back in after one AM on the 13th. MY first two giveaways have gone to the second round winners because the first picks never checked back in!

The winner will be chosen randomly using the Random Integer Generator at the bottom of this blog. Each eligible contestant will be assigned a number starting with the number one (1) corresponding to the position of their posted comment. The first comment will be assigned the number one (1) and so on. The winner will have from one AM on Saturday the 13th of June until Midnight Monday, June 15th to leave a comment claiming their prize and sending me an email at theoldgeezer@live.com. I case the first picked winner fails to claim the prize then a second drawing will be held after Midnight on Monday, June 15th. That winner will have until midnight on Thursday, June 18th to claim the prize as second round winner. If the second round winner fails to claim the prize then the giveaway if null and void.

So all you Magna Tank lovers, get to casting your vote, eh, I mean , leaving your comments.

(Emperor of the North Pole was a movie in 1973 staring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Keith Carradine. Borgnine is a sadistic conductor who will kill any hobo who tries to ride his train. Legendray hobo Marvin declares that he will be the first to do so. Young hobo Carridine is a tag a long who hopes to follow in Marvins footsteps. The movie is action packed and set in the Depression era. Eventually Marvin kills Borgnine then tosses young Carridine off the train declaring, "There can only be one Emperor of the North Pole". Later releases of the movie had the name changed to Emperor of The North)

Pentel EnerGel Times Three

Sometime back while on the JetPens Forum we were discussing the Pentel EnerGel Liquid Gel Ink pen. The topic centered around the EnerGel Alloy pen in particular. Since I had as of yet experienced writing with the EnerGel I had little to add to the discussion. That prompted me to go out and buy a Pentel Energel, the non alloy version as the budget was and is tight. Then a gentle soul named Austin, emailed me asking if I'd acquired a Pentel EnerGel Alloy pen yet. I wrote back telling him that I had not. He then replied with the offer of sending me one! How could I refuse such a generous offer! Soon the Alloy arrived and I was impressed with it's weight and feel.

Since I now had 2 different versions of the same pen I decided to do a side by side review of the 2 pens. But before I could do so I came across the needle point version of the pen! So now it has turned into a side by side by side review of the 3 pens. So just to clear things up the review/comparison will be of the Pentel EnerGel Alloy, the Pentel EnerGel Metal Tip and the EnerGel Needle Tip. The point size for all three pens is 0.7 mm.

Now for some stats. The EnerGel Alloy measures 148.2 mm long, 10.9 mm in diameter at it's widest point. It weighs 21.2 grams and it's balance point is 76.2 mm from the push button. The EnerGel Metal Tip and the EnerGel Needle Tip have the exact same measurements. They measure 147.2 mm long, 11 mm in diameter at their s widest point. They weigh 12.6 grams and have a balance point of 73 mm from the push button. The EnerGel alloy is made from aluminum while the Metal Tip and Needle Tip are made mostly of plastic.

All three are attractive pens. The design on the Metal tip and Needle Tip are the same except the Metal Tip is black and silver while the Needle Tip is black, silver and light metallic blue. The Alloy on the other hand is all silver, both bright and satin, and incorporates most of the design features of the other two pens. In shape it differs from the other two pens in that the push button end is shaped differently as is the pocket clip. While the Metal Tip and Needle Tip have removable rubber sleeves in the grip area the Alloy does not. All have the same wavy design. Aesthetically the Alloy to me is the most pleasing both in shape and color.

The Metal tip and Needle Tip both feel light as a feather and rest comfortably in my hand. Their balance point being nearly in the middle of the pen, they feel perfectly balanced. The rubber grip, a feature lacking on the Alloy, is Latex free and provides an excellent gripping surface. With a length of 37 mm it will accommodate just about any grip style, weather you hold your pen near the tip or use a high hold or hold the pen anywhere in between. The grip on the Alloy is possibly the worst that I've ever encountered! It is all but impossible for me to write with the pen as is. I simply can not get a good grip on the pen! As I write my hand slides down until I have to readjust my grip and start over. However I do prefer the weight of the Alloy to the other two pens. With my "fix" in place I can write with the Alloy as well as any pen that I have.

BTW my "fix" is a sleeve of clear heat shrink cut to length then heat shrunk over the grip area. With this "fix" I can grip the pen quite well for as long as I need too. It's like giving the pen a very thin rubber grip, only transparent.

I found the EnerGel family of pens pleasant to write with (once the "fix" was in on the Alloy). The Metal Tip and Needle Tip are both very light and fit well in my hand. I like the girth of the pens, they are just at the upper limit of my comfort zone size wise. I'm torn between liking lightweight pens and heavyweight pens. The lightness of the Metal Tip and Needle Tip is nice giving the feeling one could write long hours with out fatigue. But the weight of the Alloy gives the writer a sense of power, that they are in command of the paper and ink. When it comes down to it, I prefer the Alloy with my "fix" on the grip. Not only is it a heavier pen but a quieter one as well. The Alloy has a soft touch push button and is very quiet when compared to the loud "pop" of the Metal Tip and Needle Tip.

I preformed a standard pen test on the refills of both types of pens. The test consisted of writing a short line of text followed by a short line then holding the point down to the paper using normal writing pressure for 10 seconds. I found that the needle point "wobbled" a bit within the tip of the pen. I could feel the point move within the end of the pen. The Metal Tip was rock solid. Both pens wrote smoothly producing a bold 0.7 mm line though to these eyes the Needle Tip seemed a wee bit wider. A single drop of water was placed on the line and allowed to soak into the paper. The results were that the ink from both pens feathered proving that the ink is not waterproof. Lastly the dot test showed that the Needle Tip bled through to the next page while the Metal Tip did not. This seems odd to me as I would expect the same results from both pens as point size and ink formula are the same.

Speaking of ink formulas, Pentel claims that the ink in the EnerGel line of pens is a "Liquid Gel Ink" and they call the pens "Rollergels". This is a combination of liquid ink and gel ink which would make the pens hybrids similar to the uni-ball Jetstream which is a cross between ballpoint pen ink and gel pen ink. The ink does dry quickly so there is no smudging, good news for all you south paws. However the ink is not archival safe nor does it appear to be acid free. However it is nice and dark, very opaque.

The difference in the tips can be seen in the photo to the left. for a short distance the diameter of the tips are the same but in an instant the needle tip tapers off to a thinner, needle like tip. Pentel calls it a "light flex needle tip" so I assume that the tip is supposed to flex to a small degree. If it does I did not feel it flex.

Last words, the Pentel EnerGel Liquid Gel Ink Pen, in any form, is a very nice pen. The rubber grip of the Metal Tip and Needle Tip is very effective just as the grip on the Alloy is not. Both refills are bold and smooth, skip and blob free. While the ink is not waterproof nor archival safe it is rich and dark. All three pens are well balanced and rest well in the hand. So it seems that with the EnerGel Pentel has tried to give just about every body a pen that they like.