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.