Misubishi Uni M3-552 Drafting Pencil

In 1887 the Masaki Pencil company was born. They made some of the finest wooden pencils in the world. After WW II they became the Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Ltd.  They company now makes some of the worlds finest mechanical pencils under the Uni brand.  The most famous of these is undoubtedly the Kuru Toga line of auto rotating pencils.  To learn more about these pencils see my reviews "uni Kuru Toga Family of Mechanicals pencils" and "The Kuru Toga Roulette".  But The Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd. makes other mechanical pencils as well.  Among them is the Uni 552 series of pencils.  These simple, sturdy entry level drafting pencils are often overlooked and neglected because of the overshadowing of the better known Uni Kuru Toga line of pencils.

This review will be about the M3-552, the 0.3 mm version.  However the pencil also comes in 0.4 mm,0.5 mm, 0.7mm and 0.9 mm lead sizes.  So let's start with every bodies favorite, the stats!  The M3-552 measures 141 mm long from the end of the lead sleeve to the tip of the push button.  It's round body and grip measure 8 mm and 8.5 mm respectively.  The nicely knurled metal grip measures 27 mm.  From the end of the lead sleeve to the beginning of the grip measures 17 mm, for those of you who like to grip there pencils very low.  The balance point is 61 mm, measured to the tip of the pencil.  Last, but not least, the pencil weighs 12.7 grams.  How's that for stat lovers.  Gee, you guys need a hobby...

...  Sorry boys and girls, but the Old Geezer is feeling pretty old tonight.  I wish it were more like the early days with Tommy Turquoise and Tussy Pink and that green guy from Zetta 1, Zedragon the Zephoid.  (Sigh) I sure miss them.  I wonder where they all got off to...
"We're right here, Geezer.  Well at least I am.  I think Tussy and Zedragon are around someplace..."  TOMMY!  Tommy Turquoise!  Man, I'm so glad to see you!  Where have you guys been, Tommy?  "Right here, Geezer.  We've all been right here in your imagination.  All you've had to do was call upon us and we'd have been right here to help you out."  Gosh.  You sure are a good friend, Tommy.  I'm, I'm sorry that I haven't called upon you guys lately.  I guess that I sort of, eh, well,...  "You thought that we were not as sophisticated and as elegant as other peoples blog assistants?"  Well, yeah.  I'm sorry for not believing in you guys so much any more.  I...  I don't know how to make it up to you guys!  I...  "Relax, Geezer.  Why don't you sit back and let me take it from here?"  Man, you are a life saver, Tommy.  Take it away.

"Thanks, Geezer.  The Mitsubishi Uni M3-552 is an entry level drafting pencil, but it has a feature or two that make it stand out among starter pencils.  It's body is plastic which helps make it light weight, but the grip is made of a lightweight metal, probably aluminum.  The grip screws onto the body just below the lead grade indicator.  It is nicely knurled and has a very good gripping surface.  The tip is probably non-magnetic stainless steel while the lead sleeve has a ting magnetic attraction.  Both are chromed and highly polished.  So are the end cap and the spring steel pocket clip.  With the black body the pencil has a classic look."

"Now one of the nice features of the M3-552 is the lead grade indicator.  It is made of a colored plastic, in this case, yellow, indicating the lead size*.  The ring is made with a gap. like a split ring, where the window is. The exterior of the ring is round but the interior is octagonal with a series of de-tents near the edge of the lower end of the ring.  A set of corresponding circular raised bumps are on the pencils' body.  The lead sizes, from 2B to 4H, are  imprinted in a silver color on a black self sticking band and placed on the pencils' body.  When the ring is placed on the pencil the LGI turns a set distance set by the de-tent system exposing one of the lead grades.  Unlike the LGI on some more expensive pencils the ring stays put once it is set, yet it is easily reset when desired.  This is the very best LGI that I have encountered to date."

"The grip is easily removed without removing the tip of the pencil.  Just why the pencil was made with this feature is unclear.  However the design leaves the possibility of different grips wide open.  I can see how easily a variety of different grips being available for the pencil, like a rubber grip, a silicone grip, a plastic grip, a fatter metal grip, etc.  Just why this potential has not been exploited  is beyond me.  While loosening the grip will make turning the LGI it is not necessary to do so as the LGI will turn without loosening the grip albeit with a little more effort.  The reason that the grip can be removed over the tip is because the tip is the same diameter as the pencils' body beneath the grip.  Now that I think about it the reason that the grip is designed in this way is so that it can be loosened when setting the LGI!  Now what is it they say, something about learning something new..."

"The M3-522 is so light that despite its' being a little nose heavy it hardly feels like it. The pencil feels light in the hand and writes almost effortlessly.  The unusual knurling on the grip, broken by 10 horizontal lines, is not only aesthetically pleasing but is quite functional as well.  It provides a nice gripping surface without being overly rough.  The lead reservoir is large enough to hold enough lead for days and even weeks of writing.  The bright chromed push button is adorned with the lead size impressed into the top of it.  Pressing it is almost as effortlessly as writing with the pencil itself and just two presses of the bush button exposes enough lead to start writing.  There is an eraser under the push button, but as geezer says, such erasers are useless and should only serve to hold a clean out rod, which the pencil does not come with.  You'll need to supply your own."

"A good way to get 2 stand alone clean out rods, one for .4 mm and below as well as one for .05 mm and above and get a set of 5 erasers that will fit the M3-552 pencil (I knew you would be using the eraser that come with the pencil) you can buy, from, jetpens.com, a set for one of the Pilot pencils.  Its' the MS-10 box set.  It comes with 5 erasers clad in a plastic holder that just fits the reservoir tube of the M6-552 plus 2 wire clean out rods.  The green box that they come in is a handy storage case as well.  This way, for under 2 bucks US you can get both clean out rods and erasers.  Every time that you have to buy easers you'll get a new set of clean out rods.  Believe me, for 0.4 mm and 0.3 mm lead sizes these rods are a must."

So for a good entry level drafting pencil, or just a good all around writing instrument (especially in the larger diameter lead sizes) do not over look the 522 series of Drafting pencils from Mitsubishi/uni.  These and many other fine drawing and writing instruments can be found at our friends at jetpens.com.

Pilot S10 0.3 mm Drafting Pencil

This pencil was a surprise to me, a very pleasant surprise! I don't know just what I was expecting but it certainly wasn't what I got! From the moment that I first pick it up I knew that this was no ordinary drafting pencil. It felt weighty, thought why this was a surprise to me I don't know as I knew that the long grip was metal, not plastic. I like a weighty pencil, it makes me think that I have something substantial in my hand, something of value. That's not to say that lightweight pencils are of low value, on the contrary, it takes a lot to make a pencil both lightweight and sturdy! It's just that most of us equate weight with value. But the surprises didn't stop there.

The next surprise was styling. I'd seen pics of the pencil but seeing it in person was different. I thought the pencil a little funky looking until I saw it in person. It was then that the overall beauty of this pencil hit me! It really is an attractive looking design. The pocket clip is unusual
in design but very attractive, even sexy, in appearance with its curved lines and side opening clasp. It's a beautiful satin silver color with the name "PILOT" spelled out in all caps near the top of the clip. It's maned of sheet metal, stamped and formed.

Another surprise was the lead grade indicator. It is an integral part of the
push button and is made of plastic over a metal shaft. The window is round and the lead grades are white against a dark yellow (plastic) background, which is the same color as the top of the push button which has the lead diameter printed in white in the middle of it.

Yet still another pleasant surprise is the cavernous lead reservoir. It's large enough to hold a lot of lead, a feature that I like a lot. I like to fill my pencils with as much lead as they will hold and when that is over a single 12 piece tube I'm happy. I can dump several tubes into the belly of the 0.3 mm S10!

With all that lead in there how does it come out? Slowly! Two clicks of the bush button produces enough lead to write with without the danger of the lead breaking. With some pencils no matter how many of few times you press the push button either too much lead is produced or too little, never just enough! So with these pencils I am constantly having to adjust the length of lead that is produced. This is a pain to say the least. But not so with the S10 0.3 mm pencil! Two clicks and there is enough lead to write with but not enough to cause breakage, unless you are heavy handed!
Yet one more pleasant surprise about this remarkable pencil is the fact that the end cap/lead sleeve and grip are not integral! The end cap/lead sleeve and the grip are separate units. To remove the grip all one has to do is to remove the end cap/lead sleeve. The end cap/lead sleeve screws on but the grip slips off. There is rather a thick body colored "O" ring behind the grip where it would otherwise contact the translucent plastic body. I assume that the "O" ring is there to protect the plastic upper body from damage due to over tightening the end cap/lead sleeve up against the grip. This could possibly happen as the end cap/lead sleeve thread onto plastic, not metal. There is a two step brass ring on the lower body under the grip acting as a fitting, snugging the grip up to the plastic.

I was also pleased to find that there was a clean out rod under the eraser! Since this was my first Pilot drafting pencil I was not sure if I would find one or not! Then while looking over stuff at JetPens I discovered that Pilot actually sells clean out rods! They are sold with 5 replacement erasers in a small plastic box! They are sold like this for 3 different pencils one of them being the S Series line of drafting pencils! I was so intrigued that I had to buy a pack even though I never use the eraser that comes with drafting pencils.
The erasers themselves do not have clean out rods with them, the one from under the original eraser must be used. But the 2 clean out rods that come with the set of erasers are stand alone clean out rods, the first that I've ever seen that are commercially made! They are 28.4 mm long and one is for 0.3 & 0.4 mm pencils while the other is for 0.5, 0.7 & 0.9 mm pencils. They are looped at one end to form a handle. They are excellent little clean out rods, my hat's off to Pilot for making them and to JetPens for selling them!



I guess it's time for some stats! I know you all have been waiting for them so here they are! The pencil is 145.3 mm long, 10.4 mm in diameter at the widest point (the top of the grip), weights 20.3 grams and has a balance point 98.5 mm from the push button. This makes the pencil bottom heavy, which I like! It takes only 2 clicks to produce enough lead to write with, as I've said before, a feature that I really like.

The pencil breaks down into 6 major parts and 2 minor ones. They are the lead sleeve/end cap, the grip, the amber colored body with integral lead reservoir/3-jawed chuck assembly, the removable pocket clip, the push button/lead grade indicator and the eraser. The brass fitting and rubber "O"ring are on the outside of the body. The grip is tapered so it goes onto the pencil only one way. The grip is finely checkered with 4 grooved rings,equally spaced, at the working end of the pencil and is made of chrome plated brass. The fine checkering aids greatly in holding the pencil, being not too sharp. The end cap/lead sleeve is also satin finished brass with a 4 mm fixed stainless steel lead sleeve. In nice silver print on the side of the pencil are the company logo, The words,"PILOT", "0.3", "S-10" and "S-SERIES". Just below the satin silver tone pocket clasp are the words "PILOT JAPAN B2" raised in the plastic. That's it for the stats!

The last surprise the S10 had in store for me was how good it feels in my had and how well it writes! It's girth, weight and long checkered grip make the S10 a dream to write with! It's rock steady in my hand and steers effortlessly across the paper. Combined with it's stylish good looks the Pilot S10 0.3 mm drafting pencils is a real winner in my book! I'll give it a 5 out of 5 stars!

The Pilot S10 Series Drafting Pencils as well as the eraser refills and clean out rods are available from our friends at JetPens.

TouchMatic Eraser Refills

I got an e-mail notice from JetPens the other day that the E-Knock erasers were back in stock. I ordered some refills and 1 complete eraser, in blue. They arrived Saturday. Upon inspection I discovered that the E-Knock and the TouchMatic were almost identical twins. The only real difference (besides one being transparent and the other opaque) was that the push button end caps were different. The end cap on the TouchMatic is solid while the end cap on the E-Knock has 4 vents in the top. It also locks in with a snap. The TouchMatic's is held in by friction. The push buttons and nozzles are however interchangeable.

So, after all these years, I now have a source for refills for my beloved TouchMatic. Way to go Mitsubishi and JetPens.

From TouchMatic To E-Knock

Long time ago, so long I forget just when, It was after I was married so it couldn't be over 21 years ago but I don't believe it was that long ago so I must have been married a while... I digress, the prerogative of an Old Geezer. Anyway my lovely wife and I were at the closing of an office supply store and among the great things I found to buy were a dozen Faber Castell Touchmatic erasers. These little gems have a black barrel and the skinny plastic stick eraser comes out when I click the barrel's top button, just like a drafting pencil. I really like them because the plastic eraser is thinner than a normal stick type eraser. That reminds me, remember the days of the peel down stick erasers? Ah, you're probably to young to remember such things. Anyway I used these nice erasers with abandon because I liked them so much. Then, way to late, I discovered that they were no longer available (at least under the TouchMatic label). This was sad, very sad indeed...

Over the years I tried every now and again to find them on the Internet but to no avail. Not one trace of them was to be found. I had all but given up hope of ever finding them again. Sad when all hope is lost... Then I was looking at the JetPens web site the other day. I was browsing the "New Arrivals" (yes, all 2140 of them) when I cam across a very curious item. It was an eraser by uni-ball called an E-Knock. They offer 4 clear plastic barrels each with a different colored accent and a package or 3 refills. The closer I looked the surer I was that this offering was indeed the reincarnation of my beloved TouchMatic erasers! Joy of joys! Be still my beating heart! (Believe me at my age it's not too good to have a heart racing that fast!).

As cute as the eraser pens were I was most interested in the refills. They were 3 for $1.50 US. I was all set to order a few dozen packages (but I'm sure that my lovely wife would have let me order only a couple of packages) when I went to the eraser section of the JetPens website. There only to discover to my utter horror that they were all-sold-out! How could this be! What kind of cruel joke has fate played on me? Is this to be my lot in life? To always want and to never have? So I did the only reasonable thing a man in my position could do... I put in a request to be notified by e-mail when JetPens gets in new stock. By then I may have the 3 bucks necessary for the purchase.