The rOtring 500 0.3 mm in Black

The rOting 500 is the middle pencil between the 300 and the 600.  While all 3 pencils share a similar appearance the 500 looks more like the 600 than the 300.  In fact side by side there is only the designation on the side of the pencils and the shininess of the 500's plastic barrel that gives it away.  That and the fact that the lettering on the LGI in the top end of the pencil is silver, on the 600 it's white and the rings between the red one are silver, not black.  But at a glance or to the uninitiated it looks like a 600.

But when you take a look at the insides of each pencil they appear nothing alike.  The 500 breaks down into 5 major components.  The metal end cap/grip/lead sleeve.  The body, which contains the 3 jawed clutch and ratcheting mechanism as well as the lead reservoir .  And finally the eraser and the push button.  The 600 breaks down into 5 major components as well, but very differently. The breaks down into the end cap/grip/lead sleeve.  When you unscrew the end cap the 3-jawed clutch, ratcheting mechanism, lead reservoir, eraser and push button all follow.  The interior must be unscrewed from the end cap/grip/lead sleeve next.  The eraser and push button are the only remaining parts to  remove.

The interior of the 500 is an integral part of the body.  This is a simple design as the body is modeled to accept the mechanism.  The down side to this type of design is that repairers can not be made to the interior of the mechanism.  This is construction that I would have expected of the 300 as it is such a basic, inexpensive way to make a mechanical pencil.  The 300 has a removable tip as the grip is made into the body.  But it has a mechanism and lead reservoir that are piratically removable.  Only the larger diameter metal tube on the end of the clear plastic reservoir prevents it from being fully removed.  But I am sure that this can be overcome if repairs were needed.

The 600 is made entirely different than either the 300 or 500.   It has both a metal body and metal tip/grip/lead sleeve.  The 3-jawed clutch and the rest of the mechanism is metal surrounded by a white plastic fixture..  Even the lead reservoir is metal.  But the 600 is a top of the line pencil and high quality construction should be expected.  So since the 500 is a more expensive pencil than the 300 I would expect a better construction method.   Even if it is less expensive than the 600 I still ecpected something closer to the 600's construction.

I will say this for the 500's construction. The design does give the pencil strength. Often the weak point of a plastic barreled drafting pencil is where the grip meets the body. Too much pressure during usage can over time stress this area to the point where it cracks and often breaks off completely. Most often than not this can not be repaired satisfactorily. The 500's design helps prevent this by being stronger at the joint because of the fact the mechanism is housed there.

Top to Bottom:  The 600, the 300 and the 500

All that aside the rOting 500 is still a good pencil and a good choice for someone who wants a an intermediate level pencil.  So on that note I offer you the stats.  The over all length is 141 mm.  The body diameter is 7.5 mm across the flats and 8 mm across the points.  The grip is 7.5 mm in diameter and does not taper.  The grip length is 30 mm and the tip length is 12 mm.  The balance point is 68 mm from the tip making the 500 a tiny bit top heavy.  The total weight is 13.4 grams.  Aside from the lead sleeve and the 2 silver rings above and below the red ring at the LGI the pencil is entirely black with red lettering.  The LGI is silver letters on a black background.  The removable pocket clip has the rOting logo stamped into the upper portion.  the closed push button has the lead size stamped on it's top.  All in all a good looking light weight 0.3 mm drafting/writing pencil.

Some people prefer a pencil of a specific weight and balance point.  But I seem to like a variety of weights and balance points.  So I get along with a lot of different pencils.  But the 500 is an almost happy median.   It's not to skinny nor too fat.  It's light weight which makes it easy to use all day.  It doesn't try and go it's own way as some pencils do.  The top heaviness of the 500 is not felt due, I think, to it's light weight.  The pencil is not delicate either.  0.3 mm pencils have a tendency to break lead.   This is caused by the lead not fitting the lead sleeve tight enough.  The lead tends to wobble inside the lead sleeve so when in turning the pencil as you write the point of the lead catches the paper and digs in.  The lead has too much room to move around so it flexes.  When it flexes, it breaks.  With the lead is held tight in the lead sleeve (and not over extended) it has not room to flex and so it tends not to break.  This is a quality of every rOtring that I have as well as another high quality pencil, the German and Japanese versions of the Koh-I-Noor Rapidomatic.  This comes as no surprise as rOtring once owned Koh-I-Noor.

Last words:  The rOtring 500 is a well made, decent drafting pencil.  It is a medium weight class drafting pencil.  It has good balance and does not fight me when I write with it.  It's diameter is, for me, just at the low end of what fits well in my hand.  Both the plastic barrel and nicely knurled grip are good gripping surfaces.  The pencil rests well in my fat little hands* and I can easily turn it as I write.  The pocket clip is removable, so people who like to remove them from their pencils so the end of the clip doesn't dig into the web of their hand when the pencil is turned can do so.  I collect the pencils I blog about so don't remove mine.

The 500 only comes in black.  Maybe one day they will make them in silver, but I doubt it.  The 500 is a handsome pencil in black, and black is slimming, but the problem that I have with black pencils is that they show up every piece of bust and lint that falls on them.  Worse, the knurled metal grips catch the loose skin of the fingers, as well as dirt, dust and grime, and quickly begin to look grey.  Using a soft bristled  tooth brush and some soap and water can remove this but repeatedly doing this wears off the finish, points first.  Then it looks even worse.  This is why I like silver pencils or at least silver metal grips on colored plastic bodies.

So if you want a nice drafting pencil for under $20.00 for the 0.3 mm and under $15.00 for the 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm models then the rOtring 500 just may be the pencil that you are looking for.

The rOtring 500 is no longer made in 0.3 mm, just why I'm not sure, but while supplies last you can fined them on-line at jetpens.com.

(* I have slightly fatish hands, but this is not why I asterisked the word hands.  The web of a persons hand can be measured from the crease at the base of the index finger to the base of the thumb.  People like me who have a short web are said to have "small hands" while those whose web is longer are said to have "big hands".  The placement on the thumb on the side of the hand determines the length of the hands web.  My fingers are actually slightly longer than my lovely wife's, but because her thumb is a lot further down the side of her hand, closer to her wist, the web of her hand is longer.  The length of the web of the hand does have an effect on how you hold a pencil and where the pocket clip hits your hand, if at all.  So please bear this is in mind when considering the purchase of any pencil or pen.)

Pentel GraphGear 1000, "The Hunchback" in 0.3mm

For the longest time I avoided buying this pencil because I did not like the look of the pocket clip. It reminds me of Quasimodo, the hunchback in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Not that hunchbacks can't be beautiful people. They can. I even have a figment that's a hunchback and he's, eh, bad example. Let's just say that it looked odd to me and let it go at that. (Man! You've got to be "politically correct" about everything now-a-days or you'll offend somebody somewhere!). I thought that it was made as it is so that the user could clip the pencil to a notebook full of paper or onto a jeans pocket, you know, something thick. While it can do this it is not the pocket clips main purpose. More about that later.

One thing I noticed about the Pentel GraphGear 1000 it that the exterior is metal while the interior is mostly plastic. Most pencils that are called "all-metal" are made from brass because brass is easy to machine. It is also strong enough to be used in the making of a drafting pencil. The actual lead sleeve is usually made of stainless steel because a brass tube that small would easily crush and bend. It is also softer thus prone to wear. However the Pentel GraphGear 1000s exterior is made of steel or stainless steel! I'm starting to be impressed.

The advantage of using steel/stainless steel in a drafting pencils construction is that steel is stronger than brass or aluminum. It takes a lot more pressure to bend a small tube of steel/stainless steel than it does of brass or aluminum. You can also make the skin of a pencil thinner. The trade off may be that the pencil is now heavier than one made of brass or aluminum, but not always. The GraphGear 1000 weighs 20.6 grams approximately while a rotring 600, which is made almost entirely of brass, weighs 22.7 grams approximately. The weight savings is achieved by using a plastic inner core for most of the pencil.

Steel and some stainless steels are magnetic. About the only metal parts of the GraphGear 1000 that are not magnetic are the push button, the lead reservoir (interior) and the lead sleeve (interior and exterior). These parts are most likely stainless steel with a low or no carbon content. The pocket clip is high carbon steel chrome plated. All the steel/stainless steel parts have been coated or plated to achieve the desired finish and for durability. I'm even more impressed now.

Now, about that pocket clip... The pencil is designed so that the lead sleeve is retractable. The obvious benefit of this is that the 4.5mm lead sleeve won't be poking you in the chest and/or ruining your good shirts (dried blood is hard to get out of some fabrics). The designers of the GraphGear 1000 decided to spring load the lead reservoir, of which the lead sleeve is attached, wrap a big coil spring around it and use the spring loaded pocket clip as a stop and release button.

There are 2 cutouts in the body of the pencil, near the top. The pocket clip has a leaf spring attached to it which extends down into the top cutout. The end is attached to a short metal tube which is held in place by the stepped ring just above the pocket clip. The other end of the pocket clip rests on a short plastic tube surrounding the metal lead reservoir. As the push button atop the pencil is pressed the entire lead reservoir is moved down pushing the leas sleeve out the tip of the pencil. When the end of the pocket clip slips over the end of the short plastic tube it locks the lead reservoir in place, with the lead sleeve extended. Further presses of the push button simply extend more lead.

Parts of the Pentel GraphGear 1000

To release the lead reservoir and retract the lead sleeve all one does is press the top of the pocket clip towards the pencil.  The plastic tube inside is released and the lead sleeve is retracted with a snap.  Not a bad way to extend and hide the lead sleeve.  It is certainly quicker than the twist/screw system of the Ohto Super Promechas.  The weak point in this design is the leaf spring in the top of the pocket clip.  Heavy usage of the pencil over a long, long, long time could cause the leaf spring to fail.  But I don't think that if I were a young man of 20 again and I used the pencil every day for long periods I think that now that I am a man of advanced years the pencil would still be going strong.

So, what are some of the other features of this nice pencil?  Well, there is a lead grade indicator window in the grip.  To set the desired lead grade (as long as the grade of lead you are using is 2H, H, HB, B or 2B, the full range of available lead grades on the circumference of the pencil) all you have to do is to hold the pencil at the colored band between the grip and the body.  Next loosen the tip just a little.  Now turn the grip until the window is showing the lead grade of choice.  Then hold the pencil as before and tighten the tip.  Simple, no?  The grip features some almost useless knurling, useless because it has very little grip.  The silicone ovals serve a little better of a grip surface.  In my opinion the knurling needs to be a bit sharper and the silicone ovals larger and perhaps protrude a little more.  I'm not so impressed with the grip.

The overall appearance of the pencil is pleasing, except for the pocket clip.  The lettering on the barrel and push button is crisp and clean.  However the lettering on the lead grade indicator is not.  It appears smudged.  The satin tip and grainy barrel are a nice contrast with the light catching knurling being in between.  The pocket clip, stepped collar and the push button are bright chrome.  I would say that it's a pretty pencil except for that hunchback appearance.

One long push of the push button extends the lead sleeve.  Two more presses extend enough lead to use.  The mechanism is noisy, the initial press of the push button and the release of the lead sleeve are especially loud and the pressing of the push button to extend lead is very clanky and mechanical sounding.

The GraphGear 1000 brakes down further than most drafting pencils.  But I do not recommend that the average user strip the pencil as far as it will go as putting it back together could result is breakage.  However in order to clear a lead jam you will have to take off the tip as well as the lead sleeve.  To do this, initially hold the pencil as described in the section on adjusting the lead grade indicator.  Once the tip is loose hold the body only as the grip now turns freely.  Once the tip and grip have been removed remove the lead sleeve by unscrewing it.  Surprisingly Pentel has included a clean out rod attached to the underside of the eraser.  It is accessed by removing the push button.  Remember to replace the push button before tiling up the pencil or you will spill out the lead.  Once the lead jam has been cleared (see the section of my blog on how to clear a lead jam) reassemble the pencil.

Breakdown of the GraphGear 1000 for Claring a Lead Jam

Stats.  Where would we be without the stats?  The pencil is 148.5 mm extended, 149 mm retracted. The balance point is 79 mm from the end of the lead sleeve (I did not measure it retracted as what difference does it make?).  The grip is 43.5 mm in length and the end of the pencil is 20.5 mm extended and 16 mm retracted.  The body is 8.5 mm across and the grip 9.5 mm across.  As stated before the weight is 20.6 grams (all measurements are approximate).  It's a nice medium length, middle weight pencil.

My experience writing with the pencil is less than satisfactory.  The reason being is that I could not get a good grip on the thing.  As I wrote my hand actually slipped down the grip!  I only purchased this pencil because I received a gift certificate from JetPens.com, the best Internet store for the purchase of Japanese stationary and art items, including drafting and mechanical pencils.  It is a very rare thing for me to write that while the Pentel GrafGear 1000 has some nice features they do not out weigh, in my opinion, the negatives the pencil has.  So I can not recommend the purchase of this particular pencil.

But hey, it's only my opinion and what do I know?...

This and many other fine Japanese stationary items can be found at jetpens.com.  Why not pay them a visit right now?

Thanks for reading my blog.


Editors note:  I have seen where the style of pocket clip as featured on my pencil has broken.  The new style has a hinge system in its place.  If you purchase one of these in any lead sixe be sure it has the newer hinge style pocket clip.　　

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.

rotring rapid PRO: Black vs Silver



Click to see scalable pic 

Everyone has their favorite.  I know that I do.  I'm sure that you do, too!  And everyone thinks that their choice is the best.  And they are right.  From their point of view that is.  We all have our reasons for choosing our favorite and each has it's own merit.  Sometimes our choice is not so much wrong as inappropriate.  Maybe it's the occasion, maybe it's the season, maybe simply it's just all wrong at the moment for whatever reason.  But when it comes to which rotring rapid Pro to choose, well there just isn't a "right" or "wrong" or a "good" or "bad" choice!  Whichever one you might choose you have made the "perfect" choice for you.

When it comes to elegance there are few colors (or lack thereof) that can top black. There is just something mysterious and alluring about the color black that always makes us look twice!  Especially something satin black, like the rotring rapid PRO in satin black. Pure black does not reflect light, it absorbs it.  But few things are pure black, like space.  Even so it's hard to see details of something black.  This is what makes a black object so alluring and mysterious.

Now when you want to be noticed right away, if you want to show some bling, then the metallic colors is the way to go and silver, white gold and platinum are very hard to beat when it comes to flash, sparkle and bling!  An object in a bright metal color stands out like nothing else can!  You can see it and make out details clean across the room!  Such a color is in-your-face and makes the bold statement, "I am here!  Deal with it!"  Unlike black, which sets in the background, awaiting to lure you in, Silver tones announce their intentions!

OK, so much for the romantic verbiage.  Lets get down to some hard facts about the rotring rapid PRO, shall we?  In either satin black of two tone silver this is a pencil that demands respect.   Made of solid brass then coated in either a black or silver finish (just what process is used I have been unable to discover nor can I find out just what the coating is.  Often metals are plated with another metal so the surface can be treated with a process that the underlying metal can not be treated with.  Often the coating is aluminum which can be anodized or heavy anodized a variety of different colors or treated in another fashion).  The satin black finish has an ever so slightly rougher texture to it than does the satin finish of the silver model.

However, to my delicate and sensitive finger tips, (stop laughing), the teeth on the grip of the silver model feel just a tad sharper than those on it's ebony brother.  This is probably due to the heavier coating on the black pencil.  Personally I prefer the sharper teeth as they afford me a better grip.  My finger tips may not be delicate but they are certainly not grizzled with calluses and they are still sensitive enough to feel the difference between the two grip surfaces.  This is one reason that I prefer the silver finish over the black.  Some of the others are it's over all look and the fact that minor scratches tend not to show up as well as they do on the black pencil.

One thing that I have noticed regardless of the color of the pencil and that's dirt in the grip's teeth.  I happen to think that knurling, also called cross hatching, is a very effective way to achieve a good gripping surface on the grip of a mechanical pencil.  But (there's always a but), it's also the worst surface to keep clean. 

The points, a natural product of the cross hatching, scrape the surface of the skin, pulling off dead skin every time the grip is touched.  This dead skin lodges in the grooves created by the Knurling process and build up.  The result is an ugly discolored grip!  While it's bad on a silver or gold tone grip, it's worse on a black or dark grey colored grip.  On the lighter pencils the discoloration dulls the luster of the metal and on the darker colors it lightens them up and makes the points look worn.

There are ways of cleaning this disgusting stuff out of the grooves of the grip.  One effective way is to brush it away using a short, stiff bristled brush and some alcohol.  From a hardware store purchase a good quality "acid" brush.  This is a natural fiber brush with bristles 1-1/2" long and has a sheet steel handle rolled into a tube.  A good quality brush can cost $1.00 or more.  The bristles are thin enough to get into the grooves of the grip but they are too long!  Carefully, using a good pair of fabric shears, cut the bristles down to 1/2" long.  A good straight cut is what you want.  From a drug store or department store purchase a bottle of 91% isopropyl  alcohol (rubbing alcohol).  70% is the most common strength for isopropyl alcohol is 71% so you may have to 91% it at a drug store. The higher the percentage the more alcohol and less water in the solution.  More is better!  You will also need a lint free cloth, like a man's cotton bandanna, washed several times to remove the sizing.  DO NOT use fabric softener when cleaning and drying the bandanna as the chemicals in the softener retard the bandanna's ability to absorb liquids.

Make sure that the newly made cleaning brush is clean and has not been used for anything else.  Pour a small amount of 91% isopropyl alcohol into a small disposable container.  Dip the cleaning brush in the alcohol and clean the brush using a paper towel.  Remove the grip from the pencil and set the rest of the pencil aside.  Hold the grip in a fold of the bandanna between thumb and forefinger of your opposite hand then dip the brush in the alcohol.  With a sweeping motion and traveling along one set of grooves, using medium pressure and turning the grip in the opposite direction, brush the alcohol into the grooves of the grip.   Be sure not to touch the metal of the pencil with the metal of the brush or you could scratch the finish!  You may have to use a light scrubbing  action to remove old, stubborn crud from the grip.  Use the bandanna to dry the grip.  Then check it to see if the grip is clean.  If not, repeat the procedure in the stubborn area until it's clean.  Be very careful not to over clean as this can damage the finish.

Cleaning my leave the finish on the grip clean, but dull.  To shine it up a tad, apply a liberal coating of Armor All on a cotton swab until the entire grip is coated in the milky white stuff.  Then use the bandanna to dry the grip by simply rolling it in the folds of the bandanna.  Do Not dry all the Armor All off the grip.  Allow some to dry.  This will give the metal a shine of satin look in some cases. Do not clean the grip too often as this will help erode the finish more quickly!

So, the choice is yours.  Elegant Black or Stunning Silver.  Either way you can't go wrong when picking a rotring rapid Pro as your instrument of expression!

Thanks ever so much to our friends at JetPens.com.com for the pencils used in this post.

Platinum Pro Use MSD 1500A

The Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500A is the Pentacle of my Platinum Pro Use collection.  With the gifting of this pencil I now own all 4 Platinum Pro Use Drafting pencils, in 0.3 mm. I have only blogged (so far) about the Platinum Pro Use MSD-1000A.  As I get back into the swing of things I will review the other 2, which are on the lower end of Platinum's line.

I was struck by the pencils odd hypodermicesk look it has about it.  In that I mean that it has a rather bulbous grip that suddenly and sharply becomes the tip and lead sleeve!  The gradual narrowing of the body at the pocket clip does nothing to belie this mental image!  Neither does it's lack of stature!  Yes my readers, the Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500A is a shorty!  At 128 mm  it falls shot of it's cousins stature of 143.3 mm!  It is also larger in girth being 11 mm in diameter at the widest point on the grip.  It's also heavier than the MSD-1000A, coming in a t21.9 grams compared to the MSD-1000A's mere 16.1 grams. The chubby pencil's balance point (from lead sleeve) is 62 mm making it 4 mm's  top heavy, but you'd never know it!  There!  I've gotten the stats out of the way!  Important as they may be, they are still stats and still boring (well, to some they're boring).

While being fat and stubby (honestly, it's the shortest drafting pencil in my collection) it is far from being ugly!  In fact, I find the Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500A  rather attractive.  If you take a real good look at the MSD-1500A, I man an in depth look, then you see the true beauty of the design.  First, like the other high end Platinum, the MSD-1000A this pencil has had quite a bit of thought put into it.  It's form is really elegant and sensual!  It's not only pleasing to the eye but to the touch as well.  The anodized satin finish is high tech and a pleasure for the fingers and hand.  Unlike many drafting pencils it has no rough edges or sharp corners.  Nothing to cause an unpleasant sensation to the skin.  I just keep running my fingers over the surface as I'm typing!

Despite the almost teflonest surface the MSD-1500A is surprisingly easy to hold mostly due to the design of the grip.  It has 8 rings that are approximately 4 mm apart.  The base of each ring (pointing downward) is larger than the top.  This gives the appearance of trapezoidal rings stacked atop one another.  The edges are nicely curved and for me the grip provides a surprising nice surface to hold onto!  The slimming of the upper body at the pocket clip has a unique function in that the curve falls right at the web of my hand and helps nestle the pencil in my hand thus keeping it in place while I write.  Due to it's light weight (it is made mostly of aluminum, not brass) and it's near center-of-pencil balance point the MSD-1500A is a pleasure to hold and to write or draw with.

 

Something else that enhances the pleasure of writing with the MSD-1500A is the fact that the protruding lead has very little movement within the stainless steel lead sleeve.  This helps give the pencil a more solid feel when in use.  The pencils rock solid construction is another factor in giving the user such an in control feel when using the pencil.  The tip body, grip, lead grade indicator ring, upper body, pocket clip retainer and push button are made of aluminum while the lead sleeve is made of stainless steel and the pocket clip is made of spring steel.  The tolerances are such that the pencil fits together very well and all the parts seat solidly and stay that way.  Dear readers, this is a very well constructed pencil.  Impressed yet?  I am!

The Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500A breaks down into 8 separate components/sub assemblies.  The are (A) the tip/lead sleeve, (B) the lead indicator ring, (C) the grip/clutch assembly/lead reservoir, (D) the main body sleeve, (E) the pocket clip, (F) the pocket clip retainer, (G) the eraser and (H) the push button. The tip/lead sleeve unscrews and the lead grade indicator slips off it.  The  push button is removed then the upper body sleeve can be unscrewed and removed.  The pocket clip retainer can be unscrewed and the pocket clip removed and the eraser can be removed.  In order to fill the lead reservoir simply remove the push button and the eraser.  In order to clear a lead jam it is necessary to remove the tip and the lead grade indicator ring, which can easily be lost as it is a simple ring with indication notch.  It is not threaded.

However, the MSD-1500A DOES NOT come with a clean out rod!  This is one of my pet peeves and it, to me, is a mar on an otherwise excellent pencil.  I'm also not a fan of the erasers that come with drafting pencils.  Originally the first mechanical drafting pencils did not come with an eraser at all!  However there is a solution to  both problems.  JetPens.com sells erasers for the MSD-1500A and they sell some thing unique in the world of drafting pencils.  Pilot makes 3 different packets of 5 erasers for some of their pencils that also contain 2 stand alone clean out rods.  One for 0.3 mm to 0.4 mm and one for 0.5 mm to 0.9mm lead sizes.  The HERFS-10 set contains 5 erasers that will fit the Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500A as well as the 2 aforementioned clean out rods.  This is a better buy in my opinion.  For detailed instructions on how to clear a lead jam from the tip of a drafting pencil see the link "All Jammed Up" at the top left of this blog.

One feature of the MSD-1500A is it's uniquely designed and placed Lead Grade Indicator.  The LGI is located on the tip of the pencil.  The grades are impressed on the body of the tip and the open base of a triangular notch in the LGI ring is set to the lead grade being used. The LGI is not easily set with fingers such as mine while trying to screw the tip back on the pencil while holding the notch base on the lead grade in use.  So what I ended up having to do is use a wooden toothpick as a sort of pry tool.  By placing it in the "V" shaped notch  in the LGI ring at an angle perpendicular to the pencil, I maneuvered the notch into position above the selected lead grade.  To me this is a minor annoyance but it does detract from the pencils overall grade.  But then again, how often does one change the grade of lead one uses?

Let's see, have I missed anything?  Oh yeah!  It takes only 2 pushes of the button to advance enough lead to write/draw with which is nice.  The mechanism is a little noisy and has a definite metallic sound.  The lead reservoir is cavernous but like most mechanical pencils of it's type the Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500Afeeds best with a half dozen pieces of lead or fewer.  The pencil is available in one color/finish, satin Aluminum and 3 lead sizes, 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm.  It and all the linked items in this review are available from out friends at JetPens.com.


Over all I am impressed with the Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500A.  It is a unique, good looking design, attractively finished, well designed and constructed.  The 2 issues I have with the pencil are minor and do not detract from the pencils over all appeal.  In fact, I believe that the pencil would make a fine addition to any collection of fine mechanical/drafting pencils.  It would also be an excellent choice as a writing/drawing instrument.  So if you are in the market for a high end, but not terribly expensive mechanical/drafting pencil then you should consider the Platinum Pro Use MSD-1500 series of pencils.  Thanks for reading.

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!  0.3 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 for 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.

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

uni Kuru Toga Family of Mechanical Pencils

Some years ago Mitsubishi came out with a unique pencil under the uni (uni-ball) label.  They called it the Kuru Toga, meaning auto rotation pencil.  The idea was a simple one, rotate the lead in the pencil rather than having the user rotate the pencil in order to keep the end of the lead, where it contacts the paper, from ovaling, or flattening, out.  When the lead ovals out the line it produces is wider than the actual diameter of the lead itself.  The lead also ends up with a sharp angular point that causes the lead to dig into the paper, when the pencil id rotated, and breaks the lead.  This is especially true with small diameter leads like 0.5 mm and 0.3 mm.  Draftsmen once were taught to rotate the pencil in their hand as they drew a line to give the lead a conical point and avoid lead breakage.  However with so many of us using drafting pencils and mechanical pencils designed like drafting pencils to write with the draftsman's technique does not work.  But the ratcheting mechanism of the Kuru Toga does.

Basically the mechanism works much like the mechanism that operates a  "click" style pen.  Teeth in a clutch, under spring tension, hold the tip in place until pressure is put on the tip, such as what happens when one puts pencil to paper.  The clutch releases, rotates the lead a small degree the reengages, much like when one presses the push button on a "click" style pen.  As one writes the constant pressing and releasing of the lead to the paper causes a continual flow of energy to the Kuru Toga engine, rotating the lead continually, giving it and keep a conical point.  The result is less lead breakage and a written line with a diameter less than the actual diameter of the lead.  Thus a 0.5 mm pencil delivers close to a 0.3 mm line and a 0.3 mm pencil close to a 0.2 mm line.  Brilliant!

0.5 mm version

The original Kuru Toga was an almost entirely plastic pencil with a metal tip cover and a clear grip.  The grip was clear so the user could see the auto rotating mechanism in action and be amazed at the brilliance of Japanese engineering!  Or something like that.  The tip cover has a rubber ring around it to enhance the grip of the pencil.  This pencil was first offered in 0.5 mm only, then later in 0.5 mm and 0.3 mm.

0.3 mm version

But the pencil, as awesome as the design was, is as inelegant as it is functional.  Enter the High Grade.  This was the next phase in the Kuru Toga line.  It featured a more elegant looking and smaller diameter upper body as well as a metal pocket clip and more traditional mushroom style push button.  A metal conical ring separates the upper body from the lower, which retains much the same shape as the original Kuru Toga.  Only the clear grip is now opaque, being a sliver/white silken plastic with a small "port hole" window with which to view the rotation Kuru Toga Symbol.  The tip cap was also redesigned, being slightly longer with a tighter fitting rubber grip ring.



High Grade version

This was a major improvement over the original Kuru Toga as far as athletics goes. The auto rotation engine was unchanged in the High Grade.  There was no real reason to change it.  It works so why mess with it in order to make it slightly slimmer?  Or perhaps the design had reached it'd limits miniaturization wise while being made from plastic and using other materials may have not been cost effective!  Who knows?  This design may have been the final version had it not been for, in my opinion, the grip!

The grip retained the original shape and size as the original Kuru Toga, which in itself is not a bad thing.  The bad thing is the material it is made of and it's lack of any knurled surfaces makes the High Grades grip less effective than the original!  I personally find the grip hard to hold.  The pencil has a tendency to ride up in my hand making it hard to write with.  I have little idea as to why they chose the material they did to make the grip from.  It almost feels like a hard silicon grip!  Had they made the grip from a less slick material or had they put some type of knurling on the grip then the design may have reached it's peak.

Enter the Roulette.  This is what the High Grade should have been.  The upper body of the Roulette is the same as the High Grade, but in silver, and so is the tip cover.  The big difference between the two pencils is the grip.  Here they finally got it right.  The grip of the Roulette is made from aluminum and is a straight barrel with 3 wide knurled rings at the bottom of the grip where it meets the tip cover.

Roulette version

The knurled rings add a considerable amount of gripping surface to the pencil.  I find the Roulette by far the easiest Kuru Toga to grip and write with.  I really like mine and I use it all he time.  Up until the Roulette my "go to" pencil had been a Pentel P203 0.3 mm pencil.  But like all 0.3 mm pencils, the lead still breaks too often.  I really can not recall the 0.5 mm lead breaking on me while using the Roulette with the proper amount of lead extended.  So the Kuru Toga Roulette has now become my "go to" pencil.

Other than athletics the Kuru Toga family of mechanical pencils all share the same auto rotation engine.  The also share the same low capacity, hard to feed lead into lead reservoir!  Lead has to be fed into the reservoir one-piece-at-a-time and the reservoir fills up fast (well as fast as it can being fed one lead at time).  They also share the same basic take down.

The push button comes off, the eraser pulls out, the tip cover unscrews and the lead sleeve/tip pops off.  The lead sleeve/tips and tip covers are different between the two basic pencil designs and so is the end of the pencils where the tips/lead sleeves and tip covers fit.  The erasers and push button/eraser covers also are completely different.  So of the 4 removable parts none are interchangeable between the 2 designs.

Bottom line is that while all the Kuru Togas have their fine points, my favorite by far is the Roulette, for reasons already stated.  However the roulette may not be, and I'm sure that it isn't, every ones favorite Kuru Toga.  The best way to find out which one is best suited to you, the reader, try each one out and see which one fits you best.

The Old Geezer