Faber Castell Grip Matic automatic mechanical pencil review

 One of the more budget friendly mechanical pencils from Faber Castell is the Grip Matic 1375/1377, made in China.

The pencil is made entirely out of plastic with the exception of the tip cone which is metallic.

The pencil can be bought with 0.5 or 0.7 lead size. It has a translucent body that comes in several colors and a rubberized grip for comfort and ease of use. Until recently the pencil was available in 3 colors, blue, green and red. Now you can also pick it up in sky blue which is a frosted grey blue look and 

The clip has a nice design but is made out of plastic. I would be careful with it.

As in other pencils Faber Castell implemented a twist eraser, just that in this budged model the eraser is fixed while the sleeve covering it moves up and down as you twist it. Uncovering or covering the eraser.

The main attraction of the pencil besides the price is the automatic lead advancing mechanism.

The plastic sleeve is spring loaded which besides the fact it protects the lead exposing just a little bit, it can advance the lead with each push. When you write and apply a small amount of pressure on the sleeve and release it, the lead will be propelled forward. This makes the pencil great for long writing, note taking. It is a real workhorse, great for school, or writing for longer periods of time. The plastic sleeve slides quite well on paper, so you do not feel much drag. 

You can also fully retract the tip of the pencil thus making it pocket safe (for the pockets and for the tip).

Taken from the Faber Castell website:
"The lead in the Grip Matic mechanical pencil is advanced automatically, no button-pressing necessary. The comfortable rubber grip zone makes writing a pleasure. Choose between two line thicknesses: the 0.7mm lead for particularly break-resistant writing or the 0.5mm lead for fine writing. The Grip Matic is available in 3 attractive translucent colours, each equipped with a twist-out eraser in the end cap. The lead can of course be fully retracted so it can be carried in pocket" 

In the meantime the color range has increased with two new colors the sky blue and black, but the text available on Faber Castell website remained the same. 

 

Here is my farely used blue grip matic next to the new arrival the sky blue

2025 color additions to the Rotring Tikky and Rotring 600 lines

2025 comes with new available colors for rOtring 600 and for rOtring Tikky.

The 600 has very conservative colors, Chocolate Truffle and Dark Stone.

These colors are a reinterpretation of the traditional burgundy and black, which are interesting and a welcomed addition to the line.

Also rOtring launched the 600 gel pen in 2025 for those that prefer gel. But they are available for the moment only in the traditional black and silver color.

While Tikky has as we got accustomed to a bright color pallet. the 2025 colors are Iris, Spidermum, Magenta and Marigold. Even though we are accustomed to the bright and variate colors, the naming is a surprise. Spidermum and Marigold?!