How many leads should you keep in a mechanical pencil

How many leads should I store in my mechanical pencil, is a question that I ask myself regularly. Well maybe not as often, or not at all, but why not find out.

Depending, from where you get your information, you will find out that you can store as many leads as you want or there is a strict number that you should put in two or three pieces at most.

The main worry with keeping more leads inside the pencil is that the leads will break and produce fine dust which will clog the pencil eventually, the mechanism will jam, or the leads will be unusable due to breakage.

Rotring in the product care states that you should refill with two or three leads. "We recommend refilling your pencil with 3 fine leads. It’s the best balance for longer use without creating too much dust inside the tube due to an overload of refills."

Staedtler for example, doesn't mention the number of leads that you should keep inside your pencil, but the refill is designed to dump the entire content in one go. "Simple “12-a-go" refilling for many Staedtler mechanical pencils such as Mars micro 775 and graphite 779"

I do believe that the producers of pencils are taking all the needed precautions in advising you to keep just a few leads inside.

At the same time, I have a feeling that the leads have improved a lot over the years. The resistance is a lot better, while the quality of the writing (line darkness and smoothness) remained the same if not improved over time. A good argument for my opinion is the lack of the needle that used to be present in all mechanical pencil erasers, used to clear clogs in the advance mechanism,. Nowadays, the needle is missing basically from all modern mechanical pencils. Some producers still keep it around, but it is more and more a rarity.

To see if the recommendations are still valid today, I will do a test for a 4 week with two Rotring Tikky III 0.5. One of them will be loaded with 3 leads (1 in the chamber ready to write and 2 loose in the barrel), while the second one will carry an entire refill,12 leads. I will carry around both pencils and use them in rotation, trying to keep it as impartial as possible.

From the beginning I can feel the mass of leads slushing around in the pencil which holds an entire refill pack, and defiantly they create more noise and commotion compared with the 3 leads pencil.

I feel like I am a master of the mechanical pencil, like badass movie characters that know the difference between an empty gun and a fully loaded gun (Lian Neeson Taken reference)

Ant the results are in...

So from what you can see, the leads came out just fine from both pencils. None of them broke, and no dust came out of the barrel (white paper test). In conclusion, I wouldn't care too much of how many leads there are in a pencil, as this non-scientific tests seems to point that even a big number of leads will do just fine in day to day scenario, stored inside your favorite pencil. Generally, it is a good idea to keep a few extra leads on hand, or in this case in the pencil, so that you don't have to worry about longer writing sessions.

Rotring polimer leads

When it comes to polymer leads Rotrings are the ones I love. They are average-priced but exceptional writers. The leads write very smoothly, and it's hard to emphasize this enough. I do not have problems with the leads breaking under pressure, but this is usually not a problem anymore with modern half-decent products. If you haven't written using the Rotring leads I recommend giving them a chance.  So I give them 10 out of 10.

When rOtring introduced its first mechanical pencil, of course, it had to come up with the leads for it. So in 1979 when the Tikky was introduced to the public the first polymers from rOtring came to market as well. The leads came in a package that resembled the 2 mm.

In the catalog, rOtring specifies that the leads are resistant to breaking, and they come in size 0.3 / 0.5 / 0.7 and have different hardness levels.

As you can see back then rOtring was marketing their sizes differently 0.3 instead of 0.35 nowadays and 1.0 instead of 0.9 nowadays.

As I used rOtrings a little bit later down the line I did not use this first model but I don't remember the early leads to be that resistant as it was not unusual for the pencils to get clogged up. 

rOtring catalog 1980 Romania 

A new design of the lead box was released in the later years. I do not know exactly when the new design was launched to the market but it was before 1990. Most likely the formula changed as well as the package. The leads were not any kind of Polymer but a hi-Polymer.
The new lead boxes contained 16 leads divided evenly into two compartments that. The compartments were independent and each had its own cap, even though the caps were connected to each other.

rOtring catalog 1990

Sometime before 1996 rOtring changed the packaging of the leads again. The big change is the fact that rOtring in this period transitioned from the old labeling of sizes to the modern labeling. I mean that the previous size 0.3 was marketed as 0.3 / 0.35 mm, and the 1.0 changed to 0.9 / 1.0.
In addition to the size, color coding was added to the label. And of course, the number of leads in the package was reduced to 12 pieces instead of the previous 16.
The box kept the same design and color.

rOtring catalog 1996

In the early 2000s, a new package was introduced. A more modern design, where you slide the access door to access the 12 leads that are inside. The dual compartment was forgotten. Also, the dual-labeling of the size was dropped in favor of 0.35 mm and 0.9 mm. This is the way rOtring codes the sizes even today.

rOtring catalog 2005

Another change happened in 2008 when rOtring added the Tikky name on the label. Also, the article number was changed. This makes me believe that the product itself suffered a change, or maybe it was just integration in the Stanford article system.

rOtring catalog 2008

Tour de France souveniers

If you fancy Le Tour and stationary you can get this yellow pencil case from the official Tour de France webshop. Being the 100th Tour it is even more tempting.

You can keep in it pencils and fountain pens, or if it is not your cup of tea you can store your energy bars, rice cookies, and suncream.

Faber Castell Grip pen case

I have been looking for a replacement pencil bag for my daily carry. The one that I have is 20 - 30 years old, and it came apart. It was a simple design small and portable that can carry 2 writing instruments and a very small eraser. I loved it for these qualities.

For some time I have looked at options that can replace it. After searching for one (in stores) I came to the conclusion that I will need to adapt to what is available nowadays. What I found was either bigger, smaller or I didn't like the design. I would say I am a "minimalist" at heart, but In reality, I am a bit of a collector (to be read: hoarder). So I was looking for something simple to fulfill this task and something that can accommodate 2 pencils or pen  + pencil and a small eraser. I wanted something not too big that can be easily carried around and would not look too sophisticated or too childish so I can use it everywhere, meetings or just lugging some pens and mechanical pencils around.

So, in the end, I went for the Faber Castell Grip. It is a very simple pen case that can hold about 3 instruments without becoming bulky.

It is made out of textile material that looks to be heavy duty. It has written Faber Castell on the front, the logo, and some dots (which are supposed to be the grippy part of its name).

The cool feature of it is an elastic band with which you can attach it to a notebook. I find it practical and quite a unique feature.

Many times I use the elastic band as a bookmark.

The pouch comes in 2 sizes. The slim one that I chose and a larger one that looks more like a students pen case. It comes in 4 colors gray (the one I have), beige, blue and red. All of the colors are muted and look quite nice.

The model I chose is a small and slim pencil case. You can put 3 writing instruments in it, an eraser, maybe a box of leads, and maybe a sharpener if it is a small one.

I have been using it for almost a year now and I enjoy its looks and practicality. First I had doubts about the fact it is not rigid, and I got worried that some of the writing instruments I have might get damaged in the luggage when I am traveling. But the reality is that always when I have the pencil case with me I also have a small notebook. So the notebook offers mechanical resistance to the pencils and fountain pens that are inside the pencil case, as I always use the elastic band to attach it to the notebook.

I like the elastic band as you just pull out of the bag both case and notebook at the same time without searching around.

The negative part is that the pencils are free to move inside the pouch, which can lead to scratches in some cases. I have experienced this myself, so you have to choose writing instruments that do not get scratched easily or do not have sharp edges that can damage their siblings.

Stabilo HB and 2B lead review

Today I tested a not very popular lead brand, Stabilo. The brand is best known for its highlighters and I would say not so much for pencils and leads.
The price of the lead was pretty good. 1.63 $ or 1.32 Eur for 3 pack of 12 leads. Two of them HB and one 2B. It is cheaper than big brand names in some cases even by half. The lead comes in a classic barrel, that is clear with a little quirk to it and a nice red cap. I like the simple and clean look.
The first thing you notice is the length of 75 mm instead of the standard 60 mm. So not only you have a better price than bigger names you get more lead for your money, 25% more.

I tested the 0.5 mm HB and the 2B. To have a base point I compared the results produced by the Stabilo to Rotring.
The lead writes well, the HB feels a bit hard and a bit scratchy. I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars.
The line is a bit light. It feels a bit harder compared to other HB leads. Compared to the Rotring it feels very hard, but the pro is the ease of erasing it.

After doing the writing test for the HB I used about 0.5 mm of lead.
The good thing is the lead will last a long time, and you will not need to click the advance mechanism so often.
If I compare it to the Rotring HB, Stabilo HB is scratchy, hard, light but it will last longer. Rotring HB is smoother and almost as dark as the Stabilo 2B. At smoothness, Rotring gets a 5 out of 5. But the darkness and the smoothness comes at a cost. To do the same writing test the Rotring used a little over 1 mm of lead. That is more than double if you compare it with Stabilo

The Stabilo 2B is very soft and smooth. It leaves behind a black dark line but wears up quite fast. The same writing test used 4.5 mm of lead. A very significant increase. You will have dark lines on the paper but you will be clicking a lot. The erasing of the lead was very good, no residue was left behind.
But the Rotring 2B did better overall. It was a hint darker but nothing significant or worth worrying about. The smoothness was similar in both brands. But Stabilo needed 4.5 mm to do the same test while Rotring needed only 3 mm.
The Stabilo 2B seems too soft, and this does not translate into extra dark lines. So I would not recommend it, as you will have to do a lot of clicking to write.
There is a definitive gap between Stabilo HB and 2B. HB being a bit too hard and the 2B a bit too soft. If you are not put off by the hardness and scratchiness of the HB, Stabilo offers a very good deal. 75 mm of lead, 12 leads/pack at just 0.44 Eur or 0.54 $.

10 $ or less

If you ever wondered what would 10 $ buy you, stationary related, wonder no more:
Here are a few ideas

For the South Park fans, here are some Cartman quotes on the side of pencils
You can buy them here

If you enjoy the good attitude and hard-working spirit of Sponge Bob you can go for the eraser set, that includes figurines of Mr. Krabs and Patrick as well.
Eraser set

And where better to put the pencils and erasers you just purchased, if not in a gross fish like pencil case. I guess you could keep it between real fish for a few days just to offer the realistic feel, smell wise. It also looks really spacy
Fish pencil case

Slide rule, the computer before computers

Some people forget that not computers put a man on the moon. Before the era of lightning fast calculations made with the aid of computers engineers used slide rulers.