Pentel Graphgear 500 review

Pentel is a big name in the industry but not so common over here, so I am exited to test one of their drafting mechanical pencils. I picked the middle of the range, the Graphgear 500 in 0.5 mm thickness. It is an utilitarian design, with knurled grip and plastic body, with the color of the body being color coded to the thickness of the lead. It feels like a very serious pencil ready to do some drafting. 

The Pentel Graphgear 500 is the quintessential classic designer's best friend, with a fixed 4 mm sleeve for accurate lines, knurled grip for great feel in the hand and the body color coded in the side of the led, so you can pick the correct tool from the arsenal.

The Pentel Graphgear 500 is made in Japan.

The pencil sits well in the hand. The weight feels good, even if the pen is a little bit tip heavy. The balance point of the pencil is just at the end of the grip section. The knurling is fine, grips well without being uncomfortable for longer writing sessions. Due to it's fixed sleeve and long tip the pencil is perfect for precision work, lines with rulers but it can be just as good for writing with it.

The body is made out of plastic with hexagonal shape, while the clip is friction fitted to it. It is a very simple and unrefined clip, rather short and unappealing, but strong and robust offering you the confidence that you will not lose it while clipped.

On the side of the clip it stamped Japan and Pentel. It is a nice touch that sometimes it is missing from more expensive pencils. 

One of the facets of the body is written in white paint Graphgear 500 PG525 0.5 2h.

The cap has a unique look, with it's top part being extruded offering a flat top with a bevel around it. It feels a lot opportunity to use the space available to display with text or in color code the thickness of the pencil. A feature that is very useful for drafting especially when you have several lead sizes.

With the cap removed the small eraser encased is a metal holder is revealed .

Because it's a drafting pencil it doesn't have a retractable sleeve making it more difficult to carry it around without a case. The long expose sleeve might get damaged in a pocket. Also be careful when handling it, the pen is tip heavy due to the metal grip and the plastic body. I managed drop it on the first week of ownership on it's tip. I was lucky that the band wasn't severe and I could restore it to its original state more or less. I mean the pencil is functional and working just fine, even if there might be a slight bend to the tip.

The mechanism is robust, with the jaws made from bronze or some alloy from what I can tell. The clicks are very satisfying and precise.

10 click will advance the lead almost 6 mm (something like 5.7 - 5.8 mm). The pencil has a length of 14 cm, and a 9,6 mm grip width, with a weight of 15 grams. The sleeve is a very standard 4 mm in leangth.

Rotring Tikky colors 2024 edition

 

Rotring Tikky (3rd generaion) just got a color update in 2024 with these 4 colors: Tea Rose, Sea Blue, Opal Blue and Orchid Bloom. Even thoug Opal Blue looks more like a Mint Green to me it's still a nice pallet of colors.

So if you fancy any of these give the pencil a try

The new Rotring Tikky

rOtring Tikky Retro is the brand new mechanical pencil retro inspired from the Tikky lineup. It was launched this year, and for now it comes in just these 3 colors (red, grey and blue).

We do not know for know if the rOtring Tikky Retro is the successor of the Tikky 3rd generation, or is a limited offering.

The new Rotring Tikky Retro comes with a retractable tip making it easier to EDC it. This feature is nothing new to the Tikky line. The first generation had variants that offered this feature, but it was later forgot to the more robust and sturdy fixed sleeve which was better suited for technical work. Nowadays when the pencil will most likely be used for writing, taking notes, homework the retractable nib is a nice thing to have.

From the looks of it based it takes inspiration from all of the previous models. The tip cone and the retractable sleeve are inspired from the original as well as the end of the barre, the wavy grip section without rubber seems to be taken from the rOtring Tikky II, while the clip is from third generation of  Tikky.

The pencil comes with 0.5 and 0.7 lead even though for now 0.5 seems to be the easier version to find.

The features of the pencil taken from rOtring's website

Features

• Lightweight pencil with a rippled grip, just like the much-loved original Tikky
• Retractable tip helps prevents breakage
• Built-in eraser under the push-button cap
• Refillable; loaded with high-polymer 2B leads
• Available in a range of bold retro colours to match your style

Bic 4 color pen in a psychological horror movie

A new psychological horror movie, the same old Bic pen doing a great detective work.

Lee Harker an FBI agent is looking for a serial killer. For detective work and organizing clues she's using the Bic 4 colors.

How much lead do you actually use

 A little bit of math to calculate how much of the lead is actually used and ends up on the page or better said how much is wasted away during sharpening.

A very shor explination from SteveMould

Pencil doing the heavy lifting

Due to renovation work and many other things that are happening I didn't find time to share much on the blog lately.

But I want to say that it's not just me with a busy schedule. I am starting to think that my pencils are a little bit workaholics...

To the point that there is no more lead, just wood on wood action :)

We need to take some time for recharging and sharpening up

The hunt for german fountain pens in a german airport

I had a layover in Germany and thought I should make good use of the time there. I started by visiting the terminals, going at every gate, trying the different sits and escalators. After the tour was complete I looked for a a souvenir, something to bring back home.. So naturally I started looking for stationary stuff.

Being in Germany I hoped to find some good deals from the German brands like Faber Castell or Lamy.

First found was the Lamy Safari. It was in a generic shop that also sells magazines, books, pillows for travel and gummy bears.

The price was not bad but it definitely wasn't a deal. Also I am not really a fan of the Lamy grip section so I continued my search.

Not to my surprise I spent quite a time wondering through the airport to find a better supplied store.

By luck I found the Fabriano Boutique

This is a dedicated stationary store, and it had more options but not much more. The windows were very tastefully decorated, Lamy Safari and some notebooks being the stars of the show.

I expected the inside of the store to have much more diversity when it comes to pencils and fountain pens. The majority of the products were Lamy Safari and it's wide range of colors and a few Faber Castell pens and ball points.

In the end I chose to bring as souvenir some chocolate, as I didn't found any deals on the German pens.

Lammy seen in the movie You Should Have Left (2020)

 

The movie You should have left gives us Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried, a couple going on vacation in a remote village to find piece and relaxation. The house is not what they expected, it's a mastery thriller with suspense revealing the reality they are in only at the end of the movie.

Along the way we have several shots of Kevin using a Lammy 2000 ballpoint pen to write in his journal. If the writing in the journal is Kevin's I have to say it's not that tidy.

I find his grip of the pencil quite odd, griping the pencil with all the fingers except his pinky. It's not a very common way to hold writing instruments.

The pencil offers a lot of character and a great visual impact in the scenes. It is truly one of the best looking pens ever made, and it still looks modern and minimal even 60 years after it's debut.

How to take better notes

When it comes to note taking, most people have their preferred method, being pen and paper or completely digital notes. I use a little bit of both, trying to be efficient in each situation. For example in a meeting I am more inclined to use the pen and paper. Handwriting offers a greater flexibility when taking notes, and is less distracting for the others, no click clacks, and my face is not hidden behind a screen. While reading I found out that pen and paper doesn't work very well for me, and I switched to digital notes. I want to be able to add more information in previous notes, I don't carry the notebook all the time with me, and the fact that I have the habit of starting more than one books makes matters so much difficult. So for books I take notes by making annotations on my phone. Most of my reading is done using Readera and then backing up the notes in Google Drive.

For students on the other hand the pen might be the better option when it comes to taking notes. A recent study shows that handwriting compared with typing results in a more complex brain connectivity which enhances learning and memory. The study used EEG from 36 students comparing brain activity while writing by hand and typing.

The study also reveals that the medium on which you write is not that important, tablet or pen and paper as long as the writing is done by gestures of the hand (cursive).

"We show that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard. Such widespread brain connectivity is known to be crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and,therefore, is beneficial for learning...

Our findings suggest that visual and movement information obtained through precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen contribute extensively to the brain's connectivity patters that promote learning" 

Professor Audrey van der Meer, brain researcher at the Norway University of Science and Technology, co-author of the study published in the Frontiers in Psychology.

It might take longer to take notes by hand, especially when there are a lot of subjects and a lot of information, but it might help you in the long run, reducing the time needed to acquire the information.

Deli Xtream pen review

This basic plastic pen takes inspiration in its design from the famous Jetstream. The pen is affordable and decent looking. 

The color of the pen indicates the color of the refill, blue in this case and 0.7 mm ball point. The refill is actuated by a click mechanism. The body of the pen is completely made out of plastic including the clip which doesn't inspire too much trust in the security, but on the bright side the pen is not much more expensive than a disposable.

The body of the pen is translucent which allows to see the level of ink inside the refill. And the grip is covered in rubber, making the pen very comfortable to hold and easy to write with.

In this regard the pen did well, having good ergonomics, good price and a somewhat modern, ok looking design. But one of the most important things in a pen is the ball point and how does it write.

Upon first inspection the line of the pen writes thin. I suspect it is under the claimed 0,7 mm, and the blue tone of the ink is appealing. But the smoothness can't be compared to the Jetstream. 

When taking the pen apart it is more clear that the pen uses a more regular refill that can be found in most of the cheap pens.

It is not by any mean a bad pen, but it is in a close competition with the Jetstream either.