The Pencil is the name of this mechanical pencil. A bit presumptuous I would say, but I wanted to see what is this mechanical pencil all about. As I walked down the street, I couldn't help but notice the display of a new stationery shop's window. Among the pens, markers, and notebooks,
there was a single pencil that caught my eye. Pencil, The Pencil.
The Pencil I got is a blue two-tone body which has written the name and model in a bold silver font. Also, in a little more subtle font, you can see the lead thickness, 0.9 and the Japan.
I walked into the store and purchased The Pencil for a staggering 1.5 euro, feeling a sense of accomplishment as I finally found it.
Dimensions
The body has a "diameter" of 10.2 mm, with 10.1 mm at it's thinnest
Length of the body 147 mm
Sleeve length 4 mm
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| product code SA2005-03 Made in Japan |
The pencil
The barrel of The Pencil has a triangular shape, and it is thick enough to offer good comfort. The edges of the triangular barrel are a lighter shade of blue, while the flat parts are a bit darker. The plastic is nice to touch, it has that soft plastic feel to it. The grip on it is great, there is no chance it will slip in the hand, and also it is a comfortable shape. It doesn't bother me at all, writing with it for longer periods of time. I am a bit curious how will this soft plastic handle the test of time.
But again, I am talking about The Pencil, not any mechanical pencil, of course, it is comfortable, and it caresses your hand every time you pick it up.
Penac The Pencil 0.9 Japan is printed on the barrel in a white silver font.
It has a clean design with no pocket clip, but you don't have to worry about it falling off the table because of its shape.
The front cone is made out of a different plastic, a more standard glossy type. It even features a retractable plastic tip, which works just fine. The opposite end of the pencil is a bit extravagant. I say this because it has a cap like most mechanical pencils, but this one has a hole in it and no eraser under. Actually, there is nothing under it, as I found out after pulling on it like an idiot. It is just the end piece connected to the interior tube that holds the leads by two clips, and it is non-removable. When I realized this I was a bit upset, because in my head this meant you can only have one lead in the pencil, and no reserves. But with a little bit of clever design on Penac side (once more doubting The Pencil), you can fit multiple leads inside without them spilling out when you turn the pencil upside down. Of course, if you overfill it they will fall eventually but with a few leads, there are no problems.
The end cap with a hole inside is not detachable and is inserted in the lead barrel about 1 cm. The inside of the end cap is a bit smaller compared to the lead barrel and connected with 2 clips, thus creating a little bit of space between the end cap and the lead barrel. If you turn the pencil upside down, the leads will get stuck in this space instead of falling through the hole.
Internal mechanism
A small negative to The Pencil is as you can see all the internal parts are made out of plastic, so the durability of it is questionable.
Conclusion
The design interesting, at a first glance it doesn't scream at you, but it is not just another black triangular pen. I am not upset with the fact that the pencil doesn't come with an eraser. I never use the erasers from mechanical pencils or pencils in general.
The durability of the mechanism is not to be the best, but for a cheap every day pencil in an office or at school it should be fine for a few years at least.
