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

Koh-I-Noor 2mm pencil and lead, 6 color set

I wanted to try out some colored pencils for daily business. Mostly to make marks or annotations on documents in a more visible way compared to a regular black pencil. In the past I did not have a very good experience with mechanical pencil colored leads so I tried something else, 2 mm leads. I found the only 2 mm leads in color available locally are the Koh I Noor ones.

They came in a 6 pack that contains a black one, red, blue, brown, yellow and green. The cool thing about them is that Koh-I-Noor also sells a similar pack with 2 mm clutch pencils. The pencils come in the same colors as the leads. Pretty nice.

The leads are made in the Czech Republic and come in a red plastic box with a clear top that has a Koh I Noor logo. The top slides to reveal the leads inside. They are very secure inside but if you only have one clutch pencil and you want to switch leads often grabbing them from the pack is not too easy.
The price is good as with all the Koh I Noor products. I got them for 1.51 EURO or 1.84 USD.

The colors are ok, not very vibrant but not dull. The black is the one I do not like. It feels like a colored pencil instead of a regular lead, plus it could be a bit darker. For example, a Faber Castell 2 mm lead 3B is smoother and produces a darker line.

The brown, blue, green look good and can be used for marking stuff with no problems. The red is a bit dull and not very vibrant but it is ok. The yellow is no surprise here, it can only be used for highlighting, as it is too washed out to write with it.
My favorite colors are the green and blue, followed by the brown and then red.
An erase test showed that they are not too stubborn and can be erased without too many problems. I have put to the test the Rotring Tikky and the Faber Castell Dust Free 187121 erasers. The Faber Castell did a much better job.

A Parker Jotter in the movie Oldboy

 In the intense thriller Oldboy (2003) the main character is imprisoned along with a stack of envelopes, papers, and a Parker Jotter pen.

A great instrument for writing, very classy and slick

But apparently, you can also use it as a makeshift tattoo gun. Take the refill out, heat it and ink away. I not going to comment about this... 

Staedtler erasers

Many times we read books by their covers, and when we see made in ... we immediately catalog things.

I got two erasers, both from Staedtler, both very similar looking, similar in size, shape, not so much in color or country of origin

On the left, in pink it is the Staedtler 526F C53 and on the right in yellow the Staedtler 526 35. One born in Germany while the other in Thailand.

Both erasers came in a plastic wrap, while the protective cover of the pink one can be used as a protective cover. Both erasers have the Staedtler logo on them, even though it's more visible on the pink one as it is a deeper embossing.

The simple test consists of erasing a softer 4B lead and a more standard HB polymer lead.

And here are the results of the test. Both did a good job, especially on the polymer lead. The 4B was a little bit trickier. The German is more prone to smudging and feels a bit sticky. And this is seen on the eraser as it gets dirty, especially after using it on the 4B lead.
On the other hand, the Thai is crumbling a bit more while erasing, keeping it cleaner.

I can not say that one is a clear winner, as they both did well in certain areas. The German was a hair better at writing and lines, but because the Thai crumbles more it was more effective in the areas where there were a lot of pencil marks.

 Taking a look at the eraser dust it's clear that the German sheds less, and usually in finner dust that the Thai.

Congrats to both fighters for doing a good job. On the left the Pink German Staedtler 526F C53 and on the right the Yellow Thai Staedtler 526 35