Like both of the previous pencils it has a metal sleeve that protects the lead and provides a straight surface for use along an edge or in a hole like with Wild Gears.
The GraphGear 500 is available in 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm tip sizes. The plastic body of the pencil is color coded to the tip size -- brown for 0.3mm, black for 0.5mm, blue for 0.7mm, and gray for 0.9mm.
At one point in the production of the GraphGear 500 Pentel apparently included a lead hardness indicator cap but dropped that feature somewhere along the line and now use a simple metallic cap with a slightly broadened top.
A removable pocket clip is included.
I'm not particularly fond of this pencil. The knurled metal barrel does provide a better grip, but the fit between the plastic body and the metal barrel doesn't seem as tight as it could be. When I use it I have the sense of slight movement at this point and it bothers me. I only have one of this model so it's possible I got one with an imperfect finish. If I'm looking for a pencil in this price range I'd rather save a few dollars and stick with the P20x series that has a solid plastic body all the way to the tip.
The next model I have upwards in the Pentel line is the GraphGear 1000.
This model adds a number of features. Like the GraphGear 500 there is a knurled metal grip, though the GraphGear 1000 adds rubber-like dots to provide a bit more comfort. The body of the pencil is aluminum and it fits very securely into the barrel grip. No sense of movement at all with this model. The pocket clip is a spring-loaded binder style that allows clipping to a thicker material. The pocket clip is not removable. More about the clip later. The GraphGear 1000 is available in 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm. (0.4mm lead is not in wide supply. It appears to be available in H, HB, B, and 2B at JetPens.) The rubber dots on the grip are color coded to indicate the tip size.
There are two big features on this model that are not on the GraphGear 500. The GraphGear 1000 includes a lead hardness indicator you can adjust to show what lead is loaded in that particular pencil. If you have a lot of pencils loaded with various leads, this is a very nice feature. Unfortunately, not all hardness types are available on the indicator, and the selection of types varies depending on the tip size. The 0.3mm, 0.4mm, and 0.5mm include 2H, H, HB, B, and 2B. The 0.7mm and 0.9mm include H, HB, B, and 2B. This is just what's on the indicator. You can still load any hardness lead of the proper diameter. Why they didn't include a wider range of hardness types, I don't know. I've asked Pentel and they don't seem to know either.
The hardness indicator can be a bit difficult to adjust on this model. Sometimes you can just rotate the grip, but sometimes you need to loosen the conical tip by slightly unscrewing it, which frees the barrel grip to rotate. Tighten the conical tip to keep the indicator in place.
The other important feature on the GraphGear 1000 is a retractable tip. If you carry the pencil around with you and have a tendency to drop your pencils, this can be a very useful feature. It's fairly common for the sleeve at the tip to get bent if the pencil falls and lands on the tip. This renders the pencil useless as even a slight deviation from straight will result in lead breakage. By retracting the tip inside the body of the pencil when it's not in use, the sleeve is protected from drop damage.
When you depress the cap to extend the lead, the sleeve tip extends. When fully extended, the bottom of the pocket clip snaps into place in the body of the pencil to hold the tip in the extended position. When you press on the top of the pocket clip the tip snaps back into the body of the pencil, protected from damage if dropped. The other nice aspect of this is the lead can remain extended without fear of it breaking off because it also retracts into the body of the pencil.
I tend not to use this feature because I'm not carrying the pencils around and there's little danger of them dropping. The lead can be pushed back into the pencil just like with other models by depressing the cap and pushing the lead up while holding the cap depressed. This can be done even with the tip extended. So I just push the lead back into the tip but leave the tip extended. I have a rack where the pencils sit without danger of damage to the tips.
The final pencil for today is the Pentel Graph 1000 for Pro. Weird name, huh? This is a no flash, all business technical/drafting pencil. The money on this one goes for the insides, not the outside. The clutch mechanism that holds and advances the lead is all brass, which should give this pencil extremely high reliability and longevity.
The body is plastic with a soft, rubber-like grip. There is a removable metal pocket clip. The cap has a lead hardness indicator that is easily adjusted.
The Graph 1000 for Pro is available in 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm. There is a subtle color coding for size in the form of a ring around the bottom of the indicator cap and also the tip size label on the very top of the cap. Again, the full range of lead hardness is not available on the indicator cap. The 0.3mm includes 4H, 3H, 2H, H, HB, and B. The 0.4mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm include 2H, H, HB, and B. The 0.5mm includes 3H, 2H, H, HB, and B.
The balance point on this pencil is very near the center when the pocket clip is attached.
The barrel is slightly thinner than the Graph Gear 1000, 9.0mm vs 9.5mm. 0.5mm doesn't sound like much but they do feel noticeably different. Those with large hands may find the Graph 1000 for Pro not as comfortable as the Graph Gear 1000.
I like this pencil. Despite the plastic body it has a very solid feel. The feed mechanism is crisp and exact. It's said it feeds a length of lead equal to the diameter, though I've not tried to measure 0.3mm to verify this. The pencil is light, even for its size. Weight makes you feel like you have something substantial in hand, but it can get tiring if you spend a lot of time writing with it. Of the Pentel pencils I have, this is probably my favorite.
Pentel America has apparently discontinued the Graph 1000 for Pro in favor of the Graph 1000CS. The 'CS' apparently stands for Creator's Style. It comes in a variety of body colors not typically available for drafting pencils, along with a metal grip with rubber-like ribs. Like the Graph 1000 for Pro it includes a lead hardness indicator cap and brass inner workings. I don't have one of these so I can't speak to balance or how it feels in the hand.
I have it on good authority that Pentel Japan will continue manufacturing the Graph 1000 for Pro, but they may start getting a bit hard to find in the U.S. JetPens has them available and plans to continue selling them.
Stayed tuned for more pencil talk. I have at least one more post to do for this series.
No comments:
Post a Comment