Pencils, Part Three

Today we're moving upscale. The Rotring 600. Of all the mechanical pencils I've ever used, this is my favorite. Not that the others I've used and written about in this series are bad. They aren't. You mostly get what you pay for and seeing as how the others are much cheaper, well... You get what you pay for. 

Pencils, Part Two

Next up in the review of technical pencils suitable for use with Wild Gears is the Pentel GraphGear 500. This is a step up from the P20x series. It has a metal barrel near the tip that is knurled to provide a better grip. The weight of this barrel shifts the balance point of the pencil to be closer to the tip. 

Pencils, Part One

We've covered pencil leads and using pencils in various ways but not much has been said so far about the pencils themselves. This topic will cover multiple posts, not sure yet exactly how many. Today I'll cover some basics and then mention a couple cheaper pencils that might be a good place to start.  

The most basic characteristics you need for use with Wild Gears is that the pencil hold the lead securely and that it have a straight tip that will ride along the edge of the holes in the gears. From what I've seen most modern mechanical pencils have both these characteristics. I've seen some older mechanical pencils that had a more conical tip that would not work very well with Wild Gears. Avoid that and you're probably okay. 

Fifty Shades of Gray

Let's talk lead. Well, actually graphite, but everybody still calls it pencil lead. In a previous post I talked about using mechanical pencils with Wild Gears and touched briefly on the variety of leads available.

If you're not familiar with grading of pencil leads, take a look at this excellent primer from Jet Pens. (TLDR: B is softer/darker, H is harder/lighter, larger numbers indicate greater hardness or softness. 10B is incredibly soft and dark, 10H is so light it's basically invisible. HB is "normal", between H and B, about like a standard #2 pencil. F is an oddball, sitting between H and HB.)

Aside from 2mm drafting leads used a lifetime ago when I took drafting class (and we actually drew things on paper), my experience with mechanical pencil lead has been limited to the Pentel brand. There are others. Some of them are probably quite good. Pentel is readily available and hasn't disappointed me so I've stuck with it. 

Gears Noir

I know that most people using Wild Gears probably got their start with Spirograph, even if that was more than a couple decades ago. Spirograph came with pens so that's what everyone used. When I got my first set of Wild Gears I also bought a set of Stabilo Point 88 pens. And less than a week later I bought a set of Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens. I'm fairly confident these are the go-to pens for most people using Wild Gears.

In addition to the pens, though, I also bought a cheap set of mechanical pencils. It had been a long time since I'd used a mechanical pencil and couldn't remember what size I preferred so a pack with three different sizes, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 0.9mm, made a lot of sense. For reasons that now elude me I mostly used the 0.7mm pencil.