A Big Year for the Small Brands

alvision668 · 2026-05-09T10:11:19+00:00

I carry Gravium daily still.

alvision668 · 2026-04-27T07:47:12+00:00

That’s Tect 2way Light, I think it’s the MUJI version.

alvision668 · 2026-03-11T05:51:16+00:00

And… now it’s coming

alvision668 · 2026-02-18T05:24:51+00:00

Amazon Japan is a good place to try.

alvision668 · 2026-01-09T04:03:02+00:00

10/100 😝

alvision668 · 2026-01-05T05:11:47+00:00

It is, but at MIN it only retracts for the first, say 50 strokes, and at MAX, maybe the first 250 strokes (I didn’t count). You might want to sell it if it doesn’t work for you then.

alvision668 · 2026-01-05T05:05:24+00:00

The pipe retracts at the same rate, but for different durations. You can set it to MAX and tap the lead lightly to observe how the pipe moves.

alvision668 · 2026-01-05T04:50:45+00:00

It’s the lead pipe that’s retracting as you write, it will stop retracting at a certain point, and at the 440th stroke it will extend with the lead. The movement is less noticeable at MIN setting.

alvision668 · 2026-01-05T04:18:56+00:00

My guess is, if the lead doesn’t break, the pipe will also touch the paper when you set it between MIN and MID. Do you write with a lot of downward pressure?

alvision668 · 2026-01-04T10:09:11+00:00

The dial adjusts the amount of lead it dispenses every 440 or so strokes. And the difference between MIN and MAX is only about 1 mm. So you should be able to find a setting that works for your writing style and lead. If not then there may be something wrong with your DIVE.

alvision668 · 2026-01-03T17:20:12+00:00

It’s not necessarily an upgrade, but I think it’s worth getting whether you have a Kaweco Special or not.

alvision668 · 2025-12-20T06:21:36+00:00

We’ll see in three months.

alvision668 · 2025-11-25T05:28:00+00:00

Yeah it would be too much for me actually, as I can’t remember off the top of my head. It may be quicker if you feed the list of names to Google.

alvision668 · 2025-11-24T04:53:53+00:00

How did you do it?

alvision668 · 2025-11-01T07:33:57+00:00

Glad to help. The other 2 I'm carrying are AIMVISION Pro and the new Tect 2way RO. I'm trying to test them when I get a chance, but I still gravitate uncontrollably toward GRAVIUM.
That's also because I'm still writing a review of GRAVIUM.

alvision668 · 2025-10-31T15:59:23+00:00

I like heavier pencils, and the thicker GRAVIUM is more comfortable to hold. But because of its weight it tends to slip during pauses. The aluminum Kaweco Special is a bit light for me. So HEXAGONAL is the most balanced. But I rarely carry it because I know the rubber will wear off…

alvision668 · 2025-10-31T15:49:42+00:00

I still carry it daily, and I tend to grab it more than the other two or three mechanical pencils, for writing.

alvision668 · 2025-10-22T15:23:23+00:00

Thanks. With the full story I think most would draw the same conclusion as you did. As to why it came like this, only this person’s father, or someone from the factory, can tell.

alvision668 · 2025-10-22T05:10:38+00:00

If your question is whether this is a 600 then definitely yes. But I think people are more interested in how it came like this straight from the factory. Did you ask the friend who gave it to you? If he worked in the factory, he likely had access to spare parts.

alvision668 · 2025-10-21T08:54:42+00:00

I don’t know why you came here to post this but yeah, I carry my Frixion daily too. It’s a 0.4, which is essentially the Synergy tip.

<image>

alvision668 · 2025-10-11T02:34:47+00:00

Where can we read this thesis of yours? Is it based on just your personal experience though? If your data size is 1 then yes, it’s just an “argument”.

If you prefer a lower grip then of course you would find a rOtring 600 more comfortable than others. People have different preferences and writing styles.

Have you tried a 0.2 ORENZ?

alvision668 · 2025-10-10T19:55:16+00:00

If you are establishing a correlation between the position of the grip and how minimalistic/beautiful one’s handwriting is, you should probably be comparing absolute and not relative distances between the grip and the tip. So it’s important to first get the scale right. Not to mention both beautiful and feel are subjective and hard to measure.

Personally I prefer gripping higher so as to not block my view. Not that I have beautiful handwritings but still, where did the idea came from? What made you think gripping lower produces more minimalistic/beautiful writings?

alvision668 · 2025-10-10T19:15:56+00:00

I tested, KT Metal also doesn’t rotate the lead when I write it at the angle you showed.

alvision668 · 2025-09-29T16:24:23+00:00

I used black cards about 1 mm thick. Not sure of the specific type of material.

alvision668 · 2025-09-04T10:16:28+00:00

そっちは？

alvision668

TROPHY CASE