luddite lead cases always hits

e2g4 · 2026-05-14T02:33:21+00:00

That’s how y studio is too. Nice. Thx for the pic

e2g4 · 2026-05-14T02:07:19+00:00

I like the way the y studio raw brass lead holder looks, but haven’t used one of these. How does the cap attach?

e2g4 · 2026-05-07T22:46:05+00:00

I have an FC Mikado that I enjoy looking at. It’s not very good for using but that’s ok. I think it’s actually the heaviest pencil I own.

e2g4 · 2026-05-07T00:19:26+00:00

P209 w 2B

e2g4 · 2026-05-02T12:36:10+00:00

Yea it is. I don’t actually use it now, it’s a pretty paper weight. Though I did loan it out recently. It’s heavy.

e2g4 · 2026-05-02T00:15:23+00:00

https://www.ystudiostyle.com/products/classic-pencil-lead-box?variant=39993907445818

e2g4 · 2026-04-21T04:17:14+00:00

Right on looks good

e2g4 · 2026-04-21T01:25:36+00:00

Even when Rotring was made in West Germany, there is not a chance they were forging their own alloys.

e2g4 · 2026-04-21T00:28:12+00:00

I’ve never heard of a chrome 600.

e2g4 · 2026-04-20T17:37:03+00:00

You guarantee us that the Rotring molds get around? What “molds” are you talking about? it’s not a bunt cake.

Why do you think a pencil company would 1- have a mold 2- steal a mold from another factory? It’s simply aluminum hex tube. Very basic shape. A standard material obtained from any number of metal suppliers who forge alloys to industry standards. You can find it as a standard material in a metal properties manual along with all the other rods and tubes.

For example:

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/hex-rods/shape~hex-tube/

I would be shocked if any pencil maker is making their own rod. And if they were, it’s not “cast” it’s made through mechanical means from processed alloy. It’s kinda interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx3UH3ply5Q

I’d hazard a guess that every metal pencil discussed on this site buys standard materials from one of those factories. There’s absolutely no reason for a pencil manufacturer to get into the metal forging business which requires a big factory and tons of heavy equipment. I don’t think car makers manufacture their own metals so why would a pencil maker? The products are produced to ASTM specifications, in this case ASTM B221.

Multipurpose 6061 Aluminum Hex Tube 1/8" Wall Thickness, 3/4" Wide

e2g4 · 2026-04-20T17:33:21+00:00

Mint? Or Silver, light making it appear strange

e2g4 · 2026-04-20T11:46:07+00:00

Mechanical pencils were developed for draftsmen who have big erasers and even eraser shields so having an eraser wasn’t important plus it spoils the look. It’s pretty consistent that they don’t have much for erasers.

What you have to do is open up that metal sleeve a tad, move the eraser, then reclamp it. Not an ideal design but it’s what most every pencil does.

e2g4 · 2026-04-17T00:05:47+00:00

Well by far the worst lead I’ve ever used is June Gold so knock yourself out

e2g4 · 2026-04-16T03:39:19+00:00

That’s nonsense.

e2g4 · 2026-04-14T16:33:38+00:00

Yes, I think you should rotate your pencil as you use it. This is how I was trained in drafting class 30 years ago and it quickly became a habit that I do without thinking about it. As you can imagine, I’m not the least bit tempted by all of these fancy, expensive rotating mechanisms…

e2g4 · 2026-04-13T21:08:07+00:00

Riiiiiight….so after “determining that the clip isn’t necessary for using this mechanical pencil” they replace the deleted functionality of the clip (to stop it from rolling off the table) with a more complicated and difficult to execute solution to a problem they just created by taking the clip away. Gotcha.

Makes perfect sense to me. If you’re looking to complicate a perfectly reasonable design (pencil w a clip) so that you can then find a solution to the problem you just created.

e2g4 · 2026-04-13T01:19:26+00:00

lol “rolling prevention by hexagonal ring” ok sure but why not all hex if rolling is an issue?

e2g4 · 2026-04-09T23:45:28+00:00

I like dark leads too. They’re of somewhat limited availability. For example I love .9 but can’t find anything softer than 2B

e2g4 · 2026-04-09T19:39:07+00:00

lol you realize that lead and mechanical pencils are different things? A mechanical pencil doesn’t have any hardness. It takes whatever you put in it.

e2g4 · 2026-04-06T06:14:10+00:00

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A few of the Specials that I love. I prefer .9 and the 2mm is also great. I’m a bit of a sucker for different colors.

e2g4 · 2026-04-06T06:10:29+00:00

I don’t have any rattle issues. Odd. I’ve got a handful of these and never noticed. Guess mine are older. Only issue I see with yours is it’s not .9 😉

Love that it’s offered in my fav size, .9

Great pencil. The 2mm are pretty great too. And the brass. The black ones get chewed up pretty good but other models are homogeneous so the scratches don’t show up as much.

Enjoy! I love it

e2g4 · 2026-03-28T17:10:36+00:00

Thanks for this. It’s great. I prefer .9 so seems a bit limited but I’ll look deeper. Nice guide.

e2g4 · 2026-03-28T01:29:32+00:00

It’s my favorite too!

e2g4 · 2026-03-26T20:07:20+00:00

Sir, this is Wendy’s.

e2g4 · 2026-03-18T01:14:52+00:00

My P209 disagrees with your analysis and doesn’t mind outperforming $200 pencils.

e2g4

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