Pentel Graphgear 1000 Draughting Pencil, 0.5 mm black PG1015-A

I actually did quite a lot of research before buying this pencil. As an engineer I have used a lot of mechanical pencils over the years, all of which have been relatively cheap models purchased from local stationery shops. When I was looking for a new one I decided to see if there was anything out there a little nicer than what I was used to. Well, my eyes were opened! I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that there are a multitude of websites dedicated to mechanical pencils (or clutch pencils if you hail from the USA). The most helpful site I found was Dave's Mechanical Pencils. He is a kiwi who has reviews of hundreds of pencils. It is clearly a labour of love. On to this particular pencil. I was attracted by the good looking aluminium body, build quality and the neat mechanism by which the tip retracts when not in use. I have been stabbed a number of time by mechanical pencils, so it is great to be able to retract the sharp tip and know I am safe with the pencil in my trouser or shirt pocket. I have found the grip to be really good - it is a mix of knurled aluminium and rubber dimples. In use this provides a solid and comfortable grip. The mechanism for pushing the lead through works well and seems reliable. The rubber works as you'd expect and it is useful that you can buy additional rubbers for the end at a reasonable price through Amazon also. It isn't the cheapest pencil out there, but it is also far from the most expensive. Considering the style, quality and utility I'd say this is excellent value for money. If I ever lose mine I'll certainly be buying another one!

My excuse for buying this was to be greener. To replace the plastic 0.5 mm disposable mechanical pencils that I use every day with something more durable ,refillable and comfortable to use seemed a bit of a no-brainer. So when this turned up at a very good price I succumbed. I expected it to be as well designed and made as the other Pentel kit I rely on, but this exceeded my expectations. It is an absolute delight. Well balanced, comfortable to hold for long periods, beautifully engineered and with a clever design that allows the collar and lead to instantly retract out of harms way by pressing the pocket clip. It feels solid enough to withstand the knocks and falls my kit is always subjected to. The only protrusion -the clip- sits neatly out of the way in use, is sturdy and has a heavy hinge pin that has no play in it. Pentel leads are not only smooth, contain 92% of recycled materials, but are also far less prone to snapping than other brands I've tried so are definitely worth getting. The pencil also has a little window on the side that can be rotated to show the grade of lead within. The only downside is the lack of any instructions on the pack which makes it advisable to read some reviews to work out how to use it. (Also I suspect that lending it or leaving it lying around may result in its disappearance as it is so very, very covetable.) This really is the Rolls-Royce of draughting pencils and I recommend it.

Art tutor here. This pencil is my go to. I have two, one for HB and one for B. That’s all I need. The added eraser is extremely handy. One thing that makes it for me is that the lead is safely tucked away by the release lock which doubles as a pocket clip. I’ve dropped it many times and is extremely robust. I like the weight of it and fits my hand perfectly. The standard leads are spot on as always. Not ease to replace the leads but with patience it’s fine. Drawing is great with these.

Great pencil have several of these now and have purchased as a gift for someone who liked mine so much

Had a 0.5mm model for just over a year now. Very please with it in use. I use mine for woodworking - I find it far better for making accurate, fine marks than wooden pencils of any variety. I do have ongoing problems with refilling/reloading it though. As per the Q&A, you take the cap off and rubber out an pop more leads into the chamber. They should then feed through "automatically". However, I do not find that this happens. No amount of gentle shaking to get the next lead to drop through into the nib succeeds. I've ended up having to feed leads back in the 'wrong way' to get the next one in place. I don't know if there's a fault with my mechanism - I've trashed quite a few leads trying to get a reload. and the nib does seem to block quite easily with broken lead as a result. (5 amp fuse wire makes a good poker to get the old leads and broken pipeces out.) Once it is loaded though, it's great again. I would buy again despite the issues I'm having reloading it.

Great pencil, very techy! Good sturdy, heavy pencil. Fab for sketching.

Love this pencil, has a nice weighted feel, fills its purpose. Just overall a lovely quality pencil that’s built to last

The pencil looks absolutely fantastic it looks quite mechanical a very beautiful pencil but some more detailed information Packaging When it first came the first thing that becomes clear is the packaging was what I was expecting it wasn't very well packed it was completely thin plastic and can imagine that some people would have got this package scratched and even damaged so if I was to right this review just on the packaging I would rate it ** Design The pencil design is absolutely fantastic it looks really fantastic it has an extremely mechanical look and has a great grip and the grip it's self looks quite cool and when my son used it in school many people were asking him were he got from after minutes of him getting it out people were even asking if they could swap one of there own mechanical pencils but he did not swap and often gets mistaking for a pen so if I was to do a review just on the design I would give it***** Lead indicator This is not a good feature as it dose not do any thing so if I was to rate a review just on the lead indicator I would rate it as * Performance This would be an easy ***** as it has very neat and heavy making it easy to use and Wright sharply and very smooth and is great for my sons hand writing lessons spits out very little lead at a time which is good when your changing what your doing and the retractable idea was a good one.

Pentel smash kullandım yıllarca...(5 yıl) Ama bu kalemde efsaneymiş... İlk izlenimlerim 10 numara... Ağırlığı orta... Tutuş çok iyi... Uç kırmıyor.... (Pentel varsa sorun yok) İlk 4 kalemim Pentel smash 0.5 Pentel graphgear 1000 0.5 Lamy 0.5 Rotring 600 0.7 Hepsinide tavsiye ederim yıllarca kullandım (Güncelleme 8 ay sonra Açık ara en iyi kalem... Ne kuru toga, ne rotring ne bi başkası Pentel graph 1000 bu kalemi yıllardır ağır diye kullanmadım... Hiçte ağır değil.. Kalemden öte bişey)

Really great pencil, real smooth when you write. The cons: Lead advances very little at a time so after a few mins of writing I find myself advancing the lead constantly, and the eraser is small but thats what you get for a fancy mechanical pencil. Great for taking notes and everyday use not only for drafting.

Porte-mines de très bonne qualité. Je ne le trouve pas trop lourd. Il est très pratique pour le dessin, j'adore.

Hola al principio era un poco reticente a gastarme tanto dinero en un portaminas pero una vez que lo he probado estoy muy contento con la decisión. Puntos a favor: -Cuerpo parcialmente construido en metal con buen tacto y fabricación (es mas pesado que los típicos de plástico) -El mecanismo interno muy preciso (no se atasca) -Punta retráctil (Parece una tontería pero ahorra que se rompa la punta al guardarlo) -La punta afilada y larga es muy conveniente si se utiliza para dibujo técnico (en mi caso para escribir también es muy cómodo pero es cuestión de gustos) -Posibilidad de seleccionar la dureza de minas que estas utilizando (muy útil para dibujantes que trabajan con varias durezas de minas) En contra: -Precio -La goma como es habitual en estos portaminas no sirve de mucho ya que se gasta enseguida Como punto de interés, con el uso de este portaminas me he dado cuenta de la importancia de usar buenas minas. Usando las que traía de fabrica, que eran varias, no se me rompió la mina ni una sola vez y funcionaba perfecto. Cuando me quede sin minas compre unas de marca Liderpapel, con la primera mina ya se atasco el portaminas y no paraba de romperse la mina. Probé con otra marca y o mismo. Por ultimo compre unas Faber-Castell y volvió a funcionar como al principio. Espero que os sea útil.

One of the best cheap mechanical pencils you can get