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Post by chthulhu on Nov 5, 2014 19:18:00 GMT -8
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Post by flatline on Nov 5, 2014 20:11:30 GMT -8
Hmmm...and I see Zebra makes the MLP which has 0.9mm "square" leads.
Now that I think about it, I think I've seen those for sale somewhere locally. Wish I could remember where.
--flatline
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Post by flatline on Nov 7, 2014 19:46:48 GMT -8
I just sharpened another Blackwing to experiment with shaping the point with a knife and the wood was "crackly" just like the Palomino Orange wood. I've corrected my previous post where I said they were different. They're not. The wood is very likely exactly the same between the Blackwing and the Palomino Orange.
I was clearly mistaken.
--flatline
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Post by chthulhu on Nov 8, 2014 14:12:21 GMT -8
Hmmm...and I see Zebra makes the MLP which has 0.9mm "square" leads. Now that I think about it, I think I've seen those for sale somewhere locally. Wish I could remember where. --flatline Not actually square, in spite of what it says: they're rectangular leads (I measure them as 0.9 x 1.8 mm). www.zebrapen.com/product/mlp2-square-lead-mechanical-pencil-2/
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Post by chthulhu on Nov 8, 2014 14:18:48 GMT -8
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Post by chthulhu on Nov 8, 2014 14:44:51 GMT -8
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Post by flatline on Nov 8, 2014 15:43:45 GMT -8
Hmmm...and I see Zebra makes the MLP which has 0.9mm "square" leads. Now that I think about it, I think I've seen those for sale somewhere locally. Wish I could remember where. --flatline Not actually square, in spite of what it says: they're rectangular leads (I measure them as 0.9 x 1.8 mm). www.zebrapen.com/product/mlp2-square-lead-mechanical-pencil-2/That's disappointing. --flatline
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Post by chthulhu on Nov 8, 2014 16:22:20 GMT -8
They're fine for their intended purpose, and not too shabby for calligraphic practice if you don't want huge variation in line width.
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Post by flatline on Nov 8, 2014 17:07:22 GMT -8
I'll pick one up if I see it in the store just to play with, but in my experimenting with knife sharpening my pencils, I've determined that the lead can't be much wider than 1mm before I start to have to dramatically increase the size of my writing.
According to my calipers, the tip of my Blackwing is currently 1.3mm wide and a bit less than 0.3mm thick. I've kept it about that shape for a couple of days now and it's been really fun to write with (reminds me very much of writing with my 1.1mm stub on my Lamy Safari fountain pen). When the line starts to get too thick, I simply rotate it on one edge, write for a bit, rotate it to the other edge, write for a bit, and then rotate it to write with the flats again until both flat sides are flat again.
It works surprisingly well. I figure with some more practice, I'll be able to shape the lead fast enough that this can become the regular way that I use pencils.
--flatline
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Post by flatline on Nov 19, 2014 10:09:52 GMT -8
My enthusiasm is starting to wane for this particular experiment.
I've become more aware of the differences between pencils and I've got a pretty clear idea of where to draw the line between intolerable pencils and the rest, but even though there are lots of usable pencils out there, since the most expensive pencils are a mere $2.35 per pencil, it's not worth settling for anything less than the Tombow, Hi-Uni, or Staedtler just to save a few coins per pencil. An extra dollar or two every month isn't worth worrying about.
So now that I've identified my favorite wooden pencils (Hi-Uni, Tombow, and Staedtler), I still don't find them to be as comfortable to use as my lead holders. In the case of the Hi-Uni and the Staedtler, I can purchase what seems to be the exact same lead for my lead holders for cheaper than I can purchase the wooden pencil, so I see no reason why I would use the pencil instead of just putting the desired lead into one of my lead holders.
If I were an artist and wanted leads outside the 4B-4H range, then the pencils would be my only option, but since my interest is purely for writing, I don't want extremely hard or extremely soft leads.
I'll continue to use these pencils until they're used up (which will probably take years, but I've got them so I might as well use them). My family really likes the Blackwing 602, so perhaps I'll get another box when this one is used up.
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Post by flatline on Nov 19, 2014 18:19:42 GMT -8
Having narrowed it down the the Hi-Uni, Tombow, and Staedtler, I did some direct comparisons between them today and on smooth paper, the Hi-Uni is the clear winner. The Tombow loses out because its lead is a bit grippy (which bugs me for some reason) and the Staedtler loses out because I like the extra width of the Hi-Uni (but the leads both feel great to write with).
Anyways, knowing that I have a clear favorite, perhaps some day I'll buy myself a box of the Hi-Uni so that I'll always have a pencil that I like just in case I decide I want to use a wooden pencil for some reason.
This experiment was interesting and, as far as my experiments generally go, relatively inexpensive. In addition to experiencing lots of different pencils, I also got to experience lots of different leads. I'm very pleased to observe that my two favorite leads (Uni and Staedtler) are available in the 2mm format so that I can use them in my lead holders. And now I know to avoid Koh-I-Noor and Faber-Castell since I don't like grippy leads.
I also got to experiment with different sharpeners and sharpening techniques. I'm still experimenting some with this, but right now my favorite way to sharpen a pencil for writing is to use the KUM 2-step long point sharpener to remove the wood and then use my pocket knife to shape the lead to a sharp wedge about 1mm wide. The subtle line variation makes my writing look nicer and I can write for longer this way before needing to sharpen again.
--flatline
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Post by flatline on Dec 4, 2014 22:16:31 GMT -8
There seems to be a potential quality control issue with the General Kimberly pencils. I bought a 2-pack of HB and a 2-pack of 2B. Both the 2B pencils write very nicely. One of the HB pencils writes very nicely. The other HB pencil is scratchy.
My sample size is too small to know if this is a common issue with the General Kimberly HB pencils or if I just go unlucky with one of my pencils.
--flatline
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