Posts filed under Pencil Reviews

Tombow Mono Graph Fine Mechanical Pencil Review

Tombow has been on quite the run with their mechanical pencil lineup for the last several years, and that run continues with the Tombow Mono Graph Fine Mechanical Pencil.

This pencil has everything I am looking for in a drafting-style pencil: a lightweight barrel with the weight balanced toward the front, good visual clearance of the tip, and a comfortable grip section. The Mono Graph Fine checks all of those boxes, and adds in Tombow’s amazing eraser - a twist eraser, at that - a solid clip, and a clean aesthetic.

What’s not to love? For me, I can’t think of a single thing.

The only question I had after unboxing this pencil was how the grip was going to feel. Would it be too smooth and slick? Is that weird depression really needed? It’s definitely not too slick. According to the product description, it is coated with a “grippy soft-touch finish,” and while I’m not sure that is the proper technical term, it is an accurate description of how it feels. I’ve had no slipping so far.

The low profile notch is nice in the fact that it doesn’t get in the way if your fingers are not seated in it perfectly at all times. Mine aren’t, and I never noticed it. I tended to start right in the middle of it, but my fingers move up and down the grip and the notch edges are so minimal it never bothered me. In fact, I never noticed it while writing at all.

One design decision companies make at this price point is to use a metal grip section in combination with a plastic upper barrel, and that’s what Tombow has done here. This gives the pencil that front-weighted feel that technical pencils need for good line control. You know, for all of the engineering I do. Still, this is expectation for this design, and it feels great in hand.

As someone who is eraser agnostic when it comes to any type of pencil, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how fantastic Tombow’s erasers are. I used this one more than I hoped, and it performed brilliantly. Most, if not all, of the graphite was removed from the page, and no eraser dust was left behind to brush off - it sticks to the eraser.

*Top to bottom: Rotring 600, Tombow Mono Graph Fine, Pentel Sharp P205, Spoke Model 6.*

Like with many of their other pencils, the eraser is part of a twist mechanism to extend and retract as needed. A feature of the Mono Graph Fine is that when the eraser is extended, the pencil knock locks in place so you don’t accidentally extend the lead when erasing. Does anyone press down that hard with their eraser to have this problem? Chalk this feature up to marketing, not necessity.

The final piece of the puzzle is price, an area that Tombow is extremely competitive in. The Mono Graph Fine is $13.75, which positions it perfectly against the competition. While I’d go as far as saying their other pencils such as the Mono Graph Grip Shaker and Mono Graph Lite are underpriced, this model is bang on price-wise. And, like those other two pencils, it would make a great addition to your mechanical pencil collection.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Tombow, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Namisu Pulsar Polycarbonate Mechanical Pencil Review

In the stationery space, Namisu has been known mostly for their fountain pens. I’ve backed several of their Kickstarter campaigns, and have always been happy with the end result. With the launch of the Pulsar, Namisu took that fountain pen aesthetic and applied it to a fresh mechanical pencil design. Successfully, I might add.

As is the norm with Namisu, choosing the style of your writing instrument poses the biggest challenge. The Pulsar comes in three different barrel materials - Aluminum, Titanium, and Polycarbonate - with each featuring different colors and finishes. How could I choose? Well, just have a look:

The Polycarbonate barrel with Steel grip and Petrol finish stood out to me, and would bring a different style to my writing library compared to my other mechanical pencils. Little did I know how different it would feel in hand, as well.

The best way I can describe how the Pulsar Polycarbonate feels is “different.” Not different bad, or different good, just different. I’m used to metal grips and acrylic/plastic barrels in pens and pencils, and even prefer that setup in many cases. I like it in the Pulsar as well, but I’ve yet to stop thinking about the feel of it in my hand.

The Polycarbonate barrel has a thick wall, and combined with the bolt mechanism in the last quarter of the barrel, the balance shifts towards the rear. Not terribly, but enough that I keep thinking about it.

Mechanical pencils, even more so than most types of pens, need to feel one of two ways for my needs: weighted towards the front, or ultralight. Most mechanical pencils are designed around tip control for detailed writing or drawing. The Namisu Pulsar is designed for regular writing.

Being designed for writing is perfectly fine in my book, which is why I enjoy the Pulsar. But I think of it more as a pen than a pencil, given its more stout design, and pipe-less tip. I also have it loaded up with the 0.7 mm mechanism, which leads to more of a writing style. I have’t tried to swap in the 0.5 mm - I think the wider size suits the barrel better, but it is a nice option to have.

I also wonder if the aluminum model feels different, and more front balanced. It has a 23g total weight, versus 31g for the Polycarbonate model, so it’s likely. The Titanium model checks in at 33g, for reference. Aluminum may be the choice if you prefer 0.5 mm lines.

The Pulsar Polycarbonate looks amazing and feels great. It is built well, too, which is a Namisu staple. My only hangup is when do I choose to use it over any of my other favorite mechanical pencils?

During the Kickstarter campaign, I paid around $42 for this model. It is currently $58, with the Aluminum Pulsar at $55, and Titanium at $85. If the style is something you like, I would have no hesitation recommending this pencil. Just be sure to consider how you will use it to ensure that it is a good fit for your graphite writing needs.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Namisu, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Kokuyo Enpitsu Sharp 1.3mm Mechanical Pencil Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Before seeing the Enpitsu Sharp 1.3mm mechanical pencil from Kokuyo, I don't think I really knew that they made anything besides paper products. I really enjoy their paper, and I really can't pass up anything that comes in a bright, semi-transparent color, so this mechanical pencil was an instant want. I'm not even sure I noticed the lead size until I had the pencil in hand — that's how much I love anything that features a bright, semi-transparent color. To sum it up, the wide lead took some getting used to, but after settling in, this is a really comfortable and fun pencil.

Let's talk about my favorite part first — the color. Described as a yellow-green, this bright neon material is so good. It's slightly transparent and frosty so that you can see the components under the pencil barrel in blurry detail. It brings back memories of lots of different items I enjoyed in the 90s that took advantage of the bright, translucent plastic aesthetic of the time. I'll pretty much always pick something in this aesthetic over other options, and it's especially problematic if something is offered in multiple bright/translucent color options. For this pencil, it's quite simple — if you look at it and smile, then it will fit you perfectly. If you think it's garish or loud, then that's fine too — there are so many good pencils out there that will have a color option you love.

Due to the bright color, it can be a bit difficult to discern the slight triangular shape of the barrel, but it's there. Even though it's hard to see, your fingers can immediately sense the petit, soft corners that make up the three sides of the pencil grip. It's really well done and offers a bit more grip than a plain round barrel. For my grip, it feels fantastic when writing. On top of that, the barrel material feels almost porous. It's not soft-touch plastic, but it has a similar feel. Whatever it is, it provides great tactile feel and doesn't slip.

Something else that fascinated me about this pencil when I first looked it over is that there isn't a cap or eraser on the tail end of the pencil. Yes, it uses a click mechanism to advance the lead, but there aren't any removable parts or an eraser. Instead, there's a hole in the click mechanism that is just a hair larger than the 1.3mm lead that you can insert. Once you insert some lead, it feels like there's a gentle clutch that prevents the lead from coming back out, and I had zero success in trying to shake the lead out of the open hole in the pencil. Even if the stars aligned and the lead found the perfect trajectory to the hole, the small clutch mechanism would prevent it from actually escaping. I'm still fascinated by this odd design choice every time I pick up this pencil, and that's one of the reasons that I keep picking it up.

Getting to what I think is Kokuyo's main selling point for this pencil — the 1.3mm lead is wide. As someone who rarely uses 0.7mm lead because it feels too wide, this was a bit of a struggle to get used to. On top of the width, this lead is also extremely soft, so it wears down very quickly. If you're writing, your fingers will get a small workout as they continuously have to rotate the pencil to keep a usable edge against the paper. But, if you want a large writing surface for shading, hatching, or anything else that requires lots of dark graphite, this lead size and softness makes that an easy task. After getting used to the diameter of the line, I really have come to enjoy the dark, rich line that this lead produces. It's similar to writing with a wide rollerball refill that makes dark, crisp lines on the page. It's not my everyday preference, but I can certainly appreciate and enjoy it.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this pencil. As I've stated too many times already, I only got it because of the color — and even if I never used the pencil, I'd still be happy to have it just as a decoration to look at. But I've been pleasantly enamored with the wide, rich lead and the quirky refill system that I keep reaching for this pencil over other pencils or even pens.

At $6, it's also an incredible value — especially if you know that you can really benefit from the wide lead option. For most mechanical pencils, 0.7 is the largest "easy to find" option, and 1.0mm can be had in limited supply. Anything bigger usually comes from a lead holder, but they're not as easy to use as a simple mechanical pencil. Again, this all comes down to how you intend to use a pencil or what you need from it. All I can say is that this $6 pencil has provided me with a lot more joy than I ever expected.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!