Joe Little, from Little Pen Designs, is a pen maker; casting many of his own barrel materials, and turning them on a wooden lathe into the finished products you see throughout his site, Instagram, and at pen shows. Not too long ago, he added another product to his lineup: mechanical pencils. Not just any mechanical pencils, though. These are mechanical pencils with barrels made from some of the same acrylics Joe uses for his fountain pens.
You had me at hello.
My mechanical pencil fandom began at a young age. They were the first writing instruments that were accessible to me that I could write small with. Not many pens in the 1980’s could match the lines of an 0.5 mm mechanical pencil.
At the time, my favorite was the Pentel Sharp, and it remains one of the best mechanical pencils on the market to this day. I’ve reviewed different models throughout the years, mostly with unique or limited edition barrels. Heck, I’m even part of a company that makes metal barrels for the same Pentel Sharp mechanism.
With Little Pen Designs, Joe has taken that same internal Pentel Sharp mechanism, and surrounded it with a thin, lightweight, colorful acrylic barrel. For a mechanical pencil fan like myself, these barrels add even more character to a product I already enjoy.
While a product review like this is rather straightforward, there is one pro, and one con, worth mentioning. On the downside, the grip area is smooth, and can be slick. It’s not much of an issue for me with light grip pressure on a light pencil, but I’ve noticed when my hands are dry my fingers move easily. On the plus side of the ledger, these pencils use the traditional Pentel Sharp clip. Joe turns the barrel slightly narrower in that area, allowing the clip to slide on easily.
Top to bottom: Pentel Sharp, Little Pen Designs, Spoke Design.
And that’s it. This is a full Pentel Sharp mechanical pencil, with an upgraded, fountain pen-like, exterior barrel. The only other downside is that I might cause Joe some problems reviewing this, as he doesn’t make too many of them.
There is only one in stock on his site as I type this, and I was lucky to grab mine when I saw it pop up on his Instagram. My Blue Nile model was $45, a price I’m more than happy to pay for a fun product like this. I’m not sure if the price varies depending on the material, but I imagine they are all in this range.
I love all kinds of mechanical pencils - from stock models to highly custom and unique versions - and I’m glad to add one of these Little Pen Designs models to my collection. It likely won’t be my last.
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