[stationery] oh... dear

[kaberett]

[21:17] kaberett: I recognise that this is wildly hypocritical of me
[21:18] kaberett: but I've just stumbled into the mechanical pencil subreddit and I am quite ????????? at the
[21:18] kaberett: the mechanical pencil collectors
[21:18] kaberett: and like this is clearly because I found A Good Mechanical Pencil That I Liked and have stuck with it
[21:18] kaberett: and also because I don't actually have much call for using different lead softnesses etc
[21:18] kaberett: BUT ALSO

[21:25] kaberett: .......... having said which
[21:25] kaberett: ................ now that I've spent like 5 minutes in the subreddit
[21:25] kaberett: .................... I kind of want to buy another mechanical pencil


(Turns out the Pentel GraphGear 1000, which I like enough that I bought a second one after I lost my first and then got A one as a present? ... also gets released. in limited editions. that are COLOURS.)

Comments

[kaberett]

......... ah. no. now I have found the worst thing.

the worst thing is that the fountain pen fandom has warped my sense of proportion to the extent that I looked up how much these geographically-restricted limited edition (and this bit I cannot emphasise enough) PENCILS (that I'm not going to buy) are selling for

and thought "oh! huh! only £30? that seems eminently reasonable!"

*facehands*

[gumbie_cat]

Every time I start lusting after the really expensive pens I have to remind myself that my actual favourite fountain pen to write with is the £15 chinese one I bought from ebay!

It mostly works.

[alexwlchan]

you're saying this like it's not

or something

*uncomfortable mumbling*

[lunabee34]

Ahahhahahahahahahahahhaa.

*wipes eyes*

I almost got snookered by all the pretty pencils, but my friend brought over some fancy pencils and I came back down to earth and remembered I do not write with pencils. But for those who do, there are some gorgeous and very cool pencils.

[kaberett]

Hee! I use one often enough that I'm very happy indeed with my one (1) pencil and would be sad without it, but I really don't need more...

[lunabee34]

This is the mechanical pencil I think is neat:

https://www.jetpens.com/search?q=Uni+Kuru+Toga+Advance+Mechanical+Pencil+-+0.5+mm+&v=2

It's got a mechanism that makes the wear on the lead even.

And for woodcase pencils, nothing is more gorgeous than a Palomino Blackwing. My friend with the fancy pencils gave a few to my school age daughter who is very proud to do homework with her fancy pencils. :)

[momijizukamori]

I gotta admit mechanical pencils are Tempting but also I just got $100 of Troublemaker inks so I Should Not.

[kaberett]

OOH which? So far I have Starry Night Blue and Copper Patina...

[momijizukamori]

I have Starry Night, Simoun, Lam-ang, Kawasan Teal, and Purple Yam, and Andy got Basilica Red as part of my order so I will probably get a small sample of that before I send the rest to her. One of their sellers had a bunch actually in stock and I got a little too excited.

(also staring at a $70 Japanese glass dip pen because the nights are long and I crave that sweet sweet dopamine, and also a nice dip pen to test inks with)

[radiantfracture]

I mean

In terms of pencils

I pretty much only use mechanical pencils

So you have put me in some danger here

(thank you)

[kaberett]

HEE. Honestly I am pretty chuffed that consensus seems to be that the GraphGear 1000 is genuinely one of the better options available, and quite possibly the best at the price point (NOT that I paid RRP for it), so...! Definitely a hearty recommendation from me. :-)

[rugessnome]

possibly I should have a look at that subreddit...

I have, I think, between 2 and 4 cheapish fountain pens. (at least 1 of which is a wider nib for calligraphic purposes—the uncertainty is I forget if I ended up with two sizes of that or a second one of the Pilot pens when they got clearanced) But I've only really used the one Pilot pen much and I've never bought non-cartridge ink—I have never gotten wholly comfortable with writing in ink, as more permanent than lead...

I'm pretty sure it's the Pentel Sharp (in black) I grew up around (until about '03, my dad's work involved some drafting, pre widespread CAD dominance), so it and the cheap BICs I use now define my idea of what mechanical pencils (...should?) look like, but that blue GraphGear certainly is a lovely color.

eta: looks like the "Sharp" per the JetPens listing also goes by P205 (and/or possibly other numbers for different lead idk)

[vass]

Ahahaha.

You remind me that yesterday Radchdome was talking about tea ink, and I was thinking "I must remember to tell Alex about that, this seems exactly relevant to their interests!"

[sporky_rat]

https://www.jetpens.com/Pentel-GraphGear-Drafting-Pencils/ct/861

These here at JetPens are the only colored I've seen, but they also sell colored leads.

They seem too small for my hands, I have a lead holder that's about half an inch in diameter, though.

[ludy]

O dear!

I just have a bunch of the relatively cheap but sturdy Faber-castell grip 2010/2011 mechanical pencils because they fit my dyspraxic hands well and I’m only going to be disappointed not devastated if/when I lose them. Including a couple that I’ve put (Staedtler mars) non-photo blue leads in for drafting.