I didn’t know that and thought it sounds like crayons. Turns out, colored pencils are a refinement of crayon ingredients which is itself (probably) an ancient ‘dustless chalk’ innovation. Some places in Canada call them pencil crayons which I like.
I find I get the best results from basic, cheap handheld sharpeners. Though sometimes nothing will do but whittling with a Swiss Army knife.
And now I’m going to have to actually go back and read this thread to figure out what’s up, because I’d assumed that “lead holder” was just a synonym for “mechanical pencil”, but apparently not.
I sometimes use a harder lead. The point lasts longer. I, too, like perfectly sharp point.
Yeah, they are harder than crayons but still basically wax. There are watercolor pencils which are specifically designed to be water soluble to produce an effect similar to using watercolor paints when wetted but with better definition. I’ve never used them but they seem less frustrating than trying to paint with watercolor pigments.
Back in the days when we still printed out engineering drawings, I would use a red pencil for marking errors, blue for non-error edits, and green for notes and observations. These were approximately F hardness (I think), so you could make reasonably find lines, and they still worked well on clay-infused laserjet printer paper. I still prefer to edit this way on the rare occasion that I check or review drawings, but it is almost always transferred back to PDF because nobody wants to deal with paper.
Stranger
You are, or are not, looking for a super-light-weight cheap mechanical pencil? My coffee mug of completely random stuff had this:
The body is wood, and the cross-section is hexagonal so it won’t roll around on your desk. 300 yen.
Some old-timey literature refers to indelible pencils: Copying pencil - Wikipedia which are like standard pencils with the addition of a water-soluble dye.
Can’t say I have ever seen one myself, which is good if many of the dyes uses were popisonous like the Wiki article says.
What I do see for sale are Conté pencils Conté crayon | Drawing, Sketching, Shading | Britannica Conte Pencils - WetCanvas: Online Living for Artists which (depending on the brand) may be less waxy than a random crayon or colored pencil, and come in different degrees of hardness.
Looks like a fun model.
Doesn’t seem to come with 2mm lead, though, which makes it unsuitable for me. Can’t/won’t use pencils that can’t be sharpened or interchanged with a wide variety of lead softnesses.
So, mechanical pencils are right out, generally.
Well, I was…until I found that the Mitsubishi Uni lead holder was just too unsubstantial for my ape-like grip.
I have some disposable mechanical pencils around…sure…I just don’t use them except in an emergency. 2mm lead holders all the way, all the time, when it comes to pencil “work.”
Not to my knowledge. “Mechanical pencils” generally have very thin leads, often have an eraser on one end, not much variation in lead hardness available. Lead holders or clutch pencils generally accept at the smallest 2mm lead (same as in most wooden pencils), generally require sharpening/pointing, and accept a wide range of lead hardnesses from various manufacturers.
Very different instruments.
The lead softness is whatever you load it with, like most mechanical pencils (so 4B to 6H, or whatever). It only takes 0.5mm, though; it’s not a 2mm clutch pencil.
I am not doing anything special with it— it is just a random pencil on my desk.
Oh. I didn’t realize 0.5/0.7/0.n mm mech pencils could be loaded with differing hardnesses. Wouldn’t seem to be much point, so to speak, but I did not know that.
Yeah, I’ve never heard of a mechanical pencil that couldn’t use any lead of the right thickness that you inserted into it. I’ve also been struggling with what could possibly be different between a “lead holder” and a “mechanical pencil”.
Well, sure. I just didn’t realize typical mechanical pencil diameters, those who make replacement leads, bothered with differing hardnesses.
But, in that respect they’re the same as lead holders: just find the correct diameter lead, and load it up.
And there are indeed lead holders that use the “click to advance” mechanism…I don’t like that method, though…just from years of habit using the “clutch” at the tip.
Main difference is just the width of the leads…2mm…on up to…I don’t remember, but there are some very large lead holders out there.
And, of course, the kind of ritual of sharpening/pointing them, and the ease of having a bunch loaded with different lead hardnesses that can be easily distinguished at a glances, by choosing different color barrels, or using in some models a built-in hardness indicator, or just different manufacturers.
It’s similar to wearing a wristwatch for me: it would feel strange to be out in public without a few familiar pencils, an eraser, and at least one decent pen.
Fetish? Maybe! But I like it.
How do you sharpen them? I guess with a 2mm lead you need to. I usually buy 0.2mm mechanical pencils, when i buy them at all.
This is a lead holder:
On a mechanical pencil, you have a tip that is just the diameter of the lead (typically 0.5mm 0r 0.7mm, but some as thick as 1.3mm) as shaped by whatever angle you have been using it at. It presents a somewhat inconsistent thickness and ‘bite’ into the paper because of this, and is difficult to use on vellum because it tends to grab and tear with all but the lightest pressure.
The lead holder holds lead that is much thicker (typically 2mm but some go up to 3mm) that can be sharpened to the desired point geometry using a dedicated sharpener or a razor blade, making it much more like a wood-cased lead pencil but without having to cope with the waste of an ever shortening length and changing balance. Some engineers and architects preferred lead holders over mechanical pencils (though both were in use in the era of manual drawings) but where they really shine is for illustrators where having a particular point or being able to swap out different colors and hardness of lead was crucial. Some carpenters also prefer them for controlled line thickness and easy selection of hardness not commonly available on carpenter’s pencils.
Lead pointer:
Stranger
With a pencil sharpener! 
Yeah, Mitsubishi and Staedtler, among others, make ones specifically for 2mm lead holders, with at least in the Staedtler Mars rotary model I use, has two different options depending on how one prefers the geometry of the tip.
Super pointy or with a more rounded edge, are the two options, with that particular (cheap) sharpener.
And, yes, a lot of the popular models come with a little tool at the non-pointy end that serves just fine as a sharpener. You have to take out the lead and do some fiddling about (or use the sharpener from another pencil in one’s pocket), but those generally work just fine (ahem).
I’d suppose one could just use a regular Mobius-Ruppert hand sharpener, or an eyebrow pencil sharpener…probably some risk of breakage, but if one were careful, I don’t see why not.
(Best not to ask why I know about eyebrow pencil sharpeners…it’s a thing I do every once in a while for laughs, just grow a John Waters moustache and “put some pencil on it”…and then see how long it takes at work for people to get that I’m paying homage to the great director!
Hey! It’s pencil related!)
Oh, you people are a trip, man!
Yeah, that was a true simulpost, seems, @Stranger_On_A_Train, but you gave all the information with some of my personal favorites.
I think the 780 is maybe the archetype of the clutch pencil…been around forever, is what I’ve heard.
I was so excited when I had the “opportunity” to buy one of the limited edition (?) 780s with a black barrel instead of the classic blue…first attempt of deliver from Amazon it was lost.
Or, as one says “lost.” Who knows what happens in these realms. I was so stoked…and then it just disappeared off the grid. Staedtler could take a cue from Koh-i-N and vary colors and even sizes of their clutchers. I like the short Koh-i-N…they tend to get lost pretty often, and, of course, one has to break the usual leads to get them to fit…but…you know…style!
But finally the black-barrell 780 arrived…few years ago. The McRib of 780s, I guess.
Dig my new order from the Amazon…you people!
You’ve inspired me to refresh my supplies of leads.
What exciting shopping lives people of the pencil live!
(And dammit…I still want some 6B and 4B Mistubishi wooden pencils…but Amazon disappeared them from my cart).
And anyway…I got enough lead holders…but between my ape fists breaking the 2mm leads trying to sharpen them, and the holders becoming gone missing, it’s a better deal to stock up on 2mm leads in various hardnesses.
One thing I don’t think has been mentioned is that, in general, it’s not really the lead holder/clutch pencil itself that is the big expense.
I know there are fancy models and such.
But one really pays for the kind of graphite/clay mixture, aka “lead”: that’s what really can become pricey.
After all, the “lead holder” is really just that. Even the humble Staedtler 780 or the Koh-i-Nors…they do a fine job at “holding the lead.”
But one still needs decent lead to clutch or to hold, and especially with the softer grades (say, 2B and up), especially if one likes a fine point or has an aggressive touch, they go fast.
They’re just lead holders, really! As the name suggests.
And, yes, the Staedtler 502 pointer is a royal PITA to carry around. It fits in no clothing pocket…so it lives in my satchel. And the Koh-i-N holders…turn them the wrong way and the clutch mechanism comes loose when used with the 502.
A lot of times just use the pointers from the 780.
Thanks. That’s very clear and helpful. And you’ve explained why i don’t like mechanical pencils.
Which reminds me, i should bring one of my nice Dixon Ticonderoga 's when i go to play frosthaven this weekend. The host only has cheap mechanical pencils.
You’re going to chide the host, though, right?
No, of course not, but the best riposte is living well…in matters pencil!
I know people love the Ticonderoga but they always feel kind of cheap to me. My preference for an inexpensive pencil is the Staedtler Noris School (preferably the ‘red cap’ in HB but I also have a bunch of 2B for darker, thicker print). I kind of hate pink end cap erasers on pencils because they tend to just smear and get dirty, and the Noris School has a densified wood that makes them more substantial feeling, which is important not because of anything to do with writing but because I have an absent-minded habit of spinning and flipping pens and pencils, and lightweight pencils have a tendency to fling across the room if you are too far off the balance point.
I’m also not generally a fan of mechanical pencils but I got an outrageously expensive Leuchtturm Drehgriffel for use with work journals (for sketching where I don’t want to use ink) and it is shorter and has a much nicer balance than most mechanical pencils. It is still not the best writing experience but I don’t have to worry about resharpening a wood-case pencil in the field or breaking a tip.
Stranger
Hmm, I much prefer mechanical sharpeners like
this.
I have an electrical sharpener in my office, but I usually go to my wife’s office where she has a mechanical one. Growing up, we both lived in houses with sharpeners just like that mounted on the wall on the stairs going to the basement. We don’t have a basement where we live now, so her office closet has to do.
I need pencils sharper than my Swiss Army knife can do. In an emergency, sure.
My parents had a manual sharpener like that in the basement, too.
This is my current “rig”. It’s perfect for jotting down notes on those pads that charities send you to guilt you into sending them money. Note the stain on the wood where the pencil has also served as a tea bag extractor.