Today's Daily Pencil

[FlyingClayDisk]

Very nice OHTO! They were one of the first companies to come out with a roller ball pen in the early sixties. This Daily Pencil looks very well engineered.

Matching the pencil to the mission is an art in and of itself... after a lot of experimentation over the years, I found I like shorter instruments with wider grips for most of my purposes. The weight and length of my Kerry the best for me, it's a wide grip with a good weight to it but not too heavy. It's pretty versatile. They say it's 49 grams (!) but I haven't put it to a gram scale. It works well for art and precision but it's not the best for writing (I like writing with a lighter pencil for the sake of endurance) at least for my taste.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks!

Interesting you wrote what you did, for two reasons actually.

Actually, as much as I hate to say this, the OHTO Super ProMecha (pictured above in Today's Daily Pencil) has a serious design flaw.  In fact, it is often a fatal one (for the pencil).  Ironically, this is the reason I chose the pencil for today's edition...because I just received a couple of them after avoiding buying one for a couple years.  I only purchased it because they have been discontinued, and prices are skyrocketing, so I wanted to get one in each size plus a couple spares to have in my collection..  Consequently, they happened to be sitting on my desk, so I grabbed one and posted it up.

If you look carefully in the picture above, you will notice there are two parallel grooved rings just above the knurled grip.  Those two rings are machined out of a cylindrical piece of aluminum below which rotates.  This is what adjusts the lead sleeve protrusion length.  However, while very cool looking, there is a major problem.  You may be asking yourself...well, then what keeps the top of the pencil connected to the bottom of the pencil if something in the middle rotates?  And that would be a very perceptive question!  The answer contains the design flaw.  You see, the top of the pencil is connected to the lower portion by two aluminum struts which span this gap, one on either side of the sleeve adjustment mechanism.  As a result, there is a serious structural weak point right at this junction.  If the pencil is subjected to any lateral stress (such as being dropped), the pencil will break in right in half!  In terms of durability, I probably would not recommend this pencil to anyone other than a collector.  In a production environment (where it could get dropped, or shoved in a pocket, etc.) it could likely result in disaster for the owner. 

Incidentally, tomorrow's Daily Pencil will be at the exact opposite end of the durability spectrum.  It is bulletproof, for a variety of reasons which I will go into then.

The other reason what you wrote was interesting is because in the other "Hobbies" thread you stated that you liked the Zebra F-300 series mechanical pencil.  I didn't want to say anything then, but I am not a fan of these pencils (at all really).  However, in your earlier post above you said you liked shorter pencils, and the Zebra F-301 is exactly that, very short.  In fact, it is too short for my large hands, hence my not caring for them.  Irony strikes again here too!  It's ironic because I noted the Zebra "Tect 2Way" pencil, several of which I showed pictures of in the other thread.  What was ironic was, I always have people come to me telling me how much they LOVE Zebra pencils, so I figured I must be missing something.  Consequently, of late I have been buying some other Zebra models just to see what it is about them which people like so much.  And yes, I have now changed my opinion of them as a result.

What a twisting, turning, road this pencil world is indeed!  LOL!

Who knew there could be so much intrigue in a simple pencil??   

P.S. - Just wait until we get to the "CONSPIRACY" side of the pencil world??  THEN you'll have to be drinking straight shots of Nyquil from the bottle and chasing them with scotch just to sleep!!!

Until next time...

[FlyingClayDisk]

Is that a Super Hi-Polymer HB lead stick in there?   Mmmmmm..............

No!  Certainly NOT!  Perish the thought!!!

Ahem...the lead in the pictured pencil is Pilot NEOX in a '2B' grade graphite core.

I was only kidding about the Pentel super-hi P leads.  As pencil leads go Pentel has really hit one out of the park with that line for versatility.  HB is a bit hard for some tastes, but it is a good grade.  The only issue with HB is it's kinda like Forrest Gump said...'HB is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.'  Because HB is such a universal lead, the one people can identify with the most because it resembles the immortal yellow No. 2 pencil we were all issued in gradeschool, it is the obvious choice for many mechanical pencil manufacturers.  Unfortunately, not all HB is created equal, and consistency varies widely.  It's also the most popular lead grade because many are just so used to it.  HB grade and "No.2" hardness grades are basically synonymous.  Where Pentel made a dramatic improvement was by adding polymer to it so it wouldn't break as easily.  But, not all manufacturers did this.

And now you know...the REST of the story.

[BIAD]

Oh Lort! I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread! Having flashbacks of working on the final touches of a vocational (industrial) drafting project in preparation for state competition back in high school. The anxiety!!! 

Won at state, flopped like a nearly dead fish at higher levels with an honorable mention- which back then was on par with a participation ribbon! Lol!

I fully expect nightmares tonight!

Busying myself doing avatars, I caught my eye roaming towards a bright-red plastic pen-holder stood
on my son's redundant hard-drive. It's like your Ma buying the cheapest shirt for you because it has bright
colours and all your mates are Goths!

Some of the pens in there want throwing out!

[GeauxHomeLittleD]

Busying myself doing avatars, I caught my eye roaming towards a bright-red plastic pen-holder stood
on my son's redundant hard-drive. It's like your Ma buying the cheapest shirt for you because it has bright
colours and all your mates are Goths!

Some of the pens in there want throwing out!

[FlyingClayDisk]

Oh Lort! I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread! Having flashbacks of working on the final touches of a vocational (industrial) drafting project in preparation for state competition back in high school. The anxiety!!! 

Won at state, flopped like a nearly dead fish at higher levels with an honorable mention- which back then was on par with a participation ribbon! Lol!

I fully expect nightmares tonight!

Ahh yes, the old pressure cooker.  Know it well.  I laugh now when I look back on those days.  I started technical drawing in 7th grade (1st year of Jr. High School).  I was horrible, just awful!  I couldn't draw a straight line even with a ruler!  And, my lettering was worse than Egyptian hieroglyphics (much worse)!  My father was the head of Engineering for one of the largest steel corporations in the World at the time, and I couldn't even letter my own name properly.  Seriously.  I was at my wits end.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think I might have broken all records in recorded history for being the most awful, just ever!

I sat down with Dad one day and asked him how he learned to print so well.  His advice; "print every single word you write from no on in capital letters."  It worked.  By the time I'd made it to my 2nd year in HS I had already tested out of all of my technical drawing, math and science classes and was already getting job offers to work as a Draftsman professionally. 

Now, for that nightmare you're contemplating having, just imagine this...

There is no test.  You're still not even 20 years old yet.  You're asked to go to work for Bechtel Engineering (the largest in the World at the time), on a major chemical plant shutdown in the windswept high deserts of Wyoming.  The date is December 20th, and you will work with a team of others night and day (24x7), as fast as you possibly can, to produce thousands upon thousands of drawings.  The plant costs tens of millions of dollars an HOUR to be shut down.  Each Sr. Draftsman (I was one) had 3 Field Engineers assigned to them, each constantly bringing me three-dimensional isometric diagrams and sketches they'd made from out in the plant where thousands of tradesmen were working non-stop to refit the plant.  It was nearly impossible to keep up with the mountain of data these guys were bringing.  As soon as a drawing was finished it would immediately be processed into reproducible "mylars" and prints were given to the modelers who were painstakingly constructing an exact scale model of the entire plant based on your documents.  One mistake backed up the isometrics and sketches you had coming in, and starved the modelers for the designs required to build the scale models.  Why scale models?  Because chemical plants are so infinitely complicated that when something doesn't fit someplace they literally used the models to figure out how to maneuver the pieces into place, and then changed the designs on the fly...which were all the more drawings you had to complete. 

One morning, at last we were done, it was about 3am or so.  The date was January 3rd. 

I've worked as an Engineer all my career since those days, and I've been all over the World doing it, but to this day I made more money in a single day than I've ever made in a single day before or since.  And I remember when the clock struck midnight on December 24th.  It was Christmas Day.  Some joker flipped off the lights for a second and then back on again; "Merry Christmas!!", everyone said.  And that was all the time there was for idle chit-chat...back to it...there was no time to waste!

When I got my paycheck that week I went down to the Jeep dealership and paid cash for a brand new top of the line Jeep CJ-8 (Scrambler) with the money I'd earned from December 24th at 6pm to December 26th at 6am.  My Christmas present to myself.

All because of a pencil.

And people wonder why I like pencils.

P.S. - I hope you sleep well tonight!  It can always get more stressful.

[GeauxHomeLittleD]

Ahh yes, the old pressure cooker.  Know it well.  I laugh now when I look back on those days.  I started technical drawing in 7th grade (1st year of Jr. High School).  I was horrible, just awful!  I couldn't draw a straight line even with a ruler!  And, my lettering was worse than Egyptian hieroglyphics (much worse)!  My father was the head of Engineering for one of the largest steel corporations in the World at the time, and I couldn't even letter my own name properly.  Seriously.  I was at my wits end.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think I might have broken all records in recorded history for being the most awful, just ever!

I sat down with Dad one day and asked him how he learned to print so well.  His advice; "print every single word you write from no on in capital letters."  It worked.  By the time I'd made it to my 2nd year in HS I had already tested out of all of my technical drawing, math and science classes and was already getting job offers to work as a Draftsman professionally. 

Now, for that nightmare you're contemplating having, just imagine this...

There is no test.  You're still not even 20 years old yet.  You're asked to go to work for Bechtel Engineering (the largest in the World at the time), on a major chemical plant shutdown in the windswept high deserts of Wyoming.  The date is December 20th, and you will work with a team of others night and day (24x7), as fast as you possibly can, to produce thousands upon thousands of drawings.  The plant costs tens of millions of dollars an HOUR to be shut down.  Each Sr. Draftsman (I was one) had 3 Field Engineers assigned to them, each constantly bringing me three-dimensional isometric diagrams and sketches they'd made from out in the plant where thousands of tradesmen were working non-stop to refit the plant.  It was nearly impossible to keep up with the mountain of data these guys were bringing.  As soon as a drawing was finished it would immediately be processed into reproducible "mylars" and prints were given to the modelers who were painstakingly constructing an exact scale model of the entire plant based on your documents.  One mistake backed up the isometrics and sketches you had coming in, and starved the modelers for the designs required to build the scale models.  Why scale models?  Because chemical plants are so infinitely complicated that when something doesn't fit someplace they literally used the models to figure out how to maneuver the pieces into place, and then changed the designs on the fly...which were all the more drawings you had to complete. 

One morning, at last we were done, it was about 3am or so.  The date was January 3rd. 

I've worked as an Engineer all my career since those days, and I've been all over the World doing it, but to this day I made more money in a single day than I've ever made in a single day before or since.  And I remember when the clock struck midnight on December 24th.  It was Christmas Day.  Some joker flipped off the lights for a second and then back on again; "Merry Christmas!!", everyone said.  And that was all the time there was for idle chit-chat...back to it...there was no time to waste!

When I got my paycheck that week I went down to the Jeep dealership and paid cash for a brand new top of the line Jeep CJ-8 (Scrambler) with the money I'd earned from December 24th at 6pm to December 26th at 6am.  My Christmas present to myself.

All because of a pencil.

And people wonder why I like pencils.

P.S. - I hope you sleep well tonight!  It can always get more stressful.

STAHHHHHPPPP!!!!!! 

Now I'll have nightmares for days! If I wake up with blueprint ink on my fingers I'll know you sent a demon to harass me!

[FlyingClayDisk]

STAHHHHHPPPP!!!!!! 

Now I'll have nightmares for days! If I wake up with blueprint ink on my fingers I'll know you sent a demon to harass me!

[Wizzz]

Is that a Super Hi-Polymer HB lead stick in there?   Mmmmmm..............

No!  Certainly NOT!  Perish the thought!!!

Ahem...the lead in the pictured pencil is Pilot NEOX in a '2B' grade graphite core.

I was only kidding about the Pentel super-hi P leads.  As pencil leads go Pentel has really hit one out of the park with that line for versatility.  HB is a bit hard for some tastes, but it is a good grade.  The only issue with HB is it's kinda like Forrest Gump said...'HB is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.'  Because HB is such a universal lead, the one people can identify with the most because it resembles the immortal yellow No. 2 pencil we were all issued in gradeschool, it is the obvious choice for many mechanical pencil manufacturers.  Unfortunately, not all HB is created equal, and consistency varies widely.  It's also the most popular lead grade because many are just so used to it.  HB grade and "No.2" hardness grades are basically synonymous.  Where Pentel made a dramatic improvement was by adding polymer to it so it wouldn't break as easily.  But, not all manufacturers did this.

And now you know...the REST of the story.

I'm actually finding this oddly interesting. The pencils look cool and it take me back to my Intro to Engineering class in college.

So, this is fun!  Much appreciated!

[CJinTX]

Hey wait, did I miss Episode 2 of ‘As the Pencil Turns’?

[BIAD]

*BIAD weakly attempting to join in*

[FlyingClayDisk]

*BIAD weakly attempting to join in*

Excellent contribution to join in with!!

Great addition!  Love, love, LOVE Blackwing pencils!!!!

The Blackwing 602 is probably one of my all-time favorite wooden pencil.  Gawd I love those things!  $24 buck a box stings a little bit, but I still can't help myself.  Just bought some (more) a couple of weeks ago.

A while back the wife was grumbling a little bit about spending that kind of money for wood pencils which only cost a buck in the grocery store (for the off-brand crappy ones).  I sharpened up a 602 and gave it to her.  "Ooooh, gosh; these really ARE nice pencils, aren't they?  Wow!  Can I have another one??"  Told her sure...for $2 bucks!