We use these Pentel .9mm Mechanical Pencil at BizRate

It would be nice to have a finer point sometimes but I write too dang hard and just keep breaking'em.

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Chris...
www.brckitchenbath.com

Michael,

The issue I found that I couldn't can get a fine enough point on regular pencils for Incra Rules. I could use one of my .5mm pencils, but they kept breaking. A properly pointed lead works in the small Incra rule holes and doesn't break as often.

Chris,

The 9mm pencils won't fit in an Incra Rule hold.

That's why I keep two lead holders - one sharp and one blunt. One is for writing and one is for marking.

Regards,

Dan.

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"You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’" George Bernard Shaw

The .5mm breaks too easily for general marking and doesn't really have a point. They work fine in the Incra rule holes for me though, and of course fit them perefectly.




Seth

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If you know where it's comin' from ...... You can tell where it's goin'. ========> ======> =====> ====> ===> ==> => > > >>>

OK, upon further checking-

The regular sharpener will only make as fine a point as the dull point setting in my pointer. That is still pretty good. But the fine point setting on the pointer does indeed make the sharpest point.

Dan is right - put some 4H lead in and you have a handy weapon




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Also that is a good idea , Dan, the one sharp and the other unsharpened. BTW what is that white gunk on the pointer ?




Seth

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If you know where it's comin' from ...... You can tell where it's goin'. ========> ======> =====> ====> ===> ==> => > > >>>

The "white gunk" is an insert that you push your freshly sharpened point into to wipe off the excess residue. Those are replaceable once it gets too dirty. Back in the day, we would use the filters off of old cigarettes instead of buying the regular inserts.
The plastic or polymer leads were (are) for drawing on Mylar as you said. Nobody liked that job back then, it's kind of waxy & smears easily. The preference was for drawing on velum but the Mylar made sharper images for transfer to microfilm.
Another drawing technique used to be to sharpen the lead to a "chisel" point on a sharpening pad (sandpaper). Those would stay sharp longer than the point from a pointer. Also a very good technique to use with compass leads.
The advent of "Pentels" speeded things up because you didn't need to stop & sharpen them. Then came CAD and the rest is history... probably a minimum of a 10:1 productivity improvement.

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a 2009 Festool® catalog, 2010 Festool® catalog supplement requested.

"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi Berra (1925-)

"Whether you THINK YOU CAN, or THINK YOU CAN'T, You're right!"

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." Confucius (551-479 BCE) philosopher

I was in Staples Tuesday and it doesn't seem the actual Pentels have changed much in the past 30 years. There was a Mars Staedtler pencil that is a newer design and has a second lead clamp very close to the business end of the pencil. They claim this allows use of more than 97% of the lead. On cheap mechanical pencils you get about 75% utilization.

The large (2mm?) traditional leads will take a long tapered point that is easy to see. How long that point lasts depends on the hardness of the lead and the smoothness of the work surface. It only takes a single divot to knock such a lead down to a blunt 1mm or more. As Ron says you don't have to re-sharpen if the lead is a small enough root diameter. Also as Ron says, the chisel point is much more resistant to damage from a rough surface. A chisel point on a 4H lead can score all but the hardest woods. Cut a chisel point on a hard lead carpenter's pencil and you've got a tool for scribing that won't last as long as long but is much less dangerous when stowed behind your ear than a knife. It's also a lot easier to re-sharpen.

On fine paper or vellum .3mm works great but it's useless on wood or even course paper. I like .5mm leads. All you have to do to keep them pointed is roll the pencil as you follow the rule. If I'm sketching I'll keep a couple of pencils with different lead harnesses on hand (and a separate eraser). Even with the same diameter the harder lead allows finer marks.

But to get back to the original question about pencil sharpeners...



Every woodworker needs one of these eh?

But this one is for serious sharpening.



"KUM®-Automatic® Stop pencil sharpener makes long pencil point in 2 steps; automatic brake prevents oversharpening; magnesium alloy; 2 spare blades. Includes lead pointers for 2mm and 3.15mm leads.

Shape the wood and then the lead to an extra long precise point. In the first hole you shape the wood until the automatic stop. The second hole shapes only the lead until the automatic stop."

While you're at the pencil place spend forty cents on this...



They also have something for the Bridge City Tool collectors, a handmade Bubinga and ebony pencil.

Does it come in 3 phase?

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John

1 Toolie, 2 XL Festool Polos

That's the beauty of it John, it's solar powered, so you can go ahead and sharpen up your pencils while you wait for all your alternating electrical phases to get coordinated. And distributed.

Seth,

The white gunk is thinset. I'm cutting tile right now and the 4B (softest) lead works great for marking a cut line on tile. I use a somewhat harder lead (I think HB) for marking on wood.

You'll notice that the lead cleaner is missing on my pointer. I need to replace it.

Regards,

Dan.

__________________
"You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’" George Bernard Shaw

"Modern leads are tougher than older leads, though, so if you used to find 0.5mm leads snapped for you years ago, it might be worth another try with a modern lead like Pentel's AIN."

Oops, in the good 'ol US of A you want to look for Pentel Super HI-Polymer leads in the paper tubes instead of the NAINA AIN stuff.

Oops again. Actually you can get Pentel AIN leads here.