Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Poll 2 – Preferred Lead Diameter

Right then, Poll 2 has closed. The poll was:

Question: “What is your preferred mech pencil lead diameter?”

The 268 votes were cast as follows:
0.3mm x 19 (7%)
0.5mm x 114 (42%)
0.7mm x 59 (22%)
0.9mm x 30 (11%)
1.1 to 1.4mm x 15 (5%)
2mm x 20 (7%)
Even bigger x 11 (4%)

Nothing too surprising here, with 0.5mm a clear winner, and 0.7mm an easy second. I was a little surprised at the size of “the tail” – 0.9mm and bigger getting a combined 28% of the vote. A few manufacturers push 0.7mm over 0.5mm leads due to strength issues, but you could interpret this poll to imply it’s not that big a deal. On the other hand, voters on this poll might not be representative of the pencil using population at large and so skew the results towards 0.5mm.

Now hopefully I’m not going to go overboard on polls, but I’ve got a couple more questions coming soon.

11 comments:

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kiwi-d said...

Wilson - you had a comment here, but its been deleted - not sure if by you, or me by accident. I've got a copy if you want me to re-post it?

Anonymous said...

Interesting vote! Iguess most those non stationary fanatics use 0.5mm pencil.

Unknown said...

Dave - I posted a comment but then I read it later and I didn't think it said anything useful. I might repost a better comment later.

Kiwi-d said...

Wilson - OK, but I didn't think it was that bad or useless.

Glen Mullaly said...

I know I'm too late but my vote's for 0.5mm. I guess that makes me a non-stationary fanatic in griff's eyes!

Dave B said...

I'm on the fence here. My official vote was for 0.7mm. It's what I use the most while out in the warehouse, however while at my desk I prefer 0.5mm.

tony said...

i dont really know

Larsthegreat said...

Only 11 years after the poll is closed, I weigh in with the majority: 0.5

I'm curious, then, why the majority of pencils stocked are 0.7 (at least in my neighborhood; it's not even close.) Is it because those actually outsell other sizes, and we the lead obsessed are not representative of the general pencil-buying public? I think that must be the case. Surely manufacturers and retailers would make efforts to put out product that will sell.

For my use, 0.7 is too thick for writing, and not thick enough for shading, so that's my least favorite. But, that's just me.

Kiwi-d said...

Seems a bit strange, 0.5mm lead sells more than 0.7mm except perhaps in your part of the world.

George Clements said...

0.5 mm leads are too fragile for me, and the line is too thin for my aging eyesight. I like 0.7 mm, especially for crosswords, which are one of my passions, and 0.9 mm leads are also good, softer grades being preferred. For general writing, I have no problems with the 1.18 mm leads used in the majority of pencils in my collection.