Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Staedtler 760 Mechanical Pencil Review

A little while ago Max from Copenhagen sent in a guest review of his latest mechanical pencil purchase. So, I’ll now hand over to Max.

Review of the Staedtler 760 Mechanical Pencil

I’ve just recently bought the fairly new Staedtler 760. (Mine is a 0.7 mm).
staedtler 760 mechanical pencil

It looks nice and it’s reasonably priced at around £6 (GBP). It follows what has become the “new” standard triangular shape of Staedtler. I am not really a great fan of that triangular shape – neither with Staedtler nor with the Faber–Castell Grip 2011. According to Staedtler this pencil is designed for writing. It has a rubber grip. The grip has a sort of hard rubbery feeling. It’s not too soft but not too hard and plasticy either. I’m not a great fan of most grips whether they are of rubber, plastic or metal. I just prefer a plain pencil of a material that is pleasant to hold – like the Lamy 2000. Sorry…back to the Staedtler…
staedtler mechanical pencil

The pencil is very light, a little too light for my liking. The body is made of a shiny blue plastic. This makes it look better from a distance than up close. The transitions between materials are actually nicely made despite the triangular shape. The pocket clip may look a little cheapish from a distance – like the clips on cheap ball pens. But examining it a little closer reveals that it is actually of quite good quality.
staedtler 760 eraser

It is a push top mechanism with a twist operated eraser as on the Paper Mate PhD and the Faber–Castell Grip Plus. The eraser itself is quite thin but does a decent job. There is no description of how to fill the pencil with leads, so you need to figure out for yourself just to pull the top off with a firm grip. The benefit of is that the ratchet is held firmly in place. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that it holds a lot of spare leads – actually on par with the Lamy 2000.

staedtler mechanical pencil refill
The push mechanism is pleasantly smooth and without noise. Ten clicks will give you about 9 mm of lead.
The pencil is completely pocket- safe. The tip supporting the lead stays firmly in place while writing without being locked. It only takes a light push to retract it after writing while pushing the top button down.

What is the Staedtler 760 like to write with? This is where it is actually a bit of a surprise! It is light, triangular and with a rubber grip. It has everything against it! But it is actually a very pleasant performer with good balance (approx. 40/60 weight distribution, being bottom heavy). But but but…after a while the rubber will start to loosen a little and the edge of the rubber grip is felt against the finger tips.
staedtler 760 pencil tip

This will never become one of my favourite pencils. It just lacks the quality feel of my favourite pencils. But it is a good pencil for carrying at work. I do find it a bit pricey. You will get three Rotring Tikky 3 for the same price or almost a Lamy Safari which is far superior.

11 comments:

Time Waster said...

That eraser looks similar to the papermate Apex Dave just reviewed. I mean it's metal you might rip your paper.

Anonymous said...

got one very nice, looks like the Tombow Cool you previously reviewed!!

Dubai Wanderer

Michael J Corry said...

Hello Max,
I have friends in Copenhagen. They visit me in the UK and try to steal our hills. :-)

Nice review. I was thinking of getting one of these but I found the same problem of loosening rubber on the old Mars Micro. Seems they haven't solved it.
I might go for the Safari after all - it also comes in lots of colours.

Henrik said...

Hi Max,
I knew I wasn't the only Dane reading this blog. Nice review - I tend to agree on most points.

When I first saw this one I thought, well Staedtler has finally made something which looks like it is for grown ups.:-)

Haven't had any issues with mine yet.
( OK - I don't like rubber grips either :-) )
regards Henrik

PointFour said...

I'm surprised at the number of people who complain about WRITING pencils being too light. If you're writing a LOT, light weight helps to reduce strain on your hands, and less inertia makes for a pencil that races to get your thoughts down on paper.

Anonymous said...

Is this pencil made in Japan? For quite a while here in the USA, the Office Depot chain has marketed a "trig pencil" under their house brand of "Foray". It comes in different barrel colors (blue, brown and burgundy) with a black triangular rubber grip but only available in 0.7mm width. It's made in Japan and looks identical to your Staedtler example except for the nosepiece which is stubbier on the Foray version.

Lexx said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lexx said...

If u had never told us the triangular shape - just looking to your photos - we'd never notice... *-*

Actually, I prefer the circular shape as well, I think that's because I normally spin while writting, and triangular shape always bothers me to spin smoothly. I think it's just subjective, aspects as "how u write", "size of your hand/fingers", "writting/drawing technic", etc. Lots of things influences on what you gonna like/dislike on triangular shape, but dont give up'without even giving a chance.

Kevin Moriarty said...

There are two kinds of pencil users:
1) buy it for looks (most people)
2) buy it for using (makers and doers)

I teach math to 100s of students and use over 40 different kinds of mechanical pencils (give them to students as well). The Staedtler 760 is by far the best mechanical pencil I've tested. I've purchased over 30 of them.

btw, the 1.3mm lead works quite well for many applications, although it may take some getting used to for the perfectionist.
kevin7314@gmail

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the review!
A Sixth grade buddy gave me one of these (1.3mm, red), but i've lost it. Now that I know the name of this beauty, I can finally track it down and buy one. :D

Jessica said...

Thanks so much! I have this pencil, and it was great until the lead ran out and I couldn't figure out how to refill it -- the Staedtler website we totally unhelpful, as were the first few reviews I watched, and the generic "how to refill a mechanical pencil" articles. You saved the day!

Now i can go back to loving my pencil.