The Ohto Uni Returning Duet

Here is the latest addition to the collection, the Ohto Piston Sharp SP-5. My birthday present to me :)

I first read of the Ohto Piston Sharp mechanical pencil in a Reddit post by 2nd_Astronaut. It immediately reminded of my Uni Returns M5-318 pencil. Unfortunately the Uni Returns has not fared well over the years. The elastomer grip is a sticky yucky mess. I have to store it wrapped in aluminium cooking foil to stop it contaminating its neighbours, and would have Kondo'ed the pencil long ago if it weren't for the unique mechanism. Well, after seeing the Piston Sharp I got on the sat-phone to contact 2nd in his space station and now I own another mechanical pencil with a returns mechanism, this time a much higher grade model, one that should last and not require aluminium foil... except of course for my hat which keeps the alien mind-control radio-waves at bay. The SP-5 I now have is metal and plastic, but there is also an SP-10 which is all metal.

So, to explain, the unique thing about this mechanism is that it both advances and retracts the lead via an otherwise normal push top ratchet mechanism. You do a small push or click to advance the lead, and a longer or bigger push or click to retract the lead. The Ohto Piston Sharp has clear markings on the barrel to indicate this - calling them Half Knock and Full Knock.

Once you understand the concept its not too hard to control the amount you push, and both pencils do have a partial resistance stop at the halfway point that you can feel.

The Uni Returns advances more lead per click than the Ohto Piston Sharp, so the Uni retraction mechanism will retract back 4 click advances worth of lead whilst the Ohto will retract back 3 clicks of lead.

Now, I'm sure this retraction mechanism must be patented by the inventor, so its use by two competing companies raises some questions. Did Ohto make the Returns for Uni? More likely I imagine would be that the inventor works for an OEM/ODM manufacturer which made both the Ohto and the Uni. Or the inventor has licensed both to use the patent. Or...???

The pocket clip attachment on the Piston Sharp is two spot welds to the body. Not particularly awe inspiring or aesthetically pleasing. But still, I am very glad to have added the Piston Sharp to the collection. Thanks 2nd.

Ohto Words SP10-A Mechanical Pencil Review

Ohto Words SP-10A Mechanical Pencil

I believe this pencil has been discontinued in the not too distant past but it’s still available from a number of retailers. So even though it is discontinued I want to review it simply because it looks so nice. Pure eye-candy. There’s just something about the way it looks that I find extremely attractive.

The metal body is available in a number of different lustrous coloured finishes, mine, as you can see, is blue.

Weighing in at 18gm the Ohto Words is a little lighter than I expected. I feel the weight somehow does not quite go with the visual beauty and a slightly heavier construction would enhance the overall package.

Ohto Words is a capped mechanical pencil, and you can use it with the cap posted or not. Personally, when writing, I prefer the look of it in hand with the cap posted…the long sleek elegant look. The cap is a very positive push fit onto either end of the main body.

I always like to see a mechanical pencil comprehensively marked with brand, model name and number, and Ohto usually do, as they have with Words.

The pocket clip is very sturdy and stiff, probably too stiff. You will certainly have to put in some effort to clip it to something. But its’ size, shape and colour combine with the cap section to make a truly aesthetically pleasing sight.

The lead sleeve is 2mm long and fixed, but of course the cap means this is a pocket safe mechanical pencil. The lead advance is a push top ratchet mechanism, operated by the rounded end piece of the main body, with or without the cap section posted on the body. Ten clicks will advance about 7mm of lead. You access the lead magazine by unscrewing the body and removing the otherwise hidden emergency eraser with lead jam clearance rod.

The grip section is rubber with fine grooves running lengthwise rather than circular around the body. The rubber grip does feel quite “grippy” so that is good, but I just hope that Ohto have used a rubber formulation that will stand the test of time rather than degrade over a decade or two. The fine grooves in the grip do catch the light and add to the appearance of the pencil.

I said at the beginning that this pencil is eye-candy, but is also a great pencil. It is true threat to the Throne of Sharp Kerry. Ohto Words mechanical pencil – if you like a pretty pencil, then buy one now while you still can. It's a great deal at that price point.

•    Best Points – Did I mention how good it looks?
•    Not So Good Points – The pocket clip is too strong.
•    Price Range – Low
•    Does this pencil make it into the Top 5? – This is a really tough call, but after much deliberation I have decided “No”… except for its looks.

Dimensions – Length 125mm main body only and 150mm with cap posted, diameter 8mm across the grip section. Balance point about 50mm up from the tip without cap.

Giveaway Feedback 3

Palimpsest was the winning girl in the 5th Birthday Giveaway 1, and she has kindly sent in a few words and pictures of her winnings. So, over to Palimpsest.

How wonderful to get a parcel in the post – and with a handwritten letter too. Many thanks to Dave’s Mechanical Pencils. The pencil within  is the Tasche SP-10T Ohto Japan. A mini mechanical pencil just over 100mm long but post the cap and it becomes a full-sized writing instrument. Cap and barrel are made of aluminium – lower part of the barrel is silver, the other half and the cap is a smoky pink. The tip, trim and clip are chrome. Unscrew the top and a mini eraser is revealed.

Performance? The Tasche SP-10T Ohto is a smooth writer producing a nice dark line. There is one disadvantage. The top of the barrel is a wobbly affair. By pressing it down a fresh pencil tip is revealed. When it doesn’t serve that purpose it rotates freely to the annoyance of this user. When the cap is posted the barrel is inadvertently pressed down to produce more pencil lead. This can be prevented by holding on to the chrome ring rather than the barrel when posting.

Eraser is so tiny that it must be used in emergencies only. But then trembling hands can hardly cope with the fiddly task of unscrewing the top. And it takes more than 5 seconds to complete the task.

Still, the mini Tasche is a winner for portability and smooth writing. And as all mechanical pencils it promises to go where no pencil sharpener can follow.

Thanks Palimpsest.
Just FYI, for anyone interested, here's my review of the Ohto Tasche mechanical pencil.

Ohto Auto Sharp Mechanical Pencil Review

Ohto Auto Sharp AP-205 Mechanical Pencil Review

For general writing mechanical pencils, I guess that effortless automatic lead advance, which the user is unaware of, is one of major goals for the designers. I’m not sure they will actually reach that goal with the current types of auto advance mechanisms as they are activated by physical contact with the writing surface, and thus the alert writer will always be aware of something going on. For perfect automatic lead advance I think we will have to wait for some sort of proximity sensor that knows the tip of the lead sleeve is getting too close to the paper and that it is therefore time to advance some lead.

I feel I should know better, but automatics do have a certain allure to them, and so yet again I found one in my hand. Will this tale of the automatic be the familiar one – long on promise, short on delivery? With pencils like the Super Promecha, Ohto are known for marketing some of the most advanced, customisable, technical, complicated, gimmicky (take your pick) mechanical pencils around. Surely an automatic from them is likely to be better than most?

So then, the Ohto Auto Sharp AP-205 mechanical pencil.

It’s a lightweight mostly plastic pencil. The styling and colour scheme are quite nice, although nothing outstanding. The body and the grip are triangular, although the front end of the grip does start to taper down and transition into round where the front tip screws in.

The triangular grip is made from a smooth rubber compound which is quite hard, with a relatively smooth surface. The rubber does improve the grip properties a small amount, but not by much. The grip is an average size so should suit most who like an average sized pencil.

Now, as we know, the Ohto Auto Sharp has an auto-advance lead mechanism. Firstly though it is also a standard push top ratchet mechanism pencil. Ten clicks on the top button will get you a whopping great 14mm of the 0.5mm lead. The lead sleeve is a short plastic cone which is retractable so this is a pocket safe pencil. Right then, how does this pencil perform when you don’t click the top button and let the auto-advance mechanism take over? Well, basically it performs as expected. It advances lead when the tip hits the paper and when that happens you can notice some small differences in the feel and lead application to the paper. For me personally the major issue I have with many auto-advancing mechanisms is ‘plunging’. That’s my name for the phenomenon of suddenly, whilst you are happily writing away, the whole lead sleeve retracts back up into the front tip and you ‘plunge’ forward. It’s really annoying and disconcerting. It sees to affect some pencils far worse than other…although for all I know they all possibly have the same design mechanism. Well, the Ohto Auto Sharp is one of the better performer in this aspect – whilst I did experience some plunging, it was relatively rare and not too dramatic. So, basically as always, I’d suggest you use the pencil in the normal manner, advancing the lead manually and just letting the auto-advance take over for those infrequent occasions when you are ‘caught short’, as it were.

Hmmm, just thinking about the auto-advance mechanism for a bit longer. It works by having the plastic lead sleeve make contact with, and thus rub on, the paper. I assume the plastic sleeve is made from a decent engineering plastic like acetal or something, but paper is just really compressed wood fibre and any woodworker knows that saws and all their other fine steel tools go blunt when in contact with wood. Really, despite what is feels like, paper is actually reasonably tough and abrasive. Cutting paper with a steel knife will dull the blade over time. So, how about that plastic tip then? Actually, I didn’t even need my magnifying glass. After two weeks of use, I could see the edge of the lead sleeve cone had been worn away. Viewing with a magnifying glass just confirmed it. The triangular grip on the Ohto Auto Sharp must actually increase the wear because the pencil can only held at three specific rotations, and because of the pocket clip, many users, like myself, will not even rotate it at all and thus the exact same spot on the lead sleeve will always be making contact with the paper and thus be worn down even quicker. Obviously paper type, amount of hand pressure, amount of use of the auto-advance feature and amount of rotation will all affect the rate of wear on the lead sleeve. Who knows how long it would take before the cone wears down so much as to affect the operation of the auto advance? I imagine though it would be a fairly long time, and most users would have misplaced their pencil before it happened. Still, it’s an interesting little thought process.

Carrying on then, as expected there is a small eraser under the push top button, and you remove that to access the lead refill magazine.

The pocket clip is moulded plastic and actually quite stylish and functional.

Markings on the body are “Ohto” printed on the pocket clip, and “Auto Sharp 0.5mm AP-205” on the body. I fail to find the word “Japan” anywhere on the pencil. I imagine that implies something.

So, in closing then, the Ohto Auto Sharp is a nice enough mechanical pencil for its price range, but as usual I am left a little nonplussed with the auto-advance mechanism. Must try harder to resist the allure of the automatic…but hey, down this way the general public can’t own handguns…so temptation abounds…automatic pistol…automatic pencil?

• Best Points – The auto-advance works reasonably well.
• Not So Good Points – Considering what this pencil is, and its price range, then nothing much.
• Price Range – Low.
• Does this pencil make it into the Top 5? - No.

Dimensions – Length 141mm, width 11 mm across the face of the body. Balance point about 65mm up from the tip.

This Ohto Auto Sharp AP-205 mechanical pencil was sent to me gratis by Cult Pens. Thanks Cult Pens.

Ohto Tasche SP-10T Mechanical Pencil Review

Ohto Tasche SP-10T Mechanical Pencil Review

All good things must come to end. Just like my holiday finished, this is the last of my holiday mini-pencil reviews. The End - but I have saved the best for last.

The Ohto Tasche SP-10T is a great pencil. First off, it looks great. With the cap on for storage, it looks compact and “useful”. Small, but not too small. Mine is a glossy dark blue colour and the strategically positioned chrome trims combine with the blue and the overall shape to produce a really great look. Opened up, with the cap posted and ready for writing it looks equally good. Stylish but purely functional.

Closed up, the Tasche is small enough to fit in most compendiums or pocketbooks. The cap system means it is totally pocket safe, and the tip is protected from any accidental damage. The pocket clip is spring loaded and is a good solid piece, not much chance of accidentally coming off whatever you clipped it to.

The Tasche has a 3mm fixed lead sleeve. Combined with 0.5mm lead size, it’s actually useable as a technical draughting pencil. Equally though it’s suitable for general writing. The grip area has no special grip enhancements. Like the rest of the pencil it is metal, but the grip section is finished with a lustrous but non-glossy finish to slightly enhance the grip characteristics. However, it’s still essentially a plain metal body so the grip will never get an “excellent” rating.

The end-cap on the body is a chrome plated screw in cap. You unscrew it to expose a small eraser, and pull the eraser to access the lead refill magazine. This is all a little bit time consuming. The eraser is definitely emergency use only. I can see the end cap rolling around the floor of the train to Brussels or the flight to LA if you were using the eraser regularly on your travels. The end-cap also has a black rubber o-ring set into it. When you post the cap onto the body to get ready to write, the o-ring guides the cap onto body and holds it there. I really the like the pneumatic, compressed air feeling as you slide the cap on or off the body. It’s like my own little piston toy – a silly, secret, little something for the engineers amongst us. Once posted, the cap is free to spin around on the body, which sometimes I like, and other times I don’t. You can actually use the pencil with the cap unposted, but in that case it is definitely a short pencil.

The lead advance mechanism is an ordinary push top ratchet mechanism. 10 clicks advances 7mm of lead. Putting the cap back on the tip to close up for the day generally activates the lead advance mechanism unless you are careful. This always annoys me. Now, I must tell the truth and say that I had a problem with the mechanism of my Tasche. The lead stopped advancing. I have a shockingly poor success rate at disassembling my pencils, they never seem to work as well after I have opened them up for “investigation”. So these days I resist temptation and only pull them apart when absolutely necessary. In this case the “lead retainer” had come loose in the tip and I managed to push it back home into position and everything was once again as it should be, so that made me feel happy.

• Best Points – Looks good, like the cap system.
• Not So Good Points – I would feel “picky” to list anything of consequence here.
• Price Range – Mid.

Dimensions – With cap on front in storage position = 107mm long. With cap posted on top for writing = 139mm long. With the cap left off (unposted) = 104mm. Diameter = 8mm at grip. Balance point about 75mm up from the tip with cap posted on top for writing.

My final comment - I thoroughly recommend Ohto Tasche to you all, it is a worthy competitor to Pentel Sharp Kerry.

Good bye to Australia. Same time, same place, next year. (Maybe)

Ohto Super Promecha PM-1500S Mechanical Pencil Review

Ohto Super Promecha PM-1500S Mechanical Pencil Review

Somehow I missed the Ohto Super Promecha for a few years. I had actually viewed it online, but seemingly in some sort of defensive reaction, the logical part of my mind must have tried to protect me from the “collecting” part my mind, and so I glossed over all the super-adjustability of it all, and it just didn’t register with me. A case of self-induced “screen-blindness” or something? Anyway, last year a reader contacted me about the Super Promecha, and made the comment, “THERES NO NEED FOR A PENCIL LIKE THAT! ITS WILD CRAZY DAVE!” Clearly it was time for me to look again, and to get myself one.

Before I go any further, if ever there was a mechanical pencil that needed instructions, then the Super Promecha is it. As far as I can tell it isn’t officially released on western markets, so the instructions are not in English, and you really do need instructions. So, here’s my version of the Ohto Super Promecha instructions.
Just look at the thing – silver metallic colour, hexagonal body, cut-out sections and springs and adjusting grip wheels everywhere - this pencil really looks “technical”. It just screams out “designer”, “engineer”, etc. This is not a pencil for “ordinary people”. Right then, picking it up, the first thing that I noticed was that it was a little lighter than I expected. It actually weighs in at about 28 grams, so the aluminium construction keeps it relatively lightweight. Most of the weight is at the front end with the large grip section and all those adjustable mechanisms, so this is definitely a front-heavy pencil. Well straight off the bat, I don’t like that. The large front-heavy grip and thinner lighter body somehow combined to give me a feeling that it was sort of flapping around a bit in my hand, particularly when not holding it tight. It reminded me of some sort of pendulum - you hold the weight at the end and the suspension rod just waves around.
The grip itself is a very fine diamond cut pattern, so you certainly get good positive grip, but it’s quite gentle on the skin, not a rough cut pattern. OK, so lets start at the front and work our way up the pencil. What length of lead sleeve to do prefer? Well, you can set it between 0 and 4mm. That first little wheel and spring mechanism (1) sets the maximum length of your lead sleeve. Then you advance or retract the lead sleeve (for pocket safety) by winding the big grip section (2) around. So you could wind the grip section around just a little bit and only half-retract the sleeve, or all the way to fully retract it. Similarly when extending the lead sleeve, you wind the grip around to extend it out, but its maximum extension is determined by the preset little wheel and spring mechanism at the tip. Overall, not a bad idea, but it would be miles more convenient if the lead sleeve retracted with a simple push like it does on most pencils. Of course if you have wound the sleeve back in and you want to write a quick note or something you don’t need to advance it out, you can just push the top cap and advance some lead and write. But I noticed this leads to problems with lead breakage, which is very unusual for me with 0.7mm leads. The Super Promecha comes in a wide variety of lead sizes. One final note, don’t wind the grip back good and hard, as it might just get stuck; and like me, you’ll need to resort to pliers and spanner to un-wind it again.

The next thing you can set is the lead advance length. You do that with the grip wheel adjuster (3) at the top of the grip section. The Super Promecha uses an ordinary push top ratchet lead advance mechanism, but the adjuster allows you to set the lead advance per click anywhere between 0 and 2mm. This is a very interesting idea, but unfortunately reality does not quite live up to expectation. I noted a tendency for the mechanism to skip the shorter the lead advance setting. So, if you set it for 2mm advance per click, and then clicked it 10 times, you would end up with 20mm of lead extended. But if you set it for 0.5mm advance per click and clicked 10 times, you might not end up with 5mm of lead, because it skipped (didn’t advance the lead) on one or two of the activations. This problem was definitely related to the lead advance length setting. The shorter you set it, the more likely it was to skip.

Well, how does it go at getting graphite onto paper? Firstly I noted I could hear a little rattle when writing. There’s less rattle if the lead is in continuous contact with your paper, but as soon as its raised and lowered in the course of general writing or drawing, you hear it. The noise is actually the push-top button rattling in contact with the body. Next, the lead is not held all that firmly in the sleeve. In comparison to some other technical draughting pencils I’ve got, when tested with the highly scientific “wobble it between your fingernails” test, the Super Promecha does have a little more lead wobble than most.

Next on the way up the body is the pocket clip. It’s lightly sprung and quite good. It is removable, by unscrewing the grip wheel (4) holding it in place.

Finally we reach the top button, which of course activates the push top ratchet lead advance mechanism. It contains a lead hardness degree indicator (5), which you set from B to 4H, including grade F which is a nice touch. Clearly these lead grades indicate Ohto’s intention that this is a technical draughting pencil. There is a small eraser under the top button, with a needle to help clear lead jams. Personally I have very few such lead jams with any pencil, but with all this super adjustability you just might need a needle with this pencil.

My pencil came in a small simple plastic protective carry sleeve. I was full of anticipation when I received my Super Promecha. Clearly it promised much, but I must confess that something just wasn’t quite right, that overall I was disappointed with it. Much of this could have been unfair expectations. Sometimes it is a fine line between techno-supergadget and gimmick. Now that I have experienced the Super Promecha’s features first-hand, for me personally, I think that overall this pencil has put one foot just over the line, just stepped into the ‘slightly gimmicky’ and ‘disappointing’ area of the field. However, I’m sure a lot of people, and many Ohto users, will disagree with me.

• Best Points – All that adjustability, particularly the lead advance length.
• Not So Good Points – Cumbersome lead sleeve retraction, and for me personally, front heavy balance.
• Price Range – Mid.

Dimensions – Length 153mm, diameter 10mm at grip. Balance point about 60mm up from the tip.

Wooden Mechanicals?

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just isn’t the same,
Can you guess which one is not like the others…

Yes, yes, alright! Too much time spent playing with kids watching 'Ses*me Street'.

(Trick question - actually 2 of them are not like the others)

Well…if you guessed these two, then you’re absolutely right!

Mechanical pencils that look like normal pencils. Mechanical pencils that look like wood pencils. Seems some folk want the best of both worlds – the traditional wooden pencil look with the advantages of a mechanical pencil. Well here are two that I have.

Ohto APS-280E and Eberhard Faber EFAmatic Mechanical Pencil Reviews

Ohto APS-280E
When you hold the Ohto APS-280E in your hand it really feels like a wooden pencil. That’s because it is! Yes, it’s an ordinary hexagonal wooden pencil, with the core drilled out and a mechanical pencil mechanism put in. The only real giveaway is the small brass metal tip / lead-sleeve. It’s quite a nice rather unusual experience to write with this pencil. The look, feel, weight and balance of a good quality, lacquer finished wooden pencil in your hand, but the smooth fine writing of a 0.5mm polymer lead. Great stuff.

Now the lead in this pencil is not your ordinary 60mm long mechanical pencil lead, its double length at 120mm. Personally I’ve only seen cheap Chinese 120mm leads for sale, and I wouldn’t waste my money on them. No matter what price you paid, you paid too much. But luckily you can just put an ordinary 60mm lead down the tube and happily start clicking away. Just to clarify, like most normal push-top ratchet mechanism mechanical pencils you just pull the eraser off the top and stick a lead down the tube. The tube is really quite thin, so it’s pretty much just one piece of lead at a time, no reserve storage. The mechanism is a standard push top ratchet lead advance system.

The metal tip is not retractable, and there’s no pocket clip, just like with an ordinary wooden pencil. The eraser is again an ordinary sort of wooden pencil pink rubber compound eraser. It erases reasonably well, but as usual I’d prefer a vinyl compound eraser. The eraser is mounted in a metal holder which in turn push fits into the ferrule housing. I guess you can buy replacement erasers complete with metal holder. Now this is one thing against the Ohto - the metal eraser holder rattles inside the metal ferrule as you write or wave the pencil about. I actually found this really annoying. I suppose it would be a simple thing to put a little piece of paper or something inside the ferrule to wedge it all tight and stop the rattle.

So overall, aside from the rattle bit, I’m pretty impressed with this pencil. It was great to write with for a few days, but it’s a little thin for my personal taste.

• Best Points – It really feels and looks like a wooden pencil. Just ignore that metal tip!
• Not So Good Points – The rattle, and no spare lead capacity.
• Price Range – Economy/Low.

Dimensions – Just like an ordinary wooden pencil.

Eberhard Faber EFAmatic

At first glance the EFAmatic looks like a wooden pencil, but then you quickly pick up on the fact that it’s actually plastic. Well, apart from the metal eraser ferrule of course. So, nice shiny ferrule, shiny red body, gold lettering, all in all it’s a good look. There are two things though that I’m not totally keen on. The first is the beige colour of the tip. It’s supposed to be like a sharpened wooden pencil but it doesn’t quite work. The second is the barcode. It’s very clear and prominent, much more so than on most wooden pencils and I think it looks a bit ugly on this pencil.

Now the EFAmatic is a hex shaped pencil, just like the wooden ones it’s trying to imitate. The grip is reasonable despite there not being any grip enhancements. It has a reddish rubber eraser in a metal ferrule on the end. The eraser is a rubber compound, and works reasonably well. I guess you have to buy full new ferrule sections if you want to replace the eraser.

Like the Ohto, this pencil uses the long 120mm leads. There is a 0.5mm and a 0.7mm variant.
Look at that! Now that’s a stick of lead! (Pictured with a normal 60mm lead container for comparison)

You pull the whole ferrule section off to refill the lead. Like the Ohto, you can only have one stick of lead in it at a time, but you can get away with refilling it with two 60mm sticks of lead. You have to use two though, as the rod on the ferrule section pushes the second stick of lead onto the first and starts it into the auto-advance mechanism. Yes, that’s right, it’s an auto-advancer, not a push-top ratchet. There is no manual mechanism to activate the lead advance. You just write and the lead advances. It writes quite smoothly; with very little ‘scrape-through’ as you go over existing lines or letters. I guess this particular plastic tip is better at this than most others I have tried. However, there is still the dreaded “plunging”. Certainly not as bad as some others, but it still happens from time to time. It really is annoying. You are writing away and suddenly the pencil just plunges forward as the lead advance mechanism activates in a particular way. Putting the occasional plunge aside though, this auto-advance system works quite well. No pencil sharpener required here!

If you are like me and sometimes can’t resist flicking the tip with your fingernail to make the lead advance there is no way of getting it to go back in. Also of course there is no pocket clip or retracting tip for pocket safety.

But let’s not be picky. Overall, for the price, this is a pretty good pencil.

• Best Points – The looks and the price.
• Not So Good Points – The “plunging” when you write
• Price Range – Economy.

Dimensions – Just like an ordinary wooden pencil.

Trivia: For some reason I thought that all the various “Faber” companies were now back under the Faber-Castell umbrella, but I looked at the Eberhard Faber website and immediately thought, “Those pencils look like Staedtlers!” I was right, because a few more page views lead me to the company profile which states, “In 1978 the company was taken over by Staedtler-Mars/Nuremburg”.

The Final Bit: If I could only have one or the other, I think I would choose the Ohto, because it really is wood. But the EFAmatic is a good pencil too.