Rocky 2020

Rocky has been waiting patiently, counting down the decades, the years, the months, the days, the hours and now his time has finally arrived. He's going to party hard tonight, going to shake the lead out and party like it's 1989 all over again :)

Happy 2020 to you all, from Rocky and I.
Hope you have a great year.

Back With Triple Sets

I shut this blog down a few years ago and took it offline a while back, but I have recently been trying to get my "pencil-life" better organized. Part of that has been the long overdue decision to reorganize (down size) my collection. Over the years I have ended up with a lot of stuff I don't really want. Things that looked good online but aren't in the hand, duplicates, minor variations, etc, etc, etc.

The review of things to keep or sell got me thinking about triple sets - fountain pen, ballpoint pen and mechanical pencil. Not that they were ever that common 30 - 50 years ago, but I guess they are basically a thing of the past now unless you make up your own one by buying three separates. I do have a couple of triple sets... but not for much longer :)

Conway Stewart

Pilot

Faber-Castell E-Motion - the one I'm keeping, although it is a make up of three separates in a flip top hard case.

So, someone who knows about ink, why isn't the Faber-Castell nib gold?

2014 Starts With a Rip-Off?

In mid January an auction for a Pilot pen & mechanical pencil set on my local online auction site piqued my interest. The details of the set were minimal and I was a bit suspicious about it all, but I thought I would put in the minimum bid and leave it at that. If I lost then no drama, and if I won and it was a second hand scratched Pilot lemon then it would have only cost me the equivalent of US $10.19 including postage. Well, I won the auction and in due course my Pilot pen & pencil set arrived.

Upon opening the parcel the Pilot hard case had a fair bit of edge wear and tear, so my hopes were not good. I opened the case, to reveal an annoying lemon set. I say annoying because as you can see the case is a Pilot case, but the pen and pencil were unbranded, not Pilots. Clearly I had been trumped and taken for sucker.

After a few seconds my annoyance and disappointment subsided and said to myself just calm down, relax, be cool. I had a good shot at returning them and getting my money back. Anyway, may as well investigate the lemons and see how bad they are.

Firstly I said before the pen and mechanical pencil were themselves unbranded. That's not strictly correct. Around the centre band of each is printed in black the word KICPA. KICPA? Never heard of that brand. Also it wasn't engraved or anything, rather printed on. A bit strange really. So, I googled KICPA pens and pencils and got next to nothing, except links to a couple of old eBay auctions, for pen and pencil sets with KICPA printed on them, in Pilot cases! So, maybe there was a little more to this than first thought.

Right, time to start pulling things apart to have a look at the entrails.

Hmmm... definitely not an el-cheapo mechanical pencil insert mechanism.

There's a lead clearance needle on the eraser. Again, not the mark of a cheap generic set.

Things are even clearer with the ballpoint pen. It again has a good quality insert mechanism, and a Pilot brand R-3 refill.

So, despite my initial reaction, this is obviously a genuine Pilot pen and mechanical pencil set. What then is this KICPA? First thought is this set is part of Pilots corporate gift programme and KICPA are a company who have bought them as gifts. Back to googling KICPA.

Ahhhh.... KICPA... The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Pen and pencil users! Well, that's my best guess anyway.

The mechanical pencil is 0.5mm push top ratchet mechanism. As you can see, the metal body is a gold colour with a pattern of long rectangularish flat sections. There's probably a name for that sort of pattern but I don't know what it is. Please enlighten me if you do happen to know.

The set is in very good condition, basically "as new" despite the condition of the case. Man, those Pilot cases. They really are spring loaded. You could lose a finger closing them.

There is a reasonably large community of Korean immigrants down here, so I can only assume a KICPA member has emigrated and tired of his/her set.

Right then, moving on. Whilst browsing my Korean backgrounds I came across this.

Hmmmm, Little Miss Bo-Peep Korea and her sheep and a "Beat This Caption"? Hey, are they poking fun at us down here? I used to get a decent number of hits from Korea... translation please... whats it say?

Pilot Triple Set

Here’s an interesting triple set I picked up at auction late last year. It appears to be “new old stock” or “NOS”, and is a triple set by Pilot of Japan. From top to bottom we have ballpoint pen, fountain pen, mechanical pencil. The little sticker-wrappers on the items identify the FP as a 57G2 and the MP as a EH300. There is no sticker on the BP so I don’t know its model designation.

The pen case is nice plush red velvet on the inside.The outside is a little unusual in that the two case halves are different colours.The writing instruments are all a turquoise sort of colour with gold trims. Personally I find it a rather unappealing colour.

The fountain pen Mechanical pencil It is a screw mechanism. Winding the top half advances and retracts the 0.9mm lead.

Pull the top half of the body off to access the eraser.Underneath the eraser there is lead storage. But it’s an old fashioned screw mechanism so that’s just storage. You feed new leads in via the tip.

Despite my feelings about the colour scheme it’s a mighty nice set, and in great condition. A complete guess, but I imagine it dates to sometime around 1970 – 1980.

Pilot Dr Grip Ltd Mechanical Pencil Review

Pilot Dr Grip Ltd Mechanical Pencil Review

Quite a long time ago an “Anonymous” reader asked if I would review the Pilot Dr Grip, and I said I would put it on the list. A considerable time passed, and the reader politely reminded me about Dr Grip, and so, here we are. To be precise I’m actually reviewing a Dr Grip Ltd. The “Ltd” is one of quite a few closely related versions of the Dr Grip. I don’t have any of the other versions so I can’t really say what the differences are, but the information on the web implies there isn’t a huge difference between the various models. The Pilot USA website says Dr Grip Ltd comes in four different colours, but 0.5mm lead is the only option.

As I was using my Dr Grip for review week it occurred to me that this is actually the first pencil with a shaker mechanism that I have reviewed, so I’m going to start with that. On the face of it, it’s an ordinary standard push top ratchet lead advance mechanism. 10 clicks will get you about 6mm of the 0.5mm lead. I quite like this particular push top action – you have to push it down quite a long distance with a reasonable amount of force. It seems a very deliberate positive sort of movement, which for some reason quite appeals to me. However, it’s also a shaker mechanism. I guess most folks will be aware of what that is, but for those who aren’t, inside the body of the pencil there is a weight and if you shake the pencil up and down with a fair bit of force then the weight will operate the lead advance mechanism when it slams back into the front stop of its movement.
For further explanation, in the photo above you can see I have unscrewed the body and taken the steel weight off the clear plastic centre-tube which serves as both the weight guide rod and lead storage chamber. Of course for normal lead refill purposes this pencil is just like any normal one - you pull the top button off, remove the small eraser and refill the chamber. There is no need to disassemble the pencil like I have.

I think Pilot have got the shaker mechanism about right – not so sensitive that it is inadvertently activated by general movement but not so tough that you need to shake it excessively to activate it. Right then, a shaker system! So what? Well that’s a fair question. Some suggest it’s the answer to a non-existent problem. I think I’ve got a foot in each camp. The shaker system is primarily a novelty, a good marketing tool and point of differentiation. I believe that’s why someone invented it. Having said that, I am tempted to think that if you were in a speed writing situation, pouring forth an examination masterpiece, that the shaker system and a quick flick of the wrist might help to keep you “in the flow” as opposed to pushing the top button. But it’s pretty debatable. Basically I think if you like it, great, if not, push the top button and forget about it.

Up above I’ve briefly mentioned the small eraser under the top button. It’s standard emergency use type stuff. At the other end of the pencil the lead sleeve is a tapering cone, non-retractable so this pencil is for general writing only and not really fully pocket safe.

The name Dr Grip just doesn’t do it me. To be honest it conjures up some mental images that aren’t particularly pleasant. Most, or all, of the Dr Grip variants have an “Ease-of-Use Commendation” by the (US) Arthritis Foundation, and perhaps this is where the Doctor and Grip bits come into play. On the back of the blister-pack that my pencil came in there are five bullet points, two of which relate to this. The first is “Relieves writing stress and reduces required gripping power” and the second “Great for people who write a lot”. I don’t know how the Arthritis Foundation judges ease-of-use but it seems writing instrument with fairly large diameter rubber grips pass. So, the Dr Grip has a smooth plain rubber grip of about 12 to 13mm diameter which qualifies as a large diameter grip. The grip slowly flares out towards each end. The rubber compound is quite hard, not really much give in it, but it does have some “grippy” quality so I would say it does provide some small improvement to grip, particularly under lower finger pressure, which may well be the important point regarding arthritis sufferers. You all know my general aversion to rubber grips - for those with normal dexterity I would say the rubber grip is largely irrelevant.
There is one thing though about this rubber grip that stuns me. It stunned me the moment I first saw my Dr Grip years ago, and it still stuns me now. The grip looks totally second-rate and just plain cheap. Firstly that milky translucent colour is something I find very unappealing, and rather cheap looking. But that’s a personal judgement. What really stuns me is how it is of a different diameter to the front housing it matches (sic) up to. I just cannot believe this. Pilot are a major manufacturer, a world force in writing instruments, and one of their flagship items has this grip that looks like a piece of oversize rubber tubing, chopped off to length and just pushed up over the pencil body. At the top end the grip matches diameters with the body, at the bottom end it just sticks out, all half-finished, cheap and nasty looking. Shocking. It’s appalling, like something you might find on the cheapest nastiest piece of junk you could buy from the One Cent Shop. I can’t believe that some designer didn’t get the chop over this, but since they keep selling it, I guess not.

Maybe the rubber grip is plain tube looking because it’s supposed to be replaceable? That would be some sort of excuse, but I haven’t seen anything about it being replaceable. Did I miss this on the websites?

Right, on to something a little more positive. The pocket clip is a very good design. It’s a sturdy piece of metal with good flexibility and strength, set into a recessed section of the body which helps keep good visual symmetry - unlike that rubber grip. (Grrrr!) The only thing against the pocket clip is that being recessed it doesn’t do a great job of stopping the pencil rolling on your desk.

As far as actually writing with Dr Grip goes, it’s not too bad. It’s easy to hold, the weight and balance are good, I like using both the shaker and the push top button. Personally I would have liked the mechanism to advance a little more lead per activation.
“Pilot Dr Grip 0.5” is boldly printed on the body, along with “Pilot Japan” moulded into the body in small lettering, and “Pilot” embossed into the pocket clip. So, no doubt about its heritage, except that its only got Dr Grip rather than Dr Grip Ltd printed on it.

The overall verdict? I feel I owe some sort of apology to the anonymous reader who has patiently waited for me to get around to their favourite pencil. I hope that this review won’t cause you to delete my blog from your “favourites”, but this pencil is not one of my favourites, it’s “OK”, nothing really stands out and grabs me in a positive way, but something does in a negative way. I am afraid that to my eyes the rubber grip is a visual nightmare, and really spoils the pencil for me. But, if you can overlook that, then Dr Grip does have its fair share of good points.

• Best Points – I like the shaker mechanism for a change, and even if you don’t shake, as a push top mechanism it’s equally satisfying. A superior pocket clip. The large grip will definitely suit some folks.
• Not So Good Points – The grip that doesn’t match diameters – a real shocker.
• Price Range – Low.

Dimensions – Length 148mm, diameter 12mm at mid-grip. Balance point about 60mm up from the tip

A Note: I spent my review week writing with the lead supplied with the pencil, which I assume is Pilot lead. I haven’t reviewed any of Pilots leads, but maybe I should as I encountered an unusual problem. “Paper-gouging”. I seemed to be forever having the leads chisel point or sharp edge stabbing into my paper and gouging or breaking. This is not normally a problem for me so I am going to have to investigate further and report back in due course.

Pilot Clicker Mechanical Pencil Review

Pilot Clicker Mechanical Pencil Review

Well I’m starting this review off with a bit of a ramble. Judging from the requests to review this particular pencil, rarely has a mechanical pencil review been awaited with so much anticipation.

Amongst the mechanical pencils that I own, the Pilot Clicker has one claim to total uniqueness. Here’s why.

I own a few mechanical pencils. Quite a lot actually. Now what happens is that sometimes my pencil goes missing, and shortly thereafter I find that my wife has appropriated it because “it looked interesting”, or nice or something. Now she’s not a pencil nut like me, and it’s my pencil, so I just take it back off her. It’s mine! But hey, I’m not totally heartless, I’ve bought her a couple that she said she really liked (e.g. Lamy Scribble) so that she didn’t have to keep stealing mine. But you know, it doesn’t really work like that. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and my pencil is always more interesting than hers. So she keeps taking them. Except there was this one day I saw she was writing with a pencil I didn’t recognise. It was a Pilot Clicker. I had never seen one before, and Pilot pencils are quite uncommon around these parts. So apparently it had just been sitting around abandoned at her work for quite some time and she just claimed it. Right, well, the roles were reversed, so this time her pencil just “went missing”.

I own two Pilot Clickers, both 0.5mm lead, one is red and labelled a Pilot HCK-50R-R5, the other is black and labelled H-545-B. Apart from the colour and the label I can’t see any difference between them despite their seemingly different model designations. Probably just old and new, or different codes in different countries.

One of the first things you notice about the Clicker is that big sliding eraser mechanism. You just push in and slide the button up to advance the eraser out. It appears to be a vinyl eraser, but perhaps with a fair amount of fillers as it’s very slightly rough to the touch. In use it is quite an effective eraser, although not quite as good as the trusty Staedtler Mars Plastic. The waste does twist up a bit into strands for easier cleaning. Overall there is about 28mm of usable length of 7mm diameter eraser. The slider generally locks into place and doesn’t slide back into the pencil body when you are using the eraser. Another obvious feature of the Clicker is the long black rubber grip section, basically covering the whole bottom half of the pencil. Its not a particularly “grippy” compound, it’s not contoured (except for a minor flare out at the tip), and it’s a fairly hard compound so there isn’t much give under normal finger pressure. So, overall it’s one of those rubber grips that leave me a little confused. Why did they bother? Is it just a current fad – “rubber grip = better”? One thing about the uncontoured grip though is that it does allow you to grip the pencil down low or higher up.

Towards the top of the rubber grip is the side push button to activate the lead advance mechanism. Pilot have done a good job with this button. It is attractively accentuated by the coloured surround, the button itself is not too obtrusive, and it is well positioned so that it is easily activated by your thumb or finger whilst writing. The mechanism advances 6mm of lead for 10 clicks. You pull the top half of the body off, and then pull a little end-cap off, to access the lead refill magazine. The tip of the pencil is chrome, and the lead sleeve is a short little non-retractable cone. I would have preferred it to be retractable for pocket safety as this is a general writing pencil. The integrally moulded pocket clip is a fairly solid sturdy type.

We all know I’m not really a great fan of rubber grips and side button mechanisms, but overall the Clicker isn’t too bad. The aesthetics of it have definitely grown on me over time, the eraser is quite handy, and you can tell the designers put a bit of effort into the whole thing. So, if you don't share my aversion to rubber grips and side-buttons, then the Pilot Clicker is worthy of your consideration.

• Best Points – The eraser.
• Not So Good Points – The rubber grip seems a bit pointless.
• Price Range – Low.

Dimensions – Length 144mm, diameter 11mm at grip section. Balance point about 65mm up from the tip.

Note: Not sure, but I think the Clicker is on the way out, being discontinued by Pilot, at least in some markets.

Zebra T3 and Pilot Birdie Mechanical Pencil Reviews

Zebra T3 and Pilot Birdie Mechanical Pencil Reviews

Its bonus time - two reviews for the price of one! Well, I’ve just recently been on holiday in Australia and it seemed a good time to put a few mini-pencils through their paces. First up we have two somewhat similar pencils, the Zebra T3 and the Pilot Birdie.

Photo: Pilot Birdie (top) and Zebra T3.


Zebra T3 Pocket Pencil Mechanical Pencil Review The Zebra T3 Pocket Pencil is very small – at 100mm (4in) long and a very slender 5mm (< ¼ in) in diameter, you’ve got to look pretty hard to find something smaller. The T3 is an all-metal (lightly brushed steel body, polished end-pieces) push top ratchet 0.5mm pencil. It has a short little 1.5mm lead sleeve at the tip so it’s not really (trouser) pocket safe, despite it being called “Pocket Pencil” on the Zebra website. Being so slim and a reasonably smooth steel body, it’s never going to win the “good grip” award. In fact I imagine those of you who wear size X-Large gloves would possibly rate the T3 as unusable. For someone like me who is in the medium hand size range, you wouldn’t want to be writing any long novels with the T3, but clearly this is not what the T3 was intended for. Obviously it is a short slim pencil to fit unobtrusively in a notebook or compendium, so that you can jot down a few short notes here and there. At this, it is quite good, but I do have one significant reservation - the pocket clip.

The pocket clip is part of the push top button and it doesn’t really fill me with confidence. As normal, you pull the push top button off to reveal a very small eraser, and then remove the eraser to refill the lead chamber. The problem is, it doesn’t seem too much of a leap of imagination to see the push top button coming off at an inappropriate time and therefore the main body of the pencil will just fall free. Lost. Gone.

• Best Points – extra small and slim to fit in your compendium.
• Not So Good Points – extra small means a bit hard to hold for longer periods of time, and I’m uneasy about its security when clipped to a pad or folder compendium. Despite its small size, I wouldn’t really put the T3 in a trouser pocket.
• Price Range – Low.

Dimensions – Length 100mm, diameter 5mm. Balance point – irrelevant.

Note: I’m not sure of the T3’s proper designation – some sites call it T3, others TS-3, but they appear to be the same pencil.

Pilot Birdie Mechanical Pencil Review
The Pilot Birdie is reasonably similar to the Zebra T3. It’s a little bit longer, but still very slender. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the main bodies of both the Birdie and the T3 are made from the same standard size seamless tube. The Birdie is a push top ratchet 0.5mm pencil, but not quite “all-metal” as there is a thin black plastic washer visible where the tip section screws into the main body. Like the T3, the Birdie has a short 1.5mm long lead sleeve at the tip so it’s not really pocket safe. I’m not quite sure why the designers of both of these pencils went for this short sleeve – why not make it retractable or do away with it entirely? As expected, you pull the top cap off to reveal a very small eraser, and remove the eraser to refill the lead magazine. Now for an important difference – unlike the T3, the Birdie’s pocket clip is welded direct to the main body, like “normal”. Gone are my worries about the pencil detaching and not being where I clipped it. Just for the record, the Birdie clip might be small, but it’s a good strong clip.

Again as a small slim pencil the Birdie is never going to be the greatest for grip and feel, but having said that, I must compliment Pilot on somehow making it look and feel surprisingly substantial. By polishing the end-pieces and using a black washer they have done what they can within the very limited confines of a simple metal mini-pencil.

• Best Points – Overall its just a little bit “more” than the T3 – it both looks and feels that little bit more substantial.
• Not So Good Points – Similar to the Zebra T3 - extra small means a bit hard to hold for longer periods of time, and I wouldn’t really put it in a trouser pocket.
• Price Range – Low.

Dimensions – Length 111mm, diameter 5mm. Balance point – who cares?

The Final Verdict – personally it’s not much of a contest. If you want a slim mini-pencil to fit in your notebook, filofax or other such compendium then I’d choose the Pilot Birdie.
Photo: A relatively “normal” size Cross ballpoint pen with Pilot Birdie and Zebra T3 to illustrate just how slim these two pencils really are.

Credit: Both the Pilot Birdie and Zebra T3 were given to me as freebies by Cult Pens in the UK. But no strings were attached – I was free to like or dislike them, review them or not.

Pilot Rexgrip and Pilot Rexgrip BegreeN Mechanical Pencil Review

Pilot Rexgrip H-105-SL and Pilot Rexgrip BegreeN HRG-10R Mechanical Pencil Review

Firstly, whats the difference between these two mechanical pencils, the Rexgrip and the Rexgrip BegreeN? Visually, the answer is nothing. They are the same. The difference is that the Rexgrip BegreeN is from Pilots ‘green’ environmental range, and the Rexgrip is from their ordinary range. They are the exact same pencil, just the materials and/or manufacturing process of the BegreeN version supposedly make it better for the environment.
The Rexgrip is apparently only available in 0.5mm lead, which is a little unusual by todays standards. It’s an all-plastic body, so is quite lightweight as you would expect. It comes in a small selection of transparent colours, my red one is a nice bright colour scheme. You can see inside the body with some back-lighting. I’m not totally happy with the look of the rubber grip section though. It is smoothly integrated into the contour of the body, but it has some little cut-out sections in it which I find a little annoying when “under the finger”. I basically don’t like such discontinuities. The rubber grip itself is a fairly hard compound so there is little to no cushioning effect. There is a small amount of extra grip from the compound, but nothing spectacular. Pilot state the Rexgrip has a “soft integrated grip”, well if that’s their idea of soft, then they would have to call many other manufacturers grips an “extra super mega soft grip”. Moulded into the body in small letters is “Pilot Japan” so one assumes they are made in Japan.

The Rexgrip uses a standard push top ratchet mechanism, 10 clicks advances 6mm of lead. The short metal sleeve is retractable for pocket safety. There is a small eraser under the clear top cap. It is 14mm x Ø5mm, but because of the housing, only about 5 mm of length is easily usable. The pocket clip is in a contrasting colour, and is a reasonably good one for a basic plastic clip. “Pilot Rexgrip 0.5” is printed on the clip.

Overall I haven’t got much to say about the Rexgrip. It strikes me as just an ordinary everyday economy grade pencil. It’s a good pencil, there’s nothing particularly wrong with it, it’s just there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about it either.

• Best Points – I quite like the look and colour scheme.


• Not So Good Points – The metal lead sleeve sometimes doesn’t retract 100% back into the tip.


• Price Range – Economy.

Dimensions – Length 147mm, diameter 10mm at grip section. Balance point about 80mm up from the tip.

Right, well, that’s the pencil as a pencil. Up above I said “…it’s just there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about it either.” Well, that’s not quite the case for the Rexgrip BegreeN, since it is claiming “green environmentalness”, and all those warm fuzzies you get by association.
So, what exactly are the environmental credentials of the Rexgrip BegreeN? According to Pilots literature, the BegreeN range of products are made from recycled materials. To be more specific, the claim is that 100% of the plastic content of the item is recycled, so Pilot state 65.7% recycled for the Rexgrip BegreeN, meaning the recycled plastic parts make 65.7% of the pencil by weight, and the other 34.3% of the pencil is non-recycled metal, eraser and other non-plastic componentry. Furthermore, Pilots operations are certified to an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System by the Japanese Standards Association, to give us some independent verification of their claims.

What does all this environmental stuff actually mean? Well the cynic in me is always suspicious, but this does mean something, probably something good. But these things are so complicated, it’s hard to get to “the truth”. People with vested interests create all sorts of smokescreens and scams and dress them up in an “environmental” label to try and hide the fact they are just spinning us. A current example would be the “Food Miles” thing – absolute bogus nonsense wrapped in a smokescreen of science and environmentalism. Long-time readers of this blog might have picked up on a hint of “Greenie” about me. It’s true, I do consider myself a bit of a greenie. We inherently want to believe that recycled plastic is better environmentally than new virgin material made from oil. But it’s often not quite that easy. Think of the carbon emissions from all those trucks operating suburban curbside recycling schemes. You put your plastic out on rubbish day, a truck (diesel powered) collects it, it eventually ends up at a processing plant and is turned into recycled plastic moulding material (using electricity generated by… coal/gas/oil fired power station?). All this assumes its locally recycled as well. What if your recycled plastic is actually exported to the third world somewhere for processing and then shipped back? I’m not saying this happens in this case, or that recycled isn’t best, I’m just saying there can be more to it than just “Recycled = Better than Not Recycled”.

Back in the 1980’s when I specified what plastic materials my companies products were moulded from, I was keen to use recycled material, but it was more expensive than virgin material! To add insult to injury, recycled material also had inferior properties, wasn’t certified for food contact, and so on. A lot of advances have been made with recycled material, the price of virgin vs recycled material has changed, so things are different these days, but still, I take all “recycled” scenarios with a grain of salt. Things are not always what they seem.

As I say, I’m a cynic, but nevertheless I commend Pilot for their BegreeN range. And we can have some confidence in their claims because of their independent certification by the Japanese Standards Association. Obviously they have done this because of commercial interest, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the right thing to do.

Footnote: Coming soon, some words on Pilot BegreeN 0.5mm Leads.

Disclaimer (and Free Advertisement?): My Rexgrip BegreeN (but not ordinary Rexgrip) was given to me free of charge by Cult Pens in the UK.

Lots of people on the environmental bandwagon these days. Here's some Australians trying to get us New Zealanders to buy their wine and they will donate some money to help save endangered NZ birds and habitats.

Pilot Vanishing Point H1005 Mechanical Pencil Review

Pilot Vanishing Point H1005 Mechanical Pencil Review

I really have been a bit remiss. Pilot is a large manufacturer of writing instruments and I really should have reviewed something of theirs earlier on. They are a Japanese company, and their premier brand is Namiki which operates in the premium fountain pen market.
Well the main feature of the Vanishing Point is it’s “vanishing point”! That is the whole sleeve tip section retracts back into the pencil body. It's all much like a ballpoint pen, you simply push the top button down and the whole tip retracts back inside the body - you don’t have to hold the button down and push the tip back in like a ‘normal’ mechanical pencil. This really is the ultimate in easy convenience, tip protection and pocket safety. There really is no excuse for damaging the lead sleeve on this pencil.

Now you see it. Now you don't.

You activate the push-top ratchet lead mechanism by the same top button, and you do have to be a little careful as you can inadvertently push too hard and retract the tip rather than just advance the lead. There is an eraser under the top cap. It’s small, but a good compound that erases better then most.

Much like my favoured Pentel Sharp P205, the Pilot Vanishing Point mechanical pencil has that classic engineers pencil look about it. The body is smooth matt black plastic with lots of nice shiny chrome trims. It really is quite an impressive look. The 4mm long lead sleeve is for draughting work. The centre band of the pencil is an adjustable lead hardness indicator. You can turn the window around to show grades from 2B up to 4H. Like Pentel draughting pencils, the lead advance mechanism only advances a short length of lead each time it is activated.

The pocket clip is a good strong functional piece of metal. “PILOT” is stamped into it in rather small insignificant lettering; the only other markings on the pencil are the large “0.5 JAPAN” on the central band next to the lead grade window.

The semi-gloss body has no specific grip section or grip enhancements so the grip is acceptable, but not great. Overall the weight and balance are fairly neutral.

• Best Points – The vanishing point.
• Not So Good Points – Not much really. If I was being picky I could say maybe they could have done a bit better with the grip, and something about accidentally retracting the tip.
• Price Range – Low.

Dimensions – Length 140mm, diameter 9mm. Balance point about 70mm up from the tip.