A Pencil That Turns Heads
Hey Guys, how's it going?
I'm Arvind, Muthu might have talked about me in his recent post detailing updates, guest reviews, and such. I'm going to be a part of The Yay! or Nay? Reviews Team from now onwards. Today we're checking out The Pentel GraphGear 1000 Mechanical Drafting Pencil.
Let's start with the design! This drafting pencil is built like a tank ; it features an all metal build with, slightly elevated, colored rubber spots (depending on the lead type) on the grip. The rest of the grip features a knurled metal design that feels great in the hand. Usually most drafting pencils have an all metal, knurled, grip which make so that not all types of people will prefer writing with it. But, on the GraphGear since there is rubber, it adapts to both types of people, the ones who prefer rubber, and the ones who prefer knurled metal.
Another alluring feature of the GraphGear is the metal, retractable tip. On other mechanical pencils the tip is not retractable which leads to the tip getting bent, or worse it breaking. This makes the pencil unusable since the lead will break inside the tip since it does not guide the lead properly. But this not the case on the GraphGear. The retractable tip allows for less risk of the incidents listed above stop for happening.
One of the drags of any drafting pencil is most likely the eraser, and this one is no exception. On every drafting pencil that Pentel manufactures, they use the standard Z21 eraser , which is complete garbage! The eraser is sturdy and erases pretty well, but it is really small. Due to that, the eraser deteriorates easily and becomes unusable quickly. Pentel has proven that they can make good erasers previously, such as the one on their Pentel ICY(review coming soon) which costs a fraction of the price of the GraphGear 1000! Pentel sells packs of spare erasers for their pencils which use
this eraser, but those are just as bad and cost over $7.00 for a pack of 6!
Speaking of drags, here is one unfortunate occurrence. My classmate was simply twisting the grip in order to change the lead window, he happened to twist it the wrong way and broke the plastic screw threads that would attach the grip to rest of the body. This could have been prevented easily with either ABS plastic or a metal build throughout the body, and inside of the pencil. Due to that I had to apply some tape in order to hold the grip to the body, now I have an eyesore on an awesome looking pencil.
The writing experience is awesome. Thanks to the hybrid, rubber and metal knurled grip, that allows comfortable writing for prolonged periods of time. I have fast talking teachers who expect proficient note-taking and with this pencil I can finally write comfortably and at a pace that matches my teachers' speeds.
Final Verdict - 8/10
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This pencil is a great choice for anyone looking for a good all around writing utensil. If you can get past the trash eraser, and the plastic insides, this is the pencil for you!
Thanks for reading everyone, see you next time!
