Well made simple mechanical pencils that are a joy to use
Pentel p200 series mechanical pencils.
For many years I have used mechanical pencils for my artwork. I generally used a 2mm pencil with a 2B lead for sketching or for the preliminary drawing for a watercolour landscape. Today I use a pentel p203 or sometimes a p207.
The advantage of a mechanical pencil over a wooden pencil, is that the length, weight and balance remain consistent. This might seem a small point, but, I think anybody who draws regularly will appreciate this.
Years ago, I tried the thinner mechanical pencils, but, I didn't get on with them. I think it was because the leads kept breaking. Maybe I was too heavy handed back then.
This year I tried the pentel p200 pencils for the first time. I started first with the p207 and got to really like it. Now I have tried all of them.
The pentel p200 series mechanical pencils come in four lead widths. The barrel colour of the pencil denotes the lead width. The p203 has a reddish barrel colour and holds a 0.3mm lead, the p205 has a black barrel colour and holds a 0.5mm lead, the p207 has a blue barrel colour and holds a 0.7mm lead, and finally the p209 has a yellowish barrel colour and holds a 0.9mm lead. It is possible to find other variants, but these are fairly normal at the moment.
Each pencil has a silver end cap. This can be pulled off. Underneath is a little round eraser in its own assembly. This too can be pulled off for refilling. The eraser works - as an eraser - but I don't use it personally.
All these pencils have the same weight and balance which I find just right for me. If you pick one up you will want to make some marks with it!
Across the range, the leads fit snugly, so there is no rocking between the lead and the pencil as you use it. It can be precisely controlled.
The pencils tend to arrive with HB grade leads. These are ok, but I found that they tend to break more then the leads I am now using. My preference is for a 2B lead. I purchased 2B pentel ain stein leads in each of the four widths. These are superb, and despite being a softer grade they appear to be more durable.
My go to pencil now is the p203 with the ain stein 2B leads. Initially I was breaking the leads all the time. Now, with the ain stein leads and a little less pressure, it is a pleasure to use. A simple click or two keeps the lead going and there is no need to sharpen. I am really pleased with the results I am getting. I feel on some level it is helping me improve my drawing skills!
A few points to note.
Take care when refilling so that you don't loose anything and don't break any leads. The process is the same for all the pencils. Keep the pencil over a clean white tray. Simply pull off the silver top cap and then pull off the built in eraser assembly. Put one, and only one, lead in the top. The 0.3mm leads are very fine so handle them very carefully and make sure it's only one! Reassemble and a couple of clicks and you are good to go. With the p203 only, there is a pin attached to the eraser assembly. Presumably this is for unblocking, but I haven't ever had to use it.
When the p203 pencils first arrived they didn't work. This was a silly thing. It was because the leads are so fine, they had two or three inside. The solution was to remove the filler caps, hold the pencil upside down and gently tap them out, and just insert one back. This worked perfectly and released a couple of spare leads!
The p203 works very well for me on watercolour or mixed media paper. This paper has a little bit of a tooth to it. It's not so good on shiny surfaced paper, as you would need to press harder to leave a mark, and thus increase lead breakage. That's hardly surprising for a 0.3mm lead.
There is no way of knowing when the lead is going to run out, so I always have two pencils with me. That way I can carry on and then refill at a convenient moment. Of course, for other artwork I still use other things, e.g. for tonal sketching I still use my 2mm and 5.6mm pencils.
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