3 ms·

Funny but this sort of annoyance is actually why I use a mechanical pencil. ...which incidentally I was laughed at when I started at my current company as ever

by pling 12y ago

Funny but this sort of annoyance is actually why I use a mechanical pencil. ...which incidentally I was laughed at when I started at my current company as everyone had IBM X60 tablets apart from me. I have the same pencil after 8 years though.

fennecfoxen 12y ago
Ordinary mechanical pencils are nice but the 0.7-0.5mm tips the layman is likely to see aren't always the best option. I recommend the use of a 2mm lead holder, because it acts a lot more like a regular pencil, and because no one except architects seems to know these fascinating little implements exist (and the architects are all doing things on computers these days anyway). And I can easily see you having the same one after 8 years :)
- ics 12y ago
  Right?! (Sincerely, an architect.) Also, we're pretty obsessive about them: http://leadholder.com/ http://leadholder.com/
  - cam_l 12y ago
    I never knew we were obsessive about them, thanks. Only ever owned the one staedtler (mars). We call them clutch pencils in oz. And my Dad used it for maybe twenty years before me. For anyone else who wants to know, the big difference between the 2mm clutch and the smaller leads is the clutch maintains the direction of the lead so you can sharpen it much finer - below 0.1mm. At the same time you can use the side of the pencil for a much thicker line.
  - aaronem 12y ago
    You're not the only ones: http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/ http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/ -- granted the man has almost no perceptible taste, but he does make a decent Exhibit A for the propelling-pencil side of the argument.
- pling 12y ago
  The pencil I use comes in 0.5, 0.7 and 2mm lead holder variants. The 0.5 doesn't need sharpening, which is the main reason I use one. Plus I'm an engineer, not a pencil collector :) http://www.rotring.com/en/mechanical-pencils/265-rapid-pro-mechanical-pencil-3501170949351.html http://www.rotring.com/en/mechanical-pencils/265-rapid-pro-m...
- aaronem 12y ago
  You're right about 0.5 and 0.7 being less than ideal, but lead holders have their own drawbacks, such as a generally unclutched propelling mechanism (i.e. one incautious nudge of the advance button and your lead's on the floor in ten pieces), the need for a sharpener, and the lack of an integral eraser -- that latter concern being of especial import in the search for a writing implement suitable for daily wear. That's why I use a Pentel Twist-Erase III in 0.9mm. It offers a lead thick enough to be reliable without requiring manual resharpening, and the feature for which it's named is the 1 x 1/4-inch cylindrical twist-advance eraser on the other end -- easily equal to almost any rubbing-out task, and composed of some no doubt space-age polymer which stands up admirably to the harshest frictions. And, quite aside from the excellent functional design of the tool, its aesthetic qualities are matchless -- between the gloss black body finish and the chrome accents of ferrule and pocket-clip, this pencil captures a timeless elegance of style which is right at home in any company. Plus, they're five bucks a pop and they last forever. What's not to like?
- jhoechtl 12y ago
  Leadholders are by far the best option. If all else fails, you can even re-use to short to write with pencils to get the lead out and put it into the lead holder. There exist special lead holder sharpeners but when needed they are usually not at hand (and my lead holder has no sharpener at the end) so I carefully use my knive to sharpen. But that all has little to do with programming ... ;)
  - aaronem 12y ago
    Has it? Sure, no one writes code by hand any more, but we all take notes on paper at least some of the time -- even though I've mostly shifted to an org-mode-based workflow for notetaking, and I now work at a company whose roughly every third wall is a whiteboard, there are still times when nothing but pencil and tablet will do.

by pling 12y ago

fennecfoxen 12y ago

Ordinary mechanical pencils are nice but the 0.7-0.5mm tips the layman is likely to see aren't always the best option. I recommend the use of a 2mm lead holder, because it acts a lot more like a regular pencil, and because no one except architects seems to know these fascinating little implements exist (and the architects are all doing things on computers these days anyway). And I can easily see you having the same one after 8 years :)

ics 12y ago
Right?! (Sincerely, an architect.) Also, we're pretty obsessive about them: http://leadholder.com/ http://leadholder.com/
- cam_l 12y ago
  I never knew we were obsessive about them, thanks. Only ever owned the one staedtler (mars). We call them clutch pencils in oz. And my Dad used it for maybe twenty years before me. For anyone else who wants to know, the big difference between the 2mm clutch and the smaller leads is the clutch maintains the direction of the lead so you can sharpen it much finer - below 0.1mm. At the same time you can use the side of the pencil for a much thicker line.
- aaronem 12y ago
  You're not the only ones: http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/ http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/ -- granted the man has almost no perceptible taste, but he does make a decent Exhibit A for the propelling-pencil side of the argument.
pling 12y ago
The pencil I use comes in 0.5, 0.7 and 2mm lead holder variants. The 0.5 doesn't need sharpening, which is the main reason I use one. Plus I'm an engineer, not a pencil collector :) http://www.rotring.com/en/mechanical-pencils/265-rapid-pro-mechanical-pencil-3501170949351.html http://www.rotring.com/en/mechanical-pencils/265-rapid-pro-m...
aaronem 12y ago
You're right about 0.5 and 0.7 being less than ideal, but lead holders have their own drawbacks, such as a generally unclutched propelling mechanism (i.e. one incautious nudge of the advance button and your lead's on the floor in ten pieces), the need for a sharpener, and the lack of an integral eraser -- that latter concern being of especial import in the search for a writing implement suitable for daily wear. That's why I use a Pentel Twist-Erase III in 0.9mm. It offers a lead thick enough to be reliable without requiring manual resharpening, and the feature for which it's named is the 1 x 1/4-inch cylindrical twist-advance eraser on the other end -- easily equal to almost any rubbing-out task, and composed of some no doubt space-age polymer which stands up admirably to the harshest frictions. And, quite aside from the excellent functional design of the tool, its aesthetic qualities are matchless -- between the gloss black body finish and the chrome accents of ferrule and pocket-clip, this pencil captures a timeless elegance of style which is right at home in any company. Plus, they're five bucks a pop and they last forever. What's not to like?
jhoechtl 12y ago
Leadholders are by far the best option. If all else fails, you can even re-use to short to write with pencils to get the lead out and put it into the lead holder. There exist special lead holder sharpeners but when needed they are usually not at hand (and my lead holder has no sharpener at the end) so I carefully use my knive to sharpen. But that all has little to do with programming ... ;)
- aaronem 12y ago
  Has it? Sure, no one writes code by hand any more, but we all take notes on paper at least some of the time -- even though I've mostly shifted to an org-mode-based workflow for notetaking, and I now work at a company whose roughly every third wall is a whiteboard, there are still times when nothing but pencil and tablet will do.