I’ve only been using the Pentel Graph Gear for 2 years (probably learned about it here from rst). But I’ve been using mechanical pencils since the mid-‘50s when they started coming home in my dad’s pocket protector from his job at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama. That job led to him helping design launch pads for the Apollo program (his specialty was swing arms) which eventually took the family to Cape Kennedy.

Of the many many mechanical pencils I’ve bought and used since then the Graph Gear are my favorite.

@Birdhunter Chrysler had the contract to build the launch pads. Sooo many people worked on the space program. (Fun fact- when I was born about 15k people lived in Huntsville. By the time I was 10 years old the population had increased to 100k)

When we lived on Merritt Island our next door neighbor worked for Boeing. He was really ticked off when the program ended and he was transferred back to Seattle just to be laid off.

My dad was a mechanical designer. He managed to get 4 years of technical education in just 2 years via a program that carried over for a short time from the war effort but wasn’t able to get the full blown degree that would have allowed him to advance further. Sounds like your father was higher up the hierarchy.

We moved my dad to a retirement community toward the end. He loved to talk about the space program. He also loved to kiss the ladies. He was called the kissing astronaut. His really was a great generation.

+1 for masking tape. I just use the cheap light-yellow stuff. If it's not there for long, it leave no trace.

How do you guys feel about the mechanical durability of these Pentels?  As I stated, I’ve been using the Alvin Draftmatics for years.  In addition to not dropping the pencil tip down (they seem to always land tip down kinda like jelly toast), the internal mechanics wear out in about one year.  I really like the Alvin’s, but at $15 each, they do get spendy.

I’ve used the Pentels for years. Being a designer, they were a huge step up from having to sharpen your common mechanical pencil on a sandpaper strip every 2-3 minutes.  For a typical large diameter, 2-3mm pencil lead, the amount of time spent designing was sometimes equal to the time that was spent sharpening the pencil. And in order to keep the pencil line as thin as possible, for accuracy reasons, the pencil needed to be twriled in between your fingers constantly in order to make sure the pencil line was as thin as possible. Ah....when life was simple before the time of CAD...NOT.

So, having used Pentels for 20+ years, the biggest problem with them is that at some time in their lifetime, they fail to feed the lead and they just give out. Probably about 10 years I stumbled upon Alvin mechanical pencils and they’ve worked extremely well.

I’ve used them ever since and they are my favorite. Rotring is also another great pencil, however they do not have a lot of US exposure.

For smooth wood I like the Pentel Graph Gear.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GAU2RU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you remember to squeeze the pocket clip when you put it down you’ll never damage the tip since the pocket clip releases the lock that keeps the pencil point projected. The entire mechanism then withdraws into the barrel like a turtle’s head.

I actually went ahead and purchased the Pentecostal Graph Gear, because it appeared to be more slender than the Zebra.  Having used them for about a month now, I am pleased with the retractable collet.  I have dropped these several times (yeas, read sausage fingers....) and thus far, no problems. I hope the internal mechanisms hold up as well.  I will definitely keep the Zaebra in mind.

Pica Pencils, lead color depends on color of the species of the wood

Thanks to this thread I bought the DelGard and a Pentel in .5mm.  I was happy with my Sharpwriter pencils until I got an Incra Precision T Rule and discovered that the Sharpwriters use .7mm lead.

That's ok.  One can never have too many pencils - I always misplace them.

The Pentel arrived just loose in the box so it seems the lead inside broke during transit.  As a result no lead was feeding out when I pushed the end.  I actually initially thought it might have shipped with no lead inside since nothing was happened when I pushed on the end.  I had to watch a quick YouTube video to figure out how to disassemble the unit.  There ended up being a little piece of lead that I guess was too short to advance and I guess too long for the next piece of lead to feed in to push out the broken piece.  It works fine now.  The retractable tip is neat - I wish that the whole pointed end retracted, if it did I'd consider carrying that in my pants pocket everyday (I currently carry a Fisher Telescoping Space Pen). 

https://www.target.com/p/4ct-my-first-ticonderoga-2-pencils-with-sharpener/-/A-52223218?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Seasonal+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Seasonal&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9004531&gclid=CjwKCAjwjIHeBRAnEiwAhYT2h_vDyOV72C-mGv_2j5MSIVozctMgTMz7aioi1aEpnaS3Kzrs128OmRoChGEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I love these for my rough markings. They're about double the thickness of regular pencils and have many of the characteristics of carpenter pencils.