Pentel Graph Gear 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil, 0.7mm Lead Size, Blue Barrel, 1 Each (PG1017C)

Overall, this is a very good mechanical pencil. It feels sturdy and well made, and the grip is comfortable even during longer writing sessions. It is a little heavier than some other mechanical pencils I’ve used, but the weight is balanced well, so it still feels controlled and comfortable in the hand. I actually like the solid feel, although someone who prefers a very lightweight pencil may notice the difference. The main issue for me is the 0.3 mm lead size. It is very precise, but for my writing style I tend to put a little more pressure on the pencil, so the lead breaks more easily than I would like. That is more of a lead-size preference than a problem with the pencil itself. I like the overall design, grip, balance, and build quality enough that I would buy the GraphGear 1000 again, but I would personally choose a thicker lead size next time. Overall, a high-quality drafting pencil, especially if you prefer fine lines and lighter writing pressure.

This mechanical pencil appears to be of pretty good quality. It doesn't look or feel cheap. The grip on it is a very nicely textured hollow tube with a window in it. The grip can be turned so that the window shows any of several readings, which seem to be for indicating what kind of lead is in the pencil. I'm using 4B lead in the pencil and the window only shows up to 2B. Anyway, that's probably not important. The following are some things that are probably important: The pencil writes OK with 4B lead, but I have to be careful not to press down too hard because the lead crushes and breaks easily. Putting new lead in the pencil is very difficult, but I found a safer way to do it than just putting the lead into the outside tip of the pencil. What I do is to first remove any remaining loose lead from the pencil by holding the back button down and pulling the protruding end of the lead out. Then I unscrew the outside tip of the pencil and then then the inside tip of the pencil. Then I hold the button in on the back of the pencil while pushing back the brass locking collar on the tube that the lead fits into. I put in the new lead and leave about 1/2" or so sticking out of the tube. Then I carefully put the inside tip back on and then the outside tip back on. I click the button on the back until lead appears at the tip of the pencil and I'm ready to write. On many mechanical pencils (including this one) you will waste something like 1/2" of lead every time you use up an old lead. This is because that much of the lead protrudes into the pencil tip and cannot be locked into place by the locking mechanism. Something else that I should probably mention is that the writing tip of the pencil retracts when the pocket clip is pressed. This would seem to provide valuable protection for the writing tip. If this pencil lasts a long time, then I'll feel that I made a good purchase.

The Pentel GraphGear 1000 is easily one of the best mechanical pencils I’ve used for drawing and technical work. It feels solid and well-balanced in the hand, with a metal body that gives it a premium, professional weight without being too heavy. The retractable tip is a huge advantage. It protects the lead and makes it easy to carry in a pocket or pencil case without worrying about bending the sleeve. The grip design is comfortable and secure, allowing for precise control during long sketching sessions. What really stands out is the consistency. The lead advances smoothly, the mechanism feels durable, and the line quality is clean and reliable. Whether you’re drafting, sketching anatomy, or doing detailed line work, it performs at a high level. This isn’t just a school pencil — it’s a serious tool for artists, designers, and anyone who values precision. Highly recommended.

As an engineering student four semesters in, pens have not been an option and the old, cheap, plastic BIC mechanical pencils I used to use through high school and my first three semesters at uni didn't feel right anymore. I checked out a few pencils and finally bought this one a little trepidatiously because of the price tag (I used to buy 24 pencils for less than this single one cost, after all). I've come to love it. It writes quite smoothly and the pencil is well-balanced in your hand. The silver/blue color mix along with the metal structure gives the pencil a refined look (if you're not a student, this pencil looks business-like and can pass as a pen at a quick glance).The grip is fine with the raised metal/soft rubber(?) contrast and I have no complaints there. The grip and the tip can both be unscrewed. I took a look once then screwed it back on tightly and both parts are in no danger of coming off loose. With my old plastic pencils, I had a (admittedly disgusting) habit of putting the clip in my mouth after which the clip would unsurprisingly break. I still do this with the Graph Gear but the clip is fine and doesn't have teeth marks (whew). I don't use the clip much in school but it has become a habit to click the top of the pencil (to push lead) and then retract with the clip. It sounds like a pen clicking, so if you're a student who can't feed your pen-clicking habit because you don't use pens anymore, you're in luck. The eraser, which is hidden underneath a cap, is skinny and useful for erasing just the one number you mis-wrote in your equation without erasing the other numbers right next to it. It erases cleanly and with little required force, but, since it is skinny, you can erase it away within a month or two. (there are refills, available on Amazon). I'd suggest using a standalone eraser for normal erasing and using this attached eraser when you need to get in those tight spots (e.g. erase a single digit in a longer number). This is probably a good idea for students because taking the cap off every time you want to use the eraser can be slightly frustrating on a university desk, because the cap will roll off if left on it's side (though you can set it down standing vertically so it won't roll). The entire pencil is very durable, though, and no part of it, including the fragile-looking tip and cap, has been damaged after a few drops. It was worth the >$10, coming from a university student. I hope to use this same pencil throughout my entire college career, along with the Pentel lead and erasers. This is another excellent item from Pentel.

I never considered my seld a pencil snob (I use them until they are sharpened down, then toss em). I've used a number of .05 and .07 pencils but never liked any one especially as I have a heavy hand and always snap the lead (I wanted to like them, told myself I liked them, but was never truely pleased), until now! Holy cow do I love this pencil. It is so comfortable to grip. The perfect combo of metal knurling, and gel grip. The pencil has a nice weight (heavy enough to be steady, light enough to prevent fatigue). I try to find excuses to use it! I originally got it to mark wood for cutting, but can't even dream of using it in the shop. It has been reserved for tracing tremplates, and working up shopping lists. About the only thing I don't like is the pocket clip/ retractor clip. This sticks out WAY too far and is to tempting to play with (click click click). I have to make a concsious effort not to click this as I'm sure it is a wear issue over time. Yes this was expensive, yes it was shipped loose in the package (no directions, no package just a UPC label on it), yes the glue from the label was difficult to remove. and YES I LOVE THIS PENCIL. if it ever gets lost or stolen I will cry and order a new one right away. Oh and BONUS it was made in Japan (not China!). Yep guess I'm becoming a pencil snob now. Update 6 months later: Up still in Love. My pencil came up missing about a month ago. I was really bummed. Actually POed! Accused my wife and kids and grandkid of stealing it!! Actually thought of putting them all on trial. Well I reserved myself to living without it until after the Holidays. Yup I would just order a new one for my birthday. I was in the shop working on some Christmas gifts and my shop pencil (Alvin Draftmatic) fell to the 20 deg concrete floor and broke. "Oh the humanity" I cried- now I was without a .9mm pencil. I took it apart and epoxeid the palstic and metal back together (there by rendering dissassembaly impossible from this point forward). While wait for the epoxy to cure I decided to make one last effort to find my precious. Low and behold- one late night I was figuring out some motor/pully ratios and tucked my pentel inside my pocket engineer book and slid it between the sofa and the end table. There it was!!! Still in perfect condition! I humbly apologized to all accused. With my tail between my legs I took this writing wonder out to the shop to finish my work. It still preformed flawlessly. After the Alvin was repaired the pentel came back inside and now travels with me. No way this thing is getting out of my sight again.

I used this pencil for art and sketching for around 2 years before I lost it last week from accidentally leaving it on the bus. I got it for around $9 at the time and while it is a bit expensive I think it may be worth the price. HOWEVER, there are a few cons that I found while using it. Keep in mind this is just what I experienced as a hobby artist who has very long and prolonged drawing sessions. My biggest con for this pencil was that it’s very heavy. This may not be a concern to some. However, when you have long drawing sessions, you start feeling the fatigue in your hand from the weight of the pencil. In comparison to other pencils for drawing this pencil was very heavy. I also didn’t enjoy the texture of the “grip” as I grip my pencils relatively tightly and the little metal bumps on the grip would make my fingers feel uncomfortable or hurt sometimes. I personally would’ve preferred a smooth surface. Cons- Very visually appealing, I feel like the fine point of this pencil was like no other, for whatever reason it felt like I could get into better details with this than other pencils. I also liked the “slimness” of the pencil, it was not too thick in girth and comfortable to grip if you ignore my other concerns with it. It’s also very durable, I never had any issues with the pencil getting stuck or breaking in any sort of way, and I like that the tip is retractable. I know some people complained that it broke but I genuinely had 0 issues with this pencil breaking or even malfunctioning in the 2 years that I used it. I overall really recommend this pencil as it lasted me a very long time with no issues outside of just personal preferences when it comes to pencil weight and grip.

The Pentel GraphGear 1000 (0.5 mm) is an excellent mechanical pencil for anyone who prefers fine, precise lines. The 0.5 mm tip produces crisp, clean writing that is ideal for note-taking, detailed work, and drawing. The metal body gives the pencil a premium feel, while the latex-free grip makes it comfortable to hold during extended writing sessions. It writes smoothly, feels well balanced in the hand, and has quickly become one of my favorite mechanical pencils. If you're looking for a high-quality pencil that delivers precision and comfort, I highly recommend this one.

I saw this being used by a quilter and decided to give it a try. Boy, am I glad I did. It is a solid, comfortable feel to hold in your hand. It writes beautiful (even on fabric). That's my main way of using it. I mark the back of fabric for half-square triangles and stitch and flip blocks. It works great. I think I've bought 3 of these and a couple others in different sizes. I like the way the barrels are different colors for different sizes. You close the lead after use like any other mechanical pencil but the very top of pocket clip (when pushed) will pull the thin metal tip back in as well. When ready to use again, click the top to push out the metal part and again to get the led out. If you pull on the top, you'll find an eraser. It also has a lead harness indicator that you can turn to show you what type of lead you have in the pencil. I have not had to use a refill yet so can't speak on that. It has a nice point on it. I am extremely happy with these pencils and would definitely recommend!

L'article est conforme à la commande, bien emballé et il correspond à mes attentes. Très qualitatif et fonctionnel.

Fantástico , muy buena calidad

De pen ligt lekker in de hand, er zitten reserve stiftjes in de achterkant.

Die Rezension bezieht sich auf den Pentel Graphgear 1000 mit Minenstärke 0,3 mm Grundlegend positiv hervorzuheben ist die hohe Verarbeitungsqualität: Das massive Metallgehäuse macht einen ausgesprochen stabilen und wertigen Eindruck. Das Finish des Stiftes ist mattsilber, während der Taschenclip und Teile des Druckmechanismus glänzend gehalten sind. Die Griffzone ist mit einer sehr feinen, rautenförmigen Maserung auf dem Metall und Silikonnoppen versehen. Die Maserung wirkt nicht ausgefranst oder unpräzise gefräst - ganz im Gegenteil -, was den guten Eindruck bezüglich der allgemeinen Verarbeitungsqualität bestätigt. An der Griffzone ist zudem eine Vorrichtung angebracht, bei der durch Drehen die verwendete Minenstärke angezeigt werden kann. Teile des Innenlebens bestehen aus (massivem) Kunststoff. Sobald der Taschenclip gedrückt wird, fährt die Spitze des Bleistifts vollständig in das Gehäuse zurück, was ebenfalls einen sehr positiven Eindruck hinterlässt - hierdurch wird einerseits Verhindert, dass Kleidung durch den Graphitstaub der Mine verschmutzt werden kann (beim Transport in der Hemdtasche z. B.) und andererseits wird die Spitze des Stiftes so beim Transport sicher vor Beschädigungen geschützt. Der Federmechanismus des Taschenclips ist auf jeden Fall stark genug, um ein versehentliches Auslösen der Transportsicherung zu verhindern. Unter der Kappe des Druckmechanismus ist ein Radiergummi angebracht. Dieser ist ca. 2 cm lang, kann also bei "Verbrauch" nach oben nachgeschoben werden (zum präzisen Radieren gibt es natürlich auch Radierstifte - diese sind nicht teuer, ich habe mir gleich einen mitbestellt). Im Inneren des Stiftes ist am Ende des Radiergummis ein ca. 2 cm langer Metallstab in Minenstärke angebracht. Er dient dazu, ggf. abgebrochene Minenreste aus der Spitze des Stiftes zu entfernen, sehr nützlich. Wer mit günstigeren Druckbleistiften gearbeitet hat, kennt sicherlich das Problem, dass die Mine "zu weit" vorgeschoben wird - und gerade bei festerem Aufdrücken oder der Verwendung dünner Minen gerne abbricht. Bei diesem Stift ist das anders: Es wird genug der Mine vorgeschoben, um den Stift kontinuierlich benutzen zu können, aber nicht so viel, dass die Mine bei der Benutzung abbricht. Für die intensive Arbeit auf jeden Fall sehr angenehm (zum Vergleich: Bei einem günstigeren Druckbleistift eines namhaften Herstellers wird bei einmaliger Betätigung die Mine ca. 4x weiter vorgeschoben als beim Graphgear). Für meinen Geschmack dürfte der Stift etwas "kopflastiger" sein, die Gewichtsverteilung liegt - meiner Meinung nach - nicht weit genug vorne. Das fällt beim Gebrauch allerdings kaum auf. Im Gegensatz zu (Voll-)Kunststoffstiften ist der Graphgear 1000 (natürlich) merklich schwerer. Einziger Kritikpunkt ist der Reibwiderstand auf der Griffzone: Im Gegensatz zu gummierten Stiften (hier im Vergleich zum Rotring Tikky) muss mehr Kraft aufgewendet werden, um den Stift sicher zu führen, da er sich etwas "rutschig" anfühlt. Das ist mit Sicherheit auch Gewöhnungssache, jedoch hätten die Silikonnoppen aus diesem Grund für meinen Geschmack etwas weiter aus dem Metall der Griffzone herausstehen dürfen (sie schließen gefühlt fast bündig mit der Metalloberfläche ab). Gerade wegen der guten Verarbeitungsqualität und dem angenehmen Arbeiten (Stichwort: Vorschub der Mine) bleibt es dennoch bei der guten Bewertung.

The auto lead retract feature of this pencil was the reason I bought it in the first place. The feature works flawlessly and saves broken leads when putting it in my pocket when working on projects. The description in review is from the original ad but I ordered the 0.5 mm pencil.