Favorite mechanical pencil kits?

[Painfullyslow]

Gang, I have a need to make about 8 mechanical pencils. Looking for something that is a quality kit (plating, fit/finish, etc), feels good in the hand and is usable by both larger and smaller hands (so nothing emperor sized, etc).

My only experience has been with the duraclick EDC pencil (which I like) and a now discontinued slimline pencil kit. Of the two I largely preferred the EDC kit but I was curious what other options may be out there?

Thanks!

 

[RKB]

My favorite.

Stratus Click Pen Kit - Gun Metal

This stunning Stratus pen features a sleek and modern design that has great balance for a superior writing experience. You'll appreciate the long 3/8" single tube that lets you show off your blank material and craftsmanship. Includes the same super quiet, smooth action quiet click mechanism...

www.exoticblanks.com

 

[egnald]

I have made several pencils, usually as part of a pen and pencil set. My preference is a good quality pen with a click (first preference) or twist (second preference) that uses a standard Parker style ink refill. For the pencil, I simply replace the ink refill with a Schmidt DSM 2006 (plastic) or Schmidt DSM 2007 (metal) Pen/Pencil refill in the 0.7 lead size. That way I am not limited to a dedicated pencil kit and can match up a pen and pencil style without being limited to only those that have a matching dedicated pencil kit. They usually cost about $5 (Ed and Dawn carry them on Exotic Blanks).

Although the twist style works OK, I find the click mechanism to be more intuitive for pencil use. The other benefit is that I can quickly change an existing pen into a pencil for someone if I need to. (For Cigar kits I also prefer the "single twist" transmission over the "double action twist" when it comes to pencils as the double action makes the pencil operation a little more cumbersome - in my opinion that is).

For example, here are a couple of Cigar kits that I made into a Pen and Pencil set using a Rhino "Blue Sky" blank and a Blue Titanium kit.



Dave

 

[greenacres2]

Mechanical pencils are smarter than me...but i've made a few anyway. If you've got time to experiment a bit, the Mistral from Beaufort is a very nice build, and could be paired with fountain/roller ball in the same plating. Not cheap. https://www.turnerswarehouse.com/products/mistral-pencil-kit-beaufort-ink?variant=12290617475155

 

[RunnerVince]

The slimline pro from PSI is pretty nice and quite affordable. It's got at least one, and possibly two, plating options with a matching pencil. I made a set for myself several years ago. I'm very hard on my pens, and this has held up well aside from some scratches to the black stripe on the clip that come from me keeping pens/pencils in my pocket. You can't expect anything to last for years when you rub it against your keys all day every day.

 

[Painfullyslow]

I appreciate the info all. I should have added a few things to my initial post: I want to include an eraser with the pencil. I haven't done any conversion kits but my understanding is that they do not come with an eraser, is that right?

Also, I am looking for .7mm or .9mm lead only. I like the 2mm drawing pencils but that wont work for this application.

Thanks again!

 

[peter1958]

Cigar and sierra pencil kits are nice to make. Segmented is my "thing"

 

[RKB]

Pentel™ Pencil Conversion

Pentel pencils, especially the P205, P207 and the P209 are very popular with accountants and engineers. The step bit made making these conversions much easier. But in the December 2012 issue of Woodturning Design magazine had an article by my...

www.penturners.org

Maybe this will satisfy your request?

 

[Penultimate]

I second the Pentel conversion. The price is as good or better than a lot pencil and they last a long time. I'm still using 40 year old pencils.

 

[Painfullyslow]

Thanks all, this has given me a bit to think about. I appreciate all the information.

 

[austinsbarnard]

I like the Cigar style pencils. I got a ten pack from Crooked Mill awhile back that I enjoyed making. I like the Cigars because I can turn then with very straight walls and get a pen that isn't obscenely large, or bump out the curvature and made it nice and plump. I actually just cast a set of tubes for one of these last night in a nebula pattern - 50 percent black, the remainder pink, purple, and blue, all with white glitter embedded for stars. I'll likely turn that one later this week as I've got several other in queue ahead of it.

 

[RogerGarrett]

Pentel™ Pencil Conversion

Pentel pencils, especially the P205, P207 and the P209 are very popular with accountants and engineers. The step bit made making these conversions much easier. But in the December 2012 issue of Woodturning Design magazine had an article by my...

www.penturners.org

Maybe this will satisfy your request?

Do these have erasers?

 

[Bope]

I like the Slimline Pro pencils. They do have erasers on them. The only issue I have had with them is the threading on the end of the mechanism that threads into the nib is sometimes broken.