Pentel Graph Gear 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil, 0.5mm Lead Size, Brushed Metal Barrel, 1 Each (PG1015A)

by Pentel

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 0.6 x 6 inches ; 0.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000GAU2RU
• Item model number: PG1015A
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69 in Office Products (See Top 100 in Office Products)
  • #2 in Office Products > Educational Supplies > Writing & Correction Supplies > Pencils > Mechanical Pencils
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 17, 2008

Product Description

Finely chiseled metallic grip inlaid with soft latex-free pads. Dual-function pocket clip releases heavy spring mechanism to retract tip. Sophisticated brushed metal barrel. Writes crisp, .5mm fine lines of consistent density. Refillable with Pentel Super Hi-Polymer Lead and Z2-1 refill eraser.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tough, reliable and long lasting, July 29, 2008

By 

Nils Valentin (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pentel Graph Gear 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil, 0.5mm Lead Size, Brushed Metal Barrel, 1 Each (PG1015A) (Office Product)

I have chosen this sharp pencil after a vigilantly careful 3-4 hour session in a department store.
I went into several stores and compared all the mechanical pencils they had at that time.
I took 10+ pencils for a ride (CDT, Cross, Faber Castell, Mitsubishi Kuru Toga, Ohto Promecha, Parker, Pelikan, Pilot, Pentel Graph Limited 1000, Rotring, Staedtler 885, Zebra Tect 2way etc. ).


For whatever reasons drawing with the Graphgear 1000 just feels right the very moment you take this pen into your hand.

When I made my decision I decided for the feature I REALLY need for a long term relationship. ;-)

While the "obvious" feature would certainly include the visual design you will be surprised to find out how much more there is to it, as I will elaborate below.


Hard factors:

1) Heavy usage of hand and/or rheumatoid arthritis:

If you or a good friend happen to play guitar daily for many hours and take notes at the same time or are unfortunate enough to already have rheumatoid arthritis in your hands, then this is "The pencil you don't want to leave the house without". I am not talking about the reliability itself but about how comfortable it is to use. This pen allows you to do more with much less effort !!

2) You can hide the sharp and sensitive penfront inside the pen.
While this may not be an obvious advantage, consider that you may accidently drop it once during its lifecycle.

The fact that the pens tip is hidden on the inside does not only protect your investment itself it also somewhat lessens the likelyhood of an actual damage to your other inventory, your expensive new shirt - or worse an injury to a family members eye (kids) etc.

I can not stress enough that this first feature alone is the one that is selling the pen for me. I tried many things to avoid that our almost 4 year old is taking my pencils. The "hidden" lead is a cool feature, so the kids dont play with the pens (because they are unusable).


3) The metal case is robust enough to handle when its dropped on the floor and makes sure the pen is still usable after it.

4) The pen has an adjustable lead type indicator for users that tend to forget what lead they filled it with last time, which is also handy if you own several of those.

5) Best Price-Performance value on the market. You will be hard pressed to find another pen that provides similar or even more quality for less.

This pencil easily beats any current competitions products that are priced at even ten times the price !!


Soft factors:

6) The overall visual design is nice and the pen is very slim which makes it look elegant.
(one exception is that the clip could be designed more elegant)

7) The feeling that comes with it when you draw and when you hold it is amazing. F.e while other pencils have a certain resistance on the media this one "glides" over it.


Summary:

Pentels Graphgear 1000 has many appealing points. In a super short summary, "IT JUST FEELS RIGHT".

Users with heavy daily drawing activity by hand and/or rheumatoid arthritis will be sold on the sole fact that they can do more with less efforts.
Or in other words it avoids stress to your hand and - more important - the likelyhood of an accident.

The Graphgear 1000 has also unmatched "real" advantages over the competition that protect your "investment".
I am well aware that other pens have features like adjustment of the length of the outcoming lead or automatically pushing out the lead when shaking etc.

But when you want to have a pencil that has all the features you MUST have and provides you with a suberb support than the choice becomes amazingly clear.
The Pentel Graphgear 1000 is a tough, reliable lifestyle partner that lets you feel that you are the one in charge !!
It also does easily pay for itself over and over by the time others have replaced their counterparts.

So if you are looking for a serious long term relationship than you have just found your partner ;-)

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Pencil I've Ever Used, November 26, 2006

By 

Aaron S. Evans "Aaron Evans (Drache)" (Amarillo, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

These things are great. A bit expensive for a pencil but worth it. The thickness of the pencil is just right, and the spring loaded retractable clip is great. The tip doesn't wiggle around like a lot of drafting pencils with retractable tips.

The pencil itself is built really well too. The plastic parts are all high quality and the metal parts fit together perfectly. When you shake it all you hear is the lead moving around, there's no parts rattling at all unless the tip is retracted. Very tight construction.

Also unlike other drafting pencils this one actually has a decent sized eraser. I still carry around a block eraser but this one is actually big enough I don't hesitate to use it like I do with my other ones.

The only problem I have with it is there was no metal pin stuck in the eraser to clean out the tip but I haven't had any lead break yet so it might not need it.

All in all, these things are a pleasure to use.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best automatic pencil for the price, April 23, 2007

By 

BigBrotherAmazon (The Moon) - See all my reviews

I have lots of mechnical pencils and for the price this is the best one. My top three are the Rotring 600, Faber-Castel Vario and of course the Pentel 1000. The 1000 has the features you would expect on a good automatic pencil including the HB, F, M, 2H, 4H,2B,B (controls the softness) and a feature not on those other two: You press the clip and it retracts the last part of the metal barrel that sticks out and contains the lead. Without that, pencils such as the Rotring 600 and Vario can be dangerous weapons and cut through your shirt pocket or break. The 1000 pencil retracts so you can carry it arround in your pockets without it cutting through it. The only feature I wish it had was a moving eraser like the Vario. I have a heavy hand apparently and I am constantly breaking the leads of many other automatic pencils even when I try to write softly but not with the 1000 (.7). Also I like the grip of the rough metal surface which is pleasant and provides precise control over your writing. The silver and blue metal surface looks very nice. You would pay about 3 times more for a Cross mechanical and in my opinion an inferior product to the Pentel Graphgear.