Pentel Graphgear 1000 Drafting Pencil - 0.3 mm

Now to those that are looking for a good writing pencil. This is a drafting pencil it’s not designed to be held near the tip for writing. Drafting pencils are designed to be held a little further up so that when you are running along a straight edge or a template the lead is very close to the edge of it. If you are a person that holds a pencil close to the tip you will NOT like drafting pencils. If you are a person that holds your pencil a little further up the pencil this pencil has a great feel and weight to it.

First let me start off that I’m a Drafter (Board and CAD). Just like any other Artist we have our preferences of pens and pencils, myself I prefer the graphgear 500 the weight being focused near the tip allows me to keep a lighter touch even with the .3mm. Recently my faithful .3mm graphgear 500 (of 7 years) broke, the only place I have found it is here on JetPens. I ended up buying 3 500’s and 2 1000. I still like the 500 over the 1000 for drafting. However, to my surprise I find myself using the 1000 for calculations and writing over the 500, the retractable tip helps to guard it from bending, and “poking” my when I stick it in my pocket, plus the feel is very nice much like a nice pen. I do use different types of lead HB, 2B, and 2H the lead indicator is much nicer then the colored tape tied around the eraser cover. The lead size markings(are color coordinated too) on the eraser cover is very nice considering that all the different sizes are the same color barrel only the “rubber” is colored and is covered when in a pen holder. The clip is heavy duty and doesn’t feel like it’s going to break when you pull on it.

this pencil writes beautifully and has an amazing exterior. very sturdy. love it.

Before I start I'd like to say that I bought this pencil primarily for writing. I write small and some of the books in which I annotate have small text, so I wanted something with 0.3mm lead. I'm not a drafter or artist, so keep that in mind.

The Graphgear 1000 is quite sturdy, sans one component: the clip. Be careful where you clip the pencil. If the pencil is moved side-to-side while clipped firmly to a pocket, the clip will loosen at its pivot point. Consequently the clip won't travel straight up and down when pressed, it will veer side to side which can get annoying. I know it is obvious, but I think it is worthwhile to note since the clip is a very crucial part of this pencil; without it, you cannot operate the retracting mechanism, which means you can't write with it.

Another unfortunate characteristic of the Graphgear is its weight distribution. Its center of gravity is roughly in the middle, which can cause fatigue unless you hold the pencil near the top of the grip section.

Also the tip (by which I mean the pointy metal thing), in my opinion, is a tad bit long. This is not something that just affects writing, but storage as well. If you advance the lead even just a little and retract the tip, lead will still stick out just a tiny bit. Most of the time you don't notice, but it can get caught on things and break.

Otherwise, the Graphgear 1000 is pretty well made. Depending on your usage, I would not hesitate to recommend it. However I can see some of its pitfalls being dealbreakers for some, so keep the criticisms in mind.

I find myself needing a new pencil. Why you ask? My 14 year old son as horrible handwriting (takes after Dad) so I got him an inexpensive 0.3 mm pencil. This helped his penmanship (heard so from his teachers). Unfortunately, the tip got bend after 5 months (he probably dropped it). So I gave him my Graphgear 1000 since it has the retractable tip. Well, I still like it so I am buying my own.

i just recently purchased this pencil, the only bad thing, is there is no pipe cleaners, but using this for drawing a is really nice and the clicky thing is pretty awesome too, it's attractive, the grip is good and it's sure is one of the best pencils ever, it's well worth the price