Platinum Pro-Use 05 Black Drafting Pencil - 0.5 mm

This pencil is pretty nice but not amazing. The barrel seems to be made of a type of plastic however the eraser cap and front end seems to be made of metal. The overall feeling of the pencil is a bit shaky and the back cap seems to fall off easily. The lead indicator is a piece of loose tape under a plastic bit that can become loose if the front metal end isn't on properly. The clip is pretty cheap but works alright. The mechanism for pushing out the lead is actually really good in contrast and I haven't had any real issues with it. The back part which holds the eraser in place, a little metal bit is extremely easy to bend and break as well. Overall it is functional, just a bit cheap feeling. That is to be expected however for such a low price.

This pencil is one of my new favorites. The lead advance is perfect and it writes very smooth. The only thing I don't like is that the dial "lead indicator" is not tighter. It keeps turning every time I write. I also bought one of these in 0.3 and the indicator is perfect and doesn't turn very easily on that one. I like my indicators to stay in one place because I switch my lead a lot. Maybe I just got a bad pencil with a loose dial, I don't know. But other than that, I think it is a pencil that I will be using for years to come! :o)

if you consider buying your first drafting pencil, then consider this pencil. It has a very nice grip, very good feel when you write. Perfect weight balance, very nice eraser, btw the cap is made from metal and the body is made from metal. Not only good for drafting, it's also very good for taking notes. What else to say...

I haven't found any disadvantages in this pencil. The price is good. The pencil is perfect. I would recommend it to anybody.

I'm using this for sketching before I scan art into computer and color etc. The pencil looks great, light weight, more or less balanced, slightly heavier towards eraser end, I'd prefer more weight at the front but no biggie. Solid construction, tiny eraser under cap (I use a slew of other erasers so not a problem), rubber grip is solid, not cushy or anything, it simply provides something nice to grip.

Lead mechanism seems clean, lead advances at a good rate, I never have to push lead back in then re-advance to get amount I want. Sturdy construction, eraser cap stays on just fine, the window you turn to know what lead you're loaded with is simple, easy to use and never gets in the way.

I was able to pull the clip off after some picking and pulling which is great since on my cheaper Pentel's I would always break the clip off then tape over the sharp remains with electric tape. One thing to note the clip might snag on clothing since the end is not pulled back into a loop.

Mario is right, the pencil looks thicker in the picture, I kind of wish it was that way! Overall a solid pencil, both semi cheap and good, doesn't wow me in any way other than its clean looks, but it doesn't dissapoint either and it's a step above my longtime used Pentel side clicking mechanism pencils so I'm happy overall and look forward to using it for years to come.

- Rogers -
http://wightzombie.deviantart.com/

the pro-use is a simple and clean pencil that fits comfortably in your hand, and won't empty out your wallet. it has a nice weight to it, and the design of it is such that I can hold the pencil higher above the rubber grip if I need to, and not have it feel unbalanced or uncomfortable. it measures about 5 3/4 inches and the width of the grip is about 3/8" i'm making it a point to give some measurements, because the photos tend to make some pencils appear much larger than they really are. last thing you want is to get a pencil and think "..it looked a lot bigger in the photo :P"
the pro-use proves that sometimes simple is indeed better.
-Mario C
mariochavez.deviantart.com