Platinum Pro-Use II 05 Drafting Pencil - 0.5 mm

This is only an initial review, as I received the pencil today. However, there are a lot of good things to notice right off the bat. One, this all metal construction is spectacular. It isn't anywhere near as heavy as a rotring 600, but it has all if not more of the solid feel from the build quality. The grip size is great. I usually go for smaller grips, but this one isn't too big like lots of pencils can get to be. I really hate reading 2 and 3 star reviews from people disappointed that when they mistreat their pencil (i.e. DROP IT) that it doesn't stand up better. Of course a pencil with a permanantly protruding lead sleeve is going to be damaged. You should recognize this and do your best to prevent it.

Enough of my rambling. This is one awesome pencil, and as far as drafting AND regular mechanical pencils go, I can honestly say this will be in my top 3 for a long time to come.

All business, no retractable guide tube, no shaky shake mechanism, just meat and potatoes. The less fancy stuff, the less that can go wrong over time. Although the clip is not removable it is thinner and closer to the body's shaft than any other pen/pencil I've seen so it doesn't jab into my hand when drawing and turning the pencil around to get the exact edge I want on the lead. Tiny eraser under the cap and I was able to drop in 10 .5mm pencil leads in the tube and use the pencil just fine. I'm guessing it could probably handle 5 more.

The metal feels great and is very smooth. The grip part of the pencil feels good as well with the rounded ridges allowing multiple height/grip placement of your fingers. The tiny copper lead hardness indicator stays out of the way. Just below it are very lightly engraved pencil lead hardness numbers that include 3H 2H H F HB 2B 3B. Unless you switch leads all the time I find this largely pointless but decently implemented and most importantly kept out of the way near a part of the pencil you never touch.

Upon examining the main body of the pencil originally thinking it was one piece I noticed a faint line just above the grip. I turned the pencil and almost crapped myself when it suddenly began to twist off. Twisting and twisting I finally managed to separate the two pieces. The bottom piece of metal which is the entire grip area comes off and holds the entire lead storage tube with the eraser and metal cap on the end. The upper piece is simply an empty shell that holds the clip. I was impressed by how much unscrewing it took to separate the two. They really made it so when it screws back together it becomes very solid and will remain so over time. Even more impressive was actually seeing the thickness of the pencils metal shaft at a full 1mm thick. This was not simply a rolled metal tube but a solid hunk of aluminum that had been milled out. I started to lightly twist the pencils lead reservoir tube to see if it came out as well then thought better of it and immediately screwed the pencil back together.

The pencil is initially cool to the touch but quickly warms in your hand. It's about one and a half times thicker than your typical mechanical pencil tube and smooth and cool. Like a cigarette without the bad side effects. It is also almost 3/4in shorter than your average size mechanical pencil which again I found to be very nice. I never clip anything to my shirt pockets but I am guessing the reduced height would help as the pencil does not have a retractable tip. From where the pencil would clip on a shirt it is 4 3/8in long. Also take into account some sag in the shirt for the weight of the pencil which weighs about 3 times as much as a solid plastic Pentel Mechanical Pencil.
As for the Platinum's weight balance it has slightly more weight towards the front.

My only initial reservation was what seemed to be the very long amount of space past the grip to the tip since I like to hold my pencils as low as possible. For that reason I was considering Lammy but they don't make a .5mm fat pencil. However it turns out the amount of space is no more than what I was using before so it was no big deal. In the end I love the Pro Use, it sketches absolutely fine, my search for the perfect pencil has ended. In no way shape or form am I curious about other pencils, I am now fully satisfied. If the Platinum Pro Use had a sister I'd marry it and promise to never draw freakin unicorns with it. Good weight, incredibly solid build, short, fat (I'm sorry, "voluptuous"), low profile clip doesn't get in the way or gouge your hand like so many others. I really can't think of anything I'd want to change on it. My former Pentel side click mechanism pencils were good, my black Platinum Pro Use with rubber grip was great but this lethal metal weapon is perfect. Based on that I would highly recommend this for sketching/writing unless you store your pencils in your pocket often. In that case I would look for a retractable tip mechanical pencil or extend your shirt pockets!

Sorry for the long review, I like to be thorough especially for those considering the higher cost of such a pencil.

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

I've been experimenting with many drawing instruments purchased from JetPens for eight months now, but this is the first review I've written here--the Pro-Use II has inspired me.

When I found out there was something beyond mechanical pencils--namely drafting pencils--I went about finding out everything I could about them online. I was after one with a thick, solid grip, because I felt that would be easier ergonomically. After much looking around and reading reviews, it became clear that the Platinum Pro-Use II was the only choice.

When I received it I was surprised by just how short it is, but I have somewhat small hands, and after a few days of adjusting, it now feels almost like a part of me. The biggest adjustment was actually the balance; the short length makes it forward weighted, which was quite different than what I came to realize was the back-weighting of the long, decades-old (and still in great shape!) Pentel PD345 mechanical pencil I'd been using, which was further backweighted by a larger eraser stuck on the end. But I've found that the forward weighting of the Pro-Use II is the way to go--it inclines toward the drawing board and seems to make lines with almost no effort from me! In fact, from the very first drawing I made with it, I noticed an improvement in my drawing over what I'd been doing previously. I'm sure this is mostly a mental thing...but given the drawing improvement I've noticed since getting it, I can't help viewing this pencil as something almost magical.

The construction is cool, lightweight, and as solid as I can imagine is possible, despite the fact that if you want you can unscrew various parts and pare the pencil down to just the tip, grip, and inner lead-holding tube. Aside from that inner tube, which is plastic, the rest of the body seems to be very finely milled aluminum. By unscrewing the end of the pencil, you can remove the pocket clip, although I've left mine on since it prevents the Pro-Use II from rolling away when placed on a flat surface. There is a very tiny eraser under the end cap, which I have not tried using and do not intend to, since I prefer using standalone block erasers.

My favorite part of the Pro-Use II is the grip: nice and thick, initially cool to the touch, and knobbed with those lovely gentle undulating ribs that just seem made for fingertips to grasp with easy security--there's absolutely no slipping, sliding, squishing or grating like you may get with just about any other type of pencil grip. The Pro-Use II grip is a marvelous invention that should go down as a landmark in writing instrument design.

I'm a comic artist and the Pro-Use II has been my primary, daily drawing instrument for the past six weeks, during which time I've only come to like and admire it more and more. I use Pentel Super Hi-Polymer 0.5 mm H leads in it, which are pretty easy to find just about anywhere, and haven't had a single lead break or jam, despite having clumsily struck the tip of the pencil against the lower lip of my drawing table on numerous occasions.

Scans of a few pencil layouts I've done with the Pro-Use II:
http://smbhax.com/stuff/121009e17d102p.jpg (approx 16.5" wide)
http://smbhax.com/stuff/121010e17d104p.jpg

To update the earlier review, I use this thing a lot now. It doesn't grow old and remains very fun - I'd currently rank it quite as highly as the rotring 600, which I thought substantially better previously. Of the pencils I've owned or used and liked, I prefer it to ohto's promecha 1500p and place it just behind my longtime favourites, two pretty ancient faber-castells, the tk-matik and alphamatic. 2c.

I find theses pencils (both the 0.5 and 0.7 sizes) to be excellent, as they combine great functionality with beautiful design. Each "feature", rather than being added on to a "base" pencil, is expressed naturally as an integrated part of it's original design. Things, such as the ribbed grip and rounded pocket clip, are part of the natural flow of the pencil body. In this way, it reminds me somewhat of the MacBook Pro "unibody" design: great functionality is created as a natural result of a unified design, making the device a pleasure to use.

Originally, I thought the thinner Platinum I pencils would suit me better, but I soon found that I actually prefer the Platinum II pencils (I have used both). The larger grip size and more refined design make it easier and more pleasurable (for me) to use. The only thing that I have yet to decide upon is which lead size and hardness I want for daily use. I like the Uni NanoDia leads and now use the 0.7-B (which is dark enough, but has a somewhat thick line). I've just ordered (but haven't yet received) a set of Uni NanoDia 0.5-B to 0.5-4B leads (from JetPens). I'm hoping that one of these will achieve a thinner, yet dark line, without too much smearing (my ultimate lead ;-).

I know it's "just a pencil", but it feels more like a piece of art that you can hold in your hands, making a common-place task, like writing on paper, more enjoyable.