If you haven’t made much use of mechanical pencils, you could be missing out on a useful little tool. They’re quick and easy to use, reliable, always sharp, and a snapped point just means a couple of clicks to get going again, not having to stop and reach for the sharpener and a bin.
Don’t be put off by how long this ‘beginner’s guide’ is - these pencils really aren’t remotely difficult or complicated to use. No bad things will happen if you just stop reading and go and buy a mechanical pencil, you’ll just be a bit better informed to make a choice if you keep reading…
So why might you use a mechanical pencil rather than the super-simple choice of wood?
- No sharpening! Probably the top selling point (see what I did there?) of a mechanical pencil is that you just click out the lead and write or draw. They don’t get blunt, and they don’t need sharpening. As the point wears down, you just click the button to extend more lead. When a stick of lead runs out, a few more clicks will feed in the next one.
- No change in length as you use them. As you use up a wooden pencil, it gets shorter and shorter. Eventually you get to the point that it’s not really comfortable to use any more, but you still feel bad about throwing it away. (If that’s a problem you have, look for pencil extenders, they can solve the problem too!) But a mechanical pencil is always the same length, it always balances the same in your hand. Some artists use them almost entirely for this reason - they want to know how the pencil is going to feel and how it will balance, without having to change how they draw as it’s used.
- Style. Yes, that might seem a bit superficial, but the way a pen or pencil you’re using looks might be important to you. While we’re not one of them, there are a lot of companies where you might get a strange look for using a school pencil in a meeting! And even if none of that applies, there’s still something nice about using a well engineered tool, even when it’s something as simple as a pencil.
But what about a ballpoint pen? Why might a mechanical pencil be better than a ballpoint?
- The flexibility of the marks it can make - anything from pale shading up to dark lines. A very big deal for drawing and sketching, but it can be nice for writing too.
- Erasability - while there are erasable ballpoints and rollerballs, why not just use a pencil?
- Permanence. Yes, I know, it sounds contradictory. But if nobody tries to erase pencil, it stays put. The ink in a lot of ballpoint and rollerball pens can fade over time, but pencil will outlast the paper it’s used on. Historians are usually pretty happy when old notes were made in pencil, because there’s more chance of it remaining readable.
So is it all good? Are there no disadvantages? Well, no, it’s not all good…
- Complexity. A wooden pencil is simple, and perfectly understood. You can see exactly what’s going on with it. A mechanical pencil may be very reliable, but there’s still an internal mechanism that takes a bit more understanding than the wooden tube with a graphite filling we know as the graphite sausage. No, sorry, wooden pencil.
- Breakable lead. The thin leads used in most mechanical pencils can be easier to break if you’re a bit on the heavy-handed side. There are mechanical pencils with thicker lead, but then you can be back to the problem of having to sharpen the tip up when you need a fine point. It’s worth mentioning on this point that good modern leads like Pentel’s AIN Stein range are much stronger than these leads used to be, so the solution might just be different lead, if this is a problem you have.
- Lead jams can happen, but they’re pretty rare. They’re usually the result of a bit of rough handling - a tiny bit of lead gets broken off inside the pencil, and gets stuck in the mechanism. In normal use you’d probably go years without it happening at all, but if a mechanical pencil stops working, this is usually why. Most can be unscrewed at the tip, and the cover of the tiny clutch mechanism removed. At that point, push the button in, and push back the little ring that holds the clutch closed, and give it a few taps. That’s usually enough to get things going again.
Then there’s the environmental question. The thing is, this one isn’t as clear-cut as you might assume. Wooden pencils are, well, made from wood. So trees are cut down to make them, which is bad. But the vast majority are made from sustainably managed forests, which is good. Most mechanical pencils are made from plastic, which is bad. But many are made from recycled plastic, which is good. And most of them should last for years of use, they aren’t being thrown away after each use. You’re just adding more lead, which is good. But the lead is usually sold in plastic tubes, which is bad.
You see what we mean? You soon tie your brain in a knot trying to work it out. On balance, wooden pencils are maybe better overall, but mechanical pencils last a long time, so any harm is probably reasonably minimal.
So what do you need to know to buy and use a mechanical pencil? Well, you can start with the choice of lead sizes, because pencils made for one lead size can only use that size. They come in different widths, most commonly 0.5mm and 0.7mm, often shortened to just 05 and 07. At the simplest, 05 is usually used for drawing, and 07 for writing. But you might prefer a thinner lead for writing (a lot of people do, myself included), and rough sketching is often better with a thicker lead. The thicker the lead, the stronger it will be, but the thicker the line will be too.
Plenty of other sizes are available. Quite a lot of pencils add 0.3mm and 0.9mm to the choices, with 09 being good for the more heavy-handed, and 03 being good for small writing and drawing, if you don’t mind being a bit more gentle with it. Beyond those, there are even 0.2mm pencils, though that needs some clever engineering to support the lead in use. And at the thicker end, 2mm leads are reasonably common, though they tend to be used in clutch pencils rather than mechanical pencils, and other leads can go up to 5.6mm. If you’re not sure, 0.5 and 0.7mm are the popular choices for good reason.
Lead grades are a choice you can make later, and you might already have a good idea what you prefer. As with wooden pencils, HB is the ‘default’ choice, and a good balance for most people. Softer leads, with higher ‘B’ numbers, will give a darker line with less pressure, but tend to get breakable as they get more extreme. And harder leads, with higher ‘H’ numbers, also tend to get more breakable as they go up, with a paler line. If you want to avoid breakage, start with HB. For writing, a darker line with less pressure can be good, so softer leads can feel nicer to write with - up to 2B should still be quite strong enough for normal use.
Most mechanical pencils can keep a few spare leads inside them, ready to go, so you don’t run out unexpectedly. We’ve seen problems when people have crammed too many leads in there - with most pencils it’s fine to put at least two or three extra leads inside, and some are quite happy with 12 or more leads, which is a lot of writing or drawing!
That does bring us to another point on lead sizes - the thinner the lead, the faster it will wear down. I’ve used a 0.2mm pencil that eats through leads quite quickly; and a 1.4mm pencil that took me months to get through a single lead with. Oddly enough, I’ve found I use up 2mm leads faster, because at that point (see what I did there?) I have to sharpen them.
What about other things to consider?
- Retractable tips - you’ll probably want this if you’re going to put the pencil in your pocket. If not, the tip can poke a hole through your pocket if you’re lucky. If you’re less lucky, the hole goes in you. Some need to be pushed firmly in while holding the button in, which makes them more fiddly to do, while others have a retract button or use a firmer push on the main button or a twist action to put the tip away.
- Price and materials - we’ll look at these together, because they’re usually connected. A cheap plastic pencil will be cheap and made of plastic. Though, admittedly, some of the best are also made from plastic, but very high quality plastics. Metal-bodied pencils will usually cost more, but can often take more use and rough handling. Even the most basic will usually still work perfectly for years, the mechanisms inside have been perfected over the years.
- Erasers can be handy. If you expect to use an eraser a lot, a separate eraser might be better, making the eraser on the pencil less important. If it’s more of an occasional thing, having a decent eraser on the pencil itself can be very useful. Many can be replaced, but check that spares are available if that’s important to you. And some mechanical pencils have longer erasers that can be extended out with a twist, so they’ll last a lot longer.
So they don’t need sharpening, work reliably, and can last a long time. If you’re tempted to try a mechanical pencil, give it a go - there are so many to choose from, and it’s hard to go wrong.
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Do you know that God offers us a life beyond this one??
For more info, take a look at…
www.truthforlife.org – (with Alistair Begg)
or
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or
https://olivetreeviews.org/ – (with Jan Markell)
or
www.gty.org – (with John MacArthur)
Matthew chapter 24 NIV (New International Version of the Bible.)
Signs of the End of the Age
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6"At midnight the cry rang out: ’Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9" ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11"Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ 12"But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ 13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2"Do you see all these things?" he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,[a]’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9”Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15"So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[b] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26"So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29"Immediately after the distress of those days
" ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’©
30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[d]is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation[e] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew chapter 25 NIV
The Parable of the Talents
14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22"The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26"His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28" ’Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Sheep and the Goats
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40"The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41"Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44"They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45"He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 24:5 Or Messiah; also in verse 23
b. Matthew 24:15 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
c. Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
d. Matthew 24:33 Or he
e. Matthew 24:34 Or race
f. Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.
a. Matthew 25:15 A talent was worth more than a thousand dollars.
Matthew 24-25 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society