I'm not solely a draftsman. I'm an interior designer currently working in the kitchen and bath industry, and my firm works the old fashioned way on vellums with hand drafting. I've seen the Rotring pencils and lead holders, and they're beautiful. I'm considering a purchase in the near future. Anything else I should be on the lookout for?
Any other drafstmen here? What lead holders/mechanical pencils do you like?
- Thread starter _MementoMori_
- Start date
FWIW - I used Staedtler pencils in HS and college. Now everything is Visio. I realize that isn't much help. 
Mostly autocad, but for roughing out at my desk I have a 0.5 Pentel P205. I am not a draftsman, and have not used vellum in 20 years. 
I still have my Staedlers from college but that is about it. I should look at some of the fancy lead holders just to oogle.
I do some accounting work and I like my Pentel OE517 .7 mm
Here are a few of my favorites.
From the top:
Pentel Graph 100, Pentel Graphgear 500, Koh-I-Noor Rapidomatic, Rotring 600, Rotring 600 Newton,
and Caran d'Ache.
From the top:
Pentel Graph 100, Pentel Graphgear 500, Koh-I-Noor Rapidomatic, Rotring 600, Rotring 600 Newton,
and Caran d'Ache.
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Not a Draftsman, per se. But,
I like this kind of lead holder:
http://www.dickblick.com/buy/product/168418-lead-holders-prismacolor-turquoise-lead-holder.html
You might consider getting a full set of Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph pens (ink), a lead holder and maybe the blue plastic leads (which won't smear before inking over them). A roll of canary Bumwad. (Architectural tracing paper - "Think paper" for sketching ideas..can also be overlayed on your velum drawing and sketch other ideas during the preliminary process, etc...YKWIM), an electric eraser and eraser shield, T-square or Parallel bar, Triangles, plumbing templates and other templates, drafting brush...., slide rule - just joking now...hehehe) and on and on...
BTW, does your company still use "Blu-Ray" for real blue printing ? If so, the blue plastic lead will not show on the copies which was another big plus before today's printers and bond paper copies...
Finding this antiquated stuff can be a chore...
Personally, I would recommend picking up an inexpensive CAD package for just kitchen / bath work.....but I would still get the Bumwad "think paper" for sketching ideas using a small felt pen...
HTH
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I'm an accountant I mostly use a black pen but I do like the Uni Kuru Toga Roulette.
I love my Rotring 600 2mm and Lamy Scribble 3.15mm lead holders. (Kum makes a great point sharpener to handle these sizes.) JetPens.com has an awesome selection of pencils at most price points. That's where I got all three things I mentioned here. I don't use them for drafting, but I do a lot of sketching, note taking, and journaling with them.
ETA: I also love the Lamy 2000 MPs, but the erasers are lame (what MPs have good erasers anyway?). Slight preference for the Lamy in 0.7mm over .5mm.
ETA: I also love the Lamy 2000 MPs, but the erasers are lame (what MPs have good erasers anyway?). Slight preference for the Lamy in 0.7mm over .5mm.
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* i am no draftsperson, but the Rotring pencil are great. They are quite heavy and i would highly recommend the black-coated one as it is less slippery than the all stainless steel coloured one. Good luck.
I haven't done drafting in centuries, but I still have my Koh-I-Noor Technigraph 5611 lead holder. Reliable as a pick-up truck and will probably last forever.
- Thread starter
- #12
Thanks for all the great replies. I've added a few more contenders to my list!
As far as CAD goes, it just doesn't get used here. I have it on my PC for the odd occasion where I have to open and plot an architect's plans, but that's about it. Pity, too, because I learned AutoCAD and Revit in college, and I'm a self-taught SketchUP wiz.
As far as CAD goes, it just doesn't get used here. I have it on my PC for the odd occasion where I have to open and plot an architect's plans, but that's about it. Pity, too, because I learned AutoCAD and Revit in college, and I'm a self-taught SketchUP wiz.
I like "Chief Architect " CAD for architectural drawings.
Once you build up a library of details...just drag and drop them to your drawings..no need to redraw repetitive details, YKWIM...I'm just an old over educated drafter at heart
AutoCAD, for my purposes, is better for the other disciplines.
Good luck
There are times that I would simply love to have that Koh-I-Noor .3mm!
Hi,
I realize this is an older thread, but thought I would add my 2 cents anyway. I am an electrical engineer and still prefer to diagram my circuits and layouts on paper with a pencil. Later, I will CAD it, of course. Or, more accurately, have a CAD person do it for me.
I have a full set of 2mm lead holders, one for each hardness, most of which are Post or Teledyne Post. Each a different color to make hardness ID easier. My Dad and his Dad were toolmakers, along with a couple of uncles to boot, so most of what I use are legacy.
For sketching, I have a silver four pencil set of Rotring 600s loaded as follows: .35=6H, .5=3H, .7=F, .9=2B. I have a black retractable .5 with HB, and had a retractable .7 as well, until my wife swiped it.
I have a black Rotring 600 pen loaded with a pressurized black Fisher cartridge, and a silver Fisher space pen loaded with a blue cart. That Fisher is an alternate version of the space pen with a knurled grip which the usual space pen lacks. As such, it is very similar to the Rotring. I saw it in the drafting supply store in the mid 80s and bought it, but have not seen that model anywhere since.
More on my wife. She is a commercial artist. She swiped my .7mm retractable Rotring to carry with her. She has three 2mm lead holders swiped from me also. She also managed to grab my Rapidograph ink pens to add to hers. I bought her a set of four color coded Alvin pencils so she would not swipe my Rotrings!
She also has artists that work for her. They let the Rapidographs run out, then pitch then in a drawer and grab another one with ink. Lazy, I tell you! So, once a year I get to clean pens for a couple days. Guess what I have been doing for the past two days. Yup - 20 of them this year! I only had to replace the nib tips on four, so a pretty good recovery rate this year.
Stan
I realize this is an older thread, but thought I would add my 2 cents anyway. I am an electrical engineer and still prefer to diagram my circuits and layouts on paper with a pencil. Later, I will CAD it, of course. Or, more accurately, have a CAD person do it for me.
I have a full set of 2mm lead holders, one for each hardness, most of which are Post or Teledyne Post. Each a different color to make hardness ID easier. My Dad and his Dad were toolmakers, along with a couple of uncles to boot, so most of what I use are legacy.
For sketching, I have a silver four pencil set of Rotring 600s loaded as follows: .35=6H, .5=3H, .7=F, .9=2B. I have a black retractable .5 with HB, and had a retractable .7 as well, until my wife swiped it.
I have a black Rotring 600 pen loaded with a pressurized black Fisher cartridge, and a silver Fisher space pen loaded with a blue cart. That Fisher is an alternate version of the space pen with a knurled grip which the usual space pen lacks. As such, it is very similar to the Rotring. I saw it in the drafting supply store in the mid 80s and bought it, but have not seen that model anywhere since.
More on my wife. She is a commercial artist. She swiped my .7mm retractable Rotring to carry with her. She has three 2mm lead holders swiped from me also. She also managed to grab my Rapidograph ink pens to add to hers. I bought her a set of four color coded Alvin pencils so she would not swipe my Rotrings!
She also has artists that work for her. They let the Rapidographs run out, then pitch then in a drawer and grab another one with ink. Lazy, I tell you! So, once a year I get to clean pens for a couple days. Guess what I have been doing for the past two days. Yup - 20 of them this year! I only had to replace the nib tips on four, so a pretty good recovery rate this year.
Stan
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My favorite is a .5 Pentel Sharp Kerry mechanical pencil that I've been using for at least 30 years. This thread gave me a reason to look it up and find out what it was called. Turns out it is still manufactured. It's intro date was 1971.
This is a really nice mechanical pencil. It feels good in the hand and it is totally reliable. Yes, it is capped. Better yet, it is designed to be posted. Both sides of the silvery ring engage the pen's clutch.
This is a really nice mechanical pencil. It feels good in the hand and it is totally reliable. Yes, it is capped. Better yet, it is designed to be posted. Both sides of the silvery ring engage the pen's clutch.
Wow, what a "memory" thread! I am currently studying for my architectural exams, something I should've done 10 years ago when I graduated from grad school! Oops. But seeing all these old pencils has really brought me full-circle. When I get home from holiday, I will have to dig out my college tool box - a fishing tackle box turned into an artists toolbox. In it, I know I have 2 full sets of Koh-i-noor pens (cleaned, I assure you!), and probably a dozen or two lead holders of various sizes.
Out of curiosity, where is everyone shopping for their new pencils these days?
Out of curiosity, where is everyone shopping for their new pencils these days?
Hi,
I shop two local places.
Jerry's Artarma, which is in several cities:
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/
And, Askew Taylor, in Raleigh, NC:
http://www.askewtaylor.com/
You have to see Askew Taylor's to believe it. They are in an old victorian house. Rooms and closets stuffed full of goodies. They have been there forever, so have new old stock of things you thought were long gone. I was just there with my wife on Christmas Eve, letting her choose her stocking stuffers. The paints are the best. From house paint all the way to the finest art paints. The main problem is getting me to leave the joint.
Stan
I shop two local places.
Jerry's Artarma, which is in several cities:
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/
And, Askew Taylor, in Raleigh, NC:
http://www.askewtaylor.com/
You have to see Askew Taylor's to believe it. They are in an old victorian house. Rooms and closets stuffed full of goodies. They have been there forever, so have new old stock of things you thought were long gone. I was just there with my wife on Christmas Eve, letting her choose her stocking stuffers.
The paints are the best. From house paint all the way to the finest art paints. The main problem is getting me to leave the joint. Stan
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The main problem is getting me to leave the joint.
my kind of place!!
