While I didn’t mind the Pentel 120, the Mars micro was not to my taste. Drafting tools are supposed to be Staedtler’s turf, so I thought I would try something else from them. A little bit of research indicated that the 925 95 series is highly regarded, though sometimes tricky to find.
The inner workings of Staedtler Inc. aren’t known to me, but it’s clear that their division in Japan seems to produce some good stuff – like the 925 95.
The entire pencil, except for a plastic end-cap indicating lead diameter, is metal. A push advance drafting pencil, it is suitable for many tasks.
It is a ferocious and scary instrument. Never mind pocket-safe. It’s not safe, period. At 21g (approximately), with an untapered tip (as well as sleeve), it could be used for nefarious purposes.
The pencil has two special features: A lead degree indicator, and the capability to adjust the lead advance mechanism.
The lead degree indicator is okay, with the window changed by holding the metal cap portion, and rotating the plastic portion. But, if you ever find that you fiddle with the cap, the setting is easily lost.
The advance adjustment is a rotating ring below the cap. From the point of view of the cap, clockwise rotation causes the lead to be dispensed in decreasing amounts. The range seems to from about 1.5mm (counterclockwise extreme) to too small for me to measure (clockwise extreme). If you care about how much lead is advanced per click, you may like this feature.
The clip is looser than I might expect – though while clipping the pencil to documents, it was the easily removed cap that I feared might become lost.
The grip felt very comfortable to me. While always a personal preference, the 925 95 seems to offer a very nice fine milled knurl.
The weight is in the grip, and this somehow makes sense.
The best recommendation I have is to replace the default lead with the Lead Cup winning Ain. That really made the pencil excel, producing rich, dark lines.
So where can I get the 0.7mm version?
