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Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

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Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#81

Post by rosetremiere »

_aavaa_ wrote: post #4
jkellermann wrote: post #2

My first try to post in HackerNews, hoping this fits the spirit. I was amazed to see the features of these pencil pens. Are these pencils common where you live? Here in Germany, they are known, but rather seldomly used...

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Overengineered certainly fits the bill, but boy do I love mine (Pentel Orenz). At 0.2mm it’s great for a math, especially with the number of super and subscripts I find myself ending up with. The redesigned clutch on the one pencil is a Kevin good idea I wish all pencils have. Being able to write till the last 0.5mm of lead instead of wasting 10mm. 10mm doesn’t sound like a lot, but standard…

I feel like lead distribution/packaging/format is suboptimal. You can only buy leads in very small quantity, compared to the size of their container, and their short length, as you say, means you have lots of losses. Maybe longer leads would mean more breakage, but I feel like there is room for improvements in terms of general waste.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#82

Post by rtpg »

filoleg wrote: post #65
kingcharles wrote: post #61

Don't kill me for this - but is there any advantage to using a pencil over a pen for writing, except for erasability?

One other reason i can think of, a pencil has a near zero chance of leaving smudges on paper or marks on your hands/clothing. Also, a better choice if you are writing on both sides of the paper and it isn't super thick, because pencil writing won't be visible on the other side of the paper.

Pencil smudges are definitely still a huge issue for left handers....

I think that pencils are of course nice cuz you can write things lightly and then erase stuff. But honestly, after being forced to use a pen when moving to Europe in HS after years of "you have to use a pencil for math".... just scratching things out works so well.

Pencils also are pressure sensitive, if you want to do anything like gradients...

I still like pencils for doing paper puzzles or the like, just cuz it's a bit easier to "fix" stuff, but it's definitely the minority of my usage.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#84

Post by bllguo »

s5300 wrote: post #38
bllguo wrote: post #26

I've used the Kuru Toga for years. The mechanism is so good that I don't see the argument for any other pencil. Which is actually a shame, as I can't get excited for other pencils anymore. During my school years we had all kinds of discussions and comparisons for best pencils, best pens, best erasers.

I feel the same about the GraphGear 1000. As for erasers - do you recall anything that beats out the Pentel Hi-Polymer block eraser for the overwhelming vast majority of use cases? I seriously couldn’t gear over just how bad Staedtler block eraser performed when I’d seen so many rave about it. I haven’t tried much other than it & the Pentel when it comes to erasers tho.

I'm happy with my Sakura Foam eraser but the Pentel is certainly a classic. Not sure about Staedtler but everyone I've known throughout grade school and college coalesced onto Japanese brands, presumably for a reason ;)

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#85

Post by pbowyer »

Brystephor wrote: post #83

What are a few goto pens that people use for note taking that involves some diagrams (think napkin system designs). I currently use a pilot G2 and it's decent but I feel like a weighted pen body could feel better.

Two I like are the Pilot G4 range, and the Uni Pin fineliner range. They punch above their weight and if you damage the tip you haven't spent too much. The 0.3mm has become my new goto: https://uniball.co.uk/brands/pin/uni-pin-03-line-drawing-pen...

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#86

Post by TheCowboy »

NalNezumi wrote: post #66

It might feel "overengineered" to people outside the Japanese society, but it actually just solves common issues here and it's not overengineering. The rotating mechanism is the easiest to see this. First, Kanji signs are more detailed than the alphabet and uneven lines can make it really ugly/hard to read. Same issue with breaking lead, causes ugliness. Second, traditionally handwriting in Japan have been seen as a…

Might be better to think of 'regular' mechanical pencils as under-engineered, where the flaws are compensated for by using a lot lead and clicking a lot.

I've used the Uni Kuru Toga for years and have converted a few people to it. I don't think it's necessary for everyone, but it's just a great pencil.

It's also worth investing in better than the cheapest lead you can find as well. I prefer lead that is a little softer, and writes darker, than your standard "#2" pencil lead. There are a few sites dedicated to reviewing pens and pencils that are useful, and some have added on side stores where you can buy sampler packs.

I also recommend Paper Mate Flair felt tip marker pens for ink writing, especially if you've ever struggled with keeping legible notes.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#87

Post by dzhiurgis »

NalNezumi wrote: post #66

It might feel "overengineered" to people outside the Japanese society, but it actually just solves common issues here and it's not overengineering. The rotating mechanism is the easiest to see this. First, Kanji signs are more detailed than the alphabet and uneven lines can make it really ugly/hard to read. Same issue with breaking lead, causes ugliness. Second, traditionally handwriting in Japan have been seen as a…

> resumes have to be handwritten.

Sounds incredibly easy to cheat, but also not something Japanese would do, would they?

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#88

Post by weinzierl »

jkellermann wrote: post #2

My first try to post in HackerNews, hoping this fits the spirit. I was amazed to see the features of these pencil pens. Are these pencils common where you live? Here in Germany, they are known, but rather seldomly used...

I know that mechanical pencils with a dampened tip where used in Germany at least since the late 80s. This was the heyday of technical drawing and it is where I encountered them. I believe that they were rarely used even back then.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#89

Post by rendall »

NalNezumi wrote: post #66

It might feel "overengineered" to people outside the Japanese society, but it actually just solves common issues here and it's not overengineering. The rotating mechanism is the easiest to see this. First, Kanji signs are more detailed than the alphabet and uneven lines can make it really ugly/hard to read. Same issue with breaking lead, causes ugliness. Second, traditionally handwriting in Japan have been seen as a…

> It might feel "overengineered" to people outside the Japanese society...

I think the tone behind that word is more about being impressed by the thoughtfulness, and not at all derisive dismissal. If anything, I might detect a note of self-consciousness in the video's title-writer, perhaps a little embarrassment about being so impressed.

Re: Overengineered Japanese Mechanical Pencils [video]

#90

Post by lupire »

NalNezumi wrote: post #66

It might feel "overengineered" to people outside the Japanese society, but it actually just solves common issues here and it's not overengineering. The rotating mechanism is the easiest to see this. First, Kanji signs are more detailed than the alphabet and uneven lines can make it really ugly/hard to read. Same issue with breaking lead, causes ugliness. Second, traditionally handwriting in Japan have been seen as a…

> resumes have to be handwritten.

This is elitist evil.

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