mechanical pencil for navigtion

[miatapaul]

Hello I am buying a sailboat, and want to get a good mechanical pencil for marking charts. It will be used along a parallel rule (basically a ruler) so I don't even know what to look for. I want to keep it in at the most $20 range, and will be permanently located on the nav station, so it will be seen in a pencil holder so I would like it to look nice as well as perform well. I see some with automatically rotating lead, what does that do? Oh and corrosion resistance would be nice, it will not likely get wet, but there is a lot of salt in the air. I have been using exclusively fountain pens for a couple of years now.

I have not even thought of pencils since my mechanical drawing classes in High School.

[Bart Willems]

(...)It will be used along a parallel rule (basically a ruler) so I don't even know what to look for. (...)

Why not start with pencils to figure out what it is that you're looking for? Wide lead? Narrow? Various degrees of hardness?

Ever since technical drawing in college I've stuck to a Caran d'Ache fixpencil with 2mm leads (with sandpaper you can grind them into a much sharper point than a .5mm lead). Aluminium body, brass "mechanism," and the 1920s design has never been changed so it has this nice retro feel to it. YMMV though; a lot of people don't like it.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Autopoint, double ended, vintage pencil. Used by pilots I believe. Red lead at one end and black at the other. Loads of them about on eBay for about $15.

[miatapaul]

Autopoint, double ended, vintage pencil. Used by pilots I believe. Red lead at one end and black at the other. Loads of them about on eBay for about $15.

my father is a dentist, and I think he uses one of these to mark his charts! (he is 84 and still practicing)

[Laura N]

Autopoint, double ended, vintage pencil. Used by pilots I believe. Red lead at one end and black at the other. Loads of them about on eBay for about $15.

Great idea. If one doesn't mind a modern one, I think these are still made, and Jetpens sells them for about $5.

[DrSbaitso]

The rotating lead is to give an even thickness to the writing. Otherwise the line will broaden as the lead wears. I expect this will not work when drawing long lines though, as the rotation occurs when the tip is lifted.
It sounds like a drafting pencil might be a good choice, as it gives a good view of the tip, and is predictable with a ruler. I would personally recommend the staedtler 925-25 (or 35 - same pencil but marine), which is lovely for the price. A rotring 500 may be within budget, or a pentel graphgear 500 to save a few bucks.

[DrSbaitso]

Sorry, it seems the staedtler was the most expensive of the bunch at $20, rotring $15 and pentel $5.
If a 2 mm pencil works for you, then I agree about the caran d'ache. The cap is a lead sharpener too, so you can get a nice point if you like.

[miatapaul]

Sorry, it seems the staedtler was the most expensive of the bunch at $20, rotring $15 and pentel $5.
If a 2 mm pencil works for you, then I agree about the caran d'ache. The cap is a lead sharpener too, so you can get a nice point if you like.

I think I will try the pentel first. That is priced right.

[jungkyu.choi.940]

The Uni Kurutoga mechanical pencils have rotating leads. This function allows the lead to rotate every time the lead touches the paper, making the "sharp" at all times. Because of this funtion, a 0.5mm lead will look thinner compared to a regular pencil with a 0.5 lead.
The Kurutoga comes in 2 sizes, 0.5, 0.3 and has 3 designs.

[Tadeusz]

The Autopoint corporation is still open for business, so you can purchase their pencils brand new (with lead, erasers, etc.) straight from them. Bonus- they're made in the USA by actual people, not just machines.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Yeah, but the modern versions have slip-on clip that is useless, whereas on the vintage ones the clip is riveted to the body.

[Nom de plume]

Less is more when it comes to chart pencils. I keep a stash of Pentel P205 and P207 with soft lead in them in the nav station.

[bluesea]

The rotating lead is to give an even thickness to the writing. Otherwise the line will broaden as the lead wears. I expect this will not work when drawing long lines though, as the rotation occurs when the tip is lifted.

Twirl the pencil as it runs along the parallel. Guess where that idea came from, or vice versa.

I learned celestial navigation, pre-GPS era. Just keep some old school pencils as emergency back up. Its all you need really, but new boat, new toys. I get it.

[Lady Onogaro]

The Uni Kurutoga mechanical pencils have rotating leads. This function allows the lead to rotate every time the lead touches the paper, making the "sharp" at all times. Because of this funtion, a 0.5mm lead will look thinner compared to a regular pencil with a 0.5 lead.
The Kurutoga comes in 2 sizes, 0.5, 0.3 and has 3 designs.

The Uni Kurutoga now comes in 0.7

http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Kuru-Toga...-Blue/pd/15476

[joshkerr]

I'm a big fan of the Faber Castell Perfect Pencil but I probably wouldn't recommend it for sailing. I like it because it is a classic pencil but the cap has a built in pencil sharpener. There is no scenario when this pencil wouldn't work. Even if you break the tip off you can sharpen a new tip.

[Lady Onogaro]

I'm a big fan of the Faber Castell Perfect Pencil but I probably wouldn't recommend it for sailing. I like it because it is a classic pencil but the cap has a built in pencil sharpener. There is no scenario when this pencil wouldn't work. Even if you break the tip off you can sharpen a new tip.

I love these, too, Josh (see the recent thread on collecting mechanical pencils--though the Faber Castell Perfect Pencil isn't one).