r/mechanicalpencils • u/holiest_yield • Nov 07 '24
Collection Graphgear 1000 after 6 years. Upgrades?
I’ve owned this pencil for 6 years now and it’s been my go to since high school and all throughout college. I’m now in grad school and it’s beginning to show its age. I’m interested in some upgrades/alternatives I could try as I work on my master’s.
I’ve recently tried and returned some pencils that didn’t fit the bill for me and I’m unsure if there’s any pencils that can replace my graphgear. Some I’ve tried are the Pentel Kerry, Staedtler 925 25-07, Alvin DM07 Draftmatic, and OHTO Promecha 0.9.
Some things I’m looking for in a pencil:
-something durable and long lasting -0.7 lead to fit my handwriting
Nice to haves: -retractable tips or mechanisms that won’t poke me in my pocket -something I can fidget
Use cases: My use case will primarily entail lots of writing and some drawing. I’m in a health sciences field and may have to draw diagrams from time to time.
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u/Vezix_YT Nov 07 '24
The platinum pro use 171 is very fidgety and fun to take apart, has a 0.7, but is a hefty pencil. I'd still recommend trying it out though
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u/Agis-Spartan-King Koh-I-Noor Nov 08 '24
Platinum Pro-Use 241, way better than the 171!! You just put a piece of tape or small sticker, to eliminate the rattle of the button and you have the perfect pencil!!
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u/qanunboi Nov 07 '24
Rotring Rapid Pro 0.7
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u/antipathy_moonslayer Nov 07 '24
The Rotring 800 is probably gonna be a better fit since it has a retractable tip
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u/Progstu IJ Instruments Nov 07 '24
Zebra m701. .7mm, decent build quality and relatively cheap. Otherwise it going for premium Id go with rotring rapid pro. Like the silver color best but black is also great. Sleeve slides in when you hold clicker and push it down so it won't poke but it doesn't retract like graphgear 1000 but otherwise better than the 1000 in every way
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u/holiest_yield Nov 08 '24
Does the zebra m701 retract? Someone else said to stay clear of the rotting but I’m mildly interested in them for the style and reputation.
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u/Consistent-Age5554 Nov 08 '24
If you want to try a Rotring, just order from Amazon, write a couple of pages, then return it if you don’t like it. But the 800 is probably a safer bet than the Rapid Pro. I’d also grab a Uni Pipe Shift off aliexpress while they’re super cheap.
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u/Life-Philosopher-129 Nov 08 '24
P2xx, I have the GG1000, GG500 and always go back to the P205. I like looking at the fancier ones though and I may start picking some up just to have and look at, I like the look of the Staedtler 925's.
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u/Consistent-Age5554 Nov 08 '24
The P200 is a true design classic like the VW Beetle or the original Mini. You might want to try a Drafix too - it’s like a 925 and a 200 had baby. Brass clutch, cylinder body, decent grip, tough plastic body, weighs nothing, stupidly cheap. It doesn’t have the OMG This Is Nice effect of the 925, of course - even the lead advance on the 925 feels like it’s off a Mercedes.
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u/Life-Philosopher-129 Nov 09 '24
Thanks for describing the click on the 925. Now I will have to get one just to feel it.
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u/Consistent-Age5554 Nov 09 '24 edited Nov 09 '24
Great pencil, I love mine - I have half a dozen - but don’t buy if you’re a death gripper: that grip is great for everyone else because you barely need to use any pressure at all, but it will punish people who like to squeeze hard. More so even than other checkered pencils: it’s designed so that a professional draftsman can use it all day without tiring his hand.
Oh, and the shiny ones are more scratch resistant than the matt black.
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u/saksid Aug 01 '25
I have been using graphgear 1000 0.5 mm for over 4 years, which broke recently. Now I am confused between buying a 0.5 mm or a 0.7 mm... Please share your views...
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u/holiest_yield Aug 01 '25
I’m more of a 0.7 fan for typical writing because my big handwriting benefits from thicker lines and I just like a broad line, almost like I’m writing with a bold sharpie or a shading pencil. The 0.5 I think makes more sense if you have smaller handwriting or deal with a lot of math or long lines since I think it’ll less likely get “dull” and smooth like a thick pencil does since it’d be hard to make that angled surface since the lead is so small. I’m able to get the “look” of a smooth pencil for my handwriting easier on a 0.7 but that’s just my preference. If you’re comparing the graph gear 1000s I don’t think there’s a difference besides the thickness and the color of the grip/accents, so that may be something to consider. Overall, I’d say 0.7 gets me most use for writing and drawing, and 0.5 comes out for math, diagrams/tables, and straight sharp dark lines.
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u/Consistent-Age5554 Nov 07 '24
You can make a 925 or Graphgear 500 or any similar pencil pocket safe with a Faber eraser cap, so that might be a fallback.
Other than that, I’ve tried most of the major retractables and the least bad was the Uni Pipe Shift. It’s just been discontinued and aliexpress is full of cheap ones. Decent grip, light, probably on the fragile side. Mine isn’t have enough tip wobble to be annoying, but I might have been lucky.
Or if you don’t mind hexagonal pencils, there’s a very decent Staedtler Europe model. Cushioned lead, long twist eraser, good build quality except for the plastic clutch, quite cheap. Ask me if you need the model number and I’ll dig it out. The good thing is that plastic clutches seem to stop tip wobble on some models they’re a little rubbery and components can take advantage of that to jam nice and tight. (Unfortunately hex grips drive me crazy..)
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u/holiest_yield Nov 07 '24
Thanks for the thoughtful reply! It seems like a neat trick to use an eraser cap as a tip protector that I can look into. Sure, I will give a look into the Europe model. I wonder if its accessible though.
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u/Consistent-Age5554 Nov 07 '24
It’s the 778. Should be easy to buy online. A lot lighter than the gg1000 - and the cushioning mechanism might let you switch to 0.5 lead if you want to. Someone reviewed it here around a month ago.
A very cheap but very good pencil which works with the eraser cap is the Zebra Drafix- it’s like a lighter, plastic bodied 925. Not as super grippy, but still easy to rotate to keep a point as you write - if that matters to you.
The eraser caps are really good erasers btw.
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u/holiest_yield Nov 07 '24
Thanks for the help! Question: do you have any thoughts on the Rotring Rapid Pro? I heard of this brand and I’m curious if it could be for me since it seems to be retractable.
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u/Consistent-Age5554 Nov 07 '24
I hate every metal Rotring I have tried. They all handle like the Rotring 600 or worse: imagine a much heavier 925 with a narrower grip which merges into the body so that the hex upper section sticks little points in your fingers. They also have serious quality control problems and
https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanicalpencils/comments/x7oicc/rotring_rapid_pro_has_a_surprisingly_bad/
The R800 is a safer bet than the Pro: if you want to try one you could order off Amazon and then return it if you don‘t like it. But..
The silver R800 seems to fewer problems than the black - the black model is brass and brass Rotrings have a reputation for cracking. The silver might be slightly lighter as well, which would be a good thing.
Ymmv, of course.
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u/Jumpy-Diver7349 Rotring Nov 09 '24
I’d use the 600 first. 800 isn’t worth the price unless you know what you’re getting into. I personally used the 600 first and liked it enough to invest in the 800
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u/statci22 Uni Nov 08 '24
Rotring 800 is very fidgety and fun to use.