Pentel Graph Gear 500 Review

[@12TBJ34]

If you want a blue pencil, simply removed the guts from the .7 and replaced it with the guts of the .5. The bodies on mechanical pencils (in a given line) tend to be the same size; with a different number printed on the side. By doing this, you can even have different lead colors match the pencil body. I did this and have an entire color line of mechanical pencils with matching lead. Hope this helps.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

That's a great idea!

[@3thalluing339]

Until you confuse which one is .7 and which is .5 lol.

[@felipesilveira7954]

I did it with some of my 200 series. Really a good idea.

[@reginaldforthright805]

The blue is so dark it looks like black anyway

[@carper1220]

The mechanism is pressure-fitted in the gg500, so doing that would essentially break them. Once you remove it, it will never reliably stay in place again. I know this is a 4yr comment, but it may help someone thinking of doing that.

[@pattyhansen7563]

thank you so much! I learned a few new things about my pencil from this video! I kept looking up how to refill the lead but i couldn't find anything, so thank you for making this! I learned how to refill the lead, how to unscrew the metal piece from the plastic part, and I learned that there's an eraser, which i had no clue about. Thanks!!

[@lisaeckart4032]

Thanks for this video! The part about the tip being bent helped immensely. I was able to fix one of my favorite pencils as well. Your videos are very clear and concise. Thank you.

[@jamesaritchie1]

Very good review. I enjoyed it far more than most I see. I like all the Graph Gear pencils. I have all the sizes of lead I can get in each model, though I just had to order another 0.5 500 because mine came up missing. Too many grandkids in my office one day. Over decades of work with pencils, I think I tried every expensive drafting pencil made, but my favorite work pencil, by a factor of ten, is the Pentel 200 series. Cheap, all plastic, and more durable than any brand I've tried. More often than not, the clutch determines a pencil's reliability, and its durability. The clutch should be metal, of course, preferably brass. It should also be precise. Pentel makes the best clutches out there, even in most of its cheap pencils. I earned a living with mechanical pencils, drafting pencils, for decades. Like everyone starting out, I bought fancy, feature rich drafting pencils, and the companies I worked for bought even more. My work days ran from five to twelve hours, with about seven being average. Over two or three years, I broke so many fancy, expensive pencils, or found that the "features" they had were more annoying than useful, that I was about to lose my mind. Breaking four rOtrings in just over a year was the final straw. I finally listened to some of the old timers and bought some of the 200 series pencils. Lousy grips, but from my viewpoint, all drafting pencils have lousy grips. Because of this, we had roles of silicon tubing on hand. Four diameters, if I remember correctly. Cut off a piece of the proper size, slide it on a pencil, and it's wonderful. Some even used foam grips, and some used triangular slide on grips, but nearly every pro I knew used some kind of slide on grip. People today seem to have forgotten that slide on grips are not just for children, or for those with carpal tunnel or arthritis. They're for anyone who loves comfort, hates cramps, and prefers to avoid getting carpal tunnel, and even arthritis. I even have slide on grips on all my Graph Gear pencils. OI actually use three types, thin silicon, foam, and medium hard triangular rubber. Being able to switch from one to the other every hour or two goes a long, long way in preventing cramps, and finger freeze. Anyway, I bought three 200 pencils, a P205, a P207, and a P209. Thirty-five years later, all three still work, even though each has more than half a million words on it, ,plus God only knows how many miles of lines, doodles, sketches, etc. I bought a bunch of new ones not long ago because Pentel finally started bringing them out in numerous colors. I bought a green and a purple P205, and several colors of the P207. I have tiny handwriting, not much larger than this type, but I can still use the 0.7 and the 0.9. Years and years of practice does this, I guess. One of my favorite pencils, in fact, is a Parker Duofold from the early 1930s, and it takes 1.1mm lead. The tiny erasers on drafting pencils are small for a reason. They are for emergency use, but, for me, at least, their main use was when I needed to change one number in a string of small numbers, or one letter in a long word. And, of course, when I let the pencil or ruler slip just a tiny bit at an intersecting point. In cases like these, the smaller the eraser, the better. UI'm retired now, but I still love mechanical pencils, and buy every new model I can find. I still prefer drafting pencils for the part time work I do to keep busy, but I also love "luxury" style pencils from the Pilot Metropolitan to Montblanc and Smythson. I also buy cheap brands, be it BIC, Paper Mate, Pilot, etc. Despite some bad reviews, I've developed a real fondness for the Paper Mate Clearpoint Elite. The sliding sleeve on it works well, and it's the only mechanical pencil I've found with a sliding sleeve that works with 4B, or even 6B, lead. Most of the cheap pencils I try end up going to school with my grandkids, or some of their classmates, but it's fun trying them out, and sometimes I find low price and high quality go together, a lesson I learned early on with the P200 pencils.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Thank you for the thoroughness of your reply and I'm glad you liked the video! I try to be thorough and hit all the aspects of anything I'm reviewing. Personally, I like knurled metal grips and love drafting pencil grips, but that's my personal preference. I love reviewing mechanical pencils as well. I'm currently trying to expand what I review, but pencils will always be one of my favorites!

[@LivingBlissed]

Thanks for sharing this! I picked up this pencil on a whim and I’m embarrassed to say that after 2 years of owning it, I had no idea there was an eraser under that metal cap. 😂 I’ve just now run out of led and couldn’t figure out how to reload it. The cap on mine is really snug so I felt like I was going to break it if I tried any harder to take it off, but now I know that I can! Thanks! I use mine for light sketching so I don’t use a lot of led, but so far it’s been my favorite pencil out of all that I’ve owned before!

[@LivingBlissed]

Oh yeah, it’s also worth noting that in the time I’ve owned it, I’ve put it in a lot bags and pockets unprotected and I’ve dropped it many times, but have never had an issue with the tip bending or the clip coming off. I do really love the grip. It’s so nice!

[@GentlemanReviewer]

It's one of my favorites! Glad the review was helpful!

[@pattyhansen7563]

same here!

[@user-yr5er5uz5k]

This made me realize there’s an erase under the cap of mine aswell lol

[@ArthropodSpidey]

drinking game: take a shot every time he calls the pencil "a pen"

[@GentlemanReviewer]

You'll be drunk fairly quick!

[@deengew]

boy are you pedantic

[@GentlemanReviewer]

?

[@pickle498]

@@GentlemanReviewer he has left you on read for 4 months

[@eimaj3185]

@@pickle498 pedantic😔

[@Korone-sama]

Can't wait for mine to arrive today, i heard that this is a very good pencil for class notes, and drafting from multiple reviews

[@GentlemanReviewer]

It's just great all around!

[@vaderetro264]

Hello, as promised here's my review of the Graphgear 500. I'll compared it with two other popular mechanical pencils which I've bought recently, rating them 1 to 5. Kon I Noor 5055: lenght 14,5cm, weight 9-10 grams, price $10 Good: comfortable and agile; effective rubber grip; the cylindrical plastic body is not slippery; seems durable; pleasant look. Bad: it could have been a little heavier towards the tip for easier control; at times it feels too much lightweight. Overall rating 3.5/5 Graphgear 1000: lenght 15cm, weight 14-15 grams, price $10 Good: solidly built; nice grip; excellent clip and retracting mechanism; I don't mind its slightly weird design. Bad: very slippery cylindrical metallic body (I'm always worried to drop it); it feels unnecessarily heavy around the clip. Overall rating 3.5/5 Graphgear 500: lenght 14,5cm, weight 11grams, price $7 Good: decent built quality; good metallic grip; comfortable, non-slippery cylindrical body made of plastic; excellent weight distribution which makes for a heavier tip and a feel of surgical precision; it looks great in its simplicity. Bad: nothing to complain for 7 dollars delivery included, but the grip section could have been half an inch longer. Overall rating: 4/5

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Thank you for your thoughts on the others as well!

[@vaderetro264]

Gentleman Reviewer You are welcome!

[@halicusnguyen8864]

Thanks for the detailed review, focusing on both of the key points being the pros and cons, not just the pros

[@aejacobs101]

JUST ORDERED MINE TODAY.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

I hope you'll love it!

[@sb2261]

This is my favorite pencil and I have all you have there and more.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

It's one of my favorites as well!

[@cajunqueen5125]

very helpful; THANKS for posting this!

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aarondiong4554]

I have a question, Is the 1000 better than the 500 Which one is the better pencil for writing and doodling/drawing

[@GentlemanReviewer]

I only use them for writing since I'm not artistically inclined, but I like the grip and weight balance on the 500 better than the 1000 if that helps at all

[@aarondiong4554]

Thank for the second opinion man

[@GentlemanReviewer]

@@aarondiong4554 that's what I'm here for!

[@trim_sizzle4652]

Aaron Diong 1000 I like the grip and the balance and everything better than the 500

[@vaderetro264]

Very good video: personally, to make the review complete I would have compared the overall length of the pencils more precisely and showed their center of balance (just by laying each of them on a finger). I'm undecided which mechanical pencil to buy and those extra info are important to me, because I will use it to draw. Anyway, well done, one of the best video on the subject I've seen.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Thank you and good feedback! To give you that info, the lengths were fairly close to almost be negligible. The center of balance for the 500 is just above where the metal and plastic meet. I will be sure to include such information in future reviews. After I buy and review the 800 and review the 1000 I plan on doing a comparison video where info like that would be presented. I guess I overlooked it since I was only doing 1 for this review!

[@vaderetro264]

Gentleman Reviewer Thank you, I've just ordered a 500.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

@@vaderetro264 if you remember, I'd love to hear your opinion about it after you've used it for some time. I usually ask for others opinion on other social media platforms so I can be a little less biased in my review.

[@vaderetro264]

Gentleman Reviewer I will, promise.

[@jpolar394]

Just a heads up. If you order this or any mechanical pencils from Amazon, I hope that they mail them to you with either the manufacturers packaging or the vendor you buy them off of packages them with a little protection for the tip because I had to return 3 of them so far because the tips were bent during shipment.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Sorry for the late reply, I was never notified of your comment and just found it now! I bought this one in store, but that's a good point about shipping online. I was fortunate enough to be able to bend this one back in line, but that's not always going to be the case.

[@FactFinderGeneral]

Some pencil cap guards like the Kutsuwa can be made to fit over these if you bend them out a hair apparently.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Good idea. I do this with the Bic Stic covers for my Rotring mechanical pencils

[@kkul_riika]

hi there, recently my graphgear also fell down and the tip was bent. i managed to correct it back but i noticed that the lead can easily push down back into the tip rather than when i used it before this.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

I'm glad you were able to get it fixed! I bent mine as well, but I can't say I noticed the same

[@twohandsandaradio]

I didn't know the clip came off! THANK YOU! I hate clips. I would say the GG 300 is too slick of grip, the GG 800 is just no with the speed bump rubber grippers. The GG 1000 is pretty unique and functions nice. A bit heavier pen. The GG 500 is just right. That's my go to. Thanks for thoughts on the clip! My 0.9 just popped right off. LOL

[@jurgisgaldikas3343]

Hi, which one do you prefer more, the KT roulette or the graph gear 500? They seem really simmilar and I want to buy one of them. Still thanks for the review!

[@migyverman]

This is a heavy duty pencil. I have all 4 sizes. I've cut the sleeve down to 1.75 mm on the 0.3 mm and 2.0 mm on the 0.5 mm. My P205s have the sleeve cut down to 1.5 mm. Best mod for these pocket "vaccinators".

[@greekveteran2715]

Please,How did you cut the sleeves on the Pentels??

[@DinnerForkTongue]

I use them with the sleeve as is. I tried shorter sleeves before and they never felt right.

[@reginaldforthright805]

My complaint is the knurling should go higher but I think that about every drafting pencil. I also prefer a narrower grip

[@iloveulta2]

How do you make the lead go back in after use so, that the tip of it won't break?

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Press and hold the lead advance mechanism and push the lead into the tip

[@patrickwalsh1378]

Do you think that maybe it would have perhaps been useful to show how you put lead into the pencil?

[@biaj.0313]

Take the eraser out and put the lead inside the pencil

[@patrickwalsh1378]

@@biaj.0313 Thanks

[@reginaldforthright805]

No, because everyone knows that already

[@jyothibm5]

Respect for buying these

[@MachineOak09]

I think the word you are looking for at 5:33 is tapered.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Thanks! Sometimes in the moment words disappear from my vocabulary!

[@MachineOak09]

@@GentlemanReviewer happens to me all the time too. Great video!

[@GentlemanReviewer]

@@MachineOak09 thank you!

[@kaitlynrangel1998]

I have this and have had it for about 6 months and it just jammed today, and I’ve tried everything to unjam it. I cant figure out how to fix it

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Sorry to hear that, it's a great pencil. What part is jammed?

[@kaitlynrangel1998]

Gentleman Reviewer I’m pretty sure the very tip like the very very thin part. A piece of lead broke off and got stuck. I’ve never had such a difficult jam.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

That's tough. I'm assuming you've already tried running another lead piece through the tip. If that doesn't work, you could find some really thin wire to push it out. The hardest part is finding wire thin enough. Some erasers come with wire clean out rods attached as well.

[@kaitlynrangel1998]

Gentleman Reviewer yeah, I’ve tried the lease thing and using wire. I don’t have a strong enough wire that’s also thin enough to make it into the chamber

[@kaitlynrangel1998]

Gentleman Reviewer I’ve actually found another problem. After taking the hard metal tip off, the actually place where the lead comes out of won’t let lead escape for more than about 1/4 cm

[@vincelivingston9027]

You didn't show how to change the lead? How do you do that please?

[@DinnerForkTongue]

Remove the tailcap, remove the eraser under the tailcap, insert leads into the pipe. Don't insert more than 4 or 5.

[@vincelivingston9027]

@@DinnerForkTongue Thank you

[@DinnerForkTongue]

@@vincelivingston9027 Glad to help :)

[@sherlyaguilar6678]

Graphgear 500 I have it and it depends how you drop it

[@GentlemanReviewer]

That it does, but as life would have it, it always happens to drop tip down

[@smaransure2234]

i have a .7 mm graphgear 1000 and i want to change it to 0.5, but I can't simple trade for it. I have so many .5 leads, but not many .7 leads. This sucks, considering that the graphgear is such a good pencil. It had potential to be so much better if i made the right decision. I only got it because i liked the color blue.

[@greekveteran2715]

Does anybpdy own both the Japanese and the international version of this pencil please? Do these have exactly the same point of balance and the same precision when you write/draw?

[@DoAnxiety]

I love my graphgear 500 it's my favorite pencil.

[@massimorago5909]

You can now buy one for under 4 bucks on Amazon

[@GentlemanReviewer]

You can usually find some good deals from time to time! You just have to keep looking

[@BellyJelly9]

This pen works good, but I don't like the plastic part

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Have you tried the GraphGear 1000? One of the best pencils in this line of you ask me.

[@randompersonn4726]

This was one of my favorite the one down side has to be the jamming

[@huinhducthanh]

Thanks!

[@SouthPawCombatSports]

I wish you would have drawn something with it

[@GentlemanReviewer]

I don't often do writing samples with mechanical pencils because that depends more on the lead you're using. I also can't draw!

[@wr8079]

I have the muji edition of the graphgear 500

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Nice!

[@3thalluing339]

wow. I’ve wanted to try out muji products but haven’t seen any in larger art stores or out of state stores. that’s such a flex in my opinion lol.

[@caysonsssussbj1485]

yo im lucky i found this in a desk at my 6th period

[@denisedvillegas]

How do load the lead?

[@DinnerForkTongue]

Remove the tailcap and the eraser under it.

[@aarondiong4554]

Love what you’re doing I’m a guy who wants a new and studded pencil that doesn’t break when someone sits on it (Someone sat on my graphgear 1000 and stabbed their butt)

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Sounds like they got what they deserved! Have you tried a Rotring 600 or 800?

[@aarondiong4554]

Well those pencils aren’t really in my price range allowances only can take you so far XD

[@GentlemanReviewer]

@@aarondiong4554 the 500 might suit you well then. It is a plastic body, though. Best advice is to not lend them out to people who won't take care of them!

[@halicusnguyen8864]

lol g8 comment tho

[@3thalluing339]

LMAO. Not saying it was deserved, however if I paid $7 for a pencil and someone sat on it I’d be pretty annoyed.

[@cecilelaberinto1521]

I have this pencil

[@GentlemanReviewer]

It's a good one!

[@smoog82]

I just got this pencil it’s so nice I’m afraid to use it (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Haha! I'm the same way with so many things. Just be careful while you're using it and you will be fine!

[@smoog82]

Gentleman Reviewer Literally it’s sitting right in front of me and I’m Starring at it afraid to use it 😂

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Well, I hope you come around eventually! It's a great pencil!

[@smoog82]

Gentleman Reviewer me to lol

[@GentlemanReviewer]

@@smoog82 you will!

[@trim_sizzle4652]

I liked!!!!

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Thanks!

[@greenscreen7948]

감사합니다 선생님:)

[@lmaowersmao9031]

guys how much is this?

[@GentlemanReviewer]

It depends on where you buy it, but on Amazon it's running just under $7 for this model.

[@3thalluing339]

got mine today. it was about $7.40, but I’m not sure if they’re cheaper in other stores.

[@bauertime]

The 1000 looks better, but the 500 is easier to grip.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

I think the 500 has better knurling but the 1000 would be comfortable for longer sessions

[@anthonymarascalchi9436]

You sound like dwight schrutte

[@GentlemanReviewer]

I hope that's a compliment?

[@anthonymarascalchi9436]

It is.

[@GentlemanReviewer]

Well then, thanks!

[@JJ-mx9lu]

This thing is utter garbage. I loved it for a few years, but the eraser is completely sunk into the body of the pencil now making it impossible to reload.

[@dunrob13]

Horrible you act like expert, it is a pencil

[@GentlemanReviewer]

You're correct, it is a pencil

[@GentlemanReviewer]

@beck themartian glad you liked it!

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

one downside of drafting pencils is that they only work with long lead, so it feels wasteful to me

[@GentlemanReviewer]

You definitely waste a small amount, though I don't know what a solution would be!

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

@@GentlemanReviewer Yup, what I usually do is unscrew the tip and use the lead directly hanging from the clutch claw. It's an ignorant solution but it works, but there are pencils that you can't do this :/ There are some pencils out there that have a mechanism that aims to fix this problem, it's called double clutch or repeater mechanism, that let's you use the lead all the way, like the Platinum zero shin (these types of pencils claim to let you use the lead to the last milimeter), I'm looking into getting one of those from Japan. I'm a frugal person so it just rubs me the wrong way seeing so much lead being wasted (some pencils up to 30% of the lead is wasted...). So i only use drafting pencils for drawing, for writing i use pencils without a long cone/tip

[@GentlemanReviewer]

That's a nice way around it!

[@GentlemanReviewer]

I will have to look into that pencil. I have to admit, I'm ignorant of the double clutch mechanism so I'll have to look into it

[@lisaeckart4032]

Thanks for this video! The part about the tip being bent helped immensely. I was able to fix one of my favorite pencils as well. Your videos are very clear and concise. Thank you.