Here are my drafting pencils. I use these when a ruler, T Square
or stencil is involved.
Left to right:
Rotring 800 in 0.7mm
Rotring 600 in 0.5mm
Rotring 500 - 0.5mm
Ohto Suoer Promecha 0.3mm
Ohto Conception 0.5mm
Platinum Pro use 171 -blue 0.3mm
Platinum Pro Use 171 black 0.3mm
Muji low center of gravity 0.5
Of all these I like the knurling on my Spoke 6 the best.
The snork system on the Pro-Use 171 is interesting but I get better results with 0.3 using my Orenz or Orenz Nero.
It’s a good second, but I’m only showing my knurled grip drafting pencils here.
The 171 always felt a bit out of place for a Platinum MP. It didn’t have any real carry over from the previous generation except for the styling of the name. I felt, it should have gone with a non-knurled grip, like its predecessors, in order to retain a differentiated identity. Honestly, it feels more like an Ohto!
The thickness and weight also feels a bit off for 0.3. In contrast, the even thicker Pro Use 1500 is quite nimble in use.
I have noticed that on both of my Pro-Use 171s, the snork system will “disengage” - seems that I am always having to twist the barrel to lock it back on when i first pick it up. Anyone else have that problem?
I don’t know how much longer Platinum will be making the Pro Use 171, but I’d waited long enough. Spotted one in all matte black for a good price and bought it. I have to say, from all of my experience with other modern mechanical pencils, this is a sweet one… albeit just a tad on the heavy side.
The pipe extension control is smartly done. I really don’t like how it’s done on the OHTO Pro Mecha. Open slots are just inviting debris to sneak inside. As for the spring control, it’s an interesting idea… although, with it ON, it’s still quite firm. They could’ve just made that a permanent feature and not bothered with a control at all.
The knurling is surprisingly fine and dense. It’s probably at the limit of usefulness… any finer and it would be slippery. But I like it. Probably also less of a problem with dead skin cells getting caught in the grooves.
Anyway, I find pipe control much more appealing than advancement length control. Never really had much of a problem with how much lead is advanced, except in some models where they feed too much with each push (some LAMY pencils are prone to doing that). But being able to extend the pipe for high precision work and then retract a bit for casual writing… really handy! And man, what is the maximum length? Looks like it’s nearly 5 mm.
They are a bit pricey, but agree on all points. I usually just keep the pipe fully extended and cushioning off. I taped the end of the eraser cover and the thing is now totally silent. Plus, as far as I know, the Matt Black is one of very few with a black lead pipe.
