Analog tools

Pilot S20 Drafting Pencil 0.5 mm

 

I’ve had the Pilot S20 Drafting Pencil on my Wish list at JetPens.com for a few years. I like mechanical pencils, and I love a wooden body. This pencil comes in two shades of wood for the body, dark red, and dark brown, and in a .3mm and a .5mm size. I chose the dark red wood and the 5mm, though I was tempted by the .3; I don’t think I’ve ever used or owned a .3mm pencil. The pencil has a short aluminum pocket clip engraved with Pilot, and an aluminum band around the center that says S20 and Japan in small black letters around the center. You can slide the clip off the pencil if you’d prefer to not use it.

The Pilot S20 is a drafting pencil, with a fixed pipe for the graphite. The knock mechanism works by pressing the end of the S20 to push out a fresh section of graphite. The top of the knock is a plastic disk that closely matches the wood and proclaims .5 or .3, depending on which size you purchased. The center band of the knock rotates to change a label that names the graphite in use (F, H, HB, B); mine came with B already inside the pencil. Pull the knock off gently to reveal the tiny eraser (you can buy extras from Pilot), which itself pulls out so you can refill the lead chamber.

I’ve used the Pilot S20 constantly for the last ten days or so, writing thousands of words. It’s been fabulous. It’s just the right weight and nicely balanced so even long writing sessions have been comfortable. I’m still using the three pieces of Pilot Neox Graphite Lead in B that the pencils was loaded with, and I like it well enough to order more. The Pilot Neox Grapite in B is dark without being too soft, and very smooth.

I bought my Pilot S20 pencil largely for esthetic reasons; it is lovely looking. I used it as a self-bribe to complete some onerous tasks, all of which I managed to force myself to do in the course of a two-week slog. I’m so glad I did, too. This pencil is lovely to look at, the slightly tapered curvature at the grip makes it easy to use for a long session of writing, and the wood feels as good as it looks. I confess that my Pilot S20 pencil has supplanted the Uni Kuru Toga for regular use, and the Kuru Toga has been relocated to my book bag. You can find the Pilot S20 at Amazon in .5mm in deep red, dark brown, and mahogany. The Pilot S20 pencil is also available in .3mm in dark brown, and deep red. Amazon says that the deep red and dark brown bodies are made of birch.

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