Lead holders
As said before, the difference between a mechanical pencils and a
lead holder is that the lead holder have a mechanism to hold the
lead in place and the lead needs to be sharpened from time to time.
Most use 2mm diameter graphite
leads, so they replace the wood pencil as the lead is of the same
size, other sizes include 5.6mm leads.
In the lead holder, the length and
weight of the drawing tool remains constant all time, making it easy
to get used to it, and also obtain a good control of the tool.
I use mainly 2mm lead holders, some
metal ones and some plastic, cheap ones. For detailed work i may use a
mechanical-pencil 0.7mm or 0.5mm, but also can use a lead holder with
a very sharp lead.
My set of 2mm lead holders
These are my set of lead holders, from top to bottom:
- STAEDTLER® Mars® technico 780 C with HB lead
- STAEDTLER® Mars® technico 780 C with 4B lead
- Stilus - SECOLGRAF 120 with 4H lead
- MAXIM 1300 with F lead
- MAXIM 1300 with 2H lead
- Stilus - SECOLGRAF 120 with B lead
- MAXIM 1300 with 2B lead
The Mars® technico are very good as they are made mostly of metal, have a nice weight and cool touch. This are the tools i use most to draw. They range from 4H to 4B. They all use 2mm graphite leads. In my local art stores, not much shades are available, mainly HB leads, so i have to get another source for good quality 2mm graphite leads ( more on that later ).
It is funny that the other lead holders are from different brands but seems to be exactly the same model.
Detail view of the mechanism that holds the lead
Other detail view of the holder mechanism
In next article we will focus on the leads for these lead holders,
until then enjoy drawing
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