Pentel Hi-Polymer Ain Colored Pencil Leads

Pencils — 10 May 2010

Pentel Hi Polymer Red Pencil Leads

Sometimes the search for cool office supplies leads me down a disappointing path, and unfortunately when it came to trying to find some nice red pencil leads for a mechanical pencil, things just didn’t work out as I had hoped. These Pentel Ain Hi Polymer color pencil leads were purchased from JetPens for about $3.00, so luckily this disappointment didn’t result in much of a hit on my wallet.

The unique dispenser on the Pentel Hi-Polymer pencil lead case

Before I get into why I didn’t really like these colored pencil leads, I did want to share one cool thing about them. I really like the case and dispenser itself, it has a pretty cool top that flips open and when you go to shake a lead loose, it comes out individually in this little shoot. This is different from most other mechanical pencil leads because you usually have to flip the top off and fumble around with pulling only one lead out yourself, but this design makes it much easier.

Pentel Hi Polymer Pencil Lead Writing Sample

Pentel Hi Polymer Colored Pencil Lead Writing Sample

When I started writing with these colored pencil leads using my Uniball Kuru Toga, I was pretty surprised at how light the red was, so I decided Id do what any other person would do, which was press a bit harder. Unfortunately, the pencil leads didn’t cooperate at all and decided to snap when I did that. Now I don’t usually write with such a heavy hand, and even my little bit of extra pressure to get a darker line wasnt THAT hard, yet it still snapped the lead. I experimented with various writing pressures, and for the most part, anything even slightly heavier than normal resulted in a snapped pencil lead. Beyond just breaking more frequently than I would have liked, I was also surprised at how ineffective my trusty eraser was with these colored pencil leads. In the writing sample above, you can see that the line is not completely erased, and I spent a good deal of time (along with a good deal of rubber) trying to get rid of that pesky line to no avail.

Needless to say, I am going to be on a hunt for some good quality colored pencil leads to see if I can find something suitable because these unfortunately didn’t do the trick.

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About Author

OfficeSupplyGeek

http://www.penaddict.com dowdyism

I haven’t bought many colored leads yet, but the ones I have I haven’t been too happy with either. I would love to hear if anyone has a recommendation for a nice blue, red, or green colored lead, but maybe it just isn’t possible.
http://www.cannonpearson.com Cannon

I can’t point you towards any good red lead, but I can tell you that the Uni Color red is probably just as bad.
dracodoc

Maybe you can try some other pencil for this lead? For example, the Statdelter 9505 hold the lead on a point very near the end, which make it be able to use 90% of lead length. I think that will make lead more difficult to be broken too.
http://www.robotninjamonsters.blogspot.com/ Alberto

Using a drafting pencil with a longer 4 mm fixed sleeve might help reduce breakage, but I have yet to find a color lead that does not suffer from brittleness, lays down rather lightly, or wears down too quickly. I did not like how often the 0.5 mm Uni color leads tended to cracked and break apart. I enjoy using the 0.7 mm violet Eno to doodle from time to time, but it wears down very quickly (I’d guess twice as fast as regular graphite leads of the same size)..
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@dowdyism – Same here, I’ve done some searching online and just cant find any that people are thrilled about.

@Cannon – Good to know, I was considering picking those up with my next order from JetPens

@dracodoc – True, that sounds like it could help, but I’m pretty particular about my pencils. I cant use anything other than the Kuru Toga because I cant stand when pencils get all dull.

@Alberto – Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like you have had a lot of experience with colored leads with no luck.
Esther Kim

is colored lead harder to erase?
i feel like i’d just go for a red pen..
Anonymous

Yup, the red was definitely harder to erase, I’m more a pen person myself so I’m with you.