Kaweco Sketch Up Clutch Lead Holder Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Kaweco Sketch Up Lead Holder is a brass instrument for holding lead between 5.4 and 5.7mm thick. It comes with one 5.6mm 5B graphite lead, so you'll probably want to order refills (see below) along with your lead holder.

The Sketch is a solid instrument with an octagonal barrel. It is 10.3cm in length, 13.8cm in diameter, and weighs 1.5oz. It does not come with a clip, but you can add one if you like for $6.75.

The clutch mechanism looks like something out of Alien or Terminator. In other words, it's pretty cool. You press on the back push button to open the clutch and insert the lead. This is also how you advance or retract the lead.

The push button is removable, and integrated inside is a lead sharpener. This lead holder is like a James Bond gizmo–a removable push button with a secret sharpener, a clutch mechanism that could be used to crush someone's pinky while interrogating them, and a pencil, too!

The Sketch feels comfortable in the hand, and although it is heavy, the weight is balanced. I didn't feel any fatigue using it to sketch. However, JetPens also offers plastic versions if you think the brass might be too heavy (see below).

The lead itself is soft and malleable. You can draw fine lines when the lead is sharp and use the sides for softer, thicker lines. Because the lead is so soft, it smears easily, so keep a good, soft eraser handy.

My daughter is the real artist in the family. She used the Kaweco Sketch to draw this griffin. Pretty impressive, huh? (I'm a wee bit biased).

Here's a closeup of the lead on paper.

The sketchbook used for these drawings is the Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Premium Sketchbook for multimedia. It is an excellent 62-page sketchbook, with a hardback cover and archival 150gsm paper. The pages are sewn and the notebook lies flat if you bend back the binding. These are available at Dick Blick for $15.99.

You can order the Kaweco Sketch Up Clutch Lead Holder from JetPens for $36.00. A brass chrome version is also available as are three plastic versions (3.2mm in gray, black and mint) for $19.00 each. A variety of refills are available, including Kaweco graphite 3-pack ($6.50) and Kaweco colored lead 3 packs (in blue, red, yellow, green) ($6.50). E+M offers a pack of eight colored leads for $10.00.

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 155 - Sealed and Labeled for Archiving

I called in sick on Monday but fought through my cold to get today's episode in. Good thing too, because we had lots to talk about. We got a resolution to the Marriott pen saga, a picture of Tom Cruise's pen, and fawned over Disney Princess Uni-ball Kuru Toga's. That's right. Don't judge!

We also scratched the surface on custom nibs and announced the Kickstarter backer pen giveaway winners.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

lynda.com: An easy and affordable way to help individuals and organizations learn. Free 10-day trial.

Squarespace: Build it Beautiful. Use code INK for 10% off.

Harry's: An exceptional shave at a fraction of the price. Use code PENADDICT for $5 off your first purchase.

Ode to a Parker Duofold

Image via Wikipedia

(This is a guest poem by Jon Bemis. You can find Jon on Twitter @jtower42.)

(I am no poet and I do not claim to be. I am sure that to real poets or students of poetry, there are innumerable issues with the form and content of this post. But the first time I ever wrote with my first Parker Duofold (I now have three) I was overwhelmed with how cool it felt to be using this nearly hundred-year-old pen and with how well it wrote. I wanted to write about it, but somehow my normal prose didn’t fit the feeling. In the truest sense, I was inspired to write this little poem because I couldn’t figure out any other way to talk about it. I hope you enjoy.)

O to glory in something both ancient and beautiful;
To take in hand a tool wrought by craftsmen long dead, 
Polished by hands long returned to dust!
What joy is this to shake the pall of neglect
From a thing, and put it to simple use?
Seems right with the broad world to put
To its proper purpose, to fulfill its humble aim.

Orange and black as a tiger lily, with a nib of gold,
Worn by the use and disuse of four score years,
Restored by loving hands.
A common pen, for nothing more than 
Laying ink upon paper.
As if time had but skipped from then 'til now,
A line flows forth with perfect dark wetness.

Long since passed by her modern sisters
Made en masse, better but worse.
A genocide at the tip of a ball-point.
Which sad day did the drawer close,
Casting darkness and neglect in equal measure?
When did the march of progress double-quick
Past this grizzled veteran?

Once sold as chattel to the highest bidder,
Now cherished as tool and symbol
Stringing letters into words.
What great hero or mean man 
Marked his days with this pen?
Shall something good and noble now
Flow from it into a transformed world?