Graphite Bash - vintage leads arrival and doodling with favorite leadholders and Rotring 500 mechanical pencil

Leadholders are among my favorite sketching tools: their barrel length remains always the same for a consistent feeling every time you pick them up, their leads can be sharpened easily with a handy KUM lead pointer, and they can be conveniently rendered pocket-safe by retracting their leads back into the pencil barrels.
Just received a tube of vintage Faber Castell H leads won in an E-bay auction for my collection, and got a few other vintage leads arriving this coming week.
The H tube contained 12 H graphite leads (3 were broke, but still fully usable) and 3 plastic A.W. Faber Castell 1915 FC-HB Dri-Line leads for drawing on polyester film.
A few test doodles on white cad stock. Keep an eye on auction sites, for you might easily come across some competitively priced deals on vintage drawing leads. They pretty much are shelf-stable and tend to retain their quality and drawing potential after decades in storage.
This KUM leadpointer is one of the permanent fixtures in my sketching kit since it can sharpen the drawing leads of both 2 & 3.15 mm leadholders of different barrel sizes. Find it more useful than the rotating tubs, since I like to keep rubber pencil covers on the knurled metal grips of many of my leadholders. For me their blades seem to remain sharp for a really long time since they do not get dull cutting away wood shavings, and I tend to prefer softer B leads which probably keep the blades well lubricated with their higher graphite content. Noticed with some concern in this British retailer site that KUM might have discontinued this particular model KUM Deluxe Lead Pointer 23A, so I already picked up the carded spare on a recent trip to Jerry's Artarama store.
Testing 4 different grades of 3 different brands of drafting lead on a Flexisketch book. The fact that they all look so similar just goes to show that each manufacturer graphite grades scale can be slightly different, so try a few to determine your favorite choices for sketching and rendering. My current favorite choice would be Mitsubishi Uni leads, though I seldom come across a graphite lead I do not like for something ;).
Laid down a light sketch with the Staedtler 2B lead on the Rhodia dotPad. Having a nice selection of graphite leads of different grades allow for a pretty smooth work flow: start initial sketches with the harder leads and gradually move to softer leads to further define and shade your drawing. They can be quite space-efficient when considering the room taken up by an equivalent number of wooden pencils. And before you ask, neither format is better than the other. Just have to have the right tool for the conditions before you, so stock up on your favorite wooden pencils once you find one that works well for you (just my 2 cents).
After adding some quick shading with the Caran d'Ache Fixpencil 3 loaded with KIN 2200 4B lead.
The soft 4B lead also worked nicely on the Piccadilly Sketchbook paper.The 3.15 mm opening of this KUM leadpointer could also quickly restore the sharp point on the Koh-I-Noor 2200 4B 2.5 mm lead.
Initial test doodles with my newest 0.5 mm mechanical pencil: the Rotring 500 drafting pencil.
Close up of the knurled metal grip and front view of the 3-jaws clutch mechanism that securely holds the lead. Since the drafting sleeve is fixed, I would recommend reserving it for use at your home studio unless you don't mind stabbing yourself when you stash it in your pocket absent minded. Yet if you have read this mechanical pencil love letter this far, you probably are also the type to have invested on a strong pencil case of adequate size to carry your treasured pencils around. Always expect my better mechanical pencils to feature a brass-colored metal clutch to keep the graphite lead tip steady while sketching freehand.
Test doodles drawn on Rhodia dotPad. The Rotring 500 0.5 mm mechanical pencil is lightweight, well-balanced, and provides precise control for sketching. Nice addition to any mechanical pencil collection. Take your favorite graphite sketching tools out for a spin between breaks at the computer. Sometimes it is nice to take a break from the digital world, and go analog for a bit. Might do wonders for your creativity, and it is not dependent on battery life nor electrical outlets.