The Graphiti Grip 2mm Mechanical Pencil from Levenger really stands out against all other mechanical pencils. it’s wide barrel is made of cherry wood and brass with a chrome finish. It feels really great in your hand from the moment you pick it up. I like a writing instrument with a good weight and the Graphiti is just right. It’s heavy enough that you can let it’s weight do the writing for you without providing any additional pressure. What I like best about it however, is it’s thick 2 mm lead. Thats 4X the traditional 0.5 found in most mechanical pencils! What makes this a virtue for lettering is that you can vary your pressure from very light to very heavy without fear of breaking the lead. You can therefore draw more interesting letters with more stroke variation. The only thing I would have liked to have seen is an eraser under the cap on the end but maybe its omission is intentional. This pencil is designed to make you get lost in the joy of sketching without worrying about mistakes.
as a side note, Hermann Zapf liked to compare the calligrapher’s practice of varying stroke weight by applying pressure to a pianist’s control of the loudness of the notes he played by changing the strength with which he struck the keys.
One Comment
I just took the 3 day workshop with Peter Thornton, studying the work of Adolf Bernd. LOVED it! First day was casual caps. I think this pencil looks perfect for those letters. Thanks!