The Graph Gear 1000 is a premium, double-knock drafting pencil. It’s known for its dual-material grip and excellent construction. It briefly had a ballpoint counterpart, but the Graph Gear 1000 pen is no longer sold.
The Graph Gear is almost all metal with the exception of the rubber dot which come out of holes in the knurled grip. This distinctive dual-texture grip is both comfortable and distinctive. The grip isn’t entirely unique though — it’s also used on the more affordable Graph Gear 800.
The Graph Gear 1000, sometimes spelled as the “GraphGear,” has all the features of a professional drafting pencil but a much more reasonable price than you’d expect, selling for about $10.
The pencil’s alligator-style clip holds the lead pipe out so that the pencil can write. If the clip fails or loosens the tip cannot stay extended and the pen cannot write, which is one flaw with this design. The clip is reasonably secure but as clips are more prone to failure than most other parts of a pencil there have been reports of this pencil breaking prematurely.
Even so, this is a fine mechanical pencil and one of the first ones that most people buy when they are getting into (or back into) pencils.
Pentel Graph Gear 1000 Drafting Pencil Information
| Street Price | Check Price |
| Manufacturer | Pentel |
| Pencil Models | 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm |
| Barrel Color | Silver |
| Barrel Material | Metal |
| Body Diameter (mm) | 9.6 mm |
| Grip Color | Yellow, Green, Black, Light Blue, Silver, Brown |
| Grip Material | Metal, Rubber |
| Knurled Grip? | Yes |
| Grip Diameter (mm) | 9.5 mm |
| Body Shape | |
| Capped or Retractable | No |
| Lead Advance Style | Top Button |
| Lead Color | |
| Lead Size (Diameter) | 0.4 mm, 0.9 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm |
| Similar To: | |
| Eraser? | Yes |
| Eraser Refillable? | Yes |
| Clip | Yes |
| Clip Material | Metal |
| Body Length | 14.9 cm |
| Weight | 20.1 |
| Tip Material | Metal |
| Pipe Type | Fixed |
| Lead Pipe Length | 4.0 mm |
| Pipe Retractable? | Yes |
| Cleaning Rod? | Yes |