Yoko Tsuno and the Pentel P205

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2022 saw the release of the 30th Yoko Tsuno album.

In case you are not familiar with this series [1]I came across this series a few years ago for the first time.: In the Yoko Tsuno comics the main character, an electrical engineer, is taking part in adventures all over the world. Stories are usually technology and Sci-Fi heavy.

Beginning of “On the Edge of Life” from 1977.

The first story appeared in 1970 and more than 50 years later they are still drawn by Roger Leloup, who is now 89 years old. He is still working on creating more adventures and, according to rumours, the 31st album is already half completed.

As can be seen in the this Kaboom video, Roger Leloup is using Pentel’s P205 to draw his comics. The clip has been removed, presumably to more more comfortable to hold and because the pencils are not being used in pockets anyway.

Screenshot form the Kaboom video

A few years ago I was quite lucky and managed to get a signed print from Roger Leloup that I want so share here with you.

I believe that the use of the images in this blog post fall under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.

References

References
↑1 I came across this series a few years ago for the first time.

Latex-free grip ‘pips’ for added comfort and control

6 Comments / Mechanical pencils, Pentel / By

I really like my Christmas gift: a set of Graphgear mechanical pencils in 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9.

The official price for one in the UK is £26.68 [1]except the 0.4 mm version which isn’t officially available in the UK, but you can get a set of five, with different lead diameters, for under £35.

Pentel’s Orenz is a mechanical pencil I use often, but I haven’t had the pleasure of using another one of Pentel’s pencils yet: the Graphgear.

The Graphgear’s design is great. I especially like the retractable sleeve, activated via the clip. The grip section, knurled metal with rubbery dots, officially referred to as Latex-free grip ‘pips’, and lead hardness indicator, as well as the overall construction are also amazing and show a nice attention to detail.


The lead that came with the pencil doesn’t seem to be all HB. The lead from the 0.5 mm pencil is so much softer than the one that came with the 0.4 mm pencil.

I will certainly enjoy using the different lead diameters and retracting the sleeve when I have finished writing… When I write a lot in one go I will probably still want to use a sliding sleeve pencil out of convenience, i.e. to always have the right amount of lead looking out of the sleeve.

References

References
↑1 except the 0.4 mm version which isn’t officially available in the UK

Hovering and flying fountain pens

2 Comments / Fountain pens, Seen in the wild / By

In a recent issue, Time Magazine presented a list of the best inventions of 2022. This also included stationery: specifically the Novium Hoverpen 2.0.

Below is a video where you can see it in action.

In the UK it currently seems for a bit more than £100, so it is a bit more expensive than in the USA. On the other hand it seems to be sold out in the USA in many shops. The next version, which converts into a fountain pen, is in the works.

From hovering to flying fountain pens:

Something else that is new: The Diplomat Nexus has a patented sealing system, that cuts the ink supply off when the cap is closed. This might be quite useful when flying. On the other hand if have flown many times with a fountain pen in my shirt pocket and didn’t have any ink spilling issues yet. Many fountain pens leak though when thrown into bags and carried around, so this mechanism might help. I assume the ink near the nib can still ‘escape’ and make a mess, though.

Watch a quick overview from Pen Chalet here:

…or a longer version from Brian Goulet here:

Rapidograph designs

Leave a Comment / Koh-I-Noor, Rotring, Seen in the wild / By

A fun fact involving pens, taken from the current issue (240) of Retro Gamer: The original design of the Atari logo was created using Radiograph pens.

One constant in the Atari story is its striking logo, long referred to as Fuji after its resemblance to the Japanese mountain. In 1972, Evelyn Seto was a production artist, working for George Opperman who had produced the original design, and it was her task to create the artwork for printing. “This was pre-computers, so it was done by hand,” she explains. “I had to draw and ink the symbol using tools such as French curves and Rapidograph technical drawing pens. We used the font style Harry for ‘ATARI’.

Retro Gamer 240, p. 23

The question is whether these were Rotrings or Koh-I-Noors. It seems more likely they were Rotrings. As far as I know the Rapidograph had been around for around two decades at that time.

Rotring Rapidograph - in box
Rapidographs

This blog post contains embedded Flickr images.