A small note-taking change
February 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM by Dr. Drang
It’s been well over a year since I last wrote about how I’m using a single notebook and making it easy to search. Normally, such a gap would mean that I’ve stopped doing whatever it was that had my interest, but that’s not true in this case. I can see a bunch of filled Feela notebooks lined up on a bookshelf across the room and there’s one about half full sitting next to me. And my notebook index file is up to date.
One thing has changed. I’m no longer writing with a Pilot Razor Point. I’ve always preferred pencils to pens, but I used a pen in my notebook because it made a darker line and was easier to keep in the notebook’s elastic loop. But late last year, after reading some reviews at The Pen Addict and JetPens, I decided to give the Pentel Kerry a try.
When paired with Pentel’s Ain HB leads, the line the 0.5 mm Kerry produces is dark enough even for my old eyes. And the Ain leads are quite strong. I don’t think I’ve had a single break in the couple of months I’ve been using them.
And it scans well. Here’s what the Scanner Pro app on my phone produces from the right-hand page:
It too is easy to read.
What I like about pencils is the “bite” they have on the paper. Fountain pen people go on about how smoothly they write, but that’s never appealed to me. Low friction allows my hand to go out of control, and I end up with letters that wander all over the place.
Generally speaking, I prefer the feel of a wooden pencil, but that isn’t a practical choice for using with the notebook. Wooden pencils are too skinny to fit snugly in the notebook’s elastic loop, they’re too long for portability, and they require a sharpener. What attracted me to the Kerry was its cap to protect against snag, and a length and barrel diameter that made it a good fit with the notebook.
Here’s the Kerry in the closed and open configurations: closed for storage and open for writing.
The cap goes into both positions with a satisfying click. When it’s open for writing, the button on the cap engages with the button inside to advance the lead. As usual, there’s an eraser under the button, which I’ve found does a good job with no smearing.
The little cap you see on the left end in the closed photo above it what you remove to load the pencil with leads. It has circumferential grooves that make it easy get ahold of. Under it is the tube that the leads go into.
While the look of the Kerry and the way it fits in the notebook loop are nice, what’s most important is how it feels in my hand, which is great. The resin sections of the barrel and the cap, which are the parts that come in contact with my fingers and the space between my thumb and index finger, are warm, smooth, and comfortable. I’ve never felt the need to take a break from writing with it.
Overall, the Kerry was a good choice. I’ll probably be buying another one soon to have a backup in case I lose this one.