2006-03-15
09:31
Pilot The Shaker Pencil Review
Latest Update: Sorry – images lost when rearranging things.
What Is It?
An automatic pencil, but with a bit of a difference. There’s the usual button on the top to advance the lead, but with The Shaker, you can also advance the lead by just shaking the pencil – a quick up-and-down shake is all it takes to move the lead on, and you can continue writing or drawing. Personally, I think it’s solving a problem that doesn’t exist, and if it did exist, this wouldn’t be my preferred solution.
- Plastic construction.
- Eraser under top cap.
- .5mm leads, both leads and erasers are replaceable.
- Spring weight internally lets you advance the lead by shaking the pencil up and down.
- Rubber grip.
- Costs – £2.40 RRP (£1.92 from Cult Pens).
Looks
The Shaker looks very similar to the Super Grip, but with a black plastic tip section, rather than the clear plastic. The clear barrel lets you watch the spring that bounces up and down inside when you shake the pencil to advance the lead. So, it looks pretty much like a cheap plastic automatic pencil – not bad at all, but nothing special.
Feel
Again, it’s almost the same as the Super Grip – which means it feels surprisingly good. That bouncing spring makes it much more prone to rattling, though, which is a bit of a shame. Still, it also adds a bit more weight low down, which gives The Shaker a slightly better balance (for my preference, anyway).
In Use
Here’s the selling point of The Shaker. Do you tend to find that you’re in the middle of writing or drawing, and the lead runs too low? You lose your train of thought whilst struggling to reach for that button?
You do?
Well, the problem for me is that I don’t.
I can kind of see where Pilot are going with this – having to switch the pencil around in your hand to hit the button is a little distracting. You can also poke yourself in the arm with it, but you do run the risk of looking a bit mad. If you have your other hand free, you can press the button with that, but it’s going to distract you from what you were doing a little, however you do it.
For me, though, shaking the pencil up and down is just as distracting, especially because I never quite felt confident of it pushing out just one stop of lead – sometimes none, sometimes it will double-bounce, and two ‘clicks’ of lead jump out.
So, for me, this one isn’t a winner.
Conclusion
So, The Shaker doesn’t really do much for me. There is an alternative. If you still think reaching for the top of a pencil for the lead advance button is too much, Uni-ball have their own answer – the Shalaku DX. Any better? Yes, I think it is. If it came down to it, though, I’d just go for the Super Grip, and practice pressing that button really quickly.
Disclosure: Our Shaker was a review sample from Cult Pens. We liked them and linked to them before they started sending us new toys, but we like to be open about it.
[...] The Shaker – just shake to advance the lead – a meh answer to a question I never heard anyone ask. [...]
But i like shaker. probably because as you said, it’s heavier. to a pencil user, that “a little bit” makes quite a lot of difference. geez..
Students in class are under pressure to copy material from the board, get the diagrams straight and try and understand the lecture, that is why I as an Engineering student and most of my colleagues where addicted to the original black and yellow shaker and to all its predecessors. The fact that with a slight shake of the wrist you continue writing versus the frantic pressing and jammed button I experiences on most others including the Uni Ball that arrived much later (I am assuming you where referring to the model with a button in the grip to advance the led). Was worth the investment. Up to date this is my pencil of choice with 2B leds.
Thanks for the comments, Phil. I can certainly see what you mean for times when you’re trying to get stuff down really quickly, especially with soft lead. I actually just bought myself a Shaker-X (bottom of this page), and filled it with Pilot Eno 4B lead. Maybe I just need more practice with using the shake-advance.
Yes, the Uni-ball Shalaku is the one with a button on the side, just above the grip, and I didn’t really like that one much either.
I tried the Shaker-X in a shop, and thought its mechanism was rather better than my Supergrip-type Shaker… though the latter has been knocked around a lot.
The Shaker-X still has quite a pointy end even with lead retracted, so doesn’t look very “pocket-safe.” Do you find it slightly too fat?
The Pilot Dr. Grip pencil that Cult Pens have looks nice.
The Shaker-X is pretty chunky. I don’t find it too fat personally, but I get on quite well with wide grips. It’s quite a firm rubber, so not actually all that ‘grippy’. The Dr Grip is a bit softer and grippier, I think.
I have used this pencil for years. I always order several at a time and give one to selected people of higher brain power, who I find are the ones that enjoy these pencils. A quick flick of the wrist to advance the lead means very little time away from the paper and very little interruption in thought to written symbol. This is the pencil with a brain.
I have used the shaker for over 20 years. It is the only clutch pencil that “undertsands”
I had two “silver” distinct designs that were extremely professional in appearance. Anyone if these are still available.