About this time last year, I read a post (somewhere) about the "Pica-Dry Longlife Automatic Pen." I thought it was interesting enough to order one.
First impression was that it is a pencil not a 'pen' (which seemed odd but that could be my shortcoming.) Whatever it is called doesn't affect how it works.
Second impression was that it is a bit bulky and not particularly suited for keeping in an apron, shirt or pants pocket, The bright green holder has a nice looking clip that looks like it would hold the pencil securely in a pocket. That doesn't work for me at all so the pencil lives on the tablesaw fence or on the work bench. The end of the holder is a sharpener which is convenient and works well.
The pencil comes with one (1) black lead which, surprising to me, lasted quite a long time. However, additional leads are available in packs of eight (8) leads (either all black or a combination of four (4) black, two (2) red, and two (2) yellow). Out of curiosity, I bought the combo pack without really having a purpose for the colored leads at the time. Last week, to my pleasant surprise, I discovered the usefulness of the yellow lead.
Working on Gardens' coamings (varnished meranti ply), I needed a line visible enough to work with in the rather dimly lit boat bay (in the barn). The black lead certainly worked to put a line on the coaming, but it was difficult to see well enough to work with it. I changed out the black lead for yellow and was pleased with the result. I can't quite imagine what I'll need the red lead for, but when I'm sure the red will work just fine, too.
The black lead works well for layout lines on timber and ply but not so well for jotting down notes (the lead is pretty thick and doesn't lend itself well to my handwritten notes).
I like the pencil enough to get another one for the boat bay.
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