Zebra Tect 2Way Light Frisha

Wow! This is one cool looking pencil. I really got lucky on a visit to the Tokyo Tokyo gift shop featuring items ranging from toys to stationery items. My son goes there to look at their cool Pokemon and Mario Bros toys while I have bought my first shaker pencil there. This time around, I chanced upon the Zebra Tect 2way light. It was in a simple plastic packaging with a free Zebra eraser. I’ve had a couple of mechanical pencils that both advance leads using both clicking and shaking mechanisms but the Zebra Tect 2way goes further by putting in a lock on the barrel that depending on the setting will enable or disable the shaker system.

The barrel is made of shiny black plastic and is complemented by chrome tip, pocket clip and band around barrel. Very classy.

The grip has 3 thin concentric rubber rings followed by 2 circular impressions on the barrel where there could have been 2 more rubber rings. The 3 rubber rings make quite an effective grip without making the entire grip out of rubber.

The lock twists to the right to enable the shaker and does not disable the clicker on top. Twisting it to the left disables the shaker.

The wrap around pocket clip has Japan engraved on it and is shorter compared to most mechanical pencils. Here is a picture comparison with the Pentel P205.

Having a 4mm non-retractable tip makes it ideal for drafting purposes but is actually even good for normal everyday writing. I’ve used it for a couple of weeks and other than the shaky cap, it is one of the best all around drafting/writing mechanical pencils I’ve used. The diameter and length is just perfect for writing.

The eraser as expected is small and is under the cap. The lead is refilled by pulling off the eraser.

Use for – Drafting and general writing.
Like it? – Yes, the concept of having a lock on the shaker system is really nice.
Design suggestion – Modify the cap so as it is not so shaky.