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The Best Mechanical Pencils

By Melanie Pinola
Updated
Four mechanical pencils lying on top of a notebook.
Photo: Michael Hession

Confession time: I’ve never liked mechanical pencils. The lead breaks as soon as it touches paper, or it never leaves the pencil body in the first place. The thin plastic barrel makes your fingers cramp within a few minutes. And the whole thing rattles like a baby toy.

At least, that’s what I remember from my school days of filling in ovals for multiple-choice tests. But if you’ve also had a poor experience with mechanical pencils, it may be time to reconsider. After researching 28 mechanical pencils and writing and drawing meticulously with more than a dozen of them for two months, we have picks that are a joy to use rather than the disasters of yore.

Everything we recommend

Our pick

This metal pencil is a pleasure to use thanks to its smooth grip section and satisfying, solid knock.

Buying Options

Also great

Its rotating lead keeps the tip sharp as you write, making for the cleanest and most consistent writing—especially when you make short, non-cursive strokes.

Buying Options

Upgrade pick

This metal drafting-style pencil doesn’t do anything fancy, but it feels and performs like an heirloom writing instrument.

Buying Options

Also great

This capped mechanical pencil has the widest barrel of the models we tested and looks fancier than its modest price would suggest.

Buying Options

Things to consider


  • Lead size/thickness

    A mechanical pencil takes only one lead size. 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm are common; go thin if you write small, thick if you press hard.

  • Lead hardness

    HB (or #2) is the most common, but you can refill with hard (H) to soft (B) options. Soft leads are darker but also more brittle.

  • Refill options

    You generally can’t go wrong with lead from Uniball and Pentel. Pentel’s Ain Stein has a particularly good reputation.

  • Retractable or not?

    A retractable tip keeps you from getting poked if you carry the pencil around, but nonretractable pencils have less tip wobble.

As with pens and other writing and drawing utensils, the best mechanical pencil for you is the one you like best—and that’s a matter of not just how well the pencil performs at leaving marks on paper, but also comfort, style, and, sometimes, particular features like a retractable tip.

So we offer you options below that vary from budget-friendly, lightweight mechanical pencils to hefty, metal instruments that are pure engineering marvels. All are grown-up, more-advanced alternatives to the dime-a-dozen models that may have soured you on mechanical pencils before.

Our pick

This metal pencil is a pleasure to use thanks to its smooth grip section and satisfying, solid knock.

Buying Options

The Blick Premier Mechanical Pencil is a stellar value at under $10, and it’s more foolproof than other mechanical pencils. Unlike most other retractable options, which require you to hold down the knock (usually the top of the eraser cap) while pressing down on the tip to retract it, the Blick Premier extends or retracts the lead sleeve instantly with a single click, similar to using a retractable pen.

That means you won’t inadvertently advance the lead and break it; to get more lead out, you double-click on the top of the eraser cap button. This double-knock design is ingenious, and sadly a rarity these days.

The Blick Premier is also a well-rounded mechanical pencil with features not typically seen at this price. It has a premium-feeling all-metal body, a cushioning mechanism to prevent lead breakage if you press too hard, a lead indicator at the top, and anti-slip knurling that feels smooth yet somewhat grippy.

If you’re used to heavy drafting pencils that have rougher grips, the Blick Premier may be too smooth for you—you’d be better off with the heftier rOtring 600 Mechanical Pencil 1 with its more textured grip. The Blick Premier is Japanese-made and only available from certain art stores, but it could be worth the trip or shipping fee for such a solid mechanical pencil.

Widths available: 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm

Also great

Its rotating lead keeps the tip sharp as you write, making for the cleanest and most consistent writing—especially when you make short, non-cursive strokes.

Buying Options

The Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide is a lightweight, always-sharp option that looks and feels nicer than most similarly priced or cheaper plastic mechanical pencils. It has a retractable tip so it doesn’t stab you through your pocket, and it rotates the lead when you pick the pencil up from the paper—twice as fast as the original, so it keeps the tip at a finer point than other mechanical pencils in the popular Kuru Toga lineup. Many testers preferred the thicker barrel of the Pipe Slide to other inexpensive pencils’ thin bodies, and they especially loved its comfortable, grooved grip section.

Widths available: 0.5 mm for the Pipe Slide; 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, and 0.7 mm for the Kuru Toga Standard pencil

Upgrade pick

This metal drafting-style pencil doesn’t do anything fancy, but it feels and performs like an heirloom writing instrument.

Buying Options

Are you a pencil aesthete? Do you draw diagrams and illustrations more than you write words? Do you simply prefer the feel of solid, heavy metal to plastic? If so, the rOtring 600 is a traditional mechanical drafting pencil worth considering.

It’s not as portable as our other picks because it’s not retractable, but what it lacks in pencil tip protection it more than makes up for in lead stability—the fixed sleeve lays down reliable, exact strokes. All of our testers preferred the rOtring 600 to similarly priced alternatives. Is it heavy? Yes. But that gives it gravitas.

Widths available: 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm

Also great

This capped mechanical pencil has the widest barrel of the models we tested and looks fancier than its modest price would suggest.

Buying Options

The most giftable mechanical pencil is the Pentel Sharp Kerry. It has a pricey fountain pen or rollerball pen look and a unique cap that protects the lead and tip in travel. Because it isn’t retractable, the fixed lead sleeve is less wobbly than retractable pencils.

Like fancy pens, the Pentel Sharp Kerry has a wide barrel that is comfortable to hold especially if you tend to grip your writing utensils like your life depends on it. Its grip doesn’t have any texture, though, so if you don’t like a smooth barrel, look elsewhere. Again, design and aesthetics are a matter of personal preference.

Widths available: 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm

Senior staff writer Melanie Pinola has researched, tested, and written about all types of home-office gear and stationery for Wirecutter, including pens and notebooks, since 2019. Prior to joining Wirecutter, she covered technology and productivity for over a dozen years for sites such as Consumer Reports, Lifehacker, PCWorld, and Laptop Magazine.

Although she prefers a razor-chiseled charcoal pencil for drawing as a hobby, two months of using mechanical pencils every day for every kind of writing and doodling task has her coming around to the precise lines, versatility, and ease of use that our picks offer.

As with previous versions of this guide going back to 2013, we also consulted experienced stationery bloggers to sort through everything available and help us establish what to look for. Most recently, we interviewed Michael Fryda, who runs the Clutch Situation YouTube channel; previously, we gathered recommendations and advice from Austin Smith of Art Supply Critic, Brad Dowdy of The Pen Addict, Elizabeth Price of No Pen Intended, Johnny Gamber of Pencil Revolution, and Brian Greene of OfficeSupplyGeek.

This guide also builds on the work of writers Tim Barribeau and Kevin Purdy.

We love a good pen, and, we get it, if you’re no longer in school and don’t need a pencil for work, why bother with pencils at all? Pens put down the boldest lines and don’t come with the hassle of sharpening or refilling lead—and, well, you’d never sign a document or a check with a pencil.

But pencils have their place, too, for when your ideas are transient or you just want the freedom to make mistakes. Go ahead, fill in that crossword puzzle or jot down a tentative appointment in your paper planner. Pens mean commitment. Pencils are forgiving.

If you need to use a pencil only a few times a year, you can make do with any kind. Our nonmechanical pencil pick comes in a pack of 12 for about the price of just one of our budget mechanical pencil picks.

Switch to a mechanical pencil, though, and you never have to clean up wood shavings or try to write with a short stub of wood, possibly with chew marks on it. You can lay down precise lines with consistent widths, and refill the pencil with any lead hardness on a whim. Plus, mechanical pencils come in a variety of styles and materials so you can find one that feels just right to you—you aren’t just stuck with a hexagonal shape.

A mechanical pencil’s precision and its ability to work well with rulers and stencils makes it a valuable tool for technical drafting, drawing, and illustrating. But its ease of use and adaptability also make it a good fit for anyone who’s into writing with a pencil for the long haul.

It’s worth paying more for a top-notch mechanical pencil because the components, such as the lead-advancement mechanism and the lead-holding sleeve, hold up far longer than with 12-per-box options.

A diagram of mechanical pencil.
A mechanical pencil has several moving parts. The best ones get them just right. Illustration: Ezra Lee

On the downside, mechanical pencils are the most advanced type of writing utensil, and that level of complexity means more can go wrong. We found the mechanical pencils below to be largely frustration-free, but if potential lead jams or broken lead might bother you—and you don’t need the precision and different style options that mechanical pencils offer—a standard pencil and sharpener would be a better option.

A dozen mechanical pencils that we tested lying on a notebook.
Photo: Michael Hession

Based on input from mechanical pencil experts and our own research, including information from resources like JetPens’s mechanical pencils buying guide and enthusiast forums like Reddit’s r/mechanicalpencils, we compiled a list of pencils to test. We narrowed that testing list down based on owner reviews, price, and availability.

We decided to not test mechanical pencils that cost over—an admittedly somewhat arbitrary—$30. That got us a wide selection of pencils that are higher quality than the cheapest multipack options but much less expensive than small-batch pencils made of materials like titanium and bronze.

To test the pencils, I used each one for over two months for all the note-taking, list-making, and doodling I normally use a pen for (and, trust me, that’s a lot). I also made several sketches with the top contenders, tried them out with stencils, and played with any special features, such as the Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide’s auto-rotating lead mechanism.

To get additional feedback, eight Wirecutter staffers—some who have used mechanical pencils for years and have even amassed a collection of vintage models—were given customized sets of the pencils based on their preferences for plastic or metal body types, lead thickness, and lead hardness. Six of my friends (office workers and mostly fellow art hobbyists), also tried out all 15 models with the default 0.5 mm, HB leads.

The panelists wrote, doodled, and drew in Field Notes notebooks or legal pads for at least half an hour with each pencil. And then they filled out a survey, evaluating the pencils on the following criteria, in this (rough) order:

  • Writing experience: We looked for how smoothly the pencil wrote and if the lines were crisp and consistent. We also noted any lead breakage or other issues, such as difficulty with the knock (the mechanism to advance the lead) or tip wobbling.
  • Comfort: We paid particular attention to the grip section of the pencil and how it felt to hold over several minutes of writing. We also considered the pencil’s weight and center of gravity.
  • Design: Aesthetics matter with stationery, because these tools can feel very personal, so we paid some attention to the pencils’ looks and style options.

These criteria are largely subjective, so we compared pencils in similar price groups with each other, in a sort of mechanical-pencil bracket tournament. For example, we pitted metal drafting pencils like the Staedtler Mars 925 and rOtring 600 against each other.

We’ve noted where a pencil stood out for its eraser or clip quality, but, to be frank, most mechanical pencils have minuscule erasers and delicate clips. If you do a good amount of erasing, and especially if you usually draw or diagram with a pencil, consider buying a separate eraser.

JetPens recommends the Sakura Foam Eraser as an all-around performer. A number of the expert pen and pencil bloggers we consulted like the Tombow Mono Zero Erasers for making precise erasures.

The Blick Premier Mechanical Pencil.
Photo: Michael Hession

Our pick

This metal pencil is a pleasure to use thanks to its smooth grip section and satisfying, solid knock.

Buying Options

The Blick Premier Mechanical Pencil is the best pencil you can buy for under $10. It writes smoothly and the lead never broke in our tests, as this model has a lead cushioning mechanism that prevents breakage.

As a double-knock pencil, it’s as intuitive to use as a retractable pen: Click the top to extend the tip, and click again to retract it. This also helps avoid the all-too-common issue that other retractable mechanical pencils have, which is mistakenly advancing the lead when you instead wanted to retract the tip.

This sleek, full-metal bodied pencil has a very smooth, knurled grip. Senior staff writer Sarah Witman, who wrote our guide to the best traditional pencils, chose the Blick Premier as her favorite because it is sturdily built, comfy to write with, and has a clean, all-metal look.

Everyone who tested the Blick Premier chose this as their favorite compared with our previous upgrade pick, the Pentel GraphGear 1000, which feels less balanced in the hand and also has rubber ovals on the grip that are distracting and don’t add much value.

Double-clicking the knock advances the lead. Video: Michael Hession

Compared with the other retractable pencils we’ve tested, the Blick Premier has less tip wobble, so it lays down more-precise lines and is less distracting to use. Does it wobble at all? Of course, because the retracting mechanism requires the tip sleeve to be a bit loose, but we didn’t notice it at all during testing except when we went looking for flaws. Speaking of which…

Flaws but not dealbreakers

  • Our main criticism for this otherwise superb mechanical pencil is that the grip may feel too smooth. It’s knurled with two patterns: a long section that has hardly any texture, and a shorter section with ringed grooves. The latter feels more pronounced, but it doesn’t have as tough of a feel compared with traditional drafting pencils like the rOtring 600, our upgrade pick. For some, the smooth grip on the Blick Premier pencil is more comfortable to hold than pencils with very rough grips, but if you find that pencils or pens slip out of your hand a lot, the rOtring 600 would be the better option.
  • The Blick Premier is only available directly from Blick (including subsidiary Utrecht Art Supplies), either online or in its brick and mortar locations, which can be found in many but not all states. But it’s worth a trip if a Blick store is near you or even if you have to pay the $10 shipping fee for orders under $49.
  • Like our other picks, the Blick Premier is only available in 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm sizes; if you need thinner or thicker options, check out the other good mechanical pencils we recommend.
  • Since this is a relatively new mechanical pencil, we don’t have any long-term test notes on how it holds up. We’ll report back when we have that information.
The Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide mechanical pencil.
Photo: Michael Hession

Also great

Its rotating lead keeps the tip sharp as you write, making for the cleanest and most consistent writing—especially when you make short, non-cursive strokes.

Buying Options

The Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide was previously our top pick, because it has a secret weapon that no other pencil can match: It automatically rotates the lead inside the pencil every time you lift the tip from the page, keeping the lead at the tip constantly sharp. Thanks to this feature, your lines and letters come out constantly sharp, rather than getting broader and more faded-looking as you write on.

However, if you write mostly in cursive—as opposed to frequently writing math symbols or making short strokes in a language with dense characters, such as Chinese or Japanese—you might not need or notice this automatic lead-sharpening feature. But the Pipe Slide would still be our favorite plastic pencil pick even without it, because it’s lightweight, retractable, and has a comfortable thick grip.

The Pipe Slide is a newer version of the standard Kuru Toga pencil, which was our initial pick in 2013. The Pipe Slide rotates its lead twice as fast as the original Kuru Toga, turning the lead fully once every 20 strokes rather than every 40. In addition to keeping the writing on the page sharp and consistent, this rotation tends to prevent lead breakage, since you’re not pressing hard on one gradually weakening part of the lead.

Every time you lift the Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide off the page, the tip rotates slightly, which gives you a consistently sharp point. Video: Michael Hession

The Pipe Slide is comfortable to hold but not much more than other good mechanical pencils. The subtly ridged clear-plastic grip, plus the small rubber ring near the tip, improve the experience over that of a completely round and smooth pencil. But some people may prefer a rougher grip, like the one on the rOtring 600, or a slimmer body, like that of the Blick Premier.

If the Pipe Slide’s rotating mechanism sounds appealing but you prefer a different style writing implement, we suggest looking at the many other available models. You can try the self-explanatory Kuru Toga Rubber Grip model, the sleek all-metal Kuru Toga Advance Upgrade, and the even-cushier Kuru Toga Alpha Gel. There’s even a Kuru Toga line that has you covered if your only problem is that your current pencils don’t feature Disney characters.

The auto-rotating mechanism of the Pipe Slide’s lead requires a bit of looseness (play) so that the lead can rotate when you let your hand off the page. That leads to some tip wobble, which was our testers’ main complaint with this pencil.

The rOtring 600 Mechanical Pencil 1.
Photo: Michael Hession

Upgrade pick

This metal drafting-style pencil doesn’t do anything fancy, but it feels and performs like an heirloom writing instrument.

Buying Options

The rOtring 600 Mechanical Pencil 1 is a classic drafting pencil that, once you pick it up, immediately feels like it means business. The knurled grip is easy to hold, and the pencil’s heft means you don’t have to press down too hard to write or draw with it. The main shortcoming: This is a desk-bound pencil, because its lead isn’t retractable.

Of all the $10 to $30 mechanical pencils we tested, the rOtring 600 felt the smoothest to write with. It’s one of the slimmest options, with a hexagonal body that helps prevent it from rolling off the desk and a cross-hatched metal grip.

Senior staff writer Phil Ryan noted, “There’s something very strangely great about the rOtring 600—I can’t put any kind of reasoning behind why I like it so much. It just feels really comfortable.”

A close-up of the rOtring 600 Mechanical Pencil 1 grip.
The rOtring 600 has one of the roughest antislip grips. Photo: Michael Hession

Even though this is the heaviest pencil we tested, the weight feels very nicely balanced. Our previous pick for this type of pencil, the Pentel GraphGear 1000, could feel top-heavy (one tester said it made him feel like he was writing with the pencil upside down). Senior staff writer and mechanical pencil collector Tim Heffernan adds that the rOtring 600 is silent in use (no rattling), and it has a better grip and gives better feedback than the highly engineered Pentel Orenz Nero.

Testers also liked the handsome, matte finish of the black rOtring 600 (other colors are available, including the silver, shown above, rose gold, and camouflage green), although some customer reviews suggest that the paint on the pencil can wear with heavy use.

The Pentel Sharp Kerry Mechanical Pencil.
Photo: Michael Hession

Also great

This capped mechanical pencil has the widest barrel of the models we tested and looks fancier than its modest price would suggest.

Buying Options

Apologies for this pun, but the Pentel Sharp Kerry Mechanical Pencil is a sharp-looking pencil. It has the air of a fancy fountain pen, with a thick, shiny barrel and metal accents. The cap protects the pencil tip (and your pocket) in transit, and you can advance the lead by clicking either the eraser button or the top of the pencil cap.

Thanks to its fixed lead sleeve, the Pentel Sharp Kerry had little to no tip wobble in our testing, and writing with it felt smooth and consistent. The knock advances the lead in small increments so you won’t mistakenly put out too much and break it.

The metal, knurled grip section may be a bit too high up on the pencil if you tend to hold pencils near the tip, and it’s not as textured as the rOtring 600 and similar pencils, so it feels more decorative than useful. Still, the Pentel Sharp Kerry has a balanced weight, and our testers found it comfortable to use for long writing sessions.

It’s also aesthetically pleasing enough to give as a gift to a fellow pencil fan, unless they don’t like smooth barrels. “I always gift people the Pentel Sharp Kerry,” said Michael Fryda of Clutch Situation. “The design will fit anyone’s aesthetic and it has been continually manufactured since 1971 for a reason. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

If you want to spend the least amount of money on a quality mechanical pencil: The Pentel Sharp P205 Mechanical Drafting Pencil is a fan favorite. It has a slimmer, sleeker, and more traditional pencil look than other mechanical pencils, and comes in sizes from 0.3 mm to 0.9 mm. In prior testing, Wirecutter panelists wrote that the Pentel Sharp P205 they tested “feels like something a NASA engineer would use in the ’50s, in both a good or bad way,” and that it “was always the one that cool people at school had.” But overall, only a minority of testers rated it above our other picks. More recently, staff members wrote that the Pentel Sharp P205 “felt cheap and slidey in your hand,” and a half-dozen testers noted that the body and grip were narrow. This budget pencil comes in an array of bold, shiny colors. It isn’t retractable.

If you want an all-metal mechanical pencil with a rubbery grip: Take a look at the Pentel GraphGear 1000. A former upgrade pick, the GraphGear 1000 sports a knurled metal grip dotted with colorful latex pads. Some testers found that comfortable, while others considered it distracting and unattractive. The GraphGear 1000 retracts the tip when you press on the strong clip, which is quite satisfying, but be careful that it doesn’t catch your finger. It’s available in sizes from 0.3 mm to 0.9 mm.

If you want to adjust the length of the pencil’s lead sleeve and its lead cushioning: Consider the highly customizable Platinum Pro-Use 171. You can twist the pencil’s nose cone to extend or retract the lead sleeve from 0 to 4.5 mm, which is helpful when you’re using rulers or stencils of different thicknesses. The Pro-Use 171 also lets you choose between a lead cushioning mode, which uses a pressure-absorbing spring mechanism in the tip to help prevent the lead from breaking, and a fixed, non-cushioned mode, which holds the lead more firmly so you get more feedback when you write. We liked the gentle knurled grip section, which is smoother than similar drafting pencils, and the lower center of gravity due to the top of the pencil being plastic. The Pro-Use 171 is available in thin 0.3 mm and wide 0.9 mm versions, in addition to more common 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm sizes. Our main concern is that this pencil is often out of stock, even at specialty retailers like JetPens. But if you can find one, it’d make a nice addition to your writing arsenal.

If you want to click less: The Pentel Orenz Nero has an auto-advance feature that extends the lead a bit every time you lift the pencil. That means you don’t have to click the knock as much as you would with other pencils. Our testers liked the feel of the hexagonal, knurled grip section and the weight of the pencil, and its sleek, black finish would do well in any professional setting. However, to use the pencil as it’s designed, you have to keep the lead only a tiny bit exposed, which can take some getting used to. It also means writing with the pencil can feel scratchy, as the tip may catch on the paper depending on the angle you hold the pencil at. If you have small handwriting, the Orenz Nero offers 0.2 mm and 0.3 mm models, as well as 0.5 mm.

This is not a comprehensive list of all mechanical pencils we’ve tested. We have removed models that are discontinued or no longer meet our criteria.

The Zebra DelGuard promises zero lead breakage regardless of how much pressure you put on the pencil, but in our testing the lead broke immediately on first use, and often after that.

The Tombow Mono Graph Shaker Mechanical Pencil is supposed to advance the lead when you shake it, and it has a twist-up eraser. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the lead to advance no matter how hard we tried. Also, even if it did work, shaking a pencil is distracting if you’re working around other people.

The OHTO Mechanical Pencil Wood Sharp looks and feels like a traditional, nonmechanical pencil, which some testers found whimsical. But it has a thick eraser that pops off too easily, and it rattles more than any other pencil we tried.

The Staedtler Mechanical Pencil (925 25) is a sturdy and hefty metal drafting pencil. Our testers preferred the Rotring 600 for its overall feel and writing smoothness. It also has an abrasive knurled grip section, which one tester likened to a nail file.

We were divided on the Pentel Quicker Clicker, which has a side button to advance the lead so you don’t have to reach up to the top for more lead. Although convenient, the side button felt awkward to use, and we preferred the more straightforward Pentel Sharp P205.

We also previously dismissed a number of pencils recommended to us by experts or readers:

  • The Zebra M-701 is a straightforward, mid-tier option that lacked the distinguishing lead rotation of the Kuru Toga line.
  • The heavy, metal rOtring 800 has many adherents, but a number of reviews note problems with the lead shattering inside the pencil body, the tip retraction mechanism failing, and other problems that should not be so common in a roughly $50 pencil.
  • We eliminated pencils with extremely squishy grips, such as the Pilot Dr. Grip, Dr. Grip Center of Gravity, and Sakura SumoGrip. Although some people may want or need a squishier grip, we suggest trying the Uni Kuru Toga Alpha Gel, which retains a solid writing experience while softening the feel.
  • Some people like the Paper Mate SharpWriter for its twist-tip lead dispensing, but most prefer to click to advance lead.
  • The Alvin Draft-Matic is a metal drafting pencil comparable to our pick, the Blick Premier Mechanical Pencil in all but one way: It has a nonretractable tip. Pocket safety and breakage protection make the Blick Premier a more versatile pencil for most uses.

This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.

Meet your guide

Melanie Pinola

Melanie Pinola covers home office, remote work, and productivity as a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. She has contributed to print and online publications such as The New York Times, Consumer Reports, Lifehacker, and PCWorld, specializing in tech, work, and lifestyle/family topics. She’s thrilled when those topics intersect—and when she gets to write about them in her PJs.

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