5 STAR Rated 10 Best Mechanical Pencil Review 2024 | Mechanical Pencil for Drawing

Mechanical pencil is a must-have item if you are a drawer, a drafter, or a writer; it is so much convenient, versatile, and precise than your standard wooden pencil. But that’s not all; the advantages and the features you get with this fantastic tool are boundless when compared to its outdated counterpart. Yes, you do not have to sharpen your pencil again, but most importantly, your lines as a drawer or a drafter are clear and very consistent. Since the mechanical pencil was coined; there are several brands out there, making it hard to identify the type or brand that is worth your hard-earned dollar. After talking to a couple of experts, and surveying pen lovers and our experiences, we have come up with a list of 10 best mechanical pencils we feel are worth your penny:

Who should get this?

We aren’t limiting to who should use these mechanical pencils. From writers to drawers, artisans, and drafters, these pencils are recommended for persons who value fineness when jotting down on paper or drawing. What makes them loved by many users is their effectiveness, unique style, design, aesthetics, and durability.

How we picked this

Through the expert research team, we set on a mission to discover the likes and dislikes by users of these mechanical pencils. This was through a face-to-face interview with current and previous users of these pencils. The findings were wholesome. More research sources were Google and Amazon. Google helped find more information from online conversations on the best mechanical pencils. Amazon was our primary source of product listings.

How we tested

We had the procurement team purchase a few samples of the 10 mechanical pencils. We distributed them to artists, drafters, and writers who haven’t used them before and to find out their views on the same. Some of the tests were age and experience applicability, portability, product construction, resulting images, drop-down, and durability tests. It is with disbelief that the 10 samples of mechanical pencils passed the tests highly hence, featuring on our review site.

Best Mechanical Pencil Buying Guide

A mechanical pencil is a pencil that has a mechanically extended solid pigment core that is usually made of graphite. The graphite is not bonded to the outer casing and can be automatically extended as its tip is worn off. This kind of pencils are mostly preferred by architects, engineers, artist and calligraphic writers, but they can also be used on a typical day to day writing and drawing by the regular student. To select the best drawing pencils, you should focus on below points.

1. Benefits of mechanical pencils.

• They have a very thin lead (0.3 to 0.5mm) which makes them ideal for great sketches, highly detailed drawings and writing Japanese &Chinese letters and numbers, which have lots of details in them.
• Unlike conventional pencils, mechanical lead pencils do not wear down and become blurred with time. This means that the consistency, sharpness, and eligibility of the lines, writings, and curves do not change from the start to the end of your work.
• Most of them come with the extra lead point, giving them extra long life than the standard conventional wood pencils
• They do not require sharpening like the regular wooden pencils. This is so mainly because of the fragile lead used, and the graphite pumping mechanism which ensures that the pencils stay sharp throughout its usage.
• Most mechanical pencils are well balanced. This means that most of their mass is concentrated in the middle, and not at the two ends. This feature makes them quite comfortable and fit to use for long hours without getting tired.
• They have a broad range of materials and styles to choose from such as metal and plastic instead of the conventional wood.

2. Types of mechanical pencils.

There is no set way of classifying the mechanical pencils, but the general purpose of the mechanical pencil can enable us to classify them into different categories

• Pencils used for technical work: These kinds of pencils have a lead diameter ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 mm. Mechanical pencil leads are usually harder than the others to make up for their thinness.
• Pencils used for technical work and general writing: To select the best mechanical pencil for writing, the lead thickness is very important. These pencils have diameters ranging from 0.5 to 0.9. They are used in technical work to make rough sketches. They are also used by students and other persons for general writing.

3. Factors to consider while purchasing

• Price: You may not want to spend too much money on a pencil. The price depends mostly on the model and quality of the pencil, for example, if you want a tougher pencil, you might have to spend a little more money to get a metallic one or opt for the less tough plastic one. You can good pencils at less than $10.
• Purpose of the pencil: If you are planning to write using your pencil, you should opt for one with higher lead thickness, say 0.5 to 0.9, but if you are planning to draw with it, you can opt for pencils with little thickness of about 0.3 for the very fine details and 0.5 for the rough sketches
• Lead thickness: this one mostly depends on your taste and the purpose of your drawing. Most pencils have one lead thickness. If your writing is very detailed, you would prefer thinner lead, but if you are heavy handed, you might consider thicker lead
• Erasers: Most mechanical pencils usually come with tiny erasers. As such, you should opt to buy pencils with available eraser refills. You can also decide to use a separate eraser. It’s not a big deal.
• Mechanisms: This feature will also depend on your taste. There are those with an auto-feed mechanism which has a spring that pushes the lead forward to provide a continuous flow and those with a shaker mechanism with has a weight that knocks the lead down by one click when you give the pencils a quick shake up and down.

4. Here are some of the features that a highly rated Amazon bestseller has

• It has an internal rotating mechanism that slightly rotates the lead to ensure that you have the sharpest point of the lead on paper
• It has affixed sleeve with does not retract
• It uses diamond-infused lead which is relatively hard compared to the others
• The pencil has a cone shape which is not easy to break, adding to its durability.

5. Know before you go

• It is almost impossible to find cool mechanical pencils with the cool features, but it right for you to choose the features that are must haves for you and the ones you can compromise.
• It is advisable to buy a pencil that is appealing to your eyes. It gives you a sense of confidence as an artist or a calligraphic writer.

6. Features to consider

Here are some of the cools features to look out for in a mechanical pencil

• The pencil must have a good grip. The part just above the tip should not be made of one material but several. If it is made of pure metal or clear plastic as they might make your hand sweat and let it slip down. If a pencil does not have a good grip, it will prompt you to use more force to hold it down, and that might make your fingers numb in a very short time.
• It should have a right balance that is the pencil should be very heavy or very light. It should also have most of its mass concentrated near the tip. If the pencil is too heavy at the top, it might be very uncomfortable for people who write or draw for the better part of their day.
• A good mechanical pencil should have a retractable tip that is firm enough. Most people fail to buy pencils with retractable tips since most of them have loose tips. Pencils without retractable tip are a bit uncomfortable, especially if you have to put them in your pocket. They keep punching holes in your pockets
• It should have refillable erasers
• The pencil should have a lead indicator at the top, to enable you to know whether you are using 2H, 3H, 4H, and B. HB or the F lead.
• The pencil should be made of tough enough material for added durability. The material should not be too heavy as this might make the pencil too uncomfortable to use.

Sources:

1. Steven Poole: I Can Never Have Too Many Mechanical Pencils This is why. An Object Lesson.
2. Atticus Parker: The World of Mechanical Pencils