General Notes

Unsurprisingly, when it comes to rating mechnical pencils, things can get rather subjective rather quickly, but that’s part of the beauty of a collection - feel free to disagree!

I mostly use my pencils for drawing and sketching, not writing. I think that’s a big difference compared to many other mechanical pencil blogs. This is why you’ll often see the 2.0mms scoring highly.

There are a few things that can easily jump a pencil up or down a whole star - I try to keep those points as things that a universal to all pencils.

Things that are more subjective e.g. the colour, I generally limit to a half star increase or decrease, which is why you can often see the same pencil model in different colours rated differently.

When it comes to different lead sizes, I try to rate each pencil against its peers. There’s not much point comparing a 2.0mm to a 0.2mm

I am a big fan of hexagonal/polygonal bodies that stop things rolling - my drafting desk has an adjustable slope. That being said, with the clips on most cylindrical pencils this isn’t too much of a worry, the Staedtler 925 35-20 is a good example of this.

Big Negatives

• Rattle
  • Body rattle, knock rattle
• Easily broken
• Useless gimmicks
• Too light
• Too heavy
• Too top or bottom heavy
• No knurling on the grip

Big Positives

• Handy features
• Weighting
• A satisfying click
• Smooth lead extension
• A good knurl (I lean towards more aggresive knurling)

Feel

Knurling knurling knurling.

As previously mentioned, I tend toward a more aggresively knurled grip.

Weighting can play a big factor as well. I tend towards preffering heavier pencils.

Metal vs Plastic vs Other

I’ll always choose metal over plastic, this is definitely a personal preference. However, you will see a few plastic compounds that have done a fantastic job with feel such as the Uni Kuru Toga Advance and the Pentel Orenz Nero.

Style

I do like an unusual design - as long as it is practical. Tombow 707 and Pentel Smash are great examples of this.

Matte black often gets a bonus half star.

Striking colours that standout in the crowd also often get a bonus half star.

Stars

0 - 1 Stars

This is a bad pencil. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

1 - 2 Stars or less

This is a dud pencil. There’s often something that makes it not enjoyable to use - but it isn’t completely unusable. I would not recommend this pencil.

2.5 Stars

This pencil is the epitomy of ‘OK’. If it’s cheap, I would recommend it (if there were no better options).

3 Stars

This is a good pencil. Here on up we’re getting into pencils I would begin recommending to people based on their preferences.

3.5 Stars

This is a very good pencil. It has some nice features, feel or weight etc. More subjective things like colour, material or finish will likely have kept it at this level. I would happily recommend this to the right person.

4 Stars

This is a great pencil. I recommend this pencil to most people.

4.5 Stars

This is a BRILLIANT pencil. It stands out for a few particular reasons. I recommend this pencil to everyone.

The Elusive 5 Stars

Buy this pencil. It might change your life.

I’m going to try and keep this to 1-2 per lead size in my collection (I will eventually choose a favourite between you Staedtler 925 35-20B and rOtring Rapid Pro 2.0mm).

My ratings of pencils will shift over time and if I rememeber to keep this site updated, I’ll adjust accordingly.

I’ll only give something 5 stars once I know I have used it enough to be considered as ‘properly tested’.