Definitely didn't waste half an hour making this

Why do I feel like I'm participating in market research

- Got em guys. I took down Mr. Bic

Gimme one of these bad boys and utility razor.

Reminds me of when I had to write a physics exam in university and it required a pencil for the Scantron cards. I basically never carried pencils so when my pencil tip broke I had to grab my utility knife out of my backpack and sharpen it to continue writing my exam.
- That's vietnam level shit going on there lmao.

This image perfectly stretches in the thread display. Incredibly satisfying.
Except they have no eraser. What good is the black tip??
- 5B hardness
Ja.

This.

I'm surprised nobody else has rotring... my favorite by a considerable amount. Second place goes to the Uni Kuro Toga. Both fantastic pencils, but the weight and feel of the rotring 600 just leaves everything else in the dust
- The rotring is super smooth, but its so heavy. I wanted it to be my favorite, but I ended up reaching for the kuro toga far more. Doesnt help that the tip of the rotring bent and dented out on the first drop. I bent it back and it still works, as long as I don't rotate it.
Yessss. Use a 500 daily
- I have the same phone as you. I love that it's red.
- Love to see it! Your eraser game needs some leveling though 😋, may I introduce you to this bad boy:
the correct answer
Full metall you say? Damnn.
I didn't know about this brand and now I have been pushed into extensive research of their whole lineup of mechanical pens.
The 800 looks amazing but I've heard some people complaining about the nib being a bit wobbly, is that true in your experience?
- IIRC the 600 is pretty much the same pencil but with a non retractable tip. It might be better for you unless you carry it around.
- I don't have a problem with the tip being wobbly, but it's definitely a concern. I think its just a problem that you would get with any retractable tip pencil.
  IMO, even if it did wobble, it's worth the inconvenience. I used to have a mechanical pencil with a non-retractable tip & one drop ruined it.
That's like an allergen for ADHD
Damn straight. Best pencil I've ever had. Well, the 0.5mm. I write too small for 0.7.

#8 all the way.

If I had to do sketch design drafting in college with a pen or wooden pencil and not a 0.5 mechanical, I would have probably become a school shooter.

Yeah, #8 and it's not even close for me.
I’ve been using Zebra pens and pencils almost exclusively for the last 20 years. My only complaint with the pencil is its eraser. If you need to erase something small it’s fantastic, but I always keep a separate eraser handy.
- Honestly that's a complaint I have about nearly every pencil, not just the zebra. They're almost always hard and smudgy because the pencil has been sitting out either in a warehouse or on an office supply shelf for like 5 years.
  I'd rather bring my own hi-poly brick eraser, or even better, a hi-poly retractable eraser that is a lot easier to control and keep a fresh, smudge-free surface on.
Agreed, I like both their mechanical pencils and pens, even if visually they are a bit too close.

ole reliable

Yeah, 2 if I need a traditional pencil, and 5 for everything else
My fidgeting while I was in middle school led me to break every kind of mechanical pencil I used, except for 5. I forced myself to only use those in high school and college so I would always have a reliable pencil.

You missed an option.

Blocky and stacky BOIS gang united

5 may not be pretty, but it's had my back in some hard times.

I have a ton of these in the garage for woodworking. Screw the carpenters pencils, these are way better.
The issue is the plastic internal mechanisms will wear out eventually. The Pentels have a metal core which has never worn out from my usage. I always end up losing the pencils before they break. The same can’t be said for the BICs.

Someone do this, but with vibrators.

"you can only write with ONE type of vibrator, ignoring diameter"
- Only one?
  downvotes

Am I a psychopath for preferring to use a pen, even if it means I have to cross things out every now and then?

Stay strong brethren
I also prefer pen. I only use pencil if it's a drawing I'm likely to need to erase/revise. Not a fan of mechanicals though, using them puts my teeth on edge for some reason.
- the metal scraping on ur ruler or paper is painful
Yes.
Pilot G2 has been my preferred implement since high school. Just have to be careful for smudges, but I hate the feel goopier ink like in a bic pen, so it’s a fair trade off.
This, I've been writing in inc brand R2s for 16 years now and I will never willingly use a different writing utensil.
There are a few things where being sble to erase the mark is important enough for a pencil, in which case good ol' #2 fits every need.

Screw #8. Everyone here including OP missed out on the actual best Zebra mechanical pencil. The Zebra DelGuard.

It has this crazy mechanism that resists lead breakage by dropping a shield down if you press too hard.

https://www.zebrapen.com/products/delguard-mechanical-pencil?variant=40738814951630

They even made limited edition Hello Kitty ones years ago I imported. Best 0.3mm mechanical pencil I've ever used.

By a country mile

I have 3 of them, one of which is metal and cost me more than I'd like for a pencil but holy hell is it nice to write with.
What is it like to hold? I have a few nice mechanical pencils but wouldn’t mind to get something a bit less expensive for when I travel to the office (my everyday is a YOL but I don’t like taking it out… ADHD, outside, and nice things do not mix well).

#2

We’ve taken way too many things that don’t need to be plastic and made them plastic

made them plastic
#1 is all metal. Retractable tip. Bought one after Adam Savage reviewed them.
#2 is definitely the best long-term option, but it's really nice not to have to constantly sharpen while you're doing some intricate work.
+1
never fails
Yeah but with mechanical pencils you can buy one and have it for years, only just buying the occasional pack of leads... Saves the trees ¯(ツ)_/¯

#2

A good engineering pencil can be used for anything.

Number 2 is the only one that can write effectively on wood. I may not build a lot, but when I have tried to use a mechanical pencil for marking wood, it was a total fail.

Ticonderoga is the Cadillac of pencils.

Can I introduce you to Blackwings? They write so well and the eraser is a little bigger. Is it a lot if hype? Yeah probably, but its also just a good pencil. It's like the Rolls Royce of wood pencils
- Blackwings feel like writing with a pen it’s absurd. Plus they look great

2

Nope. You’re getting some decent conversation out of this so those 30 minutes were definitely put to good use. And that’s a nice photo.

I just got photos off the internet, cropped them, and smashed them together in a docx.
- Haha. I envisioned you meticulously lining them up and spacing them evenly with a ruler. I wondered how you did the lighting because there were shadows under some pencils but not others. That should’ve been a clue that it was a composite.

2

My choice would've been 3 or 1 just by how they feel in my hand, but I got a new .3 Kuru Toga and god it's too smooth for me not to choose 4

0.3mm, I love to write that thin but I can't stop breaking the lead. Agreed that the kuru toga is the best in this lineup though, I've had one for most of the last decade.
I have #3 and the KH. The KH stays on my desk, but #3’s in my bag and goes everywhere because it has a fully retractable sleeve and I don’t have to worry about bending or breaking it.

I've never touched a mechanical pencil that didn't suck. 7 is awful, I don't understand what people like about it. The only choice on this is 2.

I could say precisely the same about standard pencils – you have to constantly be sharpening it if you want properly dense handwriting. Mechanical with .2 or .3 and you don't even have to rotate it to get a sharp edge.
- But the graphite in mechanical pencils break so fucking easily. They were always a headache, and unless the technology has advanced significantly in the past 10-15 years, that's my stance.

METAL KURU TOGA MY GOAT 👑 👑 👑 🐐 🐐 🐐 🔥🔥🔥

The others don't know just how good kuru togas are
Yes! Finally bought one about a month ago, and I'll never go back!

I already own that exact same Kuru Toga, so this one's a no-brainer.

Anyone who deliberately picks the Sharpwriter or the Bic needs keeping an eye on; we need to keep those kinds of people on a list.

I think people use the sharpwriter because US standardized testing requires a #2 pencil and the sharpwriters are cheap.
- Same for Bic
it‘s going to be a very long list, lol
- Key word being deliberately. I predict the majorty of people who wind up with either of those ghastly things did so because they were all that was available, easily filched from the supply closet, or it's all their parents would give them because they are above all else cheap.
  I have probably handled and used hundreds of the damn things in my life but I have never once spent a single penny on any of them; they were without exception foisted off on me by circumstance, not intentionally sought out.
  I was a Staedtler nerd in school anyway, any time I was not allowed to use a fountain pen.

Ticonderoga #2, an absolute classic.

3 Kuru Toga

#9 : Steadler 925 35-05b. It's my first nice mechanical pencil and it's just so nice to use.

The graphgear 1000 seems great too, I've never tried one tho.

The staedtler 925 is great. I think you might prefer the graphgear 500 over the 1000 though, as the rubber nubs on the 1000 are more annoying than plain knurled metal, imo.

2, always

2 in theory but there’s never a good pencil sharpener lying around.
- You will never get a sharper tip than with a cutter blade.
- I actually bought like 5 pencil sharpeners looking for one that sharpens on a steep angle to get the tip style that comes out of the box instead of the long style you get with most sharpeners. Now I just keep them all over the place.

3 Kuru Toga. Every time

Best pencil i have used

Anyone who uses #7 by choice is a freak

Thank you.

Don’t lose any of the plastic bits on that fucking nightmare.

How about none of the above? But I kind of like those triangular pencils.

Who writes with a pencil? Drawing.... Okay... But writing is what fountain pens are for.

Better not make an error with a pen when you're doing/writing down math.
- Okay you got a point. Luckily I don't have to do lots of math on paper in my day to day life.

I prefer 2mm mechanical pencils instead of the 0.5mm ones.

Probably #1, I love the weight of the metal at the bottom.

I'd rather fucking kill myself.

With a pencil?
- A fookin' pencil!

#3 is the best mechanical I’ve ever owned, hands down. 3 all day long.

I actually did stop using other pencils after getting one lol

This one

3

5 all the way

No carpenter's pencil?

I do all my art with 5.

Five, but I want the 0.9mm and not the 0.7.

Pentel.

Always.

I prefer the p20x series personally but just about every mech pencil I've ever used from them has been excellent

I had a pentel pen and it was just amazing. Very good for finger spinning
I have two twist-erase 3's and I've never looked back. I love them so much.

This is the real personality tests, fuck Myers-Briggs and astrology. I need to know your choices for stationary.

Come on, where is the Pentel P200 series?

Edit: I'll take the koh-i-noor 2mm of available

Hiding in the shadow of #1

I would suggest that the Dixon Ticonderoga is the most reliable, most cost-efficient, and easiest-to-use writing utinsil in the history of humanity.*

Each other option has more points of potential failure and additional complexities over the Ticonderoga. While more complicated tools may net you some improvement in writing style or sharpness, they are massive trade-offs in more basic areas.

This would be much the same question if it were "what car would you drive for the rest of your life" between fancy ones like Ferraris and Lambos to cheaper, more reliable ones like Corollas and Civics. Everyone likes the look of the Ferrari -- but the only car for the rest of your life? It's got to be reliable, or you're going nowhere. You want to be able to keep driving.

The Ticonderoga guarantees you can keep writing.

*intentionally overselling it for humor. But it is a nice, simple, good-quality pencil.

Rotring rapid pro 0.7mm

What's your opinion on the rotring tikky? I'm personally a big fan of the 0.5 tikky
- Tikky II got me through my entire education.
- Build quality by rotring is fantastic I don’t have a Tikky but I vouch for the brand

Wtf is this shit? No Rotring. No Alvin. No Koh-i-Noor. I guess I have to take the GraphGear, but it's under duress.

A pen.

7th one

Erasable pen. Just because I'm contrary.

Hey same. I like that they have better contrast with the page, I feel like they're more readable

6 was what I ended up with after considering all options before I went fully digital.

Better grip and easy to refill

And large eraser.
I had to scroll so far to see someone who likes 6! I’m a lefty, and every pencil felt so uncomfortable because of my grip and this was one of the few which didn’t make my fingers hurt.

No pencils. Let the record stand, cross off mistakes with a single strikethrough like a gentleman.

https://a.co/d/gLAwp98

Only answer

I was coming here to say this. Truly a disappointment that the Pentel Twist Erase GT is not included as a choice.
I love the standard twist-erase, I bought a bunch of them in college and still use them. What's different about the GT?
But the old ones with metal clip, metal retractable tip, similar to this, of which I have a case
https://www.govgroup.com/images_products/2870282_big.jpg

#7 is perfect, the thick lead and the spring is great if you push down on the paper too hard for the other mechanical pencils.

Definitely 2. Sharpening is such a nice break from writing.

I got a Pentel with a tip like #3, so if #1 had the #3 tip I'd absolutely say #1.

My 0.7mm Pentel pencil has been the best pencil/mechanical pencil I have ever used, for the most part. It was definitely overpriced, like everything at a college bookstore, but it's been such an amazing pencil. Only problem is that I can't have it loose in the pockets of my spring jackets or it will try to poke through the cheap fabric.

Edit:

I have used 2, 5, and 7 (alongside ones of basically same design but different brand) as well, so I have no idea how good the others are.

I was looking for this one. Also great to improvise a bong with or a perform a tracheotomy.
The orange ones are basically the same but better. I use theese on a daily basis because they are military grade:
Cheap af.
Found everywhere.
Would survive a nuclear holocaust.
It's going to last longer than I.

0.5mm for #1 or #3.

Get that grubby ugly 0.7mm lead outta here.

Nah. 0.7, Fine enough for detail work, but thick enough to handle varying pressure for shading of isometric representations.

7 all the way. Though a nice metal mechanical pencil does sound nice.

I have been using 3 for the last 6 or so years. I also like 1 and 4. Can't go wrong with 2.

I've got to try #1

Always and forever.

I used number 5 throughout high school and university and they always served me well. Sometimes I thought about trying the fancier ones with gel grips, but old reliable BIC was always there for me. I trusted the BIC. In a world of uncertainty, the BIC will never let you down (or run around and desert you)

There are no drafting pencils.

what about now bruv?
déja vu intensifies
- Listed as a clutch pencil. Have been calling it a drafting pencil since like 2003 when I first used one.
  It's the only type of pencil I use outside of woodworking. And if forced to choose, I go with that.

Dr. Grip. I love the "shake to advance" thing and the huge, squishy grip.

Not sure I've ever seen #5 with the clip still intact.

Mine always stays intact. Until i let literally anyone borrow it. The worst is when you get it back and instead of being totally snapped off, it's just bent up to a 90⁰ angle, and then you have to snap it off yourself because you can never get it to lie flat again after that. That's why I would always keep a spare with the clip already fucked up in my bag when someone inevitably asked to borrow a pencil.

If I am somehow without my 0.9mm Graphgear 500 then I would have to go with 1.

Honorable mention: at one of my D&D sessions they had non-mechanical D&D pencils where each side had a number, effectively turning it into a d6.

This, except 0.3mm
- I lack the finesse to use 0.3mm. I've tried.

I like the Zebra.Got them at Dollar Tree or one of the Dollar stores.

I guess I'm the only one but 7 is underrated

I used to use them too before I tried the kuru toga. It’s nice how cheap they are but still feel at least somewhat premium.

Zebra M-402, which I've used exclusively for at least 20 years. (The same one.)

Followed closely by the Ticonderoga.

Also, some of these options are not pencils. For a pen I'd go for 5/6.

They all look like pencils to me.
5 literally says pencil on it.

Option 0: Keyboard.

I cant write for shit, generally hurts my hand for anything beyond a short note.

If i don't have access to a keyboard something has gone catastrophically wrong in the world and I've likely got bigger problems.

I am a simple man. I see Ticonderoga, I choose Ticonderoga. I like ships and I cannot lie

5 all day every day.... .5mm would be more betta though

2

Five. Tired but true.

Just gimme the damn wood pencil, #2

5

1 got me through college

#3 for me. Keeps my handwriting just a little bit more legible.

#4 doesn't work for my writing style it seems. I end up wearing large flats on the lead anyways.

Am I the only one who’se only ever used wooden pencils in my life? In my part of the word basically no one used those plastic ones.

But why no

It’s there. #6
- Oh, the “elite” looks so different I didn’t recognize it. I blame looking at it on a phone! 😓

(ingoring the diameter)

Apparently!

You can pry my Twist-Erase from my cold dead arthritic hands.

I usually write in pen, only reason I'd use pencil is if I know I need to erase.

So... #5 I think. Simple, reliable, easily replaced.

5

Where's the BIC pencil?

#5
- Just because it has "BIC" written on it, does not make it a BIC pencil.

Lightweight and reliable.

Also super cheap. I think last time i bought 50 for 6 usd and Im still using that box
- Lol i bought that same box and yes, like 43 of them still unused.

6 is where the fuck it's at, shit looks comfy as fuck and I will fight everyone else here I don't even care if you agree with me

Kuru Toga Advance please.

it rotates the graphite as you write so your lines are always sharp. it's an absolute game changer and now i can never go back to a standard mechanical pencil

Hope I don't have much left to write if choosing #2(pun is a package deal). But it would be my pick.

Props for #2 being a #2, but of these I usually go for 6. My personal favorite though is Pentel twist erase.

Though all the kuru toga enthusiasts here have convinced me to give them a try.

I also buy 5s in bulk, those shitty bic pencils are the "little brother" option when my D&D players forget their own writing instruments.

2 (lol), but only if I can provide my own type of pencil. Runner up gg1k.

#6 is the closest to what got me through dozens of blue books.

I'll take the good ole #2 pencil. Just enough tech and no more.

1

I've also used 4 and 8 which are both decent.

3 for the always-sharp tip, but #4 is a close contender for the protection against snapping lead. (I own both of these pencils.)

Number 7. A pleasure to write with, cheap enough so you don't get mad when you lose it. Eraser that doesn't suck.

Pocket clip does tend to shear off, though.

I spent way too much time hunting down a Pilot Automac and finally got it. being stuck with anything here would be such a stark downgrade

Mine isn’t here, but 8 if I have to choose.

Where are my fellow Blackwing pencil enjoyers?

Number 1.

none of the above of i may. i choose this:

Hott

Alvin DM07. No other, maybe #3 because I liked that the lead automatically rotated on each press. But Alvin all the way.

Pencils are terrible, pens are the superior writing implement.

I really like 4.

Mainly for the reason that it auto rotates the pencil lead every time you lift it off the page; thus preventing flat spotting your handwriting

1, I have one of them branded from my prior work, it's an excellent pencil.

Oh no... I'm that weirdo that likes the Papermate mechanicals.
They are just so simple and reliable. You could crush one and still get it to write again if you needed too and it had the eraser (that sucked) built right in that you never used but felt good looking at it and squeezing against your thumbnail when you were bored. Just had to put better quality lead in it.

But man Zebra makes the pens and pencil I would actually intend to use if I was planning it.

6, which I guess is pretty similar to my pick for number 5 on the pen post. Looks like the weight and style would feel best in my hand. Sadly none of them have my favorite feature of having fairly long and good quality erasers on it like my current favorite (non imported) mechanical pencil. Can't remember the name off the top of my head

8

Give me the black version of number 1 or a uniball precise v5

6 because I need all that extra eraser

8 that style was lucky for me in my college years.

The Pentel Graphgear 1000 is great. I love how it retracts.

6 every time.

Also fuck 7, those butcher broke so easily.

I had one similar to (not literally exactly) 6 back in high school, and some really dumb jock took it from me and I've wanted it back ever since.

The Bic one is okay, but pushing directly on the eraser to push the lead out isn't ideal. I always thought that was a design flaw. Having the button on the side of the pencil but away from the index finger is ideal honestly.

And even though we're not deciding based on lead size for this, I prefer the finer.5 to the more common .7.

Plus the top has a pretty large eraser that you can twist to expose more, so it had a mechanical refillable eraser too, which was pretty cool.

And I got mine in my favorite color, and that fucked just took it.

I was a super sheltered kid, coming fresh off being completely homeschooled (except for a Christian kindergarten), and that year of school was my first social contact with other people outside grocery stores and church. So I didn't do much about it, as I didn't have a clue about how anything in real life worked. I wouldn't figure a lot of it out for still another 16 years, but that's a different story.

Also at this point I haven't actually written anything at all with a pencil, pen, or marker for.... 15ish years now? Outside of signing my name anyway.

#7

Out of the ones on this list, #1, but I think I'd prefer the GG500 actually.

Only Faber-Castell for me

2 although 6 is also pretty good from my experience.

#7, it doesn't push up when you press on it.

Do I get to choose my lead size?

Yes
- 3 with .9mm lead

I mean most of these look pretty uncomfortable, 8 looks the most comfortable.

Already made up my mind and got a rotring 600. Plan to use it till the brass erodes

Mirado Black Warrior all day.

I really think I like GraphGear 500 more than 1000. I do not like Kuru Toga. Right now I am all in on Ohto.

My current pencils in use are a Pentel graph 1000 for pro in .3mm which is my top choice. Then I have a kokuyo enpitsu in .9mm which is very cheap and comfortable to use, and a Sheaffer twist mechanical pencil thing that is just really fun to use and has a nice heavy metal body.

I can't say I would choose any of the above pencils, I don't even see any lead holders (clutch pencils)!

Does it count if I've already used #8 exclusively for the last 10 years.

either kuru toga, or a zebra one I had for a long time before an exchange student gave me the kuru togas

Tossup between 2 and 5. Forever locked in competition with their strengths and weaknesses perfectly inverted to each other. I used to use 5 for lineart and then shade with 2.

#2 is classic. #5 has never let me down. But ive never understood how people use #7: shitty wobbly tip

Despite not having tried any of them I guess I'll pick #1 since it's the most robust looking one.

Currently I use one from Bic which works well enough.

1s are hella sturdy and awesome. I love em as mechanical pencils

I cant use pencil. I have a bad habit of pressing down hard when writing and I just keep breaking the tip. So I always use pen. Get dat bic boi

I never really got to use good mechanical pencils so I don't know much except... Not 7.

Number 3. I already did two degrees with it.

After 25 years of writing Japanese and trying many cheap and expensive options...

「Zebra Clip-on multi」

is my forever pencil (+pens).

i love my kuru toga, but i don't really write much anymore. i do still like doing sketches in my sketchbook, and i'm biased towards mechanical pencils, so it's a #1 for me.

They're all wrong. I don't see a Blackwing up there.

If necessary, 2.

Graphgear 1000, without a doubt. Such a great pencil, and I love that it is weighted. It feels so much more natural writing/drawing, at least to me, with the Graphgear.

reject mechanical, embrace wood.

If it's literally only one pencil for the rest of my life, probably the GraphGear 1000 since it would probably last the longest. If I can continue using multiple copies of the same kind of pencil, then it would be number 2 since that would be the most versatile and available one to use.

Why are we ignoring the diameter?

The lead diameter.
- Ahh. Ok. I like fatty grips. So I was on a different wavelength.

6, cause it’s a gel pen. For a pencil, not really bothered by these options…probably 2.

6 is a mechanical pencil.
- Ideally one of these though.
- Oh. Looks like a gel pen I use.

#3 for writing.

1st one, with either .2 or .3 lead. That also happens to be what I main for writing already.