Striker Hand Tools 77629 Mechanical Carpenter Pencil, Red, 45 g (Pack of 1)

The mechanism in the top cap is nothing like what you'd expect from mechanical pencils, depressing the top cap does not operate a piston or a coil to push out a new section of the dura-lead like in a traditional mechanical pencil when you depress the top cap you're fed a new head or length of the graphite, with this striker pencil depressing the top cap opens the jaws which clamp down on the graphite at the part closest to where you'd write with it, you have to pull out the graphite yourself, so this item is falsely advertised in a sense and loses one star for that, but it is very cheap so i guess you can't expect a decent design for £3.Other than the mechanism being a bit poor, the device works, it comes with one already inserted graphite stick and you get two more in a tube, I purchased it to use for drawing out grid lines on a wall so that i can mask up a design for painting the FALKEN drift team scallops design and famous liverie, and i'll be using it for marking cuts on wood and if it works then on sheet steel for cutting and welding.The images provided are misleading, you see 5 extra sticks in one picture, 4 in another, but in reality you only get 3 in total so the product images and the description need updating as that's false advertisement.Also while grinding the graphite stick on a brushed alluminium surface while applying hardly any pressure the graphite stick snapped, but due to the jaw design the snapped piece is still held firmly in place and isn't an issue.Don't expect an amazing quality product thats mass produced for pennies and sold for pounds especially if it's made out of a cheap plastic, if you need a professional grade mechanical carpenters pen that wont break on you, you can find an alternative, but if you just need something cheap that'll get the job done then it's perfectly suitable for that, i'd rather pay £3 for a pencil i'll rarely use than pay £10 for a pack of pencils and another £5 for a sharpener.It would be nice if this pencil came with a single stick of the white and red graphite sticks as well as two extra black sticks as on their own they are close to a fiver for a pack of spares.

The point (ouch) of a carpenters' pencil is* It doesn't roll off the bench.* It can be sharpened to a wedge-point which doesn't break easily and can be fine-sharpened with a quick rub on a handy bit of sandpaper and which hugs a straight edge etc to give accurate guide lines on the work stock.* It is easy to find...I just don't understand why they sell "sharpeners" that destroy the wedge and put a conical point on such a pencil, immediately removing all the advantages of the design. It's a blatant con. I can only surmise it is Evil Marketers at work yet again - the same people that once tried to convince you that tobacco was good for you and who now try and make people buy "warm white" energy saving bulbs when they could get exactly the same quality of light burning a piece of string wrapped in dripping.Well, sometimes the marketing boys get handed a product that's decent, even if they then go to work on it with hyperbolic babble; such a product is Mr. Striker's patent graphite-holding oblately tubular marking device which is red-coloured and largely resembles the traditional chippy's ear ornament.It's a tad heavier, so tends to fall off your ear. The maker seems aware of this and has thoughtfully included a nerd-clip so you can stuff it in your breast pocket with all your other pens. Main thing, it doesn't roll off your bench too easily.I normally like to use a soft mechanical pencil - 4b or so, 0.5" but the points break really easily and they roll off everything but they can be erased without grooving the wood.When I tried the Striker, at first I thought the lead was too hard. I got into the habit of back, forth and back again line scribing and that leaves a clearly visible accurate line to work to. Where it really excels is on MDF, where it leaves a clear, crisp line that's easy to work with.The real virtue of this is the ever-sharp (nearly) lead which can be kept fresh with the occasional rub-up on ONE side, far better than whittling away with a Stanley knife and then doing the abrasive rub-up and then cleaning all the blood of the pine. I find this makes it far easier to make sure the point is _always_ kept sharp.Though basic "black" refills are here Dura Lead I'm a bit miffed at not being able to get different types of lead on Amazon so it's back to ye olde chinagraph for white markings again. Minus one star.btw. The Striker web site is a truly awful experience and If I leave the url, Amazon won't publish it so take my word for it and just don't go there.No, it's not reverse dare-you psychology. I've been and wasted my time so you don't have to.The marker -?I have no idea how well it will last. Other reviews have conflicting views about this BUT I SUSPECT it will get lost before it gets broken or worn out. I will try and look after it.It's also great for making notes in calligraphic old-English style church script, so next time ye builde an oaken pewe for ye congegation, ye cannst an monniker of youn nymme mayke upyne untersyde of ye sette.

Whilst it's fairly decent I brought it out of impulse it does work the leds strong but I work making sheds so I'm drawing straight lines over ship lap and the vibrations cause the lock rivets which are plastic to round off, and now it doesn't actually hold the led in the pencil anymore unless almost half of the led is out so theres a slight angle to lock the led in place then the led snaps because it's too fair out if your drawing on smooth surfaces it's really good and the led do last for ages but like I said it's more how i was using it that gave me my problems i think on smoother wood etc it wouldn't fall apart so fast ,but in the end getting replacement led is another pain.

A nicely designed pencil for DIY work, easy to keep a chiselled edge to it and when running low you just push out another chunk. It isn't quite like a mechanical pencil, when you push the button to advance the lead it drops out and catches a ridge in the lead. This ridge sits like a cog in the nose of the pencil which gives it the grip. On some occasions it misses the grip point, sometimes it slips out too far and others it doesn't advance without a little shake, but these are just minor things.If you keep misplacing pencils and always have a half dozen of them on the go, then you may be better off sticking to the traditional chippies pencil as it will be cheaper than buying several of these.I only take a star off because I find the lead to be a little too hard than what I usually use and thus the lines are lighter, although maybe I am just getting older and finding it harder to see the pencil markings!Other than that, it is a good value pencil and I would recommend it