Staedtler Graphite 760 Mechanical Pencil, 0.5mm, 760 05BK

First, I'll get my only quibble out of the way. Another reviewer mentioned it and it was true in my case. The manufacturer's packaging was poorly handled. They appeared to apply glue over the entire surface of the card to hold the plastic bubble in place. The glue stuck to the barrel of the pen, so that when I opened the package, the card backing stuck to the pen, leaving behind glue and paper on the blue plastic barrel. Fortunately, this cleaned up easily with a tiny bit of water, a paper towel and your fingernail.Other than that, this pen is close to perfect for me. It's clean lines and professional appearance make it appropriate for business meetings. It has great balance and is just the right diameter. I like the triangular cross-section, though I know some people don't. The extra long extendable eraser does a clean job erasing with minimal debris. Official Staedtler eraser refills are hard to find, but I learned that you can use the Paper Mate Tuff Stuff eraser stick refills (these are the long and thin erasers about 3.8mm in diameter). The diameter fits the 760 and the eraser seems to be made of the same material as the original eraser (all made in Japan, BTW). Just cut the refill to the length you need.As for the mechanism, it feeds just enough lead per click so that my .5mm 3B lead doesn't break (I've had other pencils feed just a tad too much lead per click to work well with softer leads like 2B and 3B). The retractable point also has a feature not mentioned in Amazon's description: It automatically feeds a tiny bit of lead when you've worn the lead down to the tip of the metal point. This allows you to continue writing without clicking the pencil top. Granted, writing with the auto-feed is a bit scratchier, but it gives you a chance to finish a word or sentence before you need to click the top of the pencil.

First thing I noticed was the pencil had been glued to the card; a few minutes' scraping with my thumbnail took care of that with no damage to the pencil's finish.Next thing I noticed was they'd included a paltry TWO sticks of lead with the pencil. No comment.The eraser was a bit of a surprise; I typically expect to see some minute scrap of white material intended for emergency use only. What I found was about an inch and a half long. Very nice.Loading more lead was another surprise. I had a bit of a struggle to remove the deep eraser mechanism. And I needed a flashlight to be able to see down inside the pencil to locate the lead storage chamber; the opening is waaaay down there, and loading lead is not easy in typical room light.The pencil is certainly attractive, though it'll never be mistaken for a $60 Cross. It's also very comfortable to hold and to write with, having a triangular profile and a rubberized grip.The Staedtler Graphite is roughly on par with the Pentel Twist Erase III, though certainly more attractive. Functionally they are the same, though the eraser in the Pentel is much more substantial, and loading lead into the Pentel is far easier. The Twist Erase III is also about 1/3 the price of the Staedtler Graphite. I like the Staedtler very much, but I'm not going to retire any of my Pentel Twist Erase III because of it.

I'm in some classes where I have to write for several hours per day, and this thing has been my savior. I have purchased many pencils that are in this price range ($10-$15) and one that costed ~$50. This is the one I use most for several reasons:-Main reason: the grip. It's triangular, which may be a + or - depending on your personal preference. It's also rubberized--not rubberized enough to squish inward, but just enough to make it comfortable for long periods of writing. I have a bad habit of gripping my pencil too strongly, which often results in my hand cramping or my fingers blistering, but not with this guy. Bottom line: it's just comfortable to write with for hours.-other reasons: the eraser is brilliant. you can raise/lower the eraser as it wears down by twisting the top--there is at least a few inches worth of high quality eraser loaded into this thing. There's also no cap for the eraser, so you don't have to worry about losing it. The tip of the pencil (not the lead, but the most pointy part of the actual pencil) retracts so that it doesn't bend or break during travel in your backpack.The only bad thing I have to say about this pencil is regarding the material/finish of it. It's all obviously made of plastic, and the blue finish is a little shiny for my taste. After I submit this review, I'm gonna buy a couple more of them. Cheers.

So far, so good. I've had it for just over a month. It is more slim than I had anticipated from the photos, which is a "plus" as far as I am concerned. I like the way the point retracts into the barrel of the pencil. I hope this pencil will not have the "lead chewing" problems of the double-chuck Staedtler that I recently discarded. (It worked fine for many years, then began to break the lead into 2 mm pieces -- maybe after I accidentally dropped it: I don't recall with certainty.) It is comfortable to hold and seems to be well made, as I have come to expect from Staedtler. I give it only four stars because I have had it only a short time and must wait to learn how well it handles everyday use.

I love mechanical pencils, and have tried many cheap ones. This one is the best I have ever used. The tip retracts, which is important if you want to toss it in your backpack or something (so that it won't bend or poke through something.) The shaft also retracts as you wear down the lead, so you don't have to constantly click the lead out longer. The cone, although metal, is quite comfortable to hold. The black part of the shaft is a nonslip rubber in a vaguely triangular shape that helps you hold it. It sounds odd, but the corners are rounded, and it's not at all gimicky or annoying. There's plenty of eraser, which of course is that trademark Staedtler quality as well.