A friend let me borrow one of these pencils one day at school, and I absolutely fell in love with it. The grip is comfortable, but not too soft that it is hard to write. Papermate makes a .7 and .5 model of these pencils, and depending on your writing styles, they work differently to your advantage. I personally prefer the .5mm because I don't like my handwriting to be thick, but the .7 lead lasts longer and is more durable. The eraser lasts very long, and when you do run out (which takes a couple months), the pack comes with an extra. The starter pack comes with lead, but it is only about 12 pieces, so normally, when I buy a new pack of pencils, I also buy a 3 pack of lead. I burn through lead quite quickly, and 12 pieces only lasts about 2 weeks of school, so buying extra lead is very helpful.
My only problem with these pencils is, that when you load lead into these pencils, you have to take the top off, which isn't a big deal, but for every time you load the pencil, it wears out what holds the top, and after a couple of months, it doesn't hold the top, so when you go to erase, the top falls off. This is my only issue, and it is very minor compared to all the pro's of this pencil.
Overall, these are amazing pencils, and I can't use any other pencil. My mom tries to buy me the cheap bulk pack of mechanical pencils, and I won't use them! She has to buy me these!! =D Paper Mate Clear Tip 0.7mm Mechanical Pencil Starter Set, Colors May Vary (56047PP)
My son found one of these on the street and we both fell in love with it. Had to buy more so we each would have our own and actually bought 2 starter sets which comes with 2 pencils and extra lead and erasers. Comfortable grip - a bit larger than most mech pencils, which is nice for my old joints. Writes well and seems to be pretty durable.
I like the concept of these more than I like the actual pencils. You can see how many leads are left! You can twist out more eraser when you need it! The lead-advance button is on the side of the pencil, so you can easily use it while writing, and unlike the end-push ones you can't accidentally click out more lead while erasing!
So I got two of them -- different colors, at different times, so probably not the same batch. And yet they've both had the same problems.
* The clip piece broke off of each one, which I've not had happen with any other mechanical pencils.
* As others reported, the attachment for the eraser end of the pencil isn't very well designed, and after only maybe two lead reloads they've occasionally fallen out on both of my pencils. This is doubly annoying because even if you can find it and put it back in place, it's also the cap for the lead compartment so you've almost certainly lost any extra leads you had in the pencil.
* Also, when I erase, the eraser often retracts: it's a simple twist mechanism, so the back-and-forth motion and mild pressure of simple erasing is enough to twist it back in, unless you get the angle just right.
The grip is nice, the erasers are good, the pencils feel good in the hand and to write with, and the lead (.5mm, for mine) doesn't break much at all. There are some nice functionality and design innovations here. If Paper Mate fixes the design flaws, I'll happily buy this kind again and probably forevermore. I'm looking for a different model now, though, because I've already lost the eraser end from one of mine, and as the other also falls off, I'm sure it, too, will vanish permanently sooner or later (though I'll try a review commenter's wrap suggestion).
I have tried many, many varieties of mechanical pencils. Thin, thick, narrow, oddly shaped, metal, you name it, and no other mechanical pencil I have encountered even comes close to the quality of this one.
The innovative design was executed flawlessly; I'm very grateful it has the led dispenser near the grip-- that may be the best feature of it. The width isn't too narrow nor too thick, it feels just right, and the grip is gratifying to say the least.
Also, the eraser design was a definite plus! The erasers it comes with are well thought out and durable, and it even comes with extra ones! Your hand will be grateful if it ever comes in contact with one of these godsend pencils, and that is an understatement. Papermate surely makes the best mechanical pencils out there.
I have had four of these pencils, and they always break quickly. With the last pencil I used, the clip broke off after 3 weeks of using it, and the pencil would no longer hold lead refills after 6 weeks. No matter what I tried, the leads would just slide out of the point of the pencil.
I had the same problem with other mechanical pencils made by the same company--labelled as "Sanford". After a short time, the leads just fall out.
I had much better luck with the Pentel mechanical pencils I bought twenty years ago. They aren't as cute, but they both still work, and have metal clips that won't break off.
Bought 4 of these; 1 stopped working (won't push any leads through) in less than a month. Sanford guarantees satisfaction, but it's not worth postage and time to send it back for a replacement. So figure the cost of each pencil accordingly. We'll see how long the other 3 last.
These great pencils are very efficient and come in a variety of colors that include three shades of green, red, black, pink, purple, turquoise, and much more!!! They come with a pack of 12 pieces of lead and two back-up erasers.The very first time I saw these, I fell in love with them.
First of all, the erasers are wonderful compared to other mechanical pencils. Other pencils only have one short eraser that wears down after a while. Then they'll get on your nerves when you're tryng to refill you lead. These pencils have solved the problem. the erasers are huge and long-lasting. you can twist the top to increase the length or decrease it. To refill the lead, instead of taking the eraser out, you take the whole cap off! I thought that that was a very clever way to refill lead. To take the eraser out in order to replace it with a back-up (included), just gently pull the eraser out and easily put a new eraser back in the plastic tabs.
Secondly, I think the tip of the pencil holds the lead a bit stronger, because the lead never breaks (or hardly ever). To push the lead out, just push on the tab under the words "clear point. 0.5mm" even though it say 0.5mm, 0.7mm also works. There are these gel-like strips at the barrel, which prevents your fingers from sliding. It is #2 lead, so it is perfect to standardized tests. The tip is also retractable.
All in all, Paper Mate has out done themselves. I have used these pencils for a year already and much more to come! - Paper Mate - Best Mechanical Pencil - Mechanical Pencil - Office Supplies'
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