Faber-Castell TK9400 2mm 2B Clutch Pencil, Black

Product Information

A Staedtler Mars was one of my first quality everyday carry mechanical pencils. It's a lead holder, which means, unlike a standard design with a bunch of thin-diameter graphite shafts, the Staedtler Mars comes with a 2mm lead with an integrated lead sharpener that functions with the pushdown mechanism. It comes with HB hardness lead, and you can rotate the metal clip to the correct indicator point for the particular lead you place into it to remind you of what you have loaded. The lead holder design makes it closer to a traditional pencil in concept, built sturdier and significant for all-around everyday carry. It's affordable, too, but don't mistake being cheap for poor quality. The barrel is robust, well-balanced and feels solid, comfortable to hold. Lovely weight and balance. Lightly ribbed plastic finger-grip zone, hexagonal barrel. Most mechanical pencils cannot boast this high-quality engineering, making this a more reliable pencil overall. The lightweight of this mechanical pencil can also reduce hand fatigue. Uni Kurutoga also makes the best mechanical pencil lead with its harder core than most other brands. Pros In the case of the STAEDTLER Mars micro carbon 255 lead tube, individual leads are refilled one at a time by means of a push-button mechanism. Special feature: The refill process is designed for single-handed use. Clutch Pencils have a useful property over traditional wood-cased pencils - their balance doesn't alter over time as the lead is used up. This can be great advantage, especially for more rapid and expressive work. There's a great range of lead available to suit technical or art endeavours. Many clutch pencils have a little lead pointer hidden in the push-buttons, which also helps portability and convenience.

With a normal pencil, once the graphite tip (commonly referred to as 'lead') has blunted, you need to sharpen it using a pencil sharpener. A mechanical pencil, in contrast, usesan internal spring to push the lead upwards into the barrel, when you press the button at the other end. When the lead has been fully used, you then simply insert a new replacement. Why are mechanical pencils better than wooden pencils? EDC enthusiasts prefer writing with mechanical pencils because they feature sturdy metal or plastic construction. I also like the refillable lead because I often break the graphite on traditional pencils. The convenience and practicality of carrying a mechanical pencil make them the best choice for drafters, artists, and students. There's even a case for using mechanical pencils over traditional pencils because of their environmental impact. Research goes either way on the matter. The University of British Columbia suggests the choice lies in personal preference. Crucially, the pencil itself stays the same length, unlike wooden pencils which get shorter as you sharpen them (even with one of the best pencil sharpeners). And because replacement leads are cheap it saves you money over time, because you won't have to buy new pencils.Unlike wooden pencils, a mechanical pencil casing is usually made of a mix of plastic, metal, or rubber. Whereas a wooden pencil must be sharpened often and will last only as long as the wooden body, a mechanical pencil has the lead integrated within the casing and has the potential to last forever with the right care.

A lead tube (STAEDTLER Mars micro carbon 250 or Mars micro color 254) is simply attached to the end of the mechanical pencil and tipped up. All 12 leads fall into the barrel in one go, conveniently allowing you to continue writing with your pencil. This feature is supported by the Mars micro and graphite 779 models. Below find the critical selection criteria you should use when selecting your drawing implement. We provide product recommendations with grades for each of these criteria below: Lead diameter Leadholders are suitable for drawing, sketching and writing. They have a 2-mm lead. By pressing the push button, which opens the drop clutch mechanism, the user can advance the lead to the desired length. Products from our range include: While most mechanical pencil lead is actually made of graphite– a carbon with a hexagonal shape, the terms lead, and graphite are used interchangeably.Nothing beats having the proper sketching tools for sketching and drawing, and this Tombow Mono Graph Shaker pencil was the best pencil largely due to its weight and comfort over long periods of time. Different from other mechanical pencils, the lead is retracted by shaking the pencil, which saves time having to reposition your hand. Tip: Refill leads compatible with all mechanical pencils are also available in red, blue and green for use on paper, drafting film and tracing paper. A pencil for drawing is a highly personal tool and each artist has different preferences for weight, balance, size and shape of the barrel and size of the lead. Some artists prefer a light or heavy pencil, some prefer the balance towards the tip or towards the centre, some like a smooth barrel and some like a knurled grip-zone so they can slowly rotate it as they draw to keep the tip even more precisely sharp. Mechanical pencils generally have quite different designs, so it's not always obvious how to refill them with lead. Most of the time, it's just a matter of screwing the barrel at the end to remove it, inserting a new refill inside and then reassembling the pencil. Meanwhile, to further build up your artist toolkit, don't miss our guides to the best pencils of all kinds, the best pens for artists, and for expressive work and special effects, the best watercolour pencils. The best mechanical pencils for drawing