uni Core Keeps Sharp Mechanical Pencil, Gun Metallic (M510171P.43)

This pencil is awesome. I'm a huge fan of the plastic kuru toga you can get at retail stores. After about 3 semesters of use the plastic version finally cracked near the grip and I decided it was time for an upgrade. I bought this metal version hoping for a pencil that will outlive my college years, and I think I chose wisely. First of all, the pencil looks really good. It has a great feel and the weight is perfect. The biggest thing that surprised me was that only the bottom half of the pencil is metal. The bottom half feels to be aluminum, but about halfway us the body, a small chrome ring tapers the pencil down to a slightly smaller diameter, and the rest of the body is plastic. At first I was disappointed in this fact, but I found that this allows the pencil to be bottom heavy, and extremely comfortable to use for extended periods of time. I also own a Pentel GraphGear 1000, (which broke after a couple weeks of use) and it's all metal frame made it top heavy and uncomfortable to use for after a short period of time. There are no such problems with this version. The grip is dimpled aluminum, and it's surprisingly comfortable and doesn't irritate your skin. This is nice because I had problems with the GraphGear irritating my fingers after holding it for too long. There is a metal clip at the top, which I won't use, but it looks nice. The cap stays on much more securely than the plastic versions, and it looks a little better. The eraser is just awful (just like the plastic version!) but if you get a small standalone eraser you'll fix that problem permanently. I recommend doing this regardless of the pencil you're using.Overall, this pencil is definitely the best I've ever used. It's so incredibly comfortable and is very easy to write with. Extended writing periods are a breeze and my lead stays sharp and clean at all times.For anyone complaining (or worried) about the slight retraction of the tip when you press down, I don't know what else you would expect from an auto-rotating pencil. The retraction is not even noticeable to me at this point, and I find the retraction is WAY easier to deal with than having to manually rotate my pencil every couple words in order to prevent my lead from breaking. Find me an auto-rotating pencil that doesn't have a slight retraction of the tip and at the same price point, and I'll take this back, but you need to stop complaining, This is a seriously cool piece of engineering that provides a very convenient luxury with a very tiny sacrifice. In my eyes, there's nothing to complain about in this pencil.

I like the feel, quality, and solid (heavy) quality and functionality of this pencil. The weight makes for a unique flow not found elsewhere. It is fun to have the rotating lead feature, and makes the writing experience that much better. Great for drafting or math students and professionals.. If you let someone borrow it, make sure you don't let them keep it for too long - you might not ever see it again. Great mechanical pencil!

I was hesitant about the rotating feature but it’s not that bad. I would’ve like it better if it rotated quicker but I heard there’s a newer version that does that. Still, this one is great. I like the look of it. The quality is nice. Writing out even drawing with it is nice, easy and quick. The price for the value is pretty decent too. Feels great in the hand with the weight distributed nicely and the material not being irritating.

I use this mechanical pencils in school for high quality writing that looks neat consistent without the need to constantly sharpen. (which is why I use mechanical pencils over standard wooden pencils) This mechanical pencil fulfills this need, some other lower quality pencils I use just don’t do the job as well as the Uni Kuru Toga Roulette.Pros- The build quality is great- The grip is surprisingly comfortable- The spinning lead feature is good- The design is very niceCons- Writing in cursive doesn’t spin the lead- You need to press a little bit harder to spin the leadFirstly I will state the obvious the build quality is great, and the design of it is slim and sleek without unnecessary parts protruding out. The grip as well feels comfortable as well which I thought wouldn’t be the case after writing for several hours, however I was wrong. However you don’t by this pencil just for the build quality you buy this pencil with the rotating lead in mind. Which I think is implemented finely, however the system isn’t perfect. For instance for cursive writers the spinning of the lead wouldn’t always actuate, and for people who write normally you do need to apply slightly more pressure than just putting the pencil on paper. (You could probably get used to it overtime) Overall if you’re looking to buy this pencil to have consistent writing I think it is a great buy the spinning lead whilst not perfect definitely does as advertised and the build quality is very nice.I would definitely recomend this to people who want a high quality mechanical pencil that lasts long, and people who want an extra layer of consistency to their handwriting. As for people who write a lot cursive I don’t think it is a deal breaker that the lead won’t always spin after every letter (mainly because it would still spin after every word, and the pencil still feels great) however due to the price I would maybe consider other similar quality options.TL DRHigh quality, designed well, feels comfortable, writes consistently. No huge cons, but takes a little bit of time to adjust the amount of pressure when pressing on the paper when writing to turn the lead, and cursive writers don’t benefit as much from the design.