Pentel Graph Gear 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil

like other longtime mechanical pencil users here, I've used almost all pencils, my favorites being the Rotring 600/Koh-i-Noor Rapidomatic (God, how i loved it, i felt like i was using a scalpel), the Staedtler 925 (the all-metal version is fantastic, the plastic version is garbage), and the Pentel P205 (because it was ubiquitous and pretty damn good for the price). along the way, I've used many other pencils, but none stick out in my mind as well as these.my last pencil before getting this one was my trusty Pentel P205 which had after about 5 years of constant abuse (including dropping it lots of times) had finally given out.i then decided to order this pencil for two reasons: i liked the Rotring-like sharp tip (it simply feels more precise when i write, since i like to write my formulas extra small), and its all-metal design (all metal pencils simply feel more sturdy than plastic, even though the pentel P205 with its bakelite-hard composition comes close). when i got the pencil, i began to use it and found Pentel really did all their homework. for starters, the retractable point is a design that ALL manufacturers of long-sleeve pencils should adopt! i can't tell you how many Koh-i-Noors and Rotrings i've killed after dropping them (we're all clumsy sometimes and our pencils should be built to deal with this). Not to mention the fact it won't poke through your shirt or injure someone if you accidentally drop it on them (something that the Koh-I-Noor regularly risked doing). The feel, as is expected in an all-metal pencil is superb and feels like its gonna last a while as compared with plastic pencils that felt like cheap imitations. the little rubber oval points inside the metal knurlings are a tradeoff for those who felt the knurls were a bit like a nail file; the result is a good tradeoff that feels secure in your hand without feeling too rough. the pushbutton mechanism advances the lead a little less than normal, but i noticed that my leads broke less often as a result (though some say buying top quality leads solves that, though lead breakage is at least partly the fault of a sloppy mechanism, and this one's mechanism is NOT sloppy). so writing with the pencil, even feverishly copying down physics notes onto multiple sheets of paper for a couple hours at a time (something i do regularly) is quite comfortable and enjoyable... not to mention the fact the pencil looks nice and i get asked about it occasionally. the eraser, well, unfortunately, i've come to expect that the eraser is simply not that important (yes, i'd like to find a pencil with a great eraser, but haven't yet), so for now, i simply use the tiny eraser when i don't carry my large one. the price is also great as it is in the same ballpark as the nicer pencils while offering the extra help. all in all, i'd get one again as it seems like the best of both worlds (sharp long sleeve, good reliable daily writer pencil).