Pentel QE519A Twist-Erase III Mechanical Pencil, 0.9 mm, Black Barrel

Edit 12/29/2013(The information I wrote here earlier about lead replacement turned out to be incorrect)Ever since I was little I have always had a desire to draw(make drawings). I guess I could call myself an amateur artist. Pencils and pens were always my preference. Of course I also used/use pencils to write. The problems I always encountered with cheap #2 pencils was that they would break frequently at the wrong time, you needed a pencil sharpener to make them useful, and the eraser would become useless before the rest of the pencil. The writing tip was never the same size, lines on paper would change from dark to light creating an un-even image/drawing or un-even handwriting.I was set in my ways for a long time, until about a year ago. I began to explore different writing instruments and my point of view began to change. I soon was converted to using mechanical pencils instead of "regular" pencils. Not having a need to keep a pencil sharpener around simplified my life both at home and at work. The "lead"/writing tip remains mostly the same creating nearly identical lines, making writing or a drawing look "cleaner".For a while I frequently used a Pentel e-Sharp Mechanical Pencil, which were available at my previous work location. The e-Sharp works fine, but they are built to be disposable - being mostly made of plastic. The PDE-1 type erasers it uses are certainly an improvement over the erasers of older style cheaper mechanical pencils I used for a very short time when I was still in school more than a decade ago. It lasts for a while, but does not extend and has to be replaced when there is still 40% of the eraser remaining.I wanted to upgrade to a better mechanical pencil, so I decided to buy a 2 pack of 0.7mm and a single 0.9mm Pentel Twist-Erase III Automatic Pencil(s). I was not disappointed, they are certainly not cheaply made. The "clip" and lower "writing" point are made of metal, the lead at the writing tip is also enclosed in metal reducing breakage of the lead. Although the rest of the pencil is plastic it is not a flimsy plastic. The rubberized "soft" grip is an improvement over older cheaper pencils, it reduces discomfort caused by constantly holding pens/pencils between your fingers. The eraser extends and retracts by twisting(in either direction) the upper part of the pencil, as the name of the product suggests. This type of eraser(E10 type) is one of the main reasons why I bought these pencils. They are longer and wider than average size erasers in other mechanical pencils, and of course as a result I don't have to replace them often. They can also be bought at a fairly cheap price, if one knows where to buy them.The "lead" is fed/extended by pushing up on the bottom part of the pencil(while holding the upper part in place or doing the same in reverse), which is kind of different from other mechanical pencils which mainly require a downward push or "click" on some button like mechanism. This feed mechanism is separate from the eraser twist mechanism, therefore they don't interfere with each other. I have not had any issues with these mechanisms so far, they have been quite reliable.Replacing the "lead"(not actually made of Lead) in this pencil is easier than replacing ink in various pens, because ink refills between pens are frequently not compatible. The "lead" is a standard size - 0.7mm, 0.9mm, etc. Pull the pencil apart, then insert the pieces of "lead" into the opening into the lower part. After that put the pencil back together.(It may be necessary to un-screw the lower metal tip to remove pieces of used lead) Push the parts together to feed the "fresh" lead into the tip.Tasks involving writing or drawing with this pencil are accomplished with ease, I already went into why I believe mechanical pencils are superior for these tasks several paragraphs above. I have to do both at work, in the office and out in the field. Unfortunately I do not spend as much time actually drawing as I would like. These Pentel mechanical pencils have not failed me yet in the work environment, no matter if its cold, raining, snowing, etc. If I have to write something down while I am looking at a location while doing field work I just take out a Twist-Erase III pencil from my binder and it is ready to go, this is after that binder has been thrown around a vehicle and probably fell on the ground once a week. A cheaper pencil would likely fail in such conditions(basic #2 pencils have in the past - the writing/lead tip would break off at the wrong time).I would recommend this pencil to others, and would buy it again if I needed to.

I once - upon the inveterate whim of fate - found myself in need of a pencil, and so borrowed such a tool from a friend.Often a purchaser of .5mm mechanical pencils, I was lent, much to my dismay, a .9mm pencil, of a cheap brand (whose very name I will not state here, though the brand is a common producer of pencils of the mechanical type), of a watery azure, the clip broken and the eraser almost beyond noticing. What a short eraser! My wont of writing with .5mm pencils had impressed upon my intellect the very notion that no pencil of such wide width of lead could ever surpass the pointed precision of the particular point-five millimeter pencil.Alas, in using the .9mm pencil, I gathered the lofty truth of its inherent faculty. The grip holds well in the hand. A strengthened tip reinforces one's action of writing. The lead does not break. Such a simple idea, that. There are no interruptions in one's writing. The ritual I had so often performed has ceased to show itself to me: first a snap, leaving me incredulous, and then a weary sigh; I continue with a sense of futility, clicking the back of the pencil, attempting to push forth the silvern fruit of the pencil's womb, only later to have a reoccurrence of the very same dilemma. Never again.Oh do please note - of this, I beg of you - that, earlier in this review, I have named a different pencil than the one about which I am about to write.Of course, succumbing to the general notion of etiquette - those torturous laws, fueled by the threat of shame, toward which I often find myself inclining - I proceeded to return the pencil that I had borrowed, offering it back to my friend in a state of melancholy. I began to ask myself: "Will I ever be able to write so?-- until the end of my days, until the cessation of the beating of my heart?"I decided to provide for myself, with a simple purchase, the very answer to that question.I bought this pencil.Never before have I written with such a sleek prowess; no, never before have I placed upon pages bare and white the characters of an unutterable beauty. Never will my tip of my lead spring forth from my pitiless utensil. I write to no end. The thickness of the lead allows, unlike a .5mm or even a .7mm pencil, slick motions, smooth movements, and swift contortions of the pencil. No longer do I scratch the poor white page of paper before me in an attempt to simply write a word. My pencil, my tool, the harbinger of my thoughts, bends to my very will and writes without the faintest hint of distress.Oh, and lest I make a mistake whilst writing: extant is the eraser, the length of which so very great, the body of which so furtively hidden within the sable carapace, whose efficacy of erasure is without equal.This is a marvelous pencil.

I never dreamed that a simple pencil could have such an effect on life. I know this may sound stupid for a simple pencil, but bear with me.I originally ordered this because I have Parkinson's and had been using .7mm pencils for years but was having a great deal of problems with the leads breaking when I had a spasm. I decided to try this pencil because it had a .9mm lead and I thought that it just MIGHT help with the lead breaking problem so I ordered one. Well, it worked very well for the breakage problem. I haven't broken a lead since I started using this pencil. However, I have discovered other great benefits. The new retracting eraser smooths the whole erasing thing out nicely and makes eraser longevity and changing much less of a problem. The larger soft rubber grip also makes the pencil a LOT easier to hang on to, especially for those with my condition.One improvement I have learned to make on the grip: The fattest part of the grip, as it comes, is at the top and doesn't add to the ergonomics of holding the pencil much. I have found that if you simply unscrew and remove the bottom of the pencil where the lead comes out, the rubber grip can simply be slipped off, turned around and reinstalled. Now the fat part of the grip is at the bottom and keeps the fingers in a more sure and comfortable position. The way the manufacturer delivers them doesn't make sense in this respect.However, this pencil is a quantum leap in usability over every other pencil I have ever used and I have since thrown out every other pencil in the house and replaced them with this one.Thank you Pentel for making a better product to simplify our lives.