Pentel Mechanical Pencil Smash, 0.5mm (Q1005-1)

Phenomenal. I waited almost a year and a half to review this mechanical pencil. It is a very strong drawing/writing tool, yet it has an excellent weight balance, lighter than heavy. The overall design is uncomplicated which lends for an easier grip regardless of what position the pencil is held. The tip is strong enough to hold a lot of pressure, while at the same time providing enough space between the lead tip and the gripping area (where the fingers rest) which allows you to see your line work for drawing or writing with clarity and precision. The tip is also 100% stable, it doesn't wobble or pull out too much lead which results in frequent breaking. The materials are of great quality, well put together and can sustain a lot of wear from traveling, dropping, water, etc. Another great feature is the elegant design, makes you feel like you are working with a truly professional element and does not wear out and look like a cheap mechanical pencil. And well the best thing is that the price for such a great tool is really fair enough that if you lost it, you didn't break the bank, and if you manage to keep it for a long time–like I have so far (which is rare)–this Pentel will pay for itself use after use.

First of I'd like to say that I've used many mechanical pencils in this price range (Kerry, GG1000, GG500, M-701, Dr. Grip...) and this one has to be my favorite! I am an engineering student at a university and this pencil makes my homework fun to do!Few things I like about this pencil:-the tip is fixed so there is absolutely no give-pleasant grip for being rubber/plastic-very good balance and not too heavy or light-quality mechanism-lets out a very small amount of lead per click-aesthetically pleasing-hardness indicator-feels solid even compared to metal pencils like the Graph Gear 1000 (two of those broke on me)-small but quality eraser (i think of it as a backup eraser because of the size).Dislikes:None so far, I'll update if I come upon any!This pencil is something I see as a 'buy it for life' item. As long as you take care of the tip and don't drop it and abuse it this thing can outlive you! I highly recommend it to anyone that does a lot of writing/math/sketching on a daily basis.

I haven't used it enough to find out its negative sides but upon picking it up, it leaves me with awesome impressions.The pencil has a good weight to it. Not too heavy, not light either. It is heavier towards the writing end.The material, solid plastic, is quality as you could certainly feel it holding it in the hand.The rubber grip contains numerous of individual tactile rubber nubs that respond to how hard you hold it. The nubs are like keycaps or bubble wraps is the closest analogy I can think of.The cap covering the eraser does not simply envelope the eraser itself but plunges deeper inside the pencil shaft, which leaves no gap between the cap and the shaft, making the pencil a tight closed trunk. When pumped, the cap contracts like a spring, and when released, it expands to normal (therefore no space gap is needed)Overall, quite a design for a mechanical pencil!

This is my 3rd time i bought this pen in my life, and i still enjoy it. It has a special grip feeling and great writing quality. It is definitely a good value for the price. Somehow i remember this pen had a full metal framework in the past, but not anymore. However, still it is 5 stars!

This is a weird pencil.It comes with 6 pieces of HB lead, which is honestly a bit too much. It is most likely Pentel's Super Hi-Polymer lead, which is a nice overall lead that is really easy to get a hold of. A bit scratchy to write with though.The plastic is nice and hard, but feels to be pretty brittle. Try not to drop it on anything hard, even through the plastic is fairly thick. It is a couple grams heavier than you would expect from a plastic pencil, but it is still light and nicely balanced. The balance point is directly on the lead indicator, making a standard grip natural.The lead sleeve is centered and hard, but it is not retractable. I would carry this pencil in a sleeve if you don't want to damage it while carrying it in a pocket.The clip isn't very special, but it does the job well. It's spring steel, and likely won't break. I haven't tried removing it, but you probably could if you don't like it.There is a lead indicator that I like a lot, because it's octagonal inside, which means you can put it on 8 lead grades and it wont rotate until you lift it off of the barrel. This makes it perfect every time, which is a very nice and clever touch that other pencils lack. Whats also very nice is that the standard HB lead grade is positioned on the front of the pencil where the logo is, 90 degrees from the clip. Again, a very nice touch that I wish were on pencils that do this.Now, the plunger (the part you press down) is one of the most interesting I have used. It has a bellowed rubber cylinder on it that squishes down like a spring (this is NOT the spring of the pencil) when you advance the lead. This is very novel, despite it being useless. It is fun though, and I have no complaints with it. The inside uses a metal tube to connect to the lead holder, which is also metal. Underneath, there is a standard Pentel drafting eraser after taking it off, which is very nice to use. Surprisingly, the pencil doesn't clack when erasing, which is very nice.The grip is really weird. You would expect each one to be a hard and resistant nub of rubber, but it is much different than that. The rubber part is actually a membrane inside a plastic shell grip, kind of like a membrane keyboard. When you grip it, the rubber nubs inset into the grip, and feels very weird. Even weirder, the nubs pop back up with an audible and tactile click from the rubber sticking to the barrel inside the grip, which could probably be silenced through breaking it in, or putting a bit of talcum powder inside if you don't like it. Personally, I hate this grip, because it does not assist friction whatsoever because of the nubs insetting, and I hate rubber grips. On the bright side, this is a rubber grip that doesn't feel like a rubber grip, if you hate rubber grips. Because I have no idea on how to determine this grip, it wont affect the score.The thing I hate the most is the mechanism. The mechanism has a very long and exhaustive cycle. Not only this, if you do not press it down all of the way, the lead will simply not extend. Even doing it normally sometimes doesn't extend the lead, which is extremely annoying. I hope I only got a defective one, because its pretty annoying. The mechanism itself is brass, and not plastic. A good sign, but it simply will not preform correctly. I looked at the mechanism a bit harder, and I still have no idea what is causing it to do this. My current and likely guess is that the clutch (the 3 winged brass thing that the lead comes out of, and makes the distinctive click of a mechanical pencil) simply isn't grabbing the lead hard enough. I hope this may go away after breaking in the pencil a bit more so that there is less friction to deal with.Overall, I would say that this pencil a fun gimmick that is made from nice materials, and has the ability to draft. I would personally not use this to draft, because the lead mechanism just isn't reliable. The plunger is very cool looking, and the pencil just has this attractive design that's curious to look at. If you want this pencil, try it out, but it definitely needs some redesigning, which makes it definitely not worth the 10 dollars. Still, pick it up if you are curious.