Pencils are a phase for me. Day in and day out I'm a pen guy, but I always keep at least one good mechanical pencil within reach. Normally, that is the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga High Grade, but I pick up one or two others here and there from JetPens to try out, and the Pilot Delful Double Knock Mechanical Pencil was one of my recent purchases.
If it wasn't obvious already, the barrel design is what originally drew me to this pencil. Sure, I love the classic body styles like many of the engineering style pencils I have bought in the past, but Pilot did a great job with the cool factor here. I especially love the non-standard barrel colors the Delful comes in. This one is the green and soft blue, but they have others like black and green or pink and orange to check out.
Aside from the barrel design, one of the things that seperates this pencil from many others is the fact that not only is is a shaker pencil, but that the tip of the pencil retracts completely into the barrel, making it highly portable. After all, who wants to be stabbed in the chest or write with a bent tip? The construction feels very durable, so I think this pen would travel well, especially in backpacks for students.
Sure, its not a Kuru Toga - which is the pencil I unfairly compare all others to - but this is one of the best pencils for all around writing, durability, and fun that I have used. Not a bad overall package for $7.50.
Click here for the XL review.
