The media could not be loaded. Background: I am very picky about my pencils, and am still looking for the perfect pencil. That said, my idea of a perfect pencil may not coincide with yours. The perfect pencil criterion: Stable tip (no play) No gummy grip (can melt over time) 0.3mm or smaller Side-mounted lead advance, near thumb Long, twist-erase eraser mechanism, with universal eraser refill Well-built cap for lead-refilling Medium-high lead capacity Now that that's out of the way, this pencil is *very close* to my ideal pencil! It has a nice, solid tip, though the tube is ever so slightly wider than the lead, I'm sure I'd regret if it was any smaller (lead advance issues). The grip is all smooth, shaped plastic, with a little bit of what feels like metal near the tip. 0.3mm lead, I'm using 2B, but HB is fine. It has a clip-advance, which isn't a side-advance per-se, but it's close enough that I can reach it with my thumb with a little effort. It advances the exact amount of lead needed in one click from zero, which is great. The shake-advance works flawlessly, which is something I've never seen before. It advances the exact amount of lead needed just like the clip, but slightly less sometimes, which is fine. Writing for a bit more and shaking again later isn't a hassle. Twist-eraser looks a bit thin, but the mechanism will accept (and lock onto) any cylindrical eraser that fits the hole, since its locking mechanism is a pinch-style one. It bites into the eraser a bit to hold it. It will tend to release the eraser when it gets small, though, since that's how you release the eraser at all is twist it all the way up. It won't let leads fall through if you remove the eraser, so that's nice. Cap seems ok, no way to tell quality for now. Lead capacity seems typical (small), and you want to keep your leads separate in a shaker anyway, so I guess that's fine here. The lead-lock is cool, since I know the lead won't come out in my bag, but what it's really great for us checking if there is any lead left. Tilt pencil eraser-down, lock, and the shaker won't shake at all. Completely silent except for any leads rattling around. Nice. I wish the tip retracted, since it could bend if left in a rough environment like being dropped into a full backpack. Oh well. Note: for those who care, the lead advance mechanism inside the tip is a 3-piece, and does not advance when the tip is detached unless you hold the ring back that holds the 3 parts together. Other note: you can see the shake-weight through the clear grip if it's near the writing end of the pencil. Other other note: center of mass is about center length when weight is locked into the eraser end, and center of mass is slightly toward writing tip when weight is down (while writing it will be down unless you purposefully lock it up every time). P.S: I was going to make a video of the shaker-funchion working flawlessly, when the lead broke. Now I know, this pencil handles lead breaks decently. Also be careful with the lead, I was toying with it a bit too much for the video, apparently. You can use broken lead, but it'll take more than a few tries to get it to catch the next piece. Don't try shaking to get the next piece, that's ridiculous.
