Uni M71010.26 Shift Pipe Lock Drafting 0.7mm Pencil, Silver Body with Orange Accent (M71010.26)...

Fits my hand perfect and writes really nice and smooth. Light weight. Worth the money and love the color

I bought this for the appearance and didn't expect much. It is quite good. I'm no expert, nor do I care too much about pencil specifics, but it feels nice. The portion you hold to write is wider than the pencil which makes it easier to write with. The slide to lock (and protect) mechanism is awesome when I'm carrying this in my bag. The build quality is stunning and the color choice is great (orange 0.7mm). I write heavy, but I may try the 0.5mm version. I wanted the orange though. I wish the colors were all available for each sized lead. The only downfall is the eraser is TINY and I have no clue where to source replacements. Other than that, I'm very happy with this and will be buying another. I fully recommend it.

Overall I like this mechanical pencil. It's got the features I want, it's cool looking and overall is comfortable to write with, with a knurled metal barrel. I'm not using it for drafting just general use like note taking for work. The pencil is overall fine, the shift lock mechanism is okay, when you engage it does protect the tip but the lead still sticks out so make sure to retract the lead before engaging the mechanism once you are done using it. I would have thought that UNI/Mitsubishi would have engineered something to retract the lead automatically when the "Shift Pipe" mechanism was engaged. When engaged the body does move back and forth on the barrel which results in a floppiness that makes it seem a bit cheap. I was hoping for a more authoritative locking mechanism. I try to purchase good quality writing instruments as I take pleasure in having a few good quality ones rather than a bunch of plastic sticks to write with. My overall concern with this mechanical pencil is that the plastic part of the body is a rather flimsy plastic that feels fragile and not very good in the hand. The knurled grip is all metal and feels great but the rest of the body is a let down. I don't mind that it's plastic, though in the pictures I thought it would be metal. What I do mind is the quality of the plastic, it's not sturdy like the Pentel P20X series of mechanical drafting pencils. Which are one of my favorites but I have broken a few metal tips using them hence why this Shift Pipe mechanism attracted me. The body plastic feels soft and easily breakable. Almost like it flexes with use and it makes the pocket clip feel flimsy as well (it is steel) as it is mounted to this lower quality plastic. I think if I had seen and touched this pencil in person, I probably would've put it down and searched elsewhere. One of the downsides of purchasing things like this online. Overall though, if you can look past these few niggling items it's a decent functioning and nice looking mechanical pencil

So here's the deal, I like to think I'm a well seasoned writing utensil enthusiast and for quality and writing experience, my benchmark is the rotring 800. I appreciate pencils with a retractable lead sleeve and further more appreciate it when the mechanism is not just a spinning grip-section. That being said I was very excited to see what this pencil had to offer. I have been daily using this pencil for a few days now and think its time for me to give my opinion: Right off the bat I swapped out the included lead with some higher quality lead which made a big difference. My initial thought was "wow, this sure feels cheap for a pencil of this class". The weight can be quite off putting as the entire barrel is made of plastic and the knurled grip only felt "adequate". As for the looks, this pencil really shines. It gets quite a bit of attention wherever I use it with people asking me what that is. The mechanism on the other hand was amazing. It was smooth, easy to use, and best of all: unique. The writing experience was quite good but it felt somehow lacking to me. The problem I found was that it's look and shape made me feel like I was using a kuru toga, but the lead wasn't rotating. Throughout my testing process I couldn't help but gravitate towards the kuru toga. So whats my final opinion? This pencil is great. Not only is it well priced, but it is new and exciting. I loved having a new way to take out the lead sleeve and it feels amazing to do. If you're someone who's looking for a pencil with a retractable lead sleeve in this price range I strongly suggest you consider the Uni Shift Pipe.

I'm pretty picky about writing tools. This is a very nice pencil. I thought the diameter at .4 inches might be a little large but it's very comfortable. And the knurled grip area is perfect. I wouldn't mind if it were a little heavier but it's fine. Not so light you hardly know you're holding it. I got it earlier today and I keep picking it up just to admire it. The way the pencil tip retracts is interesting and elegant engineering. I'm very impressed. I know it's listed as a "drafting" pencil but I use it for general writing, note making, etc. It's perfect. At this price, throw away all your cheap plastic pencils, get these for a few dollars more and have a lot greater satisfaction, if you care about that kind of thing. This pencil hits way out of it's class. Looks great, feels very nice in your hand, you will not regret buying this pencil.