Kaweco Special AL Mechanical Pencil - 0.5 mm - Black Body

My wife ordered one of these for me for Valentine's Day (unfortunately not from Jet Pens since they didn't carry them at the time). It arrived in a nice metal tin which was protected by a cardboard sleeve. The tin was a nice bonus as it will actually hold two pencils for pens and makes a nice carrying case.

The pencil itself has rapidly become my go to pencil for daily writing. It is a very well made, attractive pencil. everything except for the lead tube appears to be made of metal. The octagon design is reminiscent of wooden pencils and prevents it from annoyingly rolling off my desk as some of my other pencils do.

The lead advances a little further than I would like on a single click but personal preference will vary. It writes very smoothly. I tend to break a lot of lead with every pencil I use but it doesn't happen often with this pencil. (I wish Jet Pens would consider carrying Kaweco lead as I've been impressed by the quality of the lead that came in the pencil.)

If you are unfamiliar with Kaweco it is a German company that dates from 1883 that was revived in the 1990s. Kaweco designs have an authentic "retro" look and feel to me (much more so than other brands that seem to attempt similar styles). This is not an inexpensive pencil and it probably wouldn't be suitable for drafting but for an elegant, retro style everyday writer, you can't go wrong with a Kaweco Special.

A well constructed, well designed mechanical pencil. Overall length is good but somewhat miss having a clip. The faceted design helps to keep it from rolling off the desk. I would buy another in 0.7 mm. Thanks JetPens.

I really regret dishing out the money on this one. It's made me very sad.

My two biggest complaints are 1.) Construction and 2.) Lead-Feeding

Now don't get me wrong, I think it has a wonderful body, but it could use some better mechanisms. What so specifically makes me cringe is the cap on this pencil, the cap rattles ALL the time, not a very snug fit. The bottom and actual mechanisms are all well done, except for this cap. If I'm going to dish out $45 on something I can buy for $3, I really want it to be perfect, y'know?

2.) Feeds WAY too much lead for me! I may press fairly hard, but I'm not someone who breaks their lead in all their pencils, so I think it's telling that I constantly break lead in this pencil.

-Testa

Very high quality material - the barrel has a special polish that gives it a smooth texture. The pencil feels quite light actually - although well balanced. On the downside - there's no clip and also the eraser doesn't have the metal wire to take out the stuck lead.