Ohto Promecha 1000P Drafting Pencil - 0.5 mm

This is probably the most comfortable pencil I've ever used to write with for extended periods. The grip area is a fair bit larger in diameter than that on most other pencils I've used, which works nicely with the narrower barrel to keep the pencil perfectly positioned in my hand with less fatigue than I usually experience. The weight and balance are basically perfect for me, and the texture on the grip is nice - seemingly smoother than, say, the Pentel GraphGear 600, but just as effective.

Overall, the Promecha feels very solid, but there is just the slightest hint of "give" in the lead when writing. Nowhere near the level of wiggle in the Uni Kuru Toga or their Shift Pipe Lock, and very close to, but not quite up to the par of the GraphGear 600, which is the most rock-solid pencil I've ever used. I rarely retract the lead sleeve, since the twist action feels slightly rough, as though it isn't quite lubricated well enough and would wear out if I used it all the time. It's probably fine, but I don't want to take the chance and wear it out. I can't speak much about the cap - I've only taken it off to add lead and never used the eraser. The lead indicator easy to read and is fairly stiff, which to me is a good thing.

This has got to be one of the best-looking pencils out there. I've had it for 2 months now, and there's not a ding or nick on it after close to daily use for notes and assignments. The writing on the barrel doesn't seem to be wearing off yet, which is more than I can say for any of my Pentels.

Overall, this has quickly become my favorite pencil. It's very good looking, more solid than anything I've used other than the GraphGear 600, has very good balance, slightly nicer finish than the similar-ish GraphGear 1000, and is more comfortable to write with for long durations than any of my other pencils. I haven't owned it long enough to really comment on its durability, but if after a few more months it's working as well as it is now, I will definitely buy a few more so I'll have backups if I ever lose this one, or if it ever wears out.

Space age looking and at the same time the shape is a bit odd. Yet, I find that writing with it is a pleasure, took several pages of notes tonight and have nothing bad to say. Love how the sleve retracts with a twist of the barrel. Good weight, not too top heavy, lead dispensed per click is good too. Seems like a nice compromise compared to other drafting pencils on this site. The ohto 1500 seems to be overkill to me and I have read some questionable things about the graphgear 1000 on another forum. So to sum it up, so far so good. I plan on writing with this quite a bit so I will check back in if durability is an issue.

I've had this pencil for roughly five months now, and I can say that after every-day use I would not recommend it for most people.

For durability I would rate this pencil a 5/5, for the full-aluminium doesn't wear easily, and after 5 months of every day use the only problems I have encountered are the lettering on the barrel rubbing off some from clip, and the grip's diamond finished chipping in almost microscopic scratches. The retractible tip is very solid and at first lead breakage was a problem, but this was fixed as soon as I removed the factory lead.

For Overall construction I would rate it a 2/5, because of the cheap interior and the lack of ability to service the parts yourself. There is no way to unscrew the barrel from the tip and clean it or replace the spring if need be, but this hasn't really presented any problems so far. The inner lead guide is cheap plastic though, and bends, scratches. and tears easily. Don't plan on using the eraser much on this pencil, for you will eventually loosen the eraser cap so much that it will never stay on. The eraser cap doesn't fasten securely to the pencil, and it is very irritating to have to worry about it coming off

For writing I would rate it a 3/5, because it's cumbersome to write with the guide pipe at halfway for increased stability. I use this to write Chinese/Japanese every day also, and it performs decently.

My biggest complaint though is that it is uncomfortable to hold. For some reason, my hand sweats noticeably more when using this pencil over others, this is annoying! This pencil is also smaller than you would expect, and for my average-sized American hands it was still too small to write with comfortably. I would ONLY recommend this pencil if you have small hands!