Customer Reviews

(11 customer reviews)

3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful

  I just got this pencil..., November 2, 2011

By yjtpark91

I just got this pencil in the mail and tested the pencil with Tombo 3B lead and Pentel 0.5 4B.

The lead rotation Just. Works.

No question. This is amazing since the dullness that I get from using mechanical pencil is the most annoying thing. (Having to rotate the pencil manually.) This pencil fixes that completely.

Even with Tombo 3B lead, and the lack of pressure from using a softer lead, rotation works flawlessly.

3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful

  I bought this pencil..., October 14, 2011

By mnp...

I bought this pencil to try it out for sketching, as I prefer mechanical pencils for that. As a sketching tool, I found the Kuru Toga mechanism didn't have much effect. While the pressure needed to advance the mechanism is small enough to be well within comfort range for writing, for sketching I tend to prefer a lighter touch, and so the mechanism rarely activates.

The fact that he mechanism is pressure activated gives the tip a bit of "squish" in terms of controlling your line strength via pressure. This combined with the slow/infrequent activation at lower pressures actually serves to promote line width unpredictability rather than consistency.

Ergonomically it's very nice though. The combination of knurling and slightly thicker barrel (1cm) makes for a very comfortable no-slip grip (many drafting pencils I've tried have very skinny barrels that feel awkward in my long-ish fingers). It seems very well constructed over all, and I did not find the plastic sections objectionable.

For writing I'd give it four stars: I can see this being a satisfyingly good tool for that, and that's what most people who are reading these reviews are looking for, it would seem.

For sketching I would give this only two stars. It sits very comfortably in the hand, but the Kura Toga mechanism kinda works against you rather than for you.

As a P.S., this uses size C (3.4mm) erasers. Just putting that out there for folks who want to pick up extras in the same order (like I wanted to, but couldn't because the info wasn't in the description).

1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful

  This pencil is amazing...., November 20, 2011

By theothermle

This pencil is amazing. The rotating engine really works as it says it does, but the thing that amazes me is all in the details. The metal barrel with the knurled grip is absolutely wonderful and really does mean it won't slip. It has a comfortable balance and weight to it, too. I like the feel of the brushed metal of the rest of the barrel and at the end of the barrel, there is a very thin band of rubber, so even if you like to hold pencils close to the tip there is a bit of something from stopping the slipping. The eraser cap also has this small band of rubber. This is a wonderful fact because it makes it all the more easier to get it off. One of the problems I have with pretty pencils and their eraser caps is that some of them are hard to grip. Not so with this one, all because of that little bit of rubber. This pencil is definitely worth the price.

  Best pencil I have ever..., May 15, 2012

By bindel

Best pencil I have ever owned. Keeps a thin line most times. Nice and weighty. Good looking. The eraser is too small for anything more than removing a stray mark, but that is typical for mechanical pencils.

  This pencil has both..., May 1, 2012

By benorlowski

This pencil has both good and the bad. Being a high school student, this gets used... Often.
Goods- Writes well. I enjoy the feel. The weight balance, is a little off for me, but to each his own. The Kuru Toga actually works which is something I did not expect. (Itdoesnt rotate as much as I though it would per turn)
Bads- Once you run out of lead (As in a single piece) it is a long drawn out process of getting another to feed out. That is very crucial when it comes to taking notes. The only other bad thing (partially) is the top. I mean really. Could Uni not have raised the price 10 cents and made it metal? It doesn't really fit the design on the pencil as a whole

I would fully recommend it!

  1. For those who are..., April 21, 2012

By ureadit

1. For those who are concerned about the lead sleeve on this and other pencils not retracting, there is a solution:
Find a cheap ball point or roller pen with a cap that fits snugly over the point end of the pencil. Then remove the clip of that cap (f it has one). If you can't find such a cap, there is a solution that probably is better. Go to a hardware, auto supply or plumbing supply store and ask for transparent or translucent VINYL tubing. Bring your pencil with you so you can check to see that the point end of the pencil fits SNUGLY into the tubing. You probably will have to try more than one size. For the silver colored Roulette, tubing with a 3/8" INSIDE diameter works for me. It fits snugly over the end of the pencil so it won,t fall off. To take the tubing off the pencil end, I wiggle the tubing. You will want vinyl tubing that is pretty sturdy so that it won't fold over the pencil end.

2. This pencil could be made with a retractable (e.g. "double knock") tip. It no doubt would require a slightly larger diameter barrel.

  This is a fantastic pencil...., December 16, 2011

By cda...

This is a fantastic pencil. The all-metal construction is solid, with no wobble in the tip. The lead-rotation works exactly as advertised and has ended my days of catching, breaking, lead (and faint writing too--lead appears darker). The pencil extends about 0.5mm of lead with each click, which is pleasantly similar to the Pentel P205 and reduces breakages caused by 2-3mm advance rates (I'm looking at you BIC).

This would be a five-star pencil except for the plastic "button" on the top. I'm not exactly sure why Uni couldn't have made that metal (like pencils 1/3rd the price). The overall aesthetic is somewhat broken up by this, but it is forgivable given the pencil's excellent performance

  It is good, just the..., September 1, 2011

By jinseokyang22

It is good, just the same as high grade

  The knurl on the grip..., April 22, 2011

By mhawel

The knurl on the grip will never allow the pencil to slip while writing. Thinking back to my days of having to write exams, this would have been perfect as those time limits and resulting pressure can sometimes leave your hands slightly slippery towards the end! This is the pencil I'd want in that situation... Very good price, build quality, and a very good looking pen!!

  Love it so far! I'm no..., February 26, 2011

By eri...

Love it so far! I'm no mechanical pencil connoisseur, I just needed a pencil (rather than a pen) for math work so I didn't have to sacrifice half a page worth of work if I made a simple mistake somewhere in the middle of the problem.

The "kuru toga engine" doesn't require much pressure at all to work, which is something I was worried about. It does a great job of keeping a uniform tip to the lead, as advertised. This was the selling point for me, since I love the benefits of gel pens (easy writing, same line thickness/darkness every time.)

It's pretty light, but feels good in my relatively large hand. I've had no issues with the grip portion being abrasive, personally. The grip is pretty small, though, so if your hands are to get sweaty, it may get a bit slippery depending on how you grip a writing utensil.

The bottom half appears to be plastic (top half is aluminum,) but it feels very sturdy with no flex. I love its simple, striking aesthetics. I realize that sounds silly, but if you are to invest in a quality writing utensil, of course its appearance will come into play!

The only thing I'd change is a retractable tip.

0 out of 1 people found the following review helpful

  As someone had described..., July 28, 2011

By wog...

As someone had described in another review, the end towards the eraser is indeed plastic. However, this plastic is very smooth and shiny so it looks metallic and was only able to tell it was plastic because of the part not being as cold to the touch as the metal parts of the pencil.

Regarding the pencil's performance itself, I can see the device working properly but I tend to hold my pencils at an angle slightly lower than 45 degrees from the horizontal making its spin slower than if I were to be holding at 60 degrees. I think this whole lead spinning thing is very bloated and it comes down to being a very fine looking pencil which grip is something to get used to with a weight much lighter than expected.

Long story short, the writing will look exactly the same as when you used to write with a much cheaper pencil but the price will be worth it since you will know you will be writing with an expensive pencil + It'll be a good conversation topic.