Mitsubishi Pencil Kurutoga Mechanical Pencil Standard Model 0.5mm Red

My boyfriend did some research and bought this to surprise me after seeing me break leads all the time. ;-) (I'm tough on everything!)It's great. Hasn't broken once.Super crisp lines, great weight, hand feel and ease of use - and pretty for a mechanical pencil!

The Uni Kuru Toga is my favorite pencil. I have been using the alpha gel versions for years, but nowadays, I tend to reach for this one more often (even though I still appreciate the squishy grip on the alpha gel for long study sessions!) This pencil is very lightweight but sturdy and well-built. The graphite sleeve keeps it from breaking, and the graphite inside is of good quality. My only complaints are that the grip is a bit small, so it might not be great for everyone, depending on how high or low you hold your pencil, and the cap on the eraser is a bit difficult to remove. Perhaps the plastic grip could be a problem for some people, but it hasn't broken off for me, and I don't think it will any time soon. Overall, great pencil. I received this pencil as a gift ... MoreThe Uni Kuru Toga is my favorite pencil. I have been using the alpha gel versions for years, but nowadays, I tend to reach for this one more often (even though I still appreciate the squishy grip on the alpha gel for long study sessions!) This pencil is very lightweight but sturdy and well-built. The graphite sleeve keeps it from breaking, and the graphite inside is of good quality. My only complaints are that the grip is a bit small, so it might not be great for everyone, depending on how high or low you hold your pencil, and the cap on the eraser is a bit difficult to remove. Perhaps the plastic grip could be a problem for some people, but it hasn't broken off for me, and I don't think it will any time soon. Overall, great pencil. I received this pencil as a gift years ago, and I'll never use a pencil that isn't a Kuru Toga again!

This pencil does exactly what it says it does. You will see the mechanism rotate when you push the tip down and when you lift the pencil back up. I really love how the grip lets you see how it works. I saw that other customers don't think this pencil is as good for those who write in cursive; I can say that I haven't noticed that much of a difference. It is true that you will see more rotations if you write in print or write Chinese/Japanese characters, but my cursive looks clean and neat as well. I'm not sure if being left-handed makes a huge difference, but you will see rotations and crisper letters no matter how you write. I think this is a clever pencil and I love writing with it. It doesn't take much force at all to push the tip down enough to make it rotate; ... MoreThis pencil does exactly what it says it does. You will see the mechanism rotate when you push the tip down and when you lift the pencil back up. I really love how the grip lets you see how it works. I saw that other customers don't think this pencil is as good for those who write in cursive; I can say that I haven't noticed that much of a difference. It is true that you will see more rotations if you write in print or write Chinese/Japanese characters, but my cursive looks clean and neat as well. I'm not sure if being left-handed makes a huge difference, but you will see rotations and crisper letters no matter how you write. I think this is a clever pencil and I love writing with it. It doesn't take much force at all to push the tip down enough to make it rotate; after you write for a while you stop noticing the "pushing" sensation. I gave it four stars because it's not comfortable enough for me to write frantic notes during long lecture hours. My hand gets sweaty and cramps up when I have to write that long, and I had to switch to another pencil because this one got too slippery to hold on to. I love that the "grip" is a translucent plastic that lets you see inside, but I just can't write with it for long because there's nothing to keep sweaty/crampy fingers from slipping. Despite my criticisms of the grip, I think it is a wonderfully crafted, unique and quality pencil. Because of that I eventually want to spend the extra to try the Uni Alpha Gel Kuru Toga, which seems to be more ergonomic for my taste. Overall I recommend this pencil, I still use it but not as often as I use my all-time favorite: the Pilot Dr. Grip Play Border Shaker pencil.

5-star quality, 4-stars for writing English characters.It seems that the Kura Toga was specifically designed for writing Japanese symbols, so this makes sense.It's essentially a (in my opinion) less aesthetically appealing Kura Toga Roulette, and there may be other various nuanced differences that I'm not quite aware of.If you really want the rotating lead feature to function as advertised, you may want to go with the Advance model if you're an English writer

I want to love this pencil, but I don’t. I love the concept, but the construction of this barrel does not work for me. I don’t know if I am an “aggressive” presser or gripper or what— no one else seems to have this problem—but the bottom components often loosen up and come out of alignment. This happens gradually, over time, but it’s very obnoxious and sometimes uncomfortable. I have to continually tighten. I also just hate that weird jutting ring. It’s uncomfortable.I am a notorious lead snapper, so I prefer pens with a lead spring and pencil sleeve. Wish this was it for me, may try a fancier version sans raised ring.

It writes smoothly. The only thing I personally do not like is the grip. I got this to try with the Uni Alpha gel Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil since I was not sure about the grip on it. My pinky does not go numb when I use it compared to the regular wooden pencil. So, if you want a mechanical pencil that is not to think but is a little thicker than a pen this is a good pencil.

Part Five of my reviews... following on from the Uni Shift.A lot of people have been raving about the Kuru Toga so I was curious. I only bought the least expensive plastic version to try.Even if it is the entry-level version, it feels nicely solid and well-made. In fact, it feels more solid and well-made than its much more expensive stable-mate, the Shift. It's comfortable in use, even for quite long writing sessions and it's been reliable.But it all rides on the special lead rotation mechanism which is supposed to automatically keep an even, sharp point on the lead as you write.The mechanism definitely works but for me it only works when I'm making an effort to write so that it will.The first issue I had is that I am used to writing with pencils and found ... MorePart Five of my reviews... following on from the Uni Shift.A lot of people have been raving about the Kuru Toga so I was curious. I only bought the least expensive plastic version to try.Even if it is the entry-level version, it feels nicely solid and well-made. In fact, it feels more solid and well-made than its much more expensive stable-mate, the Shift. It's comfortable in use, even for quite long writing sessions and it's been reliable.But it all rides on the special lead rotation mechanism which is supposed to automatically keep an even, sharp point on the lead as you write.The mechanism definitely works but for me it only works when I'm making an effort to write so that it will.The first issue I had is that I am used to writing with pencils and found it quite difficult to stop rotating the pencil and let the mechanism do it for me.The next is that I tend to write in cursive. The mechanism works by rotating the lead each time you lift the pencil from the page. If you don't lift the pencil much, it doesn't rotate the lead enough. I found that even doing pages of maths (as I do) it wasn't working. Printing in capitals showed off the mechanism best. It formed a perfect conical point on the lead and produced fine, even lettering. It's just a pity that I rarely write in capitals.I also made things worse by swapping to 4B lead. I love the 4B lead because it produces a nice line with very little pressure but, unfortunately, very little pressure is not ideal for the Kuru Toga mechanism and tends to result in very little rotation of the lead.Finally I also realised that I don't particularly want a fine line all the time. I like the way the soft leads make a chisel point so I can have a wider line most of the time or as fine as I like if I turn the pencil.None of this is really a flaw of the pencil and if you write in the right way, with enough pressure and want the fine line then it is very good. For example, I assume that it was invented for complicated multi-stroke Japanese characters and I imagine it is excellent for that.Even if the rotation mechanism didn't really work for me, I would have been tempted to keep using the Kuru Toga anyway because I just like the feel of it - except for one thing. Presumably because of the rotation mechanism, the tip has a LOT of play in it.The wobbly imprecise tip is too much of a price to pay, for me, for a rotation mechanism that doesn't do a lot for me in a pencil which isn't pocket safe.Next... Staedtler 925-35

Ahhh old reliable.. I made this "splurge" purchase my last year of middle school.. I am now about to graduate with an Associates. This pencil has lasted me about 7 years and still going strong. I've used it for so long I'm used to the kuru toga system. If I use any other pencil without it, I notice. I use both cursive and print (but mostly print) and still I'd say it's worth it. After writing this, I realized that I've paid about a dollar every year to use a pencil... lol

I bought this along with the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Auto Rotation Mechanical Pencil 0.5 - Violet Standard model, and they are identical in almost every single aspect I can think of.However, that is A GREAT THING as that is what I hoping for!The only mini difference I experienced is that the erasers between the two are a bit different??? The violet one's eraser erased dark strokes just a smidge better, but maybe it might just be my imagination.That aside, the lead in these pencils are superb! Strong sturdy lead with a good darkness! Actually quite surprised how thick and dark it looks and feels for a 0.5! This is incredible for me personally as I generally prefer 0.7 leads for my standard, so I took a real gamble on these and I was not disappointed at all!Rather, I ... MoreI bought this along with the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Auto Rotation Mechanical Pencil 0.5 - Violet Standard model, and they are identical in almost every single aspect I can think of.However, that is A GREAT THING as that is what I hoping for!The only mini difference I experienced is that the erasers between the two are a bit different??? The violet one's eraser erased dark strokes just a smidge better, but maybe it might just be my imagination.That aside, the lead in these pencils are superb! Strong sturdy lead with a good darkness! Actually quite surprised how thick and dark it looks and feels for a 0.5! This is incredible for me personally as I generally prefer 0.7 leads for my standard, so I took a real gamble on these and I was not disappointed at all!Rather, I was impressed!This mechanical pencil's grip is what I love most about it. Even though it has no gel or cushion grip, the little rubberized insert as the bottom works very well, and doesn't hurt my hand for extended amounts of use. The pencil is about a medium-to-light weight, but handles well.*I also have fairly small hands so that could be a factor as to why the weight feels a little more hefty compared to how others have described it*And that rotation mechanism that Kuru Toga is known for? Works phenomenally, nothing more than I can say than that. The lead hasn't broken once after 3 hours use.All and all, AMAZING MECHANICAL PENCIL!

I broke the clip on my last one so I bought another. I use purple lead in it and it is my favorite mechanical pencil.I used to just buy a big container of cheap ones so it didn't matter if they got lost but now I have a line of Kuru Togas in a pen case and have kept track of them for almost two years now because I love them that much.