Koh-I-NoorAutomatic 5608 - Mechanical pencil metal/plastic for notebook including sharpener - 2 pieces

This is a metal bodied mechanical pencil of compact dimensions suitable for the pocket or notebook. It is 4 1/2" long overall, with a pocket depth of 4 3/16" and a diameter of 9/32" The click mechanism to advance the lead works well, and there is no lead slippage under pressure. The knurled section offers a comfortable and secure grip on the pencil. The pocket clip is nice and springy and will retain the pencil in a pocket or the spiral binding of a notebook. The weak point of this design is the lead sharpening system. To sharpen the lead one must extend sufficient lead to be able to grip it and prevent the whole of the innards of the pencil from rotating. Then unscrew the button, revealing the lead sharpener (which works quite well). Still holding the lead, sharpen it, then screw the button back in place (still holding the lead to prevent rotation). In reality, it is fairly quick and easy to do, but it is not ideal. Finally, for those interested in such things, the branding is not as shown on the product image, but has been revised. See the Koh-I-Noor website for how it looks now.

I'm a semi-professional artist and have two of these mechanical pencils and another on the way. I find a smaller pencil like this works great for me because it's easier to hold in different ways depending on what you're drawing. It feels solid enough and I'm very happy with it. If you're drawing with this I suggest you replace the lead with a 2B grade or softer depending on your style.The only gotcha to be aware of is when sharpening the point. There's a sharpener that you unscrew from the top but the lead turns as you try to sharpen the point - so it doesn't work! The simple solution is to extend the pencil out enough for you to hold it to stop it from turning then sharpening works fine. You could always use a bit of sandpaper but the sharpener is fine if you hold the pencil lead first.In short, a great mechanical pencil.

I wish KOH-I-NOOR would charge a few pounds more and use better materials for a more luxurious feel. It could be amazing, instead it's average. The head unscrews so I have to keep tightening it as I write. Sometimes the lead moves in slightly when writing also and so it can have a loose feel when you want it to be sturdy and tight- oh- let me screw the head back again.Great looking pencil. The clip can be removed. Nice small size. Then there's the sharpening downfall. You unscrew the end cap sharpener and insert the lead into into the claws. Then as you turn, then lead turns with it- so it may appear the sharpener is not working. This is poor design. You have to cap your thumb over the end where you removed the sharpener and apply pressure to stop the internal cylinder holding the lead from spinning with every turn. Or extract enough lead from the writing end to hold onto while you turn the sharpener (but risk snapping the lead if you're a little heavy handed). You can buy a separate lead 'pointer', and to use it you will have to hold your little finger on the end cap of the pencil to stop everything spinning with your turn. It's fine when you get the knack- but all this hassle to sharpen?

This 2mm mechanical pencil is without doubt the most aesthetically pleasing piece of stationery I own and also performs very well. There is a rather unique sharpening device in the end cap, which has to be screwed off (unlike most that just pull out), and the knurled grip section is very nice indeed. This is a compact pencil, ideal for pockets, or as the name suggests fitting in the spiral wire of a notebook/sketchbook. The pencil is 11.5cm long, not including the lead, which compares to a more standard sized 2mm mechanical pencil at 13.8cm (in this case an aluminium model from Muji). This means that while it is just short enough to be pocketable and portable, it's still comfortable to hold and entirely practical.I am not entirely sure that the barrel section is actually plastic, as there are some areas where the grip screws to the barrel where it appears that metal is showing underneath the outer layer. I was not expecting this to be completely metal but it does look as if it is, which is a bonus. The outer layer is a very nicely textured paint and looks very smart indeed.

I would not buy it for the given price again.It's hard to say as Koh I nooh is one of my favourite brands but the lead is just impossible to sharpen as it freely rotates with the whole inside of the pen.

This is supposed to come with a sharpener in the pump action end of the pencil. But if it does it is jammed in an impossible to remove and therefore use. How am I supposed to sharpen the leads? Buy another specialist sharpener? I dont think so.

Just the nicest pencil - I keep looking for excuses to use it.

Nice and light pencil for notebooks