The Pentel Sharp Kerry is a seriously cool mechanical pencil. Its capped design is both stylish and practical. When you’re not using the pencil, the cap protects the lead sleeve from damage and prevents it from poking through your clothes. This makes the Sharp Kerry an excellent everyday carry pocket pencil.

When it’s time to write, the Sharp Kerry shines. An integrated button in the cap allows you to extend the lead whether the cap is posted or unposted. It’s no wonder that the Sharp Kerry is the top pick in our guide on The Best Mechanical Pencils!

The metal construction and elegant, minimalist styling of the Kaweco Special make it our favorite fancy mechanical pencil. It’s available in two materials: lightweight, matte black aluminum and hefty brass. The brass will patina and darken with use, but you can keep it shiny by polishing it regularly.

Both versions of the Kaweco Special Mechanical Pencil fit right at home on an office desk. You can also pair it with a clip to keep it tucked in a suit pocket. And it doesn’t just have looks—it offers a variety of tip sizes ranging from fine 0.3 mm to wide 0.9 mm. We should note that the pencil doesn’t hold much lead, so if you’re an avid writer you may find yourself refilling the pencil often (a small price to pay for a pencil of this quality!).

Since the Zebra DelGuard protects your pencil lead no matter how you write, we believe it’s the best unbreakable mechanical pencil for most people. If you struggle with broken pencil leads, its two-part lead guarding system will be a lifesaver. A spring in the barrel cushions lead from too much vertical force by allowing it to slide back inside the pencil. Another spring in the tip extends a pipe to reinforce the lead when too much sideways pressure is applied. This is slightly different from other lead guard mechanical pencils that only use a sliding lead sleeve to prevent breakage.

The Zebra DelGuard comes in several different styles, including the standard plastic version and the ergonomic Type-GR.

The innovative Uni Kuru Toga is the best Japanese mechanical pencil. It utilizes an internal mechanism that rotates the lead every time you lift the pencil tip from the paper. This prevents the lead from wearing down on one side and becoming smudgy. It also reduces lead breakage and ensures that each letter looks crisp as you write.

The Kuru Toga comes in several versions, but two of our favorites here at JetPens are the Roulette and the Advance. The Kuru Toga Roulette is one of the most popular Kuru Toga pencils on our site for its fancy looks, knurled metal grip, and comfortably low center of gravity.

To combat achy fingers, try the most comfortable mechanical pencil: the Uni Alpha Gel. It’s equipped with the luxuriously squishy Alpha Gel grip, which provides much-needed relief if you grip your pencil hard or have sore spots that are sensitive to pressure.

Depending on your grip, hand size, and writing style, you can choose from a variety of models including the Shaka Shaker, Slim, and even Kuru Toga, which incorporates Uni’s famous lead rotation mechanism. The Shaka Shaker line extends lead with a shaker mechanism and offers two additional grips: firm and medium firm. Don't be fooled by the names though—the grips are still quite squishy; they're just slightly firmer than the original soft grip for those who need more support.

If you're in the market for the best multi mechanical pencil, check out the Sun-Star Nicolo. It features 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm leads in one body! Simply twist the top of the pencil to switch between sizes. The rubber grip makes the pencils comfortable to hold, and it comes in both neutral and bold colors.

We always get questions about whether you can put multiple pencil components into one pen body in order to have access to multiple tip sizes. You can always DIY a customizable multi pen, and even combine mechanical pencil components with ink refills.

The sleek Tombow Mono 100 is the best wooden pencil for writing. Its high-density lead resists breakage and stays sharp longer than other pencils. It also writes smoothly with a hint of satisfying feedback and barely smears, even in the darker lead grades. We do recommend pairing this pencil with a good eraser, especially if you prefer using the B grade pencils—they took a bit more effort to erase than the H grades in our tests.

The Mono 100 comes in a wide range of lead grades if you prefer harder or softer options. This makes it a favorite among students, designers, and engineers, though we also highlight the best technical pencils below.

The Staedtler 771 is the best ergonomic mechanical pencil with its wide, triangular body. It promotes a relaxed tripod grip so your hands don't get cramped during long writing sessions. Plus, if you're heavy handed, the pencil's thick 1.3 mm lead and cushioned tip help prevent lead breakage. We also like the generously-sized twist-up eraser that can be replaced as needed.

If you enjoy tinkering with your pens and pencils and want a customized grip, we recommend the Pilot Dr. Grip CL Play Balance Mechanical Pencil. It comes with two types of materials for the inner grip: metal and silicone. The metal parts produce a firmer grip and weighted writing experience, while the silicone parts provide a cushier grip and lighter weight.

If you prefer using an ergonomic wooden pencil, try the oversized Staedtler Triplus Jumbo Pencil. Although it was designed with young writers in mind, its thick body works well for adults who need to hold their pencils more gently to reduce cramping. The pencil’s triangular shape also encourages writers to use a tripod grip. This makes it easy to maintain control of the pencil without using heavy pressure.

Those who don’t like large writing instruments can check out the Faber-Castell Grip 2001 Pencil. This great alternative is no thicker than a typical pencil, but it features a triangular body lined with grippy dots to reduce slippage. The Grip 2001 comes in a set with 2B, B, and HB grade pencils, an eraser, and a sharpener.

The Pilot Opt is our pick for the best mechanical pencil for school. It’s inexpensive enough to fit in most students’ budgets but still has excellent ergonomic features to prevent hand fatigue no matter how long you study. Its barrel is wider than those found on most mechanical pencils. This, together with a low center of gravity and added traction from the tapered rubber grip, allows you to hold the pencil gently while still maintaining control.

The Opt also has two handy extras: a shaker mechanism that lets you advance the lead without readjusting your grip, and a binder clip for fastening the pencil to notebooks and pockets. In addition to these practical features, the Pilot Opt comes in fun body colors so that you can express your style.

For students who need a bit of cheer as they plug away at their homework, a cute pencil like the Pilot Fure Fure Me is a great choice. Slimmer than the previously mentioned Pilot Opt and just as inexpensive, this adorable pencil features several design options including checkered patterns and two-tone color combinations. You can even string a charm through the hole in the clip to accessorize further.

The Fure Fure Me fits easily into pencil cases, bags, or even a pocket. Plus, the tip is completely retractable, so you don’t have to worry about it accidentally bending or breaking. Like the Opt, the Fure Fure Me is a shaker pencil (the name comes from the Japanese word fureru (ふれる), which means to shake), but sensitive users take note—it’s a little noisier than the Opt.

The Pentel Orenz is the best mechanical pencil for math, letting you write intricate equations clearly and precisely. You can easily fit numbers into the small squares of graph paper. It is the only pencil to accommodate 0.2 mm lead, which makes even the tiniest notations easy to read. Although 0.2 mm lead size is delicate, the Pentel Orenz is equipped with a sliding lead sleeve that reinforces the lead along its entire length and retracts as it wears down. As long as you do not extend the lead beyond the sleeve, you can write indefinitely with no breakage.

The Pentel Orenz comes in four different styles, ranging from the lightweight standard Orenz to the premium Orenz Nero. They all boast a sliding lead sleeve that prevents lead breakage.

The Tombow Mono Graph Shaker Mechanical Pencil is the best shaker mechanical pencil, needing only a shake up and down to dispense lead. Students won’t need to let go and re-grip the pencil, and can continue working on assignments or note-taking without missing a beat. The lead can also be advanced by pushing its clip downward. To prevent lead from accidentally extending when the pencil is stored in a pencil case or backpack, the shaker mechanism can be locked by pushing the clip upward.

This pencil is part of Tombow’s Mono Graph line, which has been designed to be—fingers crossed!—the only stationery products you’d ever need. In addition to the Mono Graph Shaker’s multiple ways to extend lead, it also comes with a decently-sized eraser that's larger than those on most mechanical pencils.

You might be surprised to see a highlighter pick in a pencil blog, but we think students (especially those that are left-handed) should consider trying a pencil highlighter like the Kutsuwa Neonpitsu if they frequently smudge traditional ink highlighter pens. Plus, it won’t bleed through the page!

Because the Kutsuwa Neonpitsu is a mechanical pencil highlighter, you don’t have to sharpen it as you would a traditional wooden pencil. The barrel is transparent so you can see how much lead you have left and refill it when you run out. It uses 3.8 mm lead, which covers a little over half of normal handwriting if you’re using 6 or 7 mm rule paper. It’s enough to draw attention to important points, but if you prefer to have the whole line highlighted, you can go over it twice.

Professionals, students, and hobbyists can all enjoy our pick for the best colored pencils for artists: Prismacolor Premier Color Pencils. They come in a wide range of seventy-two vivid colors, and their soft wax cores are a pleasure to use. They also apply smoothly, easily achieve full coverage, and can be blended and burnished with almost no effort. Additionally, their opacities give drawings excellent contrast even when done on colored paper.

Faber-Castell Polychromos are the best professional colored pencils for artists whose drawings will be on display. Each pencil is filled with a buttery smooth, richly pigmented core that lays down vibrant color at the slightest touch. Because their cores are oil based, there’s no need to worry about unsightly wax bloom on your art.

Most impressively, Faber-Castell Polychromos are lightfast. Asterisks on each pencil indicate how well that particular color resists degradation from light exposure. This lets you choose hues that will remain vivid over time and show your work to the best effect.

As a bonus, Polychromos pencils are color-matched with other Faber-Castell products including watercolor pencils, brush pens, and fineliners for easy mixed media work.

Uni Arterase are the best erasable colored pencils we have ever seen. Artists will enjoy them even if they don’t plan to use their erasable properties. Their firm yet smooth cores blend well and are highly opaque. Most colored pencils will smear and leave pigment on the page no matter how good of an eraser you use, but Uni Arterase pencils lift cleanly and easily every time.

Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Pencils are the best watercolor pencils for making stunning, long-lasting watercolor pencil art. Their buttery cores contain intense, high-quality pigments that deliver brilliant color payoff and excellent lightfastness. Like the Faber-Castell Polychromos, each color’s lightfastness rating is printed on the barrel of the pencil for easy reference.

Although Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer pencils are a pleasure to use dry, they truly shine when used as watercolor pencils. Their colors dissolve into even more intense hues when touched with water, allowing you to blend new colors and spread them into lovely watercolor washes.

Although they’re not as common as wooden colored pencils, mechanical colored pencils for artists do exist—and the Pilot Color Eno is the best mechanical pencil with colored lead that we’ve seen. Each of the eight body colors is matched to the lead inside so that you can easily pick the right pencil. The pencils are filled with 0.7 mm Pilot Color Eno Erasable Lead. They’re smudge resistant and wonderfully easy to erase, which makes them perfect for sketching, editing, and color-coding notes or planner entries.

For a more extensive and interesting color selection, check out the Uni EMOTT Color Mechanical Pencils. These minimalist pencils feature unique colors like Khaki Green and Vermilion. However, they're only available in three 4-color sets, and their thin diameters may not be comfortable to hold for long drawing sessions.

Uni No.888 Pencils are specifically designed to be the best colored pencils for adult coloring books. They come in a set of thirty-six rich hues including several shades of red, blue, brown, and green. This allows you to color natural motifs with great detail and produce beautiful gradients. Because they also layer well, it’s easy to build up more hues than are represented in the set.

If you want a greater variety of colors, try Tombow Irojiten Color Pencils. They have harder cores and come in several unusual hues, including fluorescent and grayscale.

The Kokuyo FitCurve is our pick for the best mechanical pencil for drawing. It is ergonomically designed to prevent hand fatigue no matter how long your study sessions go for. The FitCurve’s center of gravity falls near the pencil grip for stability, and the moderately-sized barrel swells gently into a wider, firm grip section that fits comfortably in your hand.

This pencil isn’t just about ergonomics, though—unlike most mechanical pencils, it has a generously sized twist eraser so that you can correct mistakes without relying on separate erasers. The FitCurve also has a sliding lead sleeve to protect the lead from breaking.

Undoubtedly the best graphite pencils for drawing, Uni Mitsubishi Hi-Uni Pencils deserve a place in your art kit. These pencils are some of the best we’ve ever seen, with outrageously creamy and expressive graphite cores across every lead grade. Each grade is clearly differentiated from the next so that artists can build up realistic drawings with the full range of graphite tones. The B grades’ exceptional smoothness makes them some of the best pencils for shading and drawing quick, fluid movements, but even the H grades are smoother than most.

Uni Vermilion and Prussian Blue Pencils are designed for editors, but they’re ideal for sketching. Since they're double sided, you can carry two colors without taking up any extra space in your pencil case. Their firm cores barely smudge and are soft enough to easily put down smooth lines.

The vermillion side is an orange-leaning red that works well for underdrawing, while the darker Prussian blue side is perfect for overdrawing and adding emphasis. This pair of colors would also work well for capturing warm light and cool shadows, a combination often found when drawing in sunlight. These pencils come in hexagonal or round bodies. You can choose between 5:5 pencils, which have even amounts of vermillion and Prussian blue leads, or 7:3 ratios for those who use the red side more often. Single-color, erasable versions are also available.

It’s no wonder that the Staedtler 925 Series Lead Holder is the best 2.0 mm lead holder for drawing. It combines excellent build quality with all of the features a lead holder should have, and for a reasonable price. Its aluminum body is well balanced and sturdy without being heavy, and its knurled grip reduces slipping. The 4 mm long guide pipe provides a clear view of the paper, and a built-in lead grade indicator lets you keep track of which lead is installed in which pencil.

Many lead holders use a drop clutch mechanism that releases the lead with a push of a button, but the Staedtler Silver Series has an incremental advance clutch that works just like that of a mechanical pencil.

For a thicker lead, try the Kaweco Sketch Up Lead Holder. It's quite hefty and feels sturdy in the hand even though it’s perfectly sized to fit in your pocket. Its larger lead size works well for sketching and shading alike. The drop clutch mechanism makes it easy to extend the amount of lead you need, too. Just be sure to press the button over a desk or your hand to stop the lead from falling out of the holder completely!

The Kaweco Sketch Up does come with a built in lead pointer, but the tip doesn’t sharpen to a precise point, which is normal for leads this size. Kaweco offers other 5.6 mm colored leads including primary and highlighter colors. For everyday carry, we recommend grabbing a clip for attaching to a notebook or pocket.

The Pentel Graph Gear 1000 provides all of the features designers, drafters, and architects need in a drafting pencil for an affordable price. Its solid aluminum construction is sturdy without being overly heavy, so it won’t tire your hand out during use. It’s also comfortable to hold due to a knurled grip section that is inlaid with rubber ovals for extra traction. The Pentel Graph Gear 1000 includes a lead grade indicator as well as a 4.0 mm lead sleeve that makes it easy to use with a straightedge.

One of the Graph Gear 1000’s unusual features is a spring-loaded binder clip that fastens easily onto thick notebook covers and pockets. Opening the clip retracts the pencil tip, so there’s no danger of accidentally poking yourself through your clothes.

The Staedtler Mars Lumograph is our top pick for the best architect pencil. Its high quality lead is smooth yet provides just enough grip for control when writing or drawing, and it maintains a point exceptionally well. Many architects reach for mechanical and drafting pencils because regular wooden pencils wear down too quickly, leading to thick and inaccurate lines. All wooden pencils need to be sharpened periodically, but the Lumograph stays sharp longer than most. This lets you keep drafting without frequent pencil-sharpening pauses.

The Staedtler Mars Lumograph is also a genuine pleasure to use. It sharpens and erases easily, so your work will always look tidy. The Lumograph comes in a full range of lead grades if you prefer harder or softer options, which is great for both architects and artists.

The Sakura Sumo Grip is the best eraser we know for just about any use. It’s made from a microporous plastic foam that lifts graphite and traps it for a smudge-free clean every time. It’s also a bit firmer and grippier than similar erasers, like its cousin, the Sakura Foam. This makes it easier to control so that you don’t accidentally erase more work than you mean to. The Sumo Grip’s eraser crumbs clump together for easy cleanup, and since it’s black, it won’t get dirty from graphite smudges no matter how much you use it.