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The Best Mechanical Pencil Leads

The Best Mechanical Pencil Leads

October 23, 2023 - Posted by Ryan to Guides, Pencils, Mechanical Pencils

The Best Mechanical Pencil Leads

When it comes to mechanical pencils, the right lead makes all the difference. Whether you’re using a forty-cent Bic or a $400 Montblanc, it’s the lead that determines how a pencil writes. Let’s take a look at our top pencil lead recommendations, then delve into an extensive comparison of all our lead brands.

What is the Best Mechanical Pencil Lead?
Pentel Ain Lead is the best mechanical pencil lead.
Pentel Ain Lead is the best mechanical pencil lead.

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Pentel Ain Lead is the best mechanical pencil lead. It perfectly balances all of the major factors that make a lead great—smoothness, darkness, break resistance, smudge resistance, longevity, and erasability. In our considerations tests, it performed consistently well across the board!

Ain Lead also comes in uncommon sizes like extra fine 0.2 mm and broad 1.3 mm, making it an excellent choice for students who need to fit notes in the margins of papers and artists who prefer bolder lines when drawing.

Mechanical Pencil Lead Recommendations
The Best Smooth Mechanical Pencil Lead: Pilot Neox Graphite Lead
Pilot Neox Graphite Lead is lovely for drawing and scribbling quick notes.
Pilot Neox Graphite Lead is lovely for drawing and scribbling quick notes.

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Pilot Neox Graphite Leads are smooth and dark for effortless writing and sketching. It’s made with high-purity graphite that glides across the page with almost no resistance. It comes in a wide range of sizes and hardness grades and erases like a dream, whether you’re correcting mistakes or adding highlights to drawings.

If even Neox lead doesn’t feel quite smooth enough for you, Rotring Tikky Lead is the smoothest lead we have. It’s just as dark as Neox Lead, but it gets used up faster, is less break resistant, erases less cleanly, and only comes in HB.

The Best Durable Mechanical Pencil Lead: Uni Smudge-Proof Lead
Uni Smudge-Proof Lead holds up to rough treatment.
Uni Smudge-Proof Lead holds up to rough treatment.

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Uni Smudge-Proof Lead boasts over one and a half times the longevity of the Neox. In addition to impressive longevity, its formula bonds to paper fibers, reducing smudging. We found that the lead worked best on paper with some texture.

It writes with average darkness, but (unlike the Neox) has no graphite dust fallout. Graphite dust fallout is created when fine graphite particles break off from the lead and are left behind on the paper. It usually happens when writing with heavy pressure, and the extra graphite dust can get smudged, leading to messy writing. Notes taken using softer Uni Smudge-Proof Lead grades will stay legible even after shuffling papers around.

The Best Mechanical Pencil Lead for Precision: Pentel Ain Stein Lead
Pentel Ain Stein is perfect for writing math formulas and diagrams.
Pentel Ain Stein Lead is perfect for writing math formulas and diagrams.

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Super-smooth lead may be great for free-flowing words and drawings, but for precise math formulas and diagrams, we prefer lead with a bit more tooth. Pentel Ain Stein Lead has just the right amount of tactile feedback to feel pleasant and easy to control.

It also has better smudge resistance than the Neox—an important quality when you’re carrying important notes and assignments around in a binder.

Ain Stein lead comes in a wide selection of grades and sizes, including the ultra-fine 0.2 mm size (perfect for pairing with the Pentel Orenz 0.2 mm mechanical pencil).

The Best Specialty Leads

We also carry some specialty leads that have interesting features worth mentioning.

The Best Colored Lead: Pilot Color Eno Neox Lead
If you want a colorful alternative to normal graphite leads, we recommend Pilot Color Eno Neox Lead.
If you want a colorful alternative to normal graphite leads, we recommend Pilot Color Eno Neox Lead.

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If you want a colorful alternative to normal graphite leads, we recommend Pilot Color Eno Neox Lead. It works in any 0.7 mm mechanical pencil and is more erasable and break resistant than other colored leads (though less than regular graphite leads). It’s available in eight colors, including the popular Soft Blue—a favorite among artists for sketches because it can be easily edited out of digitally scanned artwork.

Check out our guide to colored mechanical pencil leads for an extensive comparison of all our colored leads.

The Best Lead for Vintage Pencils: E+M Pencil Lead and Kaweco Graphite Lead
Thick E+M and Kaweco leads might fit that vintage mechanical pencil you have in your collection.
Thick E+M and Kaweco leads might fit that vintage mechanical pencil you have in your collection.

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1.1 mm, 1.15 mm, or 1.18 mm—they go by different names depending on the brand, but they’re all actually the same width. Not many pencils use these leads nowadays, but they were very common throughout the early- and mid- 20th century. If you have a vintage mechanical pencil that uses thick leads, there’s a good chance these leads will work with it (0.9 mm lead might work, too).

The E+M Lead and Kaweco Lead tend towards the lighter, less-smooth side of the lead spectrum.

The Best Wide Lead: Pentel Mark Sheet Lead
Pentel Mark Sheet Lead feels similar to the lead in a wooden pencil.
Pentel Mark Sheet Lead feels similar to the lead in a wooden pencil.

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This wide, 1.3 mm lead provides a smooth, bold writing experience similar to that of a wooden pencil. Mechanical pencils that use this lead size are ideal for not only writers and artists who prefer dramatic marks, but also young children who need a durable lead when learning how to write. It’s also great for quickly filling in Scantron-style fill-in-the-blank answer sheets. Pentel Mark Sheet Lead is smooth and dark, but not too difficult to erase—a good thing if you need to change an answer on a test sheet.

Morning Glory 1.8 mm Flat Lead is also a great option for filling in answer bubbles on test sheets. The lead itself is rectangular and can be found in the Sketch 1000 Pencil, which has a matching rectangular body. Aside from scholastic pursuits, this lead can be used to draw or write with line variation and calligraphic flair.

Choosing the Right Lead Size and Grade
Choosing the Right Lead Size and Grade
Pentel Ain Stein Lead has the widest range of sizes and grades of any lead we carry.
The most important considerations when choosing leads for your mechanical pencil are lead size and lead grade.
Lead Size
Marks made by lead sizes ranging from 0.2 mm to 5.6 mm
Leads can range from incredibly delicate to impressively chunky.

If you’re looking for a lead to go with a pencil you already own, then this part is easy. Just pick one that matches the lead size of your pencil. If you’re open to experimenting with new pencils, however, there are some things to consider.

Thinner leads produce sharp, precise lines, but they’re also more delicate and get used up faster. Wider leads are smooth and relatively break resistant, but they aren’t as precise and can produce inconsistent line widths as the lead wears down unevenly (unless you’re using a Kuru Toga pencil, of course.)

0.5 mm and 0.7 mm leads are the most popular, and they’re available in the widest selection of brands and lead grades, too. If you’re not sure which lead size to pick, these two are good places to start.

Here are our recommended uses for each lead size:

Mechanical Pencil Lead SizeRecommended Uses
0.2 mm to 0.4 mmExtra-fine writing, detailed drawings, compact math equations.
0.5 mmEveryday writing and drawing, math equations, applications that call for a variety of lead grades.
0.7 mmEveryday writing and drawing, heavy-handed writers, applications that call for a variety of lead grades.
0.9 mm and upBold writing and sketching, very heavy-handed writers.

For an even better look at all the different lead sizes there are to choose from, be sure to check out our guide!

Lead Grade
Comparison of lead grades from 4H to 4B.
Lead grade has a huge impact on the behavior of your lead.
If you grew up in the United States, the pencil grade you’re probably most familiar with is the classic No. 2 pencil. Mechanical pencil leads use a different scale that can be a bit confusing at first, filled with letters like H, B, and occasionally even F.

But what do lead grades actually mean? Mechanical pencil lead is made of graphite mixed with a binding material like clay (don’t worry: pencil lead doesn’t have the heavy metal lead in it, so it’s perfectly safe to touch and use).

The more graphite is in the lead, the softer, smoother, and darker it will be. Darker leads are “B” grades. Conversely, the more clay is in the lead, the harder, toothier, and lighter it becomes. “H” lead grades are hard. Lead grades handily distinguish which balances of these properties each lead has.

The mechanical pencil equivalent of a No. 2 pencil is HB lead, which is also the most popular grade of mechanical pencil lead. If you don’t know where to start, you can’t go wrong with an HB lead.

If you want an especially smooth and dark lead, we recommend B or 2B lead. It can be tempting to go all the way out to 4B, but in our experience, 4B leads are a bit too soft and prone to smudging for everyday writing.

On the other hand, if you want a slightly firmer, less smudge-prone lead, go for an H or F lead (if you’re wondering, F stands for fine; it’s a slightly harder grade than HB and sharpens to a finer point). We found that lead grades up to 2H still felt okay to use, but lead grades past this often felt uncomfortably textured.

Our lead grade guide offers more information and recommendations.

Other Considerations

Once you know the lead size and grade you want, the next step is deciding which brand to buy. The lead brand generally doesn’t make as much of a writing experience difference as the size and grade do, but it’s definitely still noticeable. Think of it as an opportunity to fine-tune your lead choice to suit your exact needs.

Read on to see which leads came out on top when we tested them head-to-head in seven different categories. All of our tests were done with 0.5 mm HB leads, so please note that your experience with other lead sizes and grades may vary. Some exceptions to this are the Faber-Castell Lead, which is only available in 0.7 mm, and the specialty leads we mentioned earlier in this guide. We used the Soft Blue version of Pilot Color Eno Neox Lead, as it’s often used for underdrawing and as a non-photo blue.

Smoothness
Writing with Rotring Tikky Lead and Pilot Neox Lead is smooth and silky.
Writing with Rotring Tikky Lead and Pilot Neox Lead is smooth and silky.
Out of all the HB leads we tested, the Rotring Tikky Lead and Pilot Neox Lead had the smoothest writing sensations. The leads with the most feedback were the LAMY Lead, Tombow Mono Graph Lead, and Zebra DelGuard Lead.

Very smooth leads provide luxurious writing and sketching experiences. However, for more precise work—like math homework and technical drawing—we prefer the control offered by leads with more feedback. And as we mentioned earlier, a lead’s hardness grade has a huge impact on how smooth it is. If you want to increase the smoothness or feedback of your pencil, try using a softer or harder lead grade, respectively.

Darkness
The darkness range in leads of the same grade doesn't vary dramatically, but subtle variations still exist.
The darkness range in leads of the same grade doesn't vary dramatically, but subtle variations still exist.
Kokuyo Enpitsu Lead, Pentel Ain Lead, Rotring Tikky Lead, and Uni Smudge-Proof Lead proved to be the darkest in our testing. This isn’t too surprising since—like smoothness—darkness is closely tied to a lead’s hardness or softness.
Break Resistance
Break-resistant lead reduces lead waste and hassle.
Break-resistant lead reduces lead waste and hassle.
For the heavy-handed writers among us, broken leads can be a constant frustration. Many of our leads are specially formulated to be stronger than typical leads, and we found Pentel Ain Lead, Tombow Mono Graph Lead, Uni Hi-Uni Lead, and Zebra DelGuard Lead to be equally good at resisting breakage.

An effective way to reduce lead breakage is with a lead-guarding mechanical pencil like the Zebra DelGuard. That way, you can use any lead brand without worrying too much about the lead’s break resistance.

Longevity
Pentel Ain Lead, Pentel Ain Stein Lead, and Uni Smudge-Proof Lead boast impressive longevity.
Some leads last longer than others before wearing down. In addition to being cost efficient, longer-lasting leads also save you from having to extend the lead as often.

We found the longest-lasting lead to be the Pentel Ain Lead. Pentel Ain Stein Lead and Uni Smudge-Proof Lead also lasted for a long time.

All longevity tests were created using two clicks’ worth of lead (About 1 mm) in a Rotring 600 Drafting Pencil. We wrote with the minimum pressure necessary to leave a dark mark. A full line in our writing sample was thirty-seven squares on 5 mm Rhodia graph paper. The vertical line near the end of most of the tests marks where the pencil stopped writing well. Note that lead longevity will vary depending on your writing pressure.

Erasability
Pentel Ain Lead and Zebra DelGuard Lead are easily erased, great for artists and the mistake-prone.
Pentel Ain Lead and Zebra DelGuard Lead are easily erased, great for artists and the mistake-prone.
All of the leads we tested had good erasability, but the easiest to erase were the Pentel Ain Lead and Zebra DelGuard Lead. We noticed remnants of writing after fully erasing Faber-Castell Lead and Uni Smudge-Proof Lead.

Our tests were done using a Uni Boxy Eraser and ordinary copy paper. We tested how cleanly each lead erased with a single pass of the eraser and when fully erased using as many passes as necessary.

Smudge Resistance
Pentel Ain Lead and Uni Smudge-Proof Lead won't cause extra mess.
Pentel Ain Lead and Uni Smudge-Proof Lead won't cause extra mess.
Smudging can be caused by accidentally rubbing the page with the palm of your hand or simply by pages rubbing against each other. All of the leads we tested smudged to some degree, but the ones that smudged the least were the Pentel Ain Lead and (unsurprisingly) Uni Smudge-Proof Lead.
Sheen
Sheen can be distracting and detract from artwork.
Sheen can be distracting and detract from artwork.
Graphite shine, also called sheen, occurs when graphite particles are layered and reflect light. When you apply many layers of graphite or use pressure when writing or drawing, the graphite burnishes the surface of the paper. This leads to sheen. While no graphite lead is totally matte, we offer some good options for artists who wish to avoid distracting shininess.

We tested how much sheen each lead would produce by layering the lead twice on Rhodia paper and using moderate pressure to create dark lines. Note that sheen will vary depending on the lead grade and pressure you use. Softer lead grades typically create more sheen.

The leads with the least sheen were E+M Lead, LAMY Lead, and Staedtler Mars Micro Carbon Lead.

Conclusion

It's hard to go too wrong in the wide world of leads, but we hope this guide has helped you find the lead that's best for you. Do you have any lingering lead-related questions? Would you like to give a shout-out to your favorite mechanical pencil lead? We’d love to hear it in the comments below!

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JetPens Mechanical Pencil Lead Sampler
The JetPens Mixed Lead Grades Sampler includes many 0.5 mm leads to try in your favorite mechanical pencil.
If you’re not sure which lead to try out first, the JetPens Mechanical Pencil Lead Sampler features our most popular leads and come in HB, B, and mixed grade varieties.

Add Items to Cart

ProductLead SizeLead GradeLead ColorAdd to Cart
E+M Pencil Lead - 1.18 mm - HB - Pack of 12 E+M Lead1.18 mmHBGraphiteAdd to Cart
Faber-Castell Pencil Lead - 0.7 mm - HB Faber-Castell Lead0.7 mmHB, BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Kaweco Graphite Lead - 1.18 mm - HB - Pack of 12 Kaweco Lead1.18 mmHBGraphiteAdd to Cart
Kokuyo Enpitsu Pencil Lead - 1.3 mm - 2B Kokuyo Enpitsu Lead0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.3 mmHB, B, 2BGraphite, RedAdd Items to Cart
LAMY M41 Pencil Lead - 0.5 mm - HB LAMY Lead0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 1.4 mmHB, BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Pentel Ain Lead - 0.5 mm - HB Pentel Ain Lead0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.3 mm2H, H, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4BGraphite, Red, BlueAdd Items to Cart
Pentel Ain Stein Lead - 0.5 mm - HB Pentel Ain Stein Lead0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm4H, 3H, 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B,4BGraphite, Red, BlueAdd Items to Cart
Pentel Mark Sheet Pencil Lead - 1.3 mm - HB Pentel Mark Sheet Lead1.3 mmHB, BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Pilot Color Eno Neox Erasable Lead - 0.7 mm - Soft Blue Pilot Color Eno Neox Lead0.7 mmN/APink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, PurpleAdd Items to Cart
Pilot Neox High-Purity Graphite Pencil Lead - 0.5 mm - HB Pilot Neox Graphite Lead0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm4H, 3H, 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Rotring Tikky Hi-Polymer Pencil Lead - 0.5 mm - HB Rotring Tikky Lead0.35 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 1.0 mmHBGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Staedtler Mars Micro Carbon Pencil Lead - 1.3 mm - HB Staedtler Mars Micro Carbon Lead0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.3 mm2H, H, B, 2BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Tombow Mono Graph Lead - 0.5 mm - HB - Mono Color Case Tombow Mono Graph Lead0.3 mm, 0.5 mmHB, B, 2BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Uni Hi-Uni Hi-Density Pencil Lead - 0.5 mm - HB Uni Hi-Uni Lead0.3 mm, 0.5 mm2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Uni Smudge-Proof Lead - 0.5 mm - HB Uni Smudge-Proof Lead0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm4H, 3H, 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Zebra DelGuard Lead - 0.5 mm - HB - 40 Leads Zebra DelGuard Lead0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mmHB, B, 2BGraphiteAdd Items to Cart
Notes
  • 1 Faber-Castell lead is only available in 0.7 mm, which understandably inflated its results. The surface area of the end of a 0.7 mm lead is about twice that of a 0.5 mm lead, leading us to speculate it should write around twice as much. Furthermore, testing with Ain Stein leads showed that an 0.7 mm lead wrote about 1.67 times as a 0.5 lead. This means that a hypothetical 0.5 mm Faber-Castell lead would likely have a longevity between 11 and 13 lines, which blows our other picks out of the water. However, given the odd circumstances of its testing, we’re not quite comfortable giving it the official crown.