Pentel Mechanical Pencil Lead, Ain Stein, 0.5mm, 2H (C275-2H)

These leads are smooth to use but far less prone to snapping or crumbling than the other brands I have used. These are much stronger than even the Staedtler ones, let alone the cheaper varieties and consequently are far nicer to use. They also contain over 90% of recyled material which is laudable. When used on watercolour paper for a initial sketch they erase easily and don't indent the surface as many other leads and pencils are prone to do. This makes life a lot easier if, like me, you are prone to be heavy-handed.

I was considering ordering some pencils when my ‘clicky pencil’ ran out but thought heck, let’s save the environment and see if I can reuse this tube of plastic.The lead was easy to drop into my empty pencil, clicked a few times, lead emerged et viola! Bonus points for not being super easy to smudge, as a leftie I tend to drag everything across the page as I write but not so much with this lead.The dispenser is pretty nifty too. None of the lead has arrived broken as far as I can see.Rubs out well, if you’re as prone to diary changes as I am (some would say flaky).

I bought 2 packs of these leads to go with my new mechanical pencil as I needed some replacements.I was not disappointed with the quality and durability of this brand. Having never bought this type of thing before, and only using disposable pencils I was very pleased to find that this lead was just as tough and durable as the nano diamond lead that came with my pencil.They are also just as comfortable to write with, the lead is smooth to the touch of paper and flows brilliantly, an absolute pleasure.Not only that but you get so many (40 leads) at such an amazing price. The stylish blue container they come in is very tough and keeps the lead safe inside, and the mechanism in the twist cap to open is brilliant for controlling how many leads you wish to remove from the container at any one time.They arrived very quickly and in a well padded, thick envelope. Very pleased with this purchase and I would highly recommend this product, I'll certainly be buying more when I eventually run out.Pros:- Very durable- High quantity- Smooth flowing- Stylish and durable container (reminds me of an old ipod)- Amazingly cheap- Well packaged- Quick deliveryCons:- None so far, very pleased.

This tiny pack of pencil leads arrived tucked in with another item and I almost lost it, so do be careful if ordering with something else. Other than that, it is in perfect condition.Buying a mechanical pencil is one of the best things I have done art-wise, I love it.It does get through quite a lot of lead quite quickly, so this pack is perfect to have on standby.It gives a clear line without being too smudgy.I am really pleased with it, definitely recommend.I hope you find this review helpful, thanks for reading.

These are superb. They do snap very easily but this actually trains you to use a lighter touch. It’s very dark graphite and not too shiny unless you burnish it on purpose.Don’t buy them for technical illustrations because they smear easily (as you’d expect for the grade), but as a fine pointed lead for hatching through shapes with a nice dark tone on the first pass — or for stippling into the tooth of paper to create solid areas post shading — these are as good as it gets.