Paper Mate PhD Mechanical Pencil, Retractable, 0.50 mm, Black Cherry Barrel (67002)

I have the dr grip .5mm, and this one, and honestly, I prefer the Ph.D. I had one back in high school and wish I would have kept it, but I didn't really appreciate it like I should have then. They have went up about $5-6 since then. It has a heft that makes it feel solid, it has a huge eraser compared to dr grip's itty bitty one, and the triangular grip feels amazing, and just more natural. I understand they also have another Ph.D version that is cheaper and uses more plastic. I have never used it, so I'm not going to comment about it, but I just wanted to make it known I'm referring to the more expensive one in my review. To help tell the difference, the cheaper one has a more bulbous, plastic end section (by the lead), and the higher quality one has a very arrow shaped, metal end. I almost bought the wrong one, and would have been frustrated, because it would not have been the pencil I remember, THIS is the pencil I remember. Overall it is a great pencil, feels amazing, and has an awesome eraser. If you prefer a darker lead, I would suggest using your preferred brand, because the lead this comes with writes very light.

This is probably the best mechanical pencil I've ever had. This would have been my dream pencil during my college days when I used a pencil constantly. Plusses: - Retractable tip so I can sit down with it in my pocket without stabbing myself - Very comfortable grip with indentations so it nestles in between your 3 fingers - Excellent twist-out extensible eraser - soft and plentiful (I believe over an inch long). This is critical for me because so many mechanical pencils have tiny erasers so I'm constantly replacing them. - Nice solid heft - heavier than a regular pen or pencil, but not as heavy as some of the ones I've seen in fancy pen and pencil gift sets. Minuses: - The erasers seem to be a bit hard to find, and very overpriced here on Amazon. Other places seem a bit cheaper). - The retractable tip is "manual": you have to hold down the lead advancer button while pushing the tip in. My old college favorite pencil had a 2-stage button where a short press advanced the lead and a long press retracted/extended the tip. I really miss that, but that pencil had a crappy eraser, so the PhD wins in any case.)

I purchased this pencil by mistake and didn't feel like going through the trouble of returning it. I intended to buy the 3-way PHD pen/pencil with .05 pencil, red & black ink. I am okay with the PHD with multi use. Not sure how I got this one. THIS PENCIL is quite wide for JUST a pencil, which I don't like. It's just too big and IMO it's expensive too. Pencils get lost, stolen, broken, just a pencil. I prefer the skinner Pentel P205 engineering type pencils. Simple, effective, basic. It it feels sturdier because it's so thick. The rubber tip feels nice, but the rubber does not fit really nice on the the pencil tip. The tip retracts into the pencil by using the eraser end. Press and hold the eraser end in the same way you extend lead out of the tip and push the tip into the pencil. It extends out again when you press the eraser again. The eraser extends by twisting it. HAVING A LOT OF ERASER IS THE BEST PART OF THE PENCIL.

So I've been using these PhD pencils for a long while now, and I was pleased to find this model because they don't seem to make them much any more. Here's the gist need to know before considering buying it: -It's overpriced. I saw a six pack of these at big lots one time for $8, which was amazing. If only I bought ten boxes of them then. That said, this pencil is solid. -The pencil is solid, but it's also pretty heavy and bulky (the picture'll give you a fair idea about that.) -The twisting eraser is probably the main feature of the pencil that makes it worth it. It's easy to use, lasts a long time, but may depress after a while. -If you get unlucky, the tip might stop working after a while. I've had a few of these that've last me years and a few of that've last me days. It's unfortunately inconsistent, but often the graphite-immobilizing mechanism might fail and you can't write with the pencil any more.

The pencil is attractive but more bulky than I had imagined. However, the advertisement states that the Papermate PhD Mechanical Pencil, #67002, is retractable, which it definitely is not! I had intended to carry this pencil with me in my purse and not have the lead exposed but alas, not to be! Guess I'll have to just use it at my desk and hopefully someone else will like it and I'll start looking for a real retractable pencil.