Pentel Orenz Mechanical Pencil 0.3Mm Extra Fine Line, Red Barrel, Pack of 1 (PP503BP)

As far as basic mechanical pencils go, this one is is quickly becoming a new favorite of mine. The primary reason is because it is simply a well made, effective and no frills writing implement, that gets the job done. No shock absorbing spring setups, no double clutch lead advancement, no shaker mechanism, no twist-up eraser, no special ergonomic grip. This is just a simple, sleek, one-piece body, with a metal cap, metal clip, metal cone, coupled with a retractable guide pipe. It bears mentioning that the retractable guide pipe is not the same thing as a traditional "pocket safe" retractable tip. The guide pipe "floats" once extended, retracting as you wear down the lead, whereas a regular retractable tip would stay fixed in place once extended, and the lead would need to protrude past it in order to write anything.Of course, if using a guide pipe isn't your thing, you can certainly treat this pencil as any other by using the guide pipe as if it were any old retractable tip, but I actually find that it works as advertised too. That is, you click once to extend the pipe and then begin writing, with the lead barely exiting the pipe. The beveled edge of the pipe floats across the paper, just barely exposing enough lead to write, which protects the remaining few millimeters of lead inside the pipe (which retracts as the lead wears down, exposing more lead so you can keep writing). Essentially the pressure is on the pipe vs. the lead, so you avoid breakage almost completely. It sounds like it would be weird, but you actually can't feel any difference from using a regular fixed tip.For what it's worth, I actually picked this up primarily because I own other Pentel Orenz pencils, mainly in .3mm, and wanted to see how well the Orenz guide pipe system worked in .5mm. I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality on this vanilla version of the Orenz pencil, because the plastic seems denser and heavier than what is used on the metal-gripped version, which you can find here:  Pentel Mechanical Pencil, Orenz, with Metal Grip, 0.3mm, Navy (XPP1003G-C) . If I had to choose, I would take this pared-down, all-plastic, one-piece version every time. It's a much better value for the money, has the same metal parts aside from the grip, and much nicer plastic for the body. To put it another way, this is most certainly a case where less turns out to be more.

I use all sorts of pencils for sketching, drawing and writing — mechanical, wood cased, woodless. I also have many different brands. When it comes to mechanical pencils, many of my favorites are Pentel products. Among my Pentels, the Orenz is my favorite, nudging out even my Graphgear 1000s. It’s lightweight, well balanced, and so comfortable in hand. The plastic barrel has grooves running around it for the bottom 1/3 in length, and the grooves get progressively closer together as they approach the writing tip. This makes for a decent amount of grip.The unique protective pipe extends out once you click to start writing. If you click just one time, you’re ready to write or draw, and the lead barely protrudes beyond the pipe, giving lots of protection from breaking. The pipe slides back a bit as the lead wears. One click, start drawing, no distraction for clicking again to advance the lead.The Orenz is a simple, straightforward mechanical pencil that fits and works just the way I like it. I do wish it had an indicator to show me what the lead grade is.

I do a lot of small print writing, and this 0.3mm pencil serves my purposes well. The sliding metal sleeve that protects the lead is a nice feature. The only drawback is that the barrel comes only in red, while I would prefer black. I have encountered this issue with pencils from other manufacturers as well. I realize that drafting pencils are often color coded so that the user can quickly select the pencil with the appropriate lead size for the line width he needs; however, I don't need to choose between lead sizes. For me, barrel color is a matter of style, not function, and I prefer black for my writing implements. So, as for function, I have no complaints about this pencil. If it came in black, it would be perfect.

I have bought Orenz mech pencils in the past and love them. Nice weight, feel, nib and pleasant to draw and write with. HOWEVER, less than a week of owning this I started to find tiny bits of black plastic on my desk and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It dawned on me that it was from the black plastic up by the eraser end. I cleaned up the tiny plastic bits and threw them out but the following day or two, I found a few more plastic bits on my desk. It's slowly falling apart! I'm pretty sure this just missed quality control somehow because I do have other Orenz pencils and no problems with those. Grrr. Quality control isn't what it used to be.

I've been searching for a replacement for the Pentel PS535 since Pentel stopped making that model, in my opinion, the best mechanical pencil ever made. These work differently in that the protective sleeve is supposed to cover the lead, which can NOT extend past the sleeve. They work ok, but the extended sleeve is a problem snagging on shirt pockets, and I've had three of them so far, and they don't seem to last. After I dropped the first one on it's point-MY FAULT-- I ordered two more, but neither of them lasted more than a month. One the clutch seems to have failed-- the lead falls out of it, and the other seems not to allow the lead to feed.

Simple yet very ingenious design. I had to break my decades-long habit of extending the lead before I used this instrument- the guide sleeve slides as the lead wears down so must stay nearly even with the lead- not how any other mechanical pencils works and the impulse to extend the lead before writing is almost irresistible.But resist the urge and just write as-is until the lead wears all the way down, then extend it and start the cycle over again. If you do extend it beyond the sleeve, the lead will break. Always. This extremely small lead is very delicate so this brilliant design mitigates that issue.Love the very fine lines I get with this instrument!

I use a lot of mechanical pencils, some costing many times the cost of the pentel Orenz mechanical pencil. Yet this is the pencil I seek out more often than not. The clever sleeve that supports the lead is the main feature I like as it really does work and helps prevent lead breakage . The only thing I would like Pentel to do is release more upmarket versions of the 0.7 mm pencil just like they have with the 0.5mm versions.

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I love this in my sketching for initial draft, and final details!

El mecanismo que permite escribir sin sacar la puntilla es excelente. Evita que se quiebre la puntilla.

Bonito, sobrio y elegante. Su mecanismo de punta irrompible es mi favorito. Me encanta. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.