Common Features and Gimmicks

Common Features and Gimmicks:

Manufacturers are known for integrating lots of different mechanisms into basic mechanical pencil structures. Here are some common ones, with examples of pencils that have them:

• Double Clutch: Most pencils waste about 20% of a piece of lead, since the tip of the pencil is too far for the clutch to grasp. Pencils with a double clutch can grasp the lead much more closer to the tip, therefore wasting much less lead. 

• Double Knock: A type of knock that when pressed fully protracts or retracts the lead sleeve, and dispenses lead when half-pressed.

• Spinning Lead (Kuru Toga): An issue with common pencils is that when you keep writing, the lead forms a chisel tip, which can break easily and writes much thicker. You can solve the problem by rotating your pencil when the lead looks like it’s about to form a chisel tip, though this can be a chore if you’re writing for long periods of time. Kuru Toga pencils feature an ability to automatically rotate the lead a tiny bit every time you write and lift the lead of the paper. Because of the spinning lead, you don't have to rotate your pencil anymore. The Uni Kuru Toga is generally the only pencil to be well known with this feature.

• Retractable Lead Sleeves:  These pencils allow you to retract the metal lead sleeve into the pencil, preventing damage.

• Sliding Sleeve: This feature works by having the lead sleeve slide back as lead is consumed. This allows you to write with minimal lead exposed, therefore reducing the event of breaking lead. However, this means you’ll most likely be writing with the metal lead sleeve touching the paper, and it can be scratchy for many people. 

• Automatic lead Advancement : A feature where the pencil automatically dispenses lead as you write.

• Pressure Cushion: A mechanism where a spring allows the lead to go slightly back into the lead sleeve when too much pressure is applied, absorbing the impact so the lead piece won't break. Usually, pencils can only do this with vertical pressure, but special pencils like the Zebra Delguard can also handle side pressure.

• Grips:

• Wood Grip: A grip made of wood, usually with a layer of resin on top of it. The wood usually feels warm. However, since the process of making wood grips can be long and difficult, it is usually more expensive than other grips. The wood can get darker as it ages.

• Soft and Squishy Grip: These grips are known to make your hand comfortable for long writing sessions, however, they can easily attract dust and graphite particles, and are extremely hard to clean. Some people may not like these, as the squishiness can sometimes lessen control over the pencil. 

• Metal Grip: Grips that get warmer the more you use it, and are very durable. These grips often have some sort of texture to retain grip, as plain metal can be slippery and hard to grip. They tend to have some more tip weight, which some people like, and it conducts heat, so it can be hot or cold depending on the temperature.

• Knurled Grip: Commonly found in drafting pencils, knurled grips are a type of metal grip, and are liked because of the grip it provides. However, grips with sharper knurling can hurt sensitive hands when writing with them for long periods of time.

• Dual Grip: Grips that have inlays of another material (e.x. metal grip with rubber dots on it)

• Rubber Grips (Not to be confused with Soft and Squishy Grips): These grips aren’t usually too squishy, but are meant to feel soft, and tend to have some sort of pattern on them for grip. However, these can degrade quickly if not taken care of correctly.

• No Grip: When there isn’t a specific grip, and the grip area is just an extension whatever the body is textured. Sometimes, the opposite can happen, where the entire body is an extension of what ever the grip is.

• Textured grip: when the material of the body and grip is the same, but the grip section will have a certain texture so it is comfortable to hold. The grip section often protrudes from the body when this type of grip is in place, to distinguish the grip from the body.

• Shakers: A type of mechanism where you can shake the pencil to dispense lead, which can be good when you don’t want to knock and regrip the pencil. However, Shakers can get loud, so it would be good to invest in a quiet shaker pencil. When shaker pencils are shuffled around, they can accidently dispense lead. For this reason, there are pencils that allow you to lock the shaker mechanism. 

• Multi-Function: Multiple pencils and/or pens integrated into one. Some come with others like erasers, and can usually be customized to fit your preferences.

• Lead Grade Indicator: An adjustable dial that can show what lead grade (HB, B, H, etc.) the pencil is using. They can be useful if you have multiple lead grades in different pencils. These are found in many drafting pencils.

• Regulators: When you can adjust how much lead you want dispensed with each knock.

• Low lead indicators: These pencils have a window showing if you are running out of lead, and change color. Because of this feature, you may have to take apart your pencil differently if you need to clean it.

• Twist-Up Erasers: Pencils with an exposed eraser that have a knob you can turn to extend and retract a long eraser piece.