Some people, including many of our testers, prefer the heft and hand feel of a solid metal drafting pencil, even if they know it doesn’t have the same lead-rotating tricks of the Uni Kuru Toga. If you have an affinity for the heavier weight and cool-metal feel of upscale writing implements, and if you tend not to lose your pencils, the Pentel GraphGear 1000 is a good investment in enjoyable writing.

The GraphGear 1000 is usually more than twice the price of the Kuru Toga Pipe Slide, but you’re likely to understand why when you hold the pricier pencil in your hand. It’s a metal drafting pencil with a knurled metal grip dotted with latex pads. The clip turns on a pivot rather than simply being attached to the frame, and pressing on the top of the clip retracts the metal tip with an extremely satisfying spring-click. If you like to keep multiple kinds of lead stocked, whether to use in different pencils or to reslot into a pencil like this, the GraphGear 1000 has a small window on its rotating barrel that you can rotate to track the type of lead inside (HB, B, 2B, and so on). As for looks, the GraphGear 1000 is about as impressive-looking a writing implement as you can buy before you get into Montblanc territory.

Nearly half of Wirecutter staff testers thought the GraphGear 1000 felt smoother for writing than the Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide or the Pentel Sharp, and more than half said they preferred the GraphGear 1000’s looks over those of any other pencil. “I really like the stable and sturdy feel of the Graphgear 1000. It glided on the paper better than the others,” wrote one staffer. “The Graph Gear feels like the last mechanical pencil I'd ever have to buy,” said another. “I love the heft, grip, and details that went into the design.” And another tester commented, “I just like the pop of the retracting mechanism on the pocket clip,” adding that it’s “clever and it feels cool.” The GraphGear 1000 also picked up the most compliments on its cap-covered eraser, with many testers noting that eraser’s firmness over the Kuru Toga eraser.

The problems that testers noted with the GraphGear 1000 mostly came down to preference. One did not like “how fancy the Graph Gear feels.” A few noted that it would feel heavy in a shirt pocket, or that it simply felt too heavy in the hand. Reviewers, including Dave's Mechanical Pencils and OfficeSupplyGeek, note that although the clicking and retraction mechanism on the GraphGear 1000 is powerful and reassuring, it can also smart if you catch your finger in it going in, or if it smacks you going back out (something that I know all too well).