Staedtler mars technico leadholder clutch pencil 2mm 780C

My husband has spent the entirety of his life drawing with wooden Koh-I-Noor pencils. I felt that now that he is creating professional portraits for selling, it was time to go for an upgrade. He felt a bit skeptical of this as he had never felt or held a pencil with 3 x the weight of his wooden pencils. But to our surprise the mechanical pencil feels sturdy, tight and buttery smooth to stroke - and it is his "Go To" instrument for fine art drawing, cartoons illustrations and sketching.It is odd to explain but casting the line work is much more fluid, giving a very clean stroke without crumbs/shavings influencing the texture of the graphite. Thanks to the pencil's adjustable lead grip and 2mm lead sticks, the taper control is much more trustworthy meaning that it can handle much more pressure for rendering, outlining and even handwriting. Not to mention grant the ability to adjust the lead length in full control to fit your habitual needs - just in case like my husband, you like to experiment with distancing the lead further away from the barrel.Without the worry of a splinter scratching the texture of paper, lead that is too delicate to work with, adjusting to a pencil that inevitably decreases in size or falling victim to damp degradation - you can guarantee good gripping distance, consistent weight and a dense lead that handles firm pressure extremely well. My husband carries this thing for sketchbook drawing, note taking and committed long illustrations for framing. If you have the funds to pick this up, do yourself a favor and invest in yourself. He cannot stress enough the improvement in his line quality and his confidence using pencils all day. If you can also afford an extra bit more, pick up the lead pointer as well. Sharpening 2mm lead with a cheap portable sharpener will otherwise spell doom to a crisp taper and chisel the lead into debris.

*bought over 5 of them*easy to hold and use*lead is easy to sharpen*very durable*no mess with wood shavings*I collect the graphite after sharpening and use it for backgrounds and when to "carbon copy" drawing templates so nothing is wasted*very easy to create a chisel shape for special effects in drawing

A great clutch pencil for all intensive purposes, has great form and function, true gem from Staedtler. Although a warning about the product that's being advertised with an 'integrated' sharpener. It isn't featured on the actual clutch pencil, when purchased from the seller known as 'AbbeyShake', when I confronted the seller about this issue, I was arrogantly told to just 'buy a sharpener from them', then subsequently all my emails afterwards were simply ignored. So my advice is to purchase a great clutch pencil, but just avoid 'Abbey Shake' and you will receive the advertised item.

This is considered THE classic clutch pencil among artists, engineers or architects and it is easy to see why. Firstly it is very well engineered and perfectly balanced without being too heavy or light. It is about 15cm from end to end (without lead). The main body is plastic and has a knurled metal grip which is comfortable to hold. It has a metal clip and push button that has an integrated lead sharpener. The pencil takes standard 2mm diameter leads and comes with 1 x HB lead. It can take other brands of lead without issues.Considering it is just a pencil, it is quite expensive and so are the Staedtler leads. But I think these are minor issues since this will last for years if looked after. It also does not change balance when the lead gets used up unlike a normal wooden pencil. This is the main advantage of a clutch pencil vs a normal one. Recommended.

Would buy again good pencil and has stood the test of time in the hands of a joiner

The perfect drawing instrument - I'd been meaning to buy one for years, having seen others use them, and wish I'd done it earlier. It sits very comfortably in the hand, it can be sharpened to needle point (with its own sharpener - which can't be used on any other clutch pencil, but then you don't need any others) and the leads are of extremely high quality, as you'd expect from this company. It's a timeless drawing implement, which can only improve drawing technique and will be, I hope, available for at least the rest of my artistic life. It's just a pleasure to use - it looks good, it feels right: it's one of the best investments in art materials that I've ever made.

A precise technical tool giving clean lines along with great value for money. Nifty idea that the clip acts as a reminder of the size of lead you're using, and the top contains a sharpener for the leads. Great little tool.

Excellent piece of equipment to have, I have owned one of these pencils for over thirty years, I have purchased more, to give to work colleagues 👌🏻