The Uni Kuru Toga is my favorite pencil. I have been using the alpha gel versions for years, but nowadays, I tend to reach for this one more often (even though I still appreciate the squishy grip on the alpha gel for long study sessions!) This pencil is very lightweight but sturdy and well-built. The graphite sleeve keeps it from breaking, and the graphite inside is of good quality. My only complaints are that the grip is a bit small, so it might not be great for everyone, depending on how high or low you hold your pencil, and the cap on the eraser is a bit difficult to remove. Perhaps the plastic grip could be a problem for some people, but it hasn't broken off for me, and I don't think it will any time soon. Overall, great pencil. I received this pencil as a gift ... MoreThe Uni Kuru Toga is my favorite pencil. I have been using the alpha gel versions for years, but nowadays, I tend to reach for this one more often (even though I still appreciate the squishy grip on the alpha gel for long study sessions!) This pencil is very lightweight but sturdy and well-built. The graphite sleeve keeps it from breaking, and the graphite inside is of good quality. My only complaints are that the grip is a bit small, so it might not be great for everyone, depending on how high or low you hold your pencil, and the cap on the eraser is a bit difficult to remove. Perhaps the plastic grip could be a problem for some people, but it hasn't broken off for me, and I don't think it will any time soon. Overall, great pencil. I received this pencil as a gift years ago, and I'll never use a pencil that isn't a Kuru Toga again!

5-star quality, 4-stars for writing English characters.It seems that the Kura Toga was specifically designed for writing Japanese symbols, so this makes sense.It's essentially a (in my opinion) less aesthetically appealing Kura Toga Roulette, and there may be other various nuanced differences that I'm not quite aware of.If you really want the rotating lead feature to function as advertised, you may want to go with the Advance model if you're an English writer

I've been using the Kuru Toga for six months now, and I have absolutely fallen in love with it.As an artist, I personally find mechanical pencils to be easier on my hands, and overall offer more control with linework. However, the chisel nib is the bane of my existence and has always put a damper on what I think is a wonderful type of drawing supply.The Kuro Toga solved all of those problems, and my drawings have been clean and precise ever since I began using it!I use it on the daily and must say that it still looks as good as it did the day I received it in the mail, which says something, as unfortunately my mechanical pencils can be treated rather brutally in my backpack. Normally the pencil's I've used tend to look really dingy and sad by now!There are ... MoreI've been using the Kuru Toga for six months now, and I have absolutely fallen in love with it.As an artist, I personally find mechanical pencils to be easier on my hands, and overall offer more control with linework. However, the chisel nib is the bane of my existence and has always put a damper on what I think is a wonderful type of drawing supply.The Kuro Toga solved all of those problems, and my drawings have been clean and precise ever since I began using it!I use it on the daily and must say that it still looks as good as it did the day I received it in the mail, which says something, as unfortunately my mechanical pencils can be treated rather brutally in my backpack. Normally the pencil's I've used tend to look really dingy and sad by now!There are obviously a few things to consider before buying any Kuru Toga pencil: there can be a learning curve (using it for the first time can feel a little "bouncy") before using it to its full potential, and that the eraser on the Kuru Toga is very, very small. This can be a dealbreaker if you're into a bigger eraser on your mechanical pencil.Overall, as one of my first purchases on JetPens, I can't be happier with it.

This is a great mechanical pencil. It’s almost perfect.Pros - lightweight yet feels sturdy, looks great, lead is well protected so it doesn’t easily break, 0.7 size is perfect for me, reasonable cost.Minor cons - doesn’t hold a lot of lead (but lead tends to last long since there’s little breakage), lead rotation is in very small increments so I still need to manually rotate the pencil.In spite of the minor cons, I highly recommend this mechanical pencil.

I want to love this pencil, but I don’t. I love the concept, but the construction of this barrel does not work for me. I don’t know if I am an “aggressive” presser or gripper or what— no one else seems to have this problem—but the bottom components often loosen up and come out of alignment. This happens gradually, over time, but it’s very obnoxious and sometimes uncomfortable. I have to continually tighten. I also just hate that weird jutting ring. It’s uncomfortable.I am a notorious lead snapper, so I prefer pens with a lead spring and pencil sleeve. Wish this was it for me, may try a fancier version sans raised ring.

I first found these pencils in a different store, but I wanted to get a 0.7 lead version for writing notes and doing mathematics. I love the auto-rotating feature and I will warn you it takes some getting used to, but once you do it's amazing. It's funny how much you realize that shifting a pencil in your hand so much can drastically affect the clarity of your writing.

Ahhh old reliable.. I made this "splurge" purchase my last year of middle school.. I am now about to graduate with an Associates. This pencil has lasted me about 7 years and still going strong. I've used it for so long I'm used to the kuru toga system. If I use any other pencil without it, I notice. I use both cursive and print (but mostly print) and still I'd say it's worth it. After writing this, I realized that I've paid about a dollar every year to use a pencil... lol

I bought this along with the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Auto Rotation Mechanical Pencil 0.5 - Violet Standard model, and they are identical in almost every single aspect I can think of.However, that is A GREAT THING as that is what I hoping for!The only mini difference I experienced is that the erasers between the two are a bit different??? The violet one's eraser erased dark strokes just a smidge better, but maybe it might just be my imagination.That aside, the lead in these pencils are superb! Strong sturdy lead with a good darkness! Actually quite surprised how thick and dark it looks and feels for a 0.5! This is incredible for me personally as I generally prefer 0.7 leads for my standard, so I took a real gamble on these and I was not disappointed at all!Rather, I ... MoreI bought this along with the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Auto Rotation Mechanical Pencil 0.5 - Violet Standard model, and they are identical in almost every single aspect I can think of.However, that is A GREAT THING as that is what I hoping for!The only mini difference I experienced is that the erasers between the two are a bit different??? The violet one's eraser erased dark strokes just a smidge better, but maybe it might just be my imagination.That aside, the lead in these pencils are superb! Strong sturdy lead with a good darkness! Actually quite surprised how thick and dark it looks and feels for a 0.5! This is incredible for me personally as I generally prefer 0.7 leads for my standard, so I took a real gamble on these and I was not disappointed at all!Rather, I was impressed!This mechanical pencil's grip is what I love most about it. Even though it has no gel or cushion grip, the little rubberized insert as the bottom works very well, and doesn't hurt my hand for extended amounts of use. The pencil is about a medium-to-light weight, but handles well.*I also have fairly small hands so that could be a factor as to why the weight feels a little more hefty compared to how others have described it*And that rotation mechanism that Kuru Toga is known for? Works phenomenally, nothing more than I can say than that. The lead hasn't broken once after 3 hours use.All and all, AMAZING MECHANICAL PENCIL!

When I saw Jetpens showcasing this item in one of their videos, I scoffed at the idea. Why spend extra money on a rotating mechanical pencil when you can just turn the pencil yourself?A couple weeks later and I am met with the exact problem I ridiculed the solution for. If you write at an angle and your lines are becoming too thick all the time, your lead twisting back to the position you were trying to move it from, then this might just be the pencil for you. It really does work and it has a good weighted feeling to it that I never really felt in other mechanical pencils before.But then again, I guess you could just break off the slanted piece of lead of your other pencil. Your choice!