Faber-Castell TK9400 2mm 2B Clutch Pencil

I didn't even know mechanical pencils with this lead size even existed until last week when I watched a video on youtube of someone sketching with one. Having always hated wooden pencils this was a godsend for me. I immediately ordered one and have been trying it out all day. It has all the benefits of a thinner mechanical pencil (you can still draw really thin lines and cross hatch etc easily), and all the benefits of a wooden pencil without ever having to sharpen. You get the added advantage of being able to make the lead as long as you like for shading broad areas without having to get a knife out and chip away most of the wood and end up using up most of the pencil by the time you're finished. My only (minor) complaint is that the pencil itself is a little thin to hold and it does not have an eraser attached on the other end for convenience. If you prefer using thicker pencils then I would recommend getting a 1.4mm Grip Plus by Faber Castell (though it has slightly thinner leads). I've owned one of those pencils for a long time and it has been my all time favourite while sketching because it is very comfortable to hold and easy to control, though the one I own is only 0.7mm. In summary, if you love to sketch and you're a fan of mechanical pencils or don't want the fuss of wooden pencils but still want to shade easily, this pencil is highly recommended. But again, if you prefer holding a thicker pencil, go for a Grip Plus.

This is a beautifully engineered old-school pencil. It is based on an old dependable design, with few flaws. It is solidly built, sports 2mm hard-to-break lead, and comes without a rubber or sharpener (see images). The barrel is slim and easy to grip: teenagers and adults should be able to use it for protracted periods of time without cramps or sore fingers. It should also be usable, though possibly uncomfortable, for younger writers and artists. The 2mm lead will push this pencil into "art" rather than writing duties for many, however, once sharpened, it is suitable for text. As mentioned already the lead does not break easily during use. It can break when the pencil falls, but this is rare: if you're coming from .5mm leads you will think that these leads are unbreakable. Although it is marked HB, this pencil can take harder or softer lead, and I have successfully used 2mm 4B lead in mine. I recommend this pencil for students, artists and writers alike.

Well made, inexpensive for the quality, the right weight and size. Beautiful design when you look closely. I love it so much I own two, and will probably buy another. Lead is hard enough not to erode quickly, and can give lovely, dark lines all the way to light, soft tones. A pleasure to own and use.

I was recommended to use this pencil by a tutor.It seems good. However, now I have misplaced it. Thats the trouble when the cylinder colour is black easy to loose. I remember the pencil was good to use.

I found my drawings improved using these pencils. No shortening, constant size helps enormously when starting to learn graphite artistry. I promise that after using one of these pencils you will progress from stick men in quite a short while.

excellent pencil I use it all the time

Not a bad pencil but I was surprised that it wasn't better quality. It's made of plastic so feels cheap but works fine. I also found the 2B graphite to be rough, too hard and lighter than they should be. The staedtler clutch pencil and leads are better

I really like the simplicity of design. No extras, just a slim lightweight pencil without a clip, which is comfortable to use for sketching.