Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this pencil because I wanted to try out an even thinner lead diameter than .5 and this seemed to be a good quality and fairly inexpensive option at only 6 dollars or so. The pencil arrived by itself in a box with a bar code sticker on it, no packaging or anything, so that is somewhat odd. At least it does include lead already inside the pencil but not much, only 2 strips. First impressions are that it is smaller, thinner, and lighter than I expected. The picture made it look like it would be thicker and I assumed the metal parts would make the pencil pretty heavy. It is comfortable to hold and it’s a great weight, light but not cheap or hollow feeling. The texture on the metal grip feels nice. Not too rough which I was worried about. The mechanical action feels solid but precise and delicate. There does not seem to be any looseness in the pencil while writing. I really like how the eraser is very easily removable and extendable; it is also nice and small for detailed erasing. This is the first time I have ever used .3 size lead. The thickness is visually significantly thinner, but when I put it to paper the difference from .5 lead is actually not that apparent. The lines I am getting are not much thinner but they are lighter, and the lead digs into the paper more easily leading to a scratchier feel. I will need to use this pencil for a while and see how I get used to it. The lead breaks more easily but with normal writing pressure I don’t think this is a problem. You will probably tear through the paper with the sharp thin lead if you use it with enough force to come close to breaking it. I keep the lead about 3 clicks in length. The reason why I went for .3 to begin with is because even .5 was just a tiny bit too thick for me at times, so I think I will come to value the .3’s edge over .5 for this. Edit: Now that I have been using it awhile, the .3 is quite nice. I bought some uni dia lead for it and it is much smoother than the stock lead. I find it much easier to cram in tiny words when I start running out of space. Edit: I am still using this as my favorite pencil 5 months later and it still works perfectly. Hope this gives confidence in this product for anyone who wants to try it. I'm surprised I have not lost it yet actually, best $6 I ever spent. BONUS INFO: When peeling off the bar-code there was some residue left over so I immediately took some goo-gone solvent to it to take it off. The plastic is not chemically resistant at all, and immediately smudged and weakened where I applied the solvent. Thankfully I didn't use more than I did. I suggest just using water for the residue and gently scratching it off.