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I write a lot. I carry many bags. I’m untidy. I own and use many mechanical pencils. Some of them good, some of them bad, most of them pink. Here are my favorites.

Pentel Sharp Kerry:

The Kerry is hands-down the best pencil I own, in a very practical sense. It’s not beautiful; its oddly shiny-and-gridded midsection that looks grippy but is too high to function as such is just gaudy. The pencil was introduced at least 30 years ago, but I can’t imagine that ever looked good. But it’s such a well-engineered, functional pencil that it’s hard to rail on too much. It’s kind of the pencil version of 70s Japanese ‘pocket pens’ in that it has a cap, and it ‘grows’ to a usable size when said cap is posted. A pencil introduces its own challenges, of course, so the cap actually has its own lead advance button (which contains the eraser) that interfaces with the main advance. The cap obviates the need for a retraction method, so the Kerry lives comfortably in a pocket or a bag. I don’t have a bag without a Kerry in it.

Uni Kuru Toga High Grade:

Uni’s Kuru Toga is one of the most meaningful innovations in mechanical pencil mechanisms as far as I’m concerned. With a 2.0mm lead, or possibly even down to a 1.3mm, one might sharpen their lead with a purpose-built rasp or a lead pointer. Get much narrower, and your leads are all over the place. I use 4B whenever possible, and 2B otherwise, so this is less of a problem for me, but it’s still nice to find ways to mitigate problems. The Kuru Toga mechanism rotates the lead by a tiny amount every time you press it to paper. This mechanism is a bit ‘spongy’, perhaps, almost like a pencil with a suspension mechanism. I found it very easy to adjust to, but I’ve heard of others taking issue with it. The High Grade has an aluminum grip, which I like the weight and feel of, but others may prefer the rubber grip model.

Pilot Clutch Point:

This pencil is fairly maligned, and I understand why. The aforementioned pencils (and the following pencils) all use an internal clutch mechanism, and have a straight lead sleeve. Straight lead sleeves are great for draughting; they slide perfectly along a straightedge. I, personally, don’t like them all that much for writing, however. The internal mechanism brings with it other advantages. Keeping the mechanism protected, and having the lead held straight by the sleeve before the clutch means far less breakage. The Pilot Clutch Point exposes the clutch right at the front of the pencil, and if you don’t treat it with respect, it will jam. Badly. But when it works, it has a nice, pointy mechanism that will hold the shortest bits of lead known to humankind. It may very well be my favorite pencil for everyday writing.

Pentel Sharp Pocket:

The baby sister of the Kerry, I suppose? Much thinner, slightly shorter, and with a much more Biro-like cap that doesn’t really extend the pencil whatsoever. Great for attaching to a diary or the like. Works as well as any Pentel does. Very light.

Staedtler 775:

I guess the pink one is only available in Korea, but it does exist, and one can find it on eBay, so I say it counts. The 775 is a classic draughting Staedtler. It has a retracting point, but you have to ram it in to get it to do so. This has its ups and downs, being a simple retraction system makes it incredibly steady when engaged. But it’s also hard to disengage, and you risk breaking the lead or bending the sleeve.

Zebra Color Flight:

A really cheap pencil, but bonus points for coming in three shades of pink. It also has one other neat trick up its sleeve – much more eraser than the typical mechanical pencil, extended by rotating the advance. The plastic feels cheap, nothing to write home about. But considering how cheap they can be, the Zebra Color Flight pencils are actually pretty nice.