I did not believe the hype on this pencil. I mean, how great can a simple pencil be, right? Pencils are pencils. Then, on a lark, I tried it. And now I believe the hype on this pencil.

Taking this thing top to bottom, first is the eraser. Now, I will say you can't pop an eraser top on this thing because of the odd shape. It will just split after a little use. However, you don't need to. These erasers are replaceable. You just pull the thing out and put in a new one. The eraser is pretty long -- most of it is inside the pencil -- and you can just pull more out to lengthen it until you need to replace it. For an exact length, the eraser fills the metal on top for as far as the metal is flattened to its shape, aka about 7/8 of an inch. I took it out and measured it.

The only downside is the unusual shape of the eraser means it won't fit into a standard pencil extender.

The barrel is faceted, which makes it easier to hold and less likely to roll off the table. It has a warm wood and feels nice in the hand. It has a good grip.

No special care is needed in sharpening these, which is good because I can't seem to sharpen the ones that do need special care (6B and softer or soft charcoal) without loosing a good inch on them. These I just stick in a mechanical sharpener, a twist sharpener, whatever, and they come out fine.

The lead is softer than a typical HB pencil, but not by much. The line is a smidgen darker, when exactly the same pressure is placed on both, but there is more difference from pressure than from pencil. That is, a standard #2 can make a darker line than this with a heavier hand and this can make a lighter line than a #2 with a lighter touch, but the lightest this makes isn't quite as light as the lightest a #2 can make and the darkest this makes is darker than the darkest a #2 can make, if that makes sense. I'd put it as a B maybe, just one darker than an HB. It matches my Faber Castel B for line anyway. But these designations vary brand to brand. The line erases well enough with a light hand, but is tricky to erase if you press hard, which is, I guess, typical of pencils. This is their premier writing pencil, but I use it as a sketch pencil to get the basic lines in before darkening with the Blackwing.

Warning, these pencils are addictive. Once you start writing or drawing with them, you won't want to stop.

I am a teacher and a pencil enthusiast. I absolutely love these pencils. I've purchased dozens of brands and styles and there is no doubt, these are the best. Classy, unique and extremely productive. The replaceable erasers are more than a novelty. The pencils last many weeks when used on a daily basis if taken care of. You barely need to apply pressure to get a dark, deep and bold led craft on paper. Well worth the money if you take care of these things. Warning: people will steal these and take them home. Don't leave them out in the open.

Not all pencils are created equal. I've been doing a lot of recreational writing by hand this year, so my cheap basic pencils have not been cutting it. These come out to about $2 a pencil even with free shipping, but am I ever grateful to have splurged on them. They write smoothly as silk, and even relieve the pressure of my naturally heavy grip some. The always writing is clear, precise, and dark. They seem thicker in my hand than cheap pencils, solid and nicely weighted. The wood is substantial, and has never dropped the lead or splintered beyond repair, not once and I'm almost done with my first one. This makes them last a lot longer than cheapies, too. The eraser is wide and also lasts very long, extending when it gets worn down. They look beautiful, so they would also be a great gift for anyone who writes or draws a lot by hand. One hundred pages in a notebook so far, and the best-looking writing is defininately on the pages written by the Blackwings. I previously tried Staples brand (worst), and USA Gold (decent for the low price but still broke point and dropped lead often, did not last as long as the Blackings). I use my other stationary for shopping lists and things like that, but for long writing, I can't see myself going back to another brand!

Nice pencils. Expensive.

It's helpful to note that this lead core is actually thinner than most drawing pencil leads; Tombow and Uni, for example, have thicker leads meaning that they tend to last longer. Considering how expensive these pencils are, it's a shame they are thinner. However, these are writing pencils, not drawing pencils, so I can understand the design perspective behind it.

I like most everything about the pencil. It's a bit too light for me; I prefer the pearl for a 2B grade darkness. Not a huge fan of the eraser holder. The eraser is convenient and you can pull it out to adjust the length as it gets used up, but it's not very secure when it's put back in.

I just love these pencils for my college homework. They are very smooth writing without the scratchy feel that many pencils have. The line is dark but can be easily erased with either the pencil's eraser or, for the bigger jobs, a white polymer eraser. Due to the unique ferrule/eraser these pencils are longer than most and I've had a challenge finding a pencil case that would easily accommodate them. For the inveterate life-hackers out there, you can customize your pencil with several different colors of eraser. As others have said, these pencils are on the pricey side, but they are superior to the common office supply store/retail store office aisle brands and I will continue to purchase them in the future. I am able to comfortably use a Blackwing pencil until they reach about two inches in length and that translates into a box of 12 lasting through a 16 week semester. All in all, that's an acceptable cost-benefit ratio.