Pens. Love ‘em. One of my greatest joys in my own time is to sit down with a pad of paper and my pencils and furiously Mind Map my latest ideas out. I can scribble away for hours, sketching out my ideas across endless pieces of paper.

Typical of people like me though, I am exceptionally choosey in the tools I use. I only like certain types (and indeed colours) of paper and when it comes to pens and pencils, I am so fussy that I’ll often stop and give up if I’m not holding a writing instrument I like. For me, my pens and pencils are part of the ingredients of my creative recipe.

So it was with some genuine curiosity that I picked up the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil. Before we go a step further, let me stress I don’t like Mechanical Pencils. These are the pencils that by pushing a button, feed the lead down through the body of the pen, when you hold the button down, you can retract the lead with a light pressure. You know the pen(cil) style that I mean?

Too often I find the lead is either too sharp, ripping harshly across the papers surface or too soft so that my writing or sketches become ‘blurred’ – the sense of precision is absent. In all honesty neither my writing nor sketches require that degree of precision, but if I want it and it’s not there, then picture teddies, pram and a fast exit from.

The Kuru Toga promises something a little different. After reading the packaging and grinning somewhat inanely, perhaps a little facetiously at “Exceeds British Standards”, (closely followed by ‘Made in Japan’) I opened the packet with improved humour. The Kuru Toga promises to rotate the lead as you write, keeping the edge appropriately sharp – and ensuring less breakage of the tip. Hmmm, we’ll see.

I set about writing “One, Two, three...” (you get the picture – very original for a journalist) speedily across paper I knew I liked. Sure enough, each time I was just getting worried that the tip was becoming too blunt, it seemed to sharpen up. I slowed down my writing and tried to watch what was happening. Sure enough, as I released and replaced the tip to the page, so it twisted, rotating the lead. Ha, the damn thing worked!

Now, the packaging hoots about 40 million Nano Diamond blended leads – frankly, I’ve not got a clue what that’s all about. A quick Google didn’t help much either. However, that groovy bit of obscure marketing aside, the simple fact is that this Mechanical pencil has the nicest ‘on paper’ sensation and output I’ve come across in all my years.

Finally, with a nice and reassuring secure cap at the top, there’s also a good quality eraser. Not that I make mistakes, of’en...
Regrettably, I’d already told PI should could have it after I finished the trial. Dammit.
At £7.99 RRP it’s not the cheapest pencil in the World but I get the feeling you’ll enjoy it more than most.

Available nationwide both online & in the high street - check Uniball's website for more details.