Pentel Sharp Kerry Mechanical Pencil

Let me backtrack. This is the item that initiated all of the recent writing instrument madness. I'm certain that there are better, more expensive, and higher quality mechanical pencils out there. That said, this thing is all kinds of awesome compared to the disposable crap that I've been using for countless years. I find it a little odd that I never acquired one of these sick ass pencils before, because I grew up around mechanical pencils and drafting equipment (thanks to the great man that raised me), and I'm told that the Sharp Kerry has been around forever.

I love the design of this pencil. First of all, it's capped to protect the tip, the lead, and your person. The lead can be advanced when the cap is off by pressing the tail button you see in the first picture. When the cap is posted, however, a button at the end of the cap engages the tail button so that the lead can still be advanced. Nice touch. The typical useless tiny Pentel eraser is located under the button on the cap, and the button on the body itself can be removed to refill the lead. The Sharp Kerry comes in a variety of colors and is widely available on the Internet and elsewhere.

I noticed one slight imperfection that is making my anal retentiveness go to eleven. As I was taking these pictures I noticed that the color of the cap doesn't quite match the color of the body. I blamed Amazon and returned it for a replacement item, but the same barely-detectable color shift is there. So perhaps the cap and the body are made from a different material that is causing the color variation. I'll just have to get over it and/or buy a different colorway!