sorry . no comment on the 925 0.7 on writing perspective even though i have  the choice to choose between the 3 .I bought 0.5  that from kino without considering the 2 .i never use any pencil with lead size other than 0.5 .actually i only use buncho 0.5  never try other lead from other brand .I saw some lead can cost as high as RM10 for a tube .Will try out one day after i finish my buncho .

I just tried comparing the Buncho 2B (RM0.85) to Rotring Tikky B (RM12.90). Unfortunately both write and feel the same to me. The darkness is also almost the same although the grade is different, B and 2B. I really wanted the Rotring to feel different after paying a considerably high price for it, but it didn't happen.

Will try Pentel Ain Stein after this. Hopefully there will be a difference this time. I too use 0.5mm most of the time. All my mechanical pencils are in 0.5mm. Only the Staedtler 925 is in 0.7mm

this is the reason why i would rather spend money on pencil than lead itself.thanks ts for sharing your experience!

By the way, I'm ordering my last batch of pencils (hopefully) to try before I call it quits. Any experience with any of the mechanical pencils which I shortlisted below?

1. Pentel Smash (likely get one of this, quite expensive this one)
2. Pentel Orenz Metal grip
3. Pentel Graphgear 1000
4. Faber Castell Tk Fine
5. Faber Castell Apollo (cheap, below RM10)

Although I love to write using mechanical pencils, I have been using low quality ones throughout my early years either in school and when I started to work. The mechanical pencils either felt too light, the leads keep breaking or become loose when I was writing, or the tip of the lead got slanted which resulted in uneven and smeared letters. Also, some mechanical pencils got broken and stopped working after a while, and they had to be thrown away.

Later throughout the years, I got a better writing experience with a higher quality mechanical pencil with Pilot Supergrip and Flexgrip 0.5mm provided by my company. They really felt good in my hands and they seem to last very long too. So far after more than 2 years of usage, they still work fine and write very well. The leads rarely break too.

The Pilot Supergrip and Rexgrip are rather cheap, about RM3.30 for one piece, surely great value for money. And the common leads from brands such as Pilot and Buncho are very cheap too, and most importantly they are good. Having said that, I've never tried better mechanical pencils and leads, hence the purpose of this thread.

Just today out of curiosity, I've actually made an online purchase for the Staedtler 925-25, 925-35 and UnikuruToga Roulette. It's not of an impulse buy as have never owned a high quality mechanical pencil before. My question is, do the leads really matter? The Buncho and Pilot 2B polymer leads only cost RM0.60 to 0.80 around that range, but the upmarket brands of polymer lead cost up to RM12 or higher.

I just bought the Rotring Tikky polymer lead for RM12.90, and there are only 12 pieces. The Buncho leads only cost RM0.64 for 24 pieces. Big price difference.

Back to the question, does the quality of lead matter, and if yes what is usually recommended? There is a huge price difference between the Buncho / Pilot polymer leads and the boutique brands from the likes of Rotring etc.

My collection.

Pretty new, haven’t tried all the leads I bought yet. Haven’t been writing much.

Currently using no.4 in 0.7mm config. I like the feel of it, quite balanced in my hand. They actually sell a newer version called TK Fine Vario but yet to be introduced in our market.

On your write up for the lead, Buncho has come a long way perfecting it

Oot but what pens do you use?  I'm using Faner Castell Grip X7 but they suck after i dropped them a couple of times.

Where did you get your case from?[COLOR=red]

haha, another mechanical pencil thread. I can post out one of my most expensive mechanical pencils, the Staedler Reg 925 85-05.