Kuru Toga Advance Upgrade Model Mechanical Pencil 0.5mm Navy

The Kuru Toga engine solves the oldest annoyance in mechanical pencils: the lead wears into a wedge, the line gets fat, and you end up rolling the pencil in your fingers to compensate. A gear in the tip rotates the lead a fraction with every press-and-release of the stroke, so it wears into an even cone and the line stays the same width and darkness from the first word to the last. The Advance Upgrade Model is the top of that family: the mechanism turns the lead at roughly double the speed of the original Kuru Toga, and a pipe slide tip lets the guide pipe retract gradually so you can write the lead almost all the way down without the metal sleeve dragging on the page. The body is ABS resin with a coated brass grip that lowers the center of gravity, finished here in a deep navy. It runs 141.0mm long, about 10.7mm across the barrel, and weighs 15.9g - substantial in the hand without being tiring. Takes 0.5mm lead. Made in Japan by Mitsubishi Pencil.

1. Write with normal pressure and let the tip lift naturally between strokes - the rotation engine is driven by that press-and-release cycle, so there is nothing to switch on.
2. Load 0.5mm leads through the top of the barrel after removing the knock cap; HB and B show the even-cone effect most clearly.
3. Do not rotate the pencil by hand as you write. The mechanism is already turning the lead for you.
4. If the sliding pipe stays retracted, click the knock a few times to advance fresh lead through it.
5. Wipe the brass grip and painted barrel with a dry or barely damp cloth, and keep solvents away from the finish.