When it comes to mechanical pencils, the right lead can make all the difference between a delightful writing experience and one that is merely mediocre. Whether you’re using a 40-cent Bic or a $400 Montblanc, it’s the lead that determines how a pencil writes. Let’s take a look at our top pencil lead recommendations, then delve into an extensive comparison of all our lead brands.
The tradeoff for this luxurious smoothness and effortless erasability is reduced longevity. Uni Smudge-Proof leads aren’t quite as buttery, but they last notably longer. Contrarily, if even Neox leads don’t feel quite smooth enough for you, Rotring Tikky leads are the smoothest leads we have and just as dark as the Neox leads. They get used up much faster than even the Neox leads, however, and they’re less break resistant, less easily erasable, and only come in HB.
Ain Stein leads come in the widest selection of grades and sizes, including the ultra-fine 0.2 mm size (perfect for pairing with the Pentel Orenz 0.2 mm mechanical pencil).
If you’re looking for leads to go with a pencil you already own, then this part is easy. Just pick the one that matches your pencil. If you’re open to experimenting with new pencil sizes, however, there are some things to consider.
Thinner leads produce sharp, precise lines, but they’re also more delicate and get used up faster. Wider leads are smooth and relatively break-resistant, but they aren’t as precise and can produce inconsistent line widths as the lead wears down unevenly. (Unless you’re using a Kuru Toga pencil, of course.)
0.5 mm and 0.7 mm leads are the most popular, and they’re available in the widest selection of brands and lead grades, too. If you’re not sure which lead size to pick, these two are a good place to start.
Here are our recommended uses for each lead size:
| Lead Size | Recommended Uses |
|---|---|
| 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm | Extra-fine writing, detailed drawings, compact math equations |
| 0.5 mm | Everyday writing and drawing, math equations, applications that call for a variety of lead grades |
| 0.7 mm | Everyday writing and drawing, heavy-handed writers, applications that call for a variety of lead grades. |
| 0.9 mm and up | Bold writing and sketching, very heavy-handed writers |
For an even better look at all the different lead sizes there are to choose from, be sure to check out our guide!
But what do lead grades actually mean? Mechanical pencil leads are made of a mixture of graphite and a binder material such as clay. The more graphite is in the lead, the softer, smoother, and darker it will be. Conversely, the more clay is in the lead, the harder, toothier, and lighter it will be. Lead grades are a handy way of distinguishing which balance of these properties each lead has.
The mechanical pencil equivalent of a No. 2 pencil is HB lead, which is also the most popular grade of mechanical pencil lead. If you don’t know where to start, you can’t go wrong with an HB lead.
If you want an especially smooth and dark lead, we recommend a B or 2B lead. It can be tempting to go all the way out to 4B, but in our experience 4B leads are a bit too soft and prone to smudging for everyday writing.
On the other hand, if you want a slightly firmer, less smudge-prone lead, go for an H or F lead.
You can find more lead-grade-related information and recommendations in our guide to the best lead grade for every application.
Once you know the lead size and grade you want, the next step is deciding which brand to buy. The lead brand generally doesn’t make as much of a difference to the writing experience as the size and grade do, but it’s definitely still noticeable. Think of it as an opportunity to fine-tune your lead choice from good to great.
Read on to see which leads came out on top when we tested them head-to-head in six different categories. All of our tests were done with 0.5 mm HB leads (except Faber-Castell, only available in 0.7 mm), so please note that your experience with other lead sizes and grades may vary.
Very smooth leads give a luxurious writing and sketching experience, but for more precise work like math homework and technical drawing, we prefer the control offered by leads with more feedback. And as we mentioned earlier, a lead’s hardness grade has a huge impact on how smooth it is. If you want to increase the smoothness or feedback of your pencil, try using a softer or harder lead grade, respectively.
Another effective way to reduce lead breakage is with a lead-guarding mechanical pencil like the Zebra DelGuard.
We found the longest-lasting leads to be the Pentel Ain Stein and Uni Smudge-Proof leads. The Kaweco leads also last for a long time, but they break so much more easily that all but the lightest-handed writers will probably get less mileage out of them in the real world.
All longevity tests were performed using two clicks worth of lead in a Rotring 600 pencil (approximately 1 mm of lead), writing with the minimum pressure necessary to leave a dark mark. A full line in our testing was 37 5.0 mm squares on Rhodia paper. The vertical line near the end of most of the tests marks the "cutoff" where the pencil stopped writing well. Lead longevity will vary depending on your writing pressure.
Our testing was done using a Uni Boxy eraser and ordinary copy paper. We tested how cleanly each lead erased with a single pass of the eraser and when fully erased using as many passes as necessary.
There are a few leads we carry that aren’t necessarily important for everyone but have some interesting features that are worth mentioning.
Check out our guide to colored mechanical pencil leads for an extensive comparison of all our colored leads.
(If you try them and they’re a bit too thick, try a 0.9 mm lead instead.)
The E+M and Kaweco leads tend towards the lighter, less-smooth side of the lead spectrum.
Our writers draw on their personal expertise, consult our in-house subject matter experts, and do extensive research to make our guides as accurate and comprehensive as possible. We then test every finding that makes it through the research stage. Only the techniques and tools whose performance we personally confirm make it into our guides as recommendations.
- The Best Mechanical Pencils
- The Best Pencils: Wooden and Mechanical Pencils
- The Beginner’s Guide to Mechanical Pencils
- The Best Colored Mechanical Pencil Leads
- The Best Lead Guard Mechanical Pencils
- The Best Lead Grade For Every Application
- Mechanical Pencil Lead Size Comparison
- How to Clear a Mechanical Pencil Lead Jam
It's hard to go too wrong in the wide world of leads, but we hope this guide has helped you find the lead that's best for you. Have you got any lingering lead-related questions? Would you like to give a shout-out to your favorite mechanical pencil lead? We’d love to hear it in the comments below!
| Lead | Smoothness | Darkness | Break Resistance | Longevity | Erasability | Smudge Resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faber-Castell | Average | Less Dark | Good | Very High | Average | Good |
| Kaweco | Average | Less Dark | Low | High | Average | Very Good |
| LAMY M-series | More Feedback | Average | Average | Average | Good | Average |
| Pentel Ain Stein | Average | Less Dark | Good | High | Very Good | Good |
| Pilot Neox | Very Smooth | Dark | Good | Average | Excellent | Average |
| Rotring Tikky | Smoothest | Dark | Average | Low | Good | Average |
| Staedtler Mars | Average | Average | Average | Low | Good | Average |
| Tombow Mono Graph | More Feedback | Less Dark | Good | Average | Very Good | Very Good |
| Uni Hi-Uni | Smooth | Average | Good | Average | Excellent | Average |
| Uni Smudge-Proof | Smooth | Average | Good | High | Very Good | Good |
| Zebra DelGuard | More Feedback | Average | Good | Average | Excellent | Aveage |
- 1 Faber-Castell lead is only available in 0.7 mm, which understandably inflated its results. The surface area of the end of a 0.7 mm lead is about twice that of a 0.5 mm lead, leading us to speculate it should write around twice as much. Furthermore, testing with Ain Stein leads showed that an 0.7 mm lead wrote about 1.67 times as a 0.5 lead. This means that a hypothetical 0.5 mm Faber-Castell lead would likely have a longevity between 11 and 13 lines, which blows our other picks out of the water. However, given the odd circumstances of its testing, we’re not quite comfortable giving it the official crown. ↩
