I’m probably not the best person to write a review on a mechanical pencil as I just don’t do drawing, neither do I have a technical bone in my body, if that makes sense. What I do have however is an interest in writing & anything a little bit different.
So, I’m more than happy to put pencil to paper & write a few lines on the Kura Toga Mechanical Pencil 0.5mm. The first question I want to ask is what does the name mean? Coming from the stable of a Japanese maker in Uni-ball there has to be a clue there surely. Well all I could come up with was that Kura means to turn, which does fit in with Uni-ball’s claim that the “exclusive mechanism rotates to help prevent lead breakage” as for Toga, all my mind conjures up is a picture Emperor Claudius.
Well back to the review, these mechanical pencils are available in a choice of 6 barrel colours & come in a blister pack containing a tube of 12 spare leads. My pencil has a black sleeve, the majority of which is transparent revealing a white internal barrel, this makes the overall appearance a cool smokey grey colour. The pocket clip is black & marked with the logo & lead size.
Something I’m not too keen on are the ridges just above the tip which form part of the grip section. This is not particularly comfortable & I therefore wouldn’t expect the Kura Toga to stand up to a long hard day at the office!
The automatic rotation of the lead is unique, this feature means you don’t need to alter your grip to prevent the line getting wider & creating a chisel effect as other mechanical pencils do and means that the Uni Kuru Toga is rated as one of the top 10 mechanical pencils.
The end cap also provides cover to a neat little eraser that proved very effective.
Whilst this pencil will no doubt be popular with those with a need for a mechanical pencil, their appearance for me is pretty basic. If you agree the top of the range Kura Toga Roulette might be of interest.
