Staedtler 925 25-07 mechanical pencil review

The Staedtler 925 25-07 is a metal barrelled mechanical pencil available in 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 or 2mm versions. They can be found for around £16 in the UK or $20 in the US.

This is a very well constructed pencil. There is a slight wobble to the knock but other than that everything is solid. The clip is reasonable and removable if you don’t want it.

The knurled metal grip is comfortable to hold and, together with the stylish step down to the lead sleeve, extremely well engineered. The pencil is light but feels robust. It makes for a good writing experience. The lead is held firmly and advances smoothly. The lead holder has space for several spare leads. The grade indicator ranges from 2B to 3H, including F.

The lead size is shown by a big number on the end on the Japanese import versions, like this one, or by a coloured ring otherwise. The number is hard to miss and adds to the technical feel of the pencil.

Under the knock there is the usual barely-worth-bothering-with eraser, as well as a clearing pin. The eraser works but it’s pretty small.

I like this pencil a lot. The quality is every bit as good as the Rotring 600 and I prefer how it looks, subjective though that is. The Rotring wears its engineering on the outside (and looks great for it); this Staedtler keeps it all wrapped up. The looks, the quality and the sheer pleasure of writing with it make it (currently) my favourite mechanical pencil.