Mechanical pencils use replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead". Students love them as they don't need sharpening. Mechanicals pencils are popular in fine-art drawing and neat writing in general.

The best mechanical pencil: Uni-ball Kuru Toga (rotates the lead as you write, making sure the point never goes blunt)

The second best mechanical pencil: Pentel Sharp P200 Series (classic design, long lasting)

The best mechanical pencil with a capped-pen look: Pentel Sharp Kerry (great for left hand writers)

The best mechanical pencil for metal drafting: Pentel Graph Gear 1000 (with a lead hardness indicator)

The best mechanical pencil with a side clicker (A side clicker lets you advance the lead without shifting your grip and having to reach all the way to the back of the pencil): Pentel Quicker Clicker

The best mechanical pencil with a (retractable) eraser: Pentel Twist-Erase III