I am both a fan and a collector of mechanical pencils. I have two rotoring and one Pentel graph. I use the mechanical pencil extensively for notes as well as some free-hand drawing. The tech draw is solidly built, and the pencil fits firmly in your writing hand. The pencil is solidly built, and very weighted and balanced. I enjoy writing with it. There is simply no comparison between this tech-draw and a plastic-based mechanical pencil; the writing dynamics are not comparable. The cost is on the higher side, but if you can afford it, I will highly recommend this pencil for countless hours of pleasure writing and drawing.