Pentel Smash

I’ve been using mechanical pencils for about fifteen years. I’ve owned the Rotring 600, the GraphGear 1000, the Staedtler Mars Technico, and a dozen cheap plastic jobs that broke within weeks. The Pentel Smash is the one that stayed in my hand the longest. Not because it’s the most expensive or the most feature-packed, but because it does one thing better than almost anything else: it disappears in your hand. Let me explain why that matters, and whether this pencil is actually right for you.

What Makes the Pentel Smash Different from Every Other Drafting Pencil

The Smash is a drafting pencil first, but most people buy it for long-form writing. That’s the contradiction at its heart. Drafting pencils usually have all-metal grips, heavy bodies, and precise but unforgiving tips. The Smash has a rubberized, textured grip that’s soft enough to hold for hours without fatigue, but grippy enough that your fingers never slip. It weighs 14 grams — lighter than the Rotring 600 (25g) and the GraphGear 1000 (20g). That weight difference matters when you’re writing three pages of notes in a lecture.

The body is plastic, which sounds cheap, but it’s a reinforced ABS plastic with an aluminum core. I dropped mine from desk height onto concrete at least six times. The plastic scuffed, but the internal mechanism never broke. The clip is metal, the tip is brass, and the eraser cap is a solid metal piece that doubles as a lead hardness indicator. You rotate the cap to show 2H, HB, or 2B — a small detail that I use more than I expected.

The real difference is the lead advance mechanism. You click the top button, and the lead comes out in 0.5mm increments. But there’s also a side button near the grip that lets you advance lead without moving your hand. This is the feature that sold me. When I’m in the middle of a sentence, I can nudge the side button with my thumb and keep writing. No reaching for the top, no breaking flow. The Rotring 600 doesn’t have this. The GraphGear 1000 has a twist mechanism that I find slower.

One thing that surprised me: the 4mm fixed sleeve. Most drafting pencils have a long, fixed sleeve (4mm is standard) for ruler work. The Smash’s sleeve is metal and slightly tapered. It gives you a clear view of the tip when drawing lines. But for writing, that sleeve can feel fragile if you press hard. I’ve never bent mine, but I’ve seen forum posts from people who did. Pentel sells replacement tips for about $5.

The Smash comes in 0.3mm, 0.5mm, and 0.7mm lead sizes. 0.5mm is the sweet spot for most people. 0.3mm is for fine drafting and small handwriting, but the lead breaks easily if you’re heavy-handed. 0.7mm is smoother and more forgiving, but you lose some precision. I own all three. The 0.5mm lives in my bag. The 0.3mm stays on my desk for detailed sketches.

Who Should Buy the Pentel Smash (and Who Should Skip It)

This section is short because the answer is simple.

Buy it if: you write for more than 30 minutes at a time, you hate heavy pencils, you want a drafting pencil that doesn’t feel like a drafting pencil, or you’re a student on a budget who wants something that will survive a semester in a backpack. The Smash costs around $12-15 on Amazon. That’s less than half the price of a Rotring 600.

Skip it if: you prefer a metal body for weight and durability, you need a retractable tip for pocket carry (the Smash’s tip is fixed), or you have very large hands — the grip section is about 8mm in diameter, which is standard but not generous. If you want something heavier and all-metal, get the Rotring 600 ($25-30). If you need a retractable tip, the Pentel GraphGear 1000 ($18-22) is a better choice. If you want the absolute cheapest reliable pencil, the Pentel P205 ($5-7) is the classic workhorse.

The 3 Mistakes I See People Make When Buying the Pentel Smash

I’ve been on pencil forums for years. I’ve watched people buy the Smash, hate it, and sell it. Almost always for one of these reasons.

Mistake 1: Buying the wrong lead size

The Smash is available in 0.3mm, 0.5mm, and 0.7mm. 0.5mm is the default for most people. But I see beginners buy the 0.3mm because they think smaller lead = more precision. They’re right, but 0.3mm lead breaks constantly if you write with any pressure. You need a light touch. If you’re a heavy-handed writer, get the 0.7mm. If you don’t know your writing pressure, buy the 0.5mm. It’s the safest bet.

Mistake 2: Expecting it to feel like a premium metal pencil

The Smash is plastic. It’s good plastic, but it’s not metal. People coming from the Rotring 600 sometimes complain that it feels cheap. It doesn’t feel cheap — it feels light. That lightness is a feature, not a flaw. If you want weight and solidity, buy the Rotring 600. If you want something that won’t tire your hand, buy the Smash.

Mistake 3: Ignoring the side button

The side button is the Smash’s killer feature, but it’s easy to ignore if you don’t know it’s there. I’ve seen people use the pencil for months without pressing it. Try it. Hold the pencil normally, rest your thumb on the side button, and advance lead without moving your hand. It takes a day to get used to. After that, you’ll miss it on every other pencil.

Pentel Smash vs. Rotring 600 vs. GraphGear 1000: A Side-by-Side Comparison

If you’re still deciding: the Smash is the best for writing. The Rotring 600 is the best for drafting and durability. The GraphGear 1000 is the best if you need a retractable tip for pocket safety. Pick your priority.

How to Maintain Your Pentel Smash So It Lasts Years

The Smash is low-maintenance, but there are a few things that will keep it working like new.

Clean the grip regularly. The rubberized grip collects dust and oil from your fingers. After a few months, it gets shiny and less grippy. Wipe it with a damp cloth and mild soap every couple of weeks. Don’t use alcohol or solvents — they’ll degrade the rubber. I use a drop of dish soap in water, rub it in with my fingers, and rinse. Dries in a few minutes.

Replace the lead before it’s empty. When you have about 1cm of lead left in the chamber, add more. Running completely empty can cause the mechanism to jam. I’ve done this twice. Both times, I had to disassemble the pencil to clear the jam. It’s not hard — you unscrew the grip section, pull out the internal mechanism, and shake out the broken lead. But it’s annoying. Just refill early.

Don’t drop it on the tip. The 4mm sleeve is metal, but it can bend if you drop the pencil tip-first onto a hard floor. If that happens, the lead won’t come out straight. Pentel sells replacement tip units for about $5. They’re easy to swap — just unscrew the old one and screw in the new one. I keep a spare in my desk drawer.

Use good lead. The Smash will work with any 2mm lead, but cheap lead breaks more often and writes inconsistently. I use Pentel Ain Stein lead ($3-4 for a pack of 40 pieces). It’s harder than standard lead, so it breaks less, and it writes darker. Uni NanoDia is another good option — it’s even harder and lasts longer, but it’s slightly more expensive. Avoid no-name brands from Amazon. They’re not worth the savings.

When NOT to Buy the Pentel Smash (and What to Get Instead)

I love the Smash, but it’s not for everyone. Here are the situations where I’d tell you to buy something else.

If you carry your pencil in your pocket: The fixed 4mm sleeve will poke through fabric and eventually bend. Get the Pentel GraphGear 1000 instead. Its tip retracts completely when you press the top button. That mechanism adds weight (20g vs 14g), but it’s worth it for pocket safety.

If you’re a heavy-handed writer who breaks 0.5mm lead: You need a thicker lead. Get the Pentel Smash in 0.7mm — it’s the same pencil, just with a wider lead. Or skip the Smash entirely and get a Kuru Toga Advance ($10-12). The Kuru Toga rotates the lead as you write, which keeps the tip sharp and reduces breakage. It’s a different feel — lighter, more plastic — but it solves the breakage problem.

If you need an all-metal pencil for extreme durability: The Smash’s plastic body is tough, but it’s not indestructible. If you work in a workshop, a construction site, or anywhere the pencil might get crushed or stepped on, get the Rotring 600. It’s brass with a metal coating. I’ve seen photos of a Rotring 600 that survived being run over by a car. The Smash would not survive that.

If you’re on a tight budget: The Smash is $12-15. That’s reasonable, but you can get a perfectly good pencil for half that. The Pentel P205 ($5-7) is the standard. It’s all plastic, no side button, no rubber grip, but it writes reliably for years. I used one through college. The P205 is the Toyota Corolla of pencils — boring but bulletproof. The Smash is the Honda Civic Si — more fun, better feel, but more expensive.

Final Verdict: Why I Still Reach for the Pentel Smash Every Day

The Smash isn’t the most durable pencil. It’s not the most precise. It’s not the cheapest. But it’s the one I grab first when I sit down to write. The side button lets me keep my flow. The grip keeps my fingers comfortable for hours. And at 14 grams, it’s light enough that I forget I’m holding it.

That’s the thing I didn’t expect when I bought my first Smash. I thought I wanted a heavy, metal pencil that felt substantial. I bought the Rotring 600 first. It sat in my drawer because it tired my hand after 20 minutes of note-taking. The Smash cost half as much and solved the real problem: writing for long periods without fatigue.

If you write a lot — essays, notes, journaling, whatever — the Smash is worth a try. Get the 0.5mm version. Buy a pack of Ain Stein lead. Use the side button. Give it a week. If it doesn’t click for you, you’re out $12 and you can sell it on Reddit for $10. But I bet it will.