I thought I’d share this because, from my experience, there does seem to be a quality control issue with Kuru Toga pencil manufacture [at least as far as the plastic ones are concerned] because I’ve experienced ones that require what I’d call too much pressure to work. You can spot the Kuru Toga logo inside the grip section or under a window in the barrel. It's printed on the rotation mechanism—which comes in different colors depending on the lead size—so you can watch the logo turn and rest assured that your Kuru Toga is working properly. For the metal body pencils, there's a little hole that you can see through to the logo that's turning. There are also special limited editions featuring characters by Disney, Peanuts, Sanrio and Studio Ghibli. So with each stroke, the lead will turn, and you will get a sharper point to write with the next stroke.

So the conclusion I’ve drawn is that it’s indeed a matter of pressure and perhaps angle when writing. I’m used to mechanical pencils and I generally never break leads. I hold the pencil at a roughly 40 degree angle, and usually rotate it myself every couple of words (something I had to consciously stop when trying the Kuru Toga). I’m not a fountain pen user, and generally use a mix of ballpoint pen and mechanical pencil at work. I haven’t found any problem getting the engine thingy to work even at very light pressure so I deliberately tried to make it fail.

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I don’t use a pencil much, but I think it’s a great thing as when I was a student I had to rotate my pencil as usually. The Uni Kuru Toga are available in many different types of bodies and comes in three tip sizes: 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7mm. As many of you have post about problems, I’m not sure is it because of writing in different language. For example, English language can be written one word without lifting the pencil, while Japanese have to lift the pencil several times for one word. Therefore Japanese language may be rotated 10 times faster than English (Just my guessing). I’ve used quite a few Kuru Togas and own one of the 0.5mm versions, and I agree with the original poster that you need to use a certain amount of force to engage the mechanism, particularly if you hold the pencil at a fairly low angle. I prefer using softer lead and much less pressure, and get pretty inconsistent results most of the time, unless I change my writing style. Holding the pencil so the logo appears between my thumb and index finger, I can write a complete sentence without seeing the logo move at all.

Alpha Gel grip; plastic clip; switchable between "Kuru Toga" mode and "Hold" mode by twisting the clip Extremely low angles would do it but the angle is about where you’d be using a pencil to shade a drawing – almost parallel to the paper. Pressing hard to advance the lead gummed it up completely. The only solution was to retract the lead and start again. I might not press the pencil down hard enough to get the gears to revolve. This could be because of many years of using fountain pens (which do not need a lot of pressure) and a relatively infrequent use of ballpoint pens (which need much more pressure). When I went to school you had to write with a fountain pen and today I still like to use fountain pens and avoid ballpoint pens. My wife, for example, is using much more pressure when writing.You know how sometimes when you draw for too long, the pencil becomes blunt, sometimes you may rotate the pencil to the sharp side of the lead that gives you a thin line. When you're writing, you'll immediately see and feel the difference. With the Kuru Toga, I can actually feel the difference but can't really see the difference unless I'm really looking out for it. Limited Edition; special auto-feed mechanism where the lead sleeve doesn't drag on the paper; adjustable length auto-feed mechanism; magnetic cap; the lead is automatically exposed when you uncap the pencil I’m a light writer and I use pencil for everything except things like forms and cheques. I usually go for B lead to get dark lines and less pressure.

The Kuru Toga’s unique selling point is that its lead rotates which keeps the tip sharp when writing. When pressing the lead against the paper to write or when lifting it the gears of the “Kuru Toga Engine” revolve, rotating the lead slightly. It might be a substandard pencil, and other Kuru Toga Engines work with less pressure. This would would mean that there is a quality control problem at uni / Mitsubishi pencil. This is probably not the case. Roulette" and "High Grade" use the Uni eraser refill size C, while all the other models use the Uni eraser refill size S. I recommend getting the transparent grip version if you want to see the gear turning. The Starter kit (above) has a grip tinted in colour and it's not easy to see what's inside.

The Kuru Toga eliminates this problem with the use of an ingenious lead rotation mechanism that continually rotates the pencil lead as you write. A spring-loaded clutch twists the lead incrementally every time you lift the pencil from the paper. This allows a uniform wearing of the lead to create a conical tip shape that provides a fine, consistent line. Kuru Toga is a mechanical pencil line developed by the Uni Mitsubishi company. The special feature of this pencil is a particular mechanism (referred as "Kuru Toga Engine") which rotates the lead every time the tip is pressed and then released from the paper surface. I happen to discover the Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencils recently and was intrigued by its ability to turn the pencil lead within. The highlight of this mechanical pencil is as you are writing, it can turn the lead so that you're always writing with a sharper point. That way, you won't have to use a blunt point anymore. It sounds too good to be true, but is it? This mechanism prevents the tip from becoming chisel-shaped (therefore more prone to crumble or break) and ensures a consistent line width. The tip rotation is obtained by a spring and three gears, and the revolving action is visible by a rotating logo. All Kuru Toga pencils are available in 0.5 mm and in a variety of colours, but some models are also available in 0.3 mm and 0.7 mm.

Sadly this pencil just isn’t for everyone. The construction seems good, though the material choices and weight aren’t my particular favorites (the regular Kuru Toga is almost entirely plastic, quite light, and neutrally weighted).The Kuru Toga has been a disappointment for me, as the lead is not rotating, eliminating the advantage of this pencil while the disadvantages of this pencil remain: