Pentel Ain Stein

Mars erasers are great too. If you want an inexpensive upgrade on your setup, check out Pentel Ain Stein, Pilot Neox, or Uni Nano-dia leads (see They are all amazing and way better than the old Pentel Hi-Polymer lead.

I think your grankids gonna have leads to use from this kit. lol. But if you want a small tip, if all those are HB grade only, get yourself 0.3 2B, 0.5 4B, 0.7 2B and 0.9 2B (Pentel Ain Stein, which are cheap yet good). 0.5 4B Ain Stein is just buttery and pretty nice to write/sketch with it.

Pentel Ain Stein lead seems the be the most widely praised lead in this sub. I recommend checking that brand out.

Super great pencil. Now look into different size leads and lead grades. Since the lead is what touches the paper and gives the pencil it's feel while writing, the lead is really worth the investment. Check out Pentel Ain Stein, Pilot Neox, and Uni NanoDia.

I like Pilot Neox and Pentel Ain-Stein lead. Neox is smoother and darker, great for taking notes, etc. Ain-Stein has a bit more feel of the paper and smudges less, so I use that for engineering diagrams and other drawings where my hands will be dragging across the lines.

Re leads, only some mech pencil leads are graphite + polymer. That is old school tech. The new crop of awesome mech leads are Pentel Ain Stein, Pilot Neox, and Uni Nano Dia. To me, the best all around is the Ain Stein.