You know that saying about cameras - the best one is the one you have with you? Well, I’ve found the same holds true for mechanical pencils. And after years of frustration with lead-leaking pencils staining my clothes and stabbing me through my pockets, I found my perfect everyday companion a while back and finally got arond to touting it: the Pentel Sharp Kerry

Let me back up a bit. Like many of us, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with mechanical pencils. While Wirecutter crowned the Blick Premier as their top pick (and it’s indeed an excellent pencil), I found my perfect match in their “Also great” pick: the Pentel Sharp Kerry. It solves the one problem that matters most to me - it has a cap. Simple, right? But this isn’t just any cap. The designers at Pentel clearly spent some serious time thinking about how people actually use their pencils.

Here’s what makes it special: you can click the lead even with the cap posted on the back. Sounds minor, but it’s a game-changer. They even spring-loaded the cap’s finial (that’s the fancy word for the end bit) so it doesn’t rattle around when capped or separated from the pencil. It’s one of those small details that makes the whole thing feel premium.

But my favorite part? The dual-purpose design of the eraser and lead chamber. When you’re writing with the cap posted on the back, pop off the end finial and you’ve got easy access to the eraser. Not using the pencil? Cap it, and that same removable end reveals the lead chamber for refills. It’s clever engineering that actually makes sense in daily use.

The Kerry isn’t trying to be the fanciest mechanical pencil out there. Instead, it focuses on being reliable and practical. The 0.5mm lead writes smoothly, and the whole thing feels solid without being heavy. Plus, when you’re actually writing, you can rotate the pencil to get the sharpest part of the lead on the paper without the pocket clip getting in your way.

Is it perfect? Maybe not. But it’s the first mechanical pencil I’ve actually wanted to carry with me every day. And isn’t that what really matters? Because just like that camera in your phone, the best mechanical pencil is absolutely the one you’ll actually have with you when you need it.

And for me, that’s the Kerry. No more lead-stained pockets. No more accidentally stabbing myself. Just a reliable writing tool that’s ready when I am. Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest ones - even if it took a ton of pencil evolution and testing on my part to get there.