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Recently I have been using the 0.5 2B Pilot mechanical pencil while using the Neox Graphite Pencil Lead (2B), for the lead.

After using it for 2-3 months, the bottom part of the mechanical pencil comes off violently and suddenly while writing, cracking the grooves and I am unable to assemble them back. I do not have a habit of unscrewing the grooves at all while I’m using my mechanical pencil and I think this problem of the pencil tip flying off could become dangerous for kids or anyone who are at the wrong place at the wrong time. Would like to ask if anyone encountered a similar situation as me and how did you prevent the problem from happening with any mechanical pencil.

Broken Pencil

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  • The plastic tip has clearly broken. I suggest buying a more expensive pencil with a metal tip and less brittle plastic. I buy these (no affiliation). They last for years, and the first sign of failure isn't breakage but the lead sliding through the gripper. Another choice is a very cheap disposable version (recycle) where the tip isn't removable, but is part of the body molding.
    – Weather Vane
    Nov 26, 2021 at 18:00
  • Thanks for the comment @WeatherVane, do you mind sharing an example of the "cheap disposable version" which you speak of? It's quite cool that we're discussing about the "lifetime of pencils" because this is the first time in so long I've encountered breakages.
    – Prashin Jeevaganth
    Nov 27, 2021 at 2:49
  • Hi, Prashin Jeevaganth. Welcome to Lifehacks. If this has happened to you before, it could be the way you grip your pencil; but, that's unlikely with 2B leads which are quite soft. From your (pretty good) picture, it looks more as if there was a hairline fracture in the molding. If it never happened to you before, it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It may have cracked while carrying it. If you want to reduce the chances to near zero, you could put the pencil into a hollow 'grip' to reinforce it and also have a larger diameter to hold. If you never see it again, you're in good company.
    – Stan
    Nov 27, 2021 at 3:42
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    You have two choices for the future. 1>Buy a dollar store pencil. 2> Stop buying dollar store pencils.
    – John Canon
    Nov 28, 2021 at 19:19
  • I dislike those pencils (and similar ones) for exactly the reason you describe. After a short time, the tip flies off making the pencil useless until glued back together again. I've also experienced this with a similar model mechanical pencil that has a tip that becomes removable even though it wasn't designed to ever come off... after it detaches one time, every time you then try to advance the lead, the tip flies off. I'll never forget trying to find the tip under someone else's chair during a meeting... never again.
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
    Dec 10, 2021 at 6:00

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Well, you know the saying... Garbage in, garbage out. Your pencil is beautiful, but made of short-life materials. Unfortunately, repairing that pencil is going to be a lot more expensive than buying a new (expensive) one.

Personally, I use Rotring Tikky Mechanical Pencils for more than 20 years, and they have yet to disappoint. I am not making any specific advertisement, it is just fact. Buy once, use a lifetime. Of course, everything is breakable by using enough force, but that is not under discussion here.

Just go to a stationery shop, see what they have, choose based on (perceived) strength rather than beauty. If the clerk looks trustworthy, ask them for advice.

For thick leads (1+ mm), I even had mechanical pencils (I do not remember the brand names) with metal body. Pretty much immortal.

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