NicPro Mechanical Pencil Set Review!

Get ready for an amazing mechanical pencil review!

Who has the time to sharpen pencils?! Certainly not busy pencil artists who draw all the time. We need that crucial time to be creative. And nothing ruins the artist’s inspiration like slowing down to sharpen that HB pencil. So what is the solution to the pencil-sharpening traffic jam? Mechanical pencils! And today I am going to review the very popular NicPro Mechanical Pencil Set.

Not only will I discuss the set itself, I will also show you how the pencils look on paper. ALSO, I will include a link to a video where you can watch me use this set in an actual drawing!

So first let’s do a quick run down of everything in this little case.

(ALSO, if you don’t feel like reading this BEAUTIFULLY written blog post, you can watch the review on my YouTube channel HERE)

What’s Included:

FIRST, the mechanical pencils! There’s the size 2.0 pencils (so a bit larger). And we have 2H, HB, and 2B. Next are the grade HB pencils of different sizes: .9, .7 and .5. Eraser refills – I will discuss those more in just a minute. Larger soft erasers. Refills for all the pencils are in the extra little cases. And finally there are two lead pointers – super small and adorable.

What those numbers and letters on drawing pencils mean:

Before I jump over to show how the pencils work, let’s do a quick reminder what all these numbers and letters mean. Pencil lead is a mixture of graphite and clay. The grade, or hardness, of a pencil (which is shown with all those numbers and letters) is due to the proportions of graphite and clay. More graphite makes for a softer lead, and more clay makes for harder lead.

Softer lead makes a darker mark on paper – whereas harder lead makes a lighter mark on paper.

The middle of the road, medium pencil is HB. Softer leads get a B grading with a number to tell you just how soft the lead is. SO 2B is soft, 3B is even MORE soft. And a 5B is REALLY soft. BUT soft lead also crumbles easily so be gentle when you use it.

Leads harder than HB get an H rating. And they are numbered the same way as those soft B pencils. So 2H is a hard lead. A 9H is a REALLY hard lead.

How the mechanical pencils work:

Alright, back to these new pencils!

So how do mechanical pencils work? Quite easily! Just press the back button on the pencil and the graphite will come out on the other end. But be warned! In the NicPro mechanical pencil size 2, you must press the back button gently and tilt the pencil up or the graphite can just fly out. (Yes, I’ve accidentally turned lead into projectile objects in my studio…) At the end of the pencil with the graphite there is a “claw system” that opens when you press the back button to release the lead. To put the lead back, just press that back button to open the claw system again and gently press the lead back in.

The HB pencils are super easy to use than the size 2 pencils in this set. Press that back button the get the lead out. Re-press the back button and press gently to put the lead back in. BUT WAIT, there’s more! OK, so if you take off the cover of that back button you will find an eraser. And that’s where all those eraser refills will go!

Now it’s time to play with these pencils on paper!

So I grabbed my handy sketch book to take a look at that all these different leads look like on paper.

And at this point you might be asking why. Why scribble graphite on paper? For a few reasons.

1. It’s fun to scribble.
2. It’s a great way to test the quality of the graphite and see how smooth it is.
3. To experience the mechanics of this mechanical pencil set.

OK so I started with the size 2, grade 2H pencil. And as I’m making mark on the paper, I pressed harder and lighter, to show you how it looks with different pressure.

Then I moved on to the other pencils in this set.

Next I tested those erasers. The ones in the mechanical pencil and the larger, soft eraser. Both erasers did their job well enough. They weren’t the BEST erasers I’ve ever used and certainly didn’t remove all markings on the paper.

And finally, the lead pointer, I’d use on the size 2 pencils. These are very small pointers. Not sure if I’d use them much. But they are nice to have. Not really the strongest feature in this set for me.

Here’s an image of my glorious scribbling. Ah yes, another drawing masterpiece.

Alright, NEXT! I used these on an actual drawing in the studio!

Here’s a picture of me hard at work in the studio, trying out the NicPro mechanical pencil set. If you want to actually watch me in action, you can click the link to this drawing video HERE.

4 Factors I Use To Judge Mechanical Pencils Sets:

So there are 4 factors that matter to me as a pencil artist when using this mechanical set: Ease of use, quality of graphite, blend-ability, and quality of accessories – such as erasers and lead pointers.

1. Ease of Use: The set is fairly easy to use. The pencils and refills are well-labeled. The mechanics of the pencil are straight forward. For the larger pencils, the size 2’s, the lead can come out quickly if I am too fast or angle the pencil the wrong way. So that’s something to be aware of when drawing.
2. Quality: The graphite quality is very nice. When scribbling test samples and while drawing and actual work of art, the graphite went smoothly onto the paper. It layered well. There was no serious crumbling. The pencils themselves are well made and pleasant to hold.
3. Blend-ability: This is a factor for me because of my drawing style. I blend much of my pencil art with paint brushes. The graphite in this set blended fairly well. Naturally, the softer graphite (grade B) blended better than the harder (grade H) options in the set.
4. Accessories: The erasers worked well enough. I would prefer a finer point eraser for some of the detail work that I do. But the small eraser in the mechanical pencils worked OK (had a little wiggle if I pressed too hard). The larger eraser would be more useful for taking care of a large surface area – but wouldn’t completely get rid of ALL pencil marks. So use erasers with caution.

The other accessory, the lead pointer is only useful on the larger leads (the size 2). And you have to be very careful and precise while using it. However, if you want a very fine point it is an extremely useful tool once you get the hang of it.

Final Verdict Of the NicPro Mechanical Pencil Set:

Overall, this is a lovely mechanical pencil set. It is easy to use, has nice quality materials and leads and the accessories are useful. This doesn’t fulfill ALL my drawing needs – but it’s certainly a delightful addition to my studio!

What about YOU? Have you tried this pencil set? Is there a different pencil set you absolutely adore? (I’m always on the lookout for more drawing supplies!) Leave a comment below and let me know!

OK, that’s it for today! Thank you for joining me in the studio. Remember to subscribe to my monthly newsletter so you don’t miss the next posts and videos!

About Me:

Hi everyone I’m Lisa Marie from Artistry by Lisa Marie. For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been a professional artist for over a decade. When I was 15 years old I apprenticed in an artist’s studio for several years then earned a Masters in Art History in Florence, Italy while studying the techniques of the Renaissance masters. Today I create custom portraits and coloring books and pages.

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