The Uni Kuru Toga pencil is truly - and literally - revolutionary.

When using a normal mechanical pencil at a typical writing angle, the lead point quickly becomes chisel-shaped. This leads to broader, less precise lines; and crumbling of the resulting sharp edge. The unique gear mechanism of the Kuru Toga rotates the lead every time it is touched to the paper, resulting in a clean cone-shaped tip which is sharp and resistant to breaking. Simple, yet brilliant. We've been using early samples from Japan on a daily basis since the end of 2008 and they really do work.

The Advance version of the Kuru Toga features the Slide Pipe mechanism, and wraps the whole thing up in a smart metal shell. It's the same pencil we know and love, but it's dressed up a bit, especially this one, as it's a Limited Edition. Holes in the grip section add a little texture for a better grip, but also give you a slight peek at the mechanism inside. The metal barrel and clip make for a pencil that should stand up to longer term use (not that we saw many problems with the standard models!)

The Slide Pipe adds two useful benefits:

• The tip can be retracted, making the pencil more pocket-safe. The tip is less likely to be damaged when you're carrying it, and it's less likely to poke holes in your pocket, or even you!
• Because the lead-supporting tube can slide easily out of the way, it pushes back a little as the lead wears, so if the lead wears down when you're in mid flow, you can keep going longer without having to click more lead out quite so urgently. You'll still need to click eventually, but this can make all the difference when you need to get notes down quickly.

The lead rotates approximately 18 degrees with each contact - twice as much as the original Kuru Toga, for quicker turning - around 20 touches will rotate the lead completely.

0.5mm pencil approximately 140mm long,10mm diameter and 14g in weight. Eraser under the push-button.