If mechanical pencils are your preferred type of writing utensil but you've had it up to HERE ? with those tiny lead sticks breaking...well, you might be applying too much pressure when you write — but if you're not going to fix that, then you should look into getting one with a thicker grade of lead.

The 5311 by Koh-I-Noor is more accurately described as a “lead holder” than a true mechanical pencil, given the thicc-with-two-C's 5.6mm x 80mm graphite leads it uses. This thing is solid as a rock, and it writes and sketches that way too. Go ahead and apply as firm a press as you like, because you're not likely to break this lead even if you drop the entire utensil on hard ground.

There's a sharpener built into the cap, revealed when you unscrew it. However, it's admittedly a bit tedious to use, so I recommend getting a standalone sharpener that will do the job more robustly.

The Koh-I-Noor 5311 Lead Holder is $16 on Amazon.