[niederman]

I agree that these pencils are "overengineered" in that they are multiple times more complex and expensive than their simpler counterparts while offering relatively little improvement in function, but if you use a pencil every day I think that increase in cost is more than worth it.

I, for one, have loved my Kuru Toga pencil (the rotating lead one) since the day I got it a few years ago.

[lupire]

Is a Lexus overengineered, or just better at a cost?

If you don't lose a pencil, it lasts for decades and the cost is trivial.