The Paper Mate Mirado Black Warrior is an office supply store staple. I purchased a pre-sharpened package of 8 pencils in a blister pack for about $2.I ended up re-sharpening them with my Dux Varibel because I could.
This pencil has a smooth round barrel with a matte black paint finish, gold toned ferrule with a cherry red painted stripe and a classic pink eraser top. There were no bar codes or extraneous info printed on the pencil, just the branding and hardness info in gold foil in one line. Everything about it is classic looking which makes it a fairly appealing pencil. The packaging proclaims its the “world’s smoothest write — guaranteed.” Pretty big claim.
The Mirado is a decently smooth pencil for a big box tool but its not anywhere near the smoothest write I’ve experienced. The lead is quite dark and smudgy and the point dulls in a sentence or two.
The eraser, as with most pencil toppers, is lame and I wore it out with one erasing. Even with the Staedtler Mars Plastic eraser, there was still a ghost of the writing left.
The bottom line: Meh. I’d give this pencil a C rating. Its too smudgy, too soft for an HB and the eraser is crap. There are better options available that are only a little more expensive.
We all love what we love. I’m glad there are people like you who still embrace this pencil with heart and passion.
I ranked this pencil as okay. And despite your fervor, these pencils are no longer produced in the US. I am not denigrating American craftsmanship, just stating my opinion. A better modern American pencil is the Musgrave Tennessee Red Cedar.