In this day and age to find a pencil of this quality in this price range is nearly impossible. California Republic's Prospector line of pencils are very durable in a workshop environment. They can be sharpened to a long point for very fine line work on roughened wood surfaces without the tips breaking off in most cases. They can handle the occasional drop onto the shop floor without damaging the graphite core. And best of all the green ones aren't so easily lost in the piles of wood chips that are constantly being created in a workshop environment. Of course I prefer the natural ones as I like the challenge, and surprise, of finding a pencil in a chip pile.