True for like #2 pencils, but I have a whole case full of expensive artist grade pencils that I will not lose.

When I draw, I like the lead to be extremely sharp. It's always bothered me that in reality I'm only using a hair thin cylinder of the center of the lead, and the rest gets turned to powder.

get a mechanical pencil and use all the lead?

Even a mechanical pencil isn't sharp enough. But more importantly, without the support of the wood/lead around it, it breaks too easily. So they're virtually impossible to sharpen. I have given it a try using a fine emery board, and when the lead doesn't break, it takes a while, and the board gets clogged and won't sharpen.

Maybe that is because you start with pencils that are too long to start with?

This machine allows you to start off with shorter pencils that you can extend on demand. This way you are likely to loose less pencil whenever you loose one.

Not when you've paid $10/fancy pencil.

In my experience, especially when you've paid $10/fancy pencil.