Staedtler Mars Lumograph blunt end

Staedtler Mars Lumograph Pencil Review

11 June 2015 By ian

Staedtler Mars Lumograph branding

The Staedtler Mars Lumograph is a wooden pencil available in grades from 8B to 6H. They cost about £1 each but at the time of writing Cult Pens are selling a sketching kit with six pencils, a sharpener and an eraser for £4.50, which is half price.

(Cult Pens are not sponsoring this post. I bought these pencils with my very own money.)

The finish on these pencils is very good. The paint is thick and consistently applied. The printing is crisp. The barcode, as is usually the case, spoils the look somewhat. The lead grade is printed on each side of the hexagonal body and this is excellent, as it’s easy to pick the pencil you’re after when swapping about while sketching.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph blunt end

I don’t know what the wood is but it sharpens nicely.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph sharpening

The lead is very smooth and consistent. It’s a pleasure writing and drawing with these pencils.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph point

There’s no eraser option.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph barcode

These are wonderful pencils. They’re fun to write with and great for drawing. I used them for last week’s drawing. They haven’t quite replaced my Tombows: the lead isn’t quite as smooth, they don’t sharpen quite as well and the finish isn’t quite as good. But then they are a fair bit cheaper. If there ever comes a day when I can’t get hold of Tombow Mono 100s easily, I won’t be too sad to switch to the Staedtler Mars Lumograph.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph handwritten review