My first experience with Venvstas was not entirely positive but since then I think they’ve worked hard to sort out initial difficulties and introduce new products, many of which look very interesting. Venvstas designed a pencil before they designed a pen, so how does this one work out? This pencil was sent to me for […]
The Sostanza is a simple but beautiful wooden clutch pencil designed by Sotterranea Officina Sperimentale (SOS) in Italy. It’s currently (as of 3rd August 2016) an active and funded Kickstarter campaign but it runs out on the 6th. SOS were kind enough to send me a sample to have a quick look at before the […]
The Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth 5311 is a 5.6mm clutch pencil. It costs about £13 in the UK. I picked this one up second-hand from eBay. It’s quite a heavy pencil. I suspect it’s made from brass but I can’t be sure. It’s built like a tank. You will never need to worry about breaking it. The […]
The Kaweco Sketch Up line is a range of clutch pencils available in a variety of finishes, mostly taking 5.6mm lead. (Some take 2mm lead.) There are two kinds, one with a grip section (costing around £30 in the UK) and one without (costing about £27). Here I’m reviewing an aluminium pencil with a grip […]
The Staedtler Mars Technico 780C is a 2mm clutch pencil. It has a plastic body with metal clip, knock and grip. All works as it should. The lead is held tightly, the clip is firm, there are no unfortunate rattles or wobbles. The knock includes a very functional lead pointer. This pencil is comfortable to […]