The Faber-Castell 9000 is a classic among pencils, having been made since 1905. It’s available in sixteen different grades from 8B to 6H. The classic dark green hexagonal barrel is painted with water-based varnish and is well finished. It’s available with an eraser should you so wish. The lead is smooth and this 2B grade […]
The Caran d’Ache Technograph 777 is a cedarwood pencil with a bright yellow water-based varnish. The wood comes from sustainably managed forests. This is a well made pencil. The hexagonal barrel looks good (if you like bright yellow) and the finish is extremely sharp. The lead is available in twelve grades from 4H to 6B. […]
The Palomino Blackwing Pearl is the third and, currently, final Palomino Blackwing in the series. It’s harder and lighter than the Blackwing and softer and darker than the Blackwing 602. In other words, it’s in between. As such, if you are looking for a pencil to both write and sketch with, this may be a […]
This is another lovely pencil from Palomino. The Blackwing 602 is a legendary pencil brand and people who know a lot more about it than me have written a lot more about it than I intend to. The build quality is outstanding. I still think the adjustable eraser is gimmicky but it does work reasonably […]
The Palomino Blackwing is a great pencil. It’s well made and exudes quality. The iconic cuboidal eraser works reasonably well. It’s adjustable, which personally I think is a little gimmicky but it does no harm. The lead is smooth and dark and absolutely lovely to sketch with. It is very soft, which means a good […]