The Mitsu-bishi 9850 is a mighty fine cedar pencil with, unusually for a Japanese pencil, an eraser. It’s purpose is printed proudly on one side: “Smooth writing pencil for office use.”
Price: $1 each
Lead grade options: HB
Barrel colours: A rather lovely maroon
Barrel shape: Hexagonal
Eraser?: Yes
The paint is thickly applied and gorgeous. The printing is crisp, although the edges of a couple of letters are missing. There is the usual bar code on one side.
I’m pretty sure the wood is cedar. It looks beautiful and sharpens cleanly. In fact it sharpens so crisply it’s hard to stop sharpening it all the time. It’s almost a shame that the lead holds its point for so long.
The lead is indeed smooth. It’s nice and dark, shades well and smudges little. It is very good lead.
The eraser erases, which is always a bonus and not always a given. (Looking at you, Palomino Blackwing.)
This is the best pencil I’ve come across so far. It’s got fantastic lead and it’s beautifully finished.
Pros
Great finish
Lovely wood
Decent eraser
Beautiful smooth lead
Cons
Hard to find in the UK (I bought mine from CW Pencils.)
You can find some more reviews of Mitsi-bishi 9850 on Pennaquod.
How to tell if it really is cedar: smell the shavings.
This one is a favourite of mine too – I’ve been lucky enough to get one in each of two pencil swaps.
They write very nicely, of course, but for me, what elevates them is the sheer quality of the finish – the 9850 is one of those ordinary things on which attention to detail has been lavished. That gorgeous, thick, burgundy lacquer! The crisp, silver imprint! The fact that the grade is stamped on three sides, so that however the pencil lies, it’s visible…
Once I’ve used the two I have, I’ll definitely be getting more, I think – even at their current price in the UK, they’re just too good not to have around.