Mitsu-Bishi 9850 pointy bit

Mitsubishi 9850 Wooden Pencil Review

22 October 2015 By ian

Mitsu-Bishi 9850 pointy bit

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.”

Mitsu-Bishi 9850 smooth writing

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.

Mitsu-Bishi 9850 bar code 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.

Mitsu-Bishi 9850 sharpening

The lead is indeed smooth. It’s nice and dark, shades well and smudges little. It is very good lead.

Mitsu-Bishi 9850 branding

The eraser erases, which is always a bonus and not always a given. (Looking at you, Palomino Blackwing.)

Mitsu-Bishi 9850 eraser

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.

Mitsu-Bishi 9850 handwritten review