Pencils

Pencils FAQ

Wooden or Mechanical?

Both, for us! The simplicity of a wooden pencil can’t be beaten, but we do love the reliability of a mechanical pencil, and the way it can keep going for so many years, with no sharpening needed.

What do the different lead grades mean?

Fortunately, we’ve answered just that question in our Guide to Lead Hardness. The very short version is that HB is the ‘middle’, B, 2B, etc, are getting softer and darker; and H, 2H, etc, are getting harder, leaving a more pale line. There isn’t a universal definition, though, so some manufacturers can tend to skew a little bit harder or softer than others. A softer pencil makes a darker line with less effort, but at the cost of more frequent sharpening.

Are More Expensive Pencils Worth the Extra Cost?

It depends on your usage, really, and how much the extra cost means to you. There really is a difference in quality between cheap pencils and the more expensive ones. Quality pencils don’t really get any better than the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni or the Tombow Mono 100, anything beyond those is probably more about a bit of luxury than the actual quality of the pencil itself, but that can be well worthwhile to some people too.

If you’re buying a lot for an event or classroom, or you get through a lot of pencils for quick scribbled notes, the quality may not matter to you, so even the cheapest pencils will be just fine. There’s nothing at all wrong with pencils like the Staedtler Tradition or Noris, and they have quite a retro charm about them that many people love.

If you use pencils for art, you’ll probably want to try a few and find out what feels best to you. And if you love using pencil, but you know one will last you a good while, you might want to consider paying a bit more for something you’ll enjoy using that bit more.

There Are Luxury Wooden Pencils?

Yes, that’s totally a thing. Graf von Faber-Castell takes everything Faber-Castell knows about making pencils (which is a lot) and combine it with their luxury goods craftsmanship, and make some really lovely pencils. The Perfect Pencil range extends to high-end platinum-plated pencil extenders, designed to go with their beautiful silver-capped pencils.

Caran d’Ache make their Swiss Wood pencils, regular special editions made from rare and unusual wood, packaged up to make a nice small gift for someone else or yourself.