Other than the
pencil plastic caps that I use on many of my premium pencils, I do not rely on
General's pencil products much. Guess their focus on nostalgia marketing never really drew me in, so I did not pick up any of their sets until recently.
After reading an interesting
Pencil Talk post on the company's background and the specs of their main graphite pencil offerings, they were still fresh in my mind when I noticed that
General's pencil products were being phased out from the arts and crafts sections of several local
Wal-Mart stores. This American pencil line appears to have been replaced with
Daler Rowney Simply value art supplies manufactured in Asia.
The
General's Sketchmate Charcoal and Graphite Drawing Set found on clearance for $3.50 on an end cap.
Marks sample chart.
Erasability test.
The charcoal pencils laid down bold marks full of character quickly, and they would naturally require fixing to prevent accidental smudging. Nice inexpensive compact set for sketching on the go.
General's Kimberly Graphite Drawing Kit #25.
Sample marks chart on
Strathmore Bristol vellum. There really wasn't much of a noticeable difference between the soft
B graphite grades. In this particular set, it looked like the
8B pencil was actually a mislabeled
HB pencil.
Erasability test.
Doodle test. These pencils felt a tad better than regular writing pencils, and would make a fine choice for sketching in a pinch despite their lack of subtle grade variation. Yet I still prefer the smoother waxy feel typical of
Uni-ball and
Tombow pencils.
Other than the pencil plastic caps that I use on many of my premium pencils, I do not rely on General's pencil products much. Guess their focus on nostalgia marketing never really drew me in, so I did not pick up any of their sets until recently. 
After reading an interesting Pencil Talk post on the company's background and the specs of their main graphite pencil offerings, they were still fresh in my mind when I noticed that General's pencil products were being phased out from the arts and crafts sections of several local Wal-Mart stores. This American pencil line appears to have been replaced with Daler Rowney Simply value art supplies manufactured in Asia. 
The General's Sketchmate Charcoal and Graphite Drawing Set found on clearance for $3.50 on an end cap.
Marks sample chart.
Erasability test. 
The charcoal pencils laid down bold marks full of character quickly, and they would naturally require fixing to prevent accidental smudging. Nice inexpensive compact set for sketching on the go.
General's Kimberly Graphite Drawing Kit #25.
Sample marks chart on Strathmore Bristol vellum. There really wasn't much of a noticeable difference between the soft B graphite grades. In this particular set, it looked like the 8B pencil was actually a mislabeled HB pencil.
Erasability test. 
Doodle test. These pencils felt a tad better than regular writing pencils, and would make a fine choice for sketching in a pinch despite their lack of subtle grade variation. Yet I still prefer the smoother waxy feel typical of Uni-ball and Tombow pencils.
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