On my last shopping spree, I picked up these two pencils that caught my eye and that I had not tried before. They both sported easy to read markings and I liked their barrel colors. The glossy lacquer coating on the Utrecht Drawing pencil felt particularly smooth and pleasant to the touch.
For a quick comparison test, I grabbed a couple of similar pencils from my regular wooden pencils case. While I do not use non-photo blue pencils often, some artists like to use them to save the time required for erasing graphite lines before the inking stage. The light blue lines are not picked up by some recording methods like photo-copying and a stat camera.
The Staedtler Non-Photo Blue 108 30 pencil glided smoothly on the test card stock and produced darker marks that were easier to see than the Eberhard Faber Colerase Copy-Not pencil that laid down rather faint marks. The Czech Utrecht Drawing 47148 8B graphite pencil produced fairly satisfying dark lines. While perhaps not as smooth as the Japanese Uni Penmanship 6B pencil, it is still a fine choice for laying down some shading quickly.
Both pencils performed well during this initial testing and would make fine additions to a sketching kit.
On my last visit to the Utrecht store in Miami, I came across some sliding boxes of 10 Faber Castell TK 9071 2 mm leads in their drafting section. I found it a bit surprising since most stores usually carry Staedtler or Berol Turquoise in this product category, and it had been several years since I found Faber Castell leads at retail. Thus I picked up some 3B leads to fill a hole in my collection.
The 2 mm leads sharpened easily with this matching compact lead pointer.
The Faber Castell Wave vinyl eraser could not remove its dark 3B marks completely from this Artist Sketch card stock, so it would probably be better to save this softer lead for the finishing stages of a drawing.
This 3B lead was quite smooth and pleasant to use for doodling and sketching.
My current collection of Faber Castell 2 mm graphite leads now includes the following grades: 6H, 4H, H, HB, 2B, 3B, 4B, and 6B. The older sliding boxes of Faber Castell 9030 with 12 leads each were from a Pearl sidewalk sale a few years back. I find that I seldom use the H leads for sketching, and that I have almost finished my set of 2B leads. Thus I'll have to look for a replacement tube pretty soon. Recommended for their quality and performance. Worth trying if you can find them locally. The only online source that I have already tried and currently carries them would be Wet Paint.
Now that some Pearl stores have closed and the company continues its reorganization process, you might find some leftover unique and unusual art supplies and drafting items popping up in their specialty window cases and aisles. On my last visit to their South Miami store, I got this neat plastic red box of Koh-I-Noor 2200 I/4B 2.5 mm graphite leads. At the store both the helpful sales clerk and I thought they were dealing with 2 mm leads, but once I got home I quickly found out that they did not fit in any of my 2 mm leadholders but they worked in my 3 mm Caran D'Ache Fixpencil 3 leadholder without been as thick as the 3 mm Technograph lead. Just like with wooden pencils of today, it seems that some drafting leads were manufactured in larger diameters for the softer grades.
The box was even marked down because a couple of the leads were broken and a small piece was missing. The tube originally held six 4B leads.
Storage box cap markings.
Once loaded in the Fixpencil, this graphite drawing lead proved to be fairly smooth, dark, and quite erasable for such a soft lead grade.
Relative size comparison of assorted leads and their packaging boxes: 0.5 mm Pentel Ain lead, 2 mm Caran D'Ache Technograph, 2.5 mm Koh-I-Noor 2200 I, and 3 mm Caran D'Ache Technograph.
If you enjoy sketching with leadholders, make sure to always pick up any box of lead refills (especially if they are softer than HB) you come across for they are disappearing from many retail outlets and they can be stored in good working condition almost indefinitely. I am quite pleased to have been able to add this rather rare 2.5 mm 4B leads to my collection since I can use them in my 3 mm leadholders.
Once I got my 0.7 mm Pentel Graph Gear 1000 mechanical pencil away from Yeti, I loaded it with my recently acquired Pilot Neox Color Eno violet lead and my old Pilot Color Eno violet 0.7 mm lead for a quick comparison test.
Color leads for mechanical pencils are rather rare in the US, so it usually is necessary to purchase them through specialty stationery importers. Unlike conventional graphite leads that typically are sold in dispensing tubes containing 40 leads each in Japan, color leads get packed 6 to 10 pieces per tube and retail for about the same price. Thus they would not be the most cost-effective choice if you plan to doodle with them a lot.
I believe they are really meant for making quick annotations or highlighting text, but occasionally I do enjoy doodling in color with them. I recently used my old Pilot violet lead for penciling some comic pages for my cartooning class to grab the students attention. It proved to be reasonably smooth and erasable, but it has a tendency to break apart under normal sketching pressure. The packaging label also warns that its color might fade if exposed to light. Thus I decided to try a tube of Pilot Neox that by its looks and pricing seemed to be the upgraded version of the original Pilot Color Eno.
The Pilot Neox Color Eno violet lead was stronger than the original Pilot Color Eno violet 0.7 mm lead, for it did not break at all during these doodling tests. It also laid down a darker more saturated purple line quite smoothly. I might have to test its light fastness if I continue working with it. Both violet leads were fairly erasable leaving just faint purple traces behind after erasing their sample color swatches with a stick vinyl eraser.
These soft color leads really do wear down faster than graphite leads of the same size. The 4 simple letter-size doodles above used up an entire lead during a short evening session. By how frequently I found myself manually advancing the color lead, I got the sense that they got used up twice as fast as regular graphite leads. Despite that, I do like the look of the uniform purple line they produce and their smooth laydown. Thus given their pleasant handling qualities and intense color, they are worth trying for a fun creative break in your sketchbook.
Since it had been a while since I posted a review, I got these few items from my wish list as an early birthday present. Given my fondness for sketching with 2 mm leadpointers, I just had to add the Uni-ball 2.0 mm Pencil Lead Sharpener to my collection of drawing accessories.
While comparable in size to my other leadpointer models, its unique flip cover and sliding bottom panel give it an edge in looks and functionality over them. Its black top cover swivels to the sides open and close to reveal the opening for the 2 mm leads and keeping graphite dust contained while not in use.
It is naturally a perfect color match and fit for a 2 mm Uni-ball leadholder.
It efficiently yields a nice razor sharp point after a couple of turns.
Unlike the Staedtler rotary leadpointer tub that can only handle leadholders the size of a Mars Technico 780, this Uni-ball leadpointer works with many different 2 mm leadholders regardless of the width of their grips. Even the wide wooden grip of the Graphiti Grip 2mm Mechanical Pencil is not an obstacle for its smooth sharpening performance.
Great accessory for the Staedtler 925-25-20 leadholder that lacks a built-in leadpointer.
Bottom view proudly proclaiming its Japanese origin. Its sliding bottom panel remains tightly closed keeping all the graphite shavings securely inside until you are ready to empty the unit.
Thanks to its clever design, I suspect this leadpointer is the least likely to leak graphite dust within your field sketching kit.
While I usually make sure to clean my leadpointers before storing them back in my pencil cases to avoid accidental spills (even emptying them into a Ziploc bag when there is no trash can in sight), this leadpointer looks like it can comfortably hold the shavings until you can find a waste receptacle at your convenience.
With its nice compact size, it easily fits in the smallest compartment of your pencil case.
Having made quite a favorable first impression, all that remains to be tested is its actual durability and the life of the sharpener blade. Since I have yet to be disappointed by any Mitsubishi Uni-ball pencil product, I would not hesitate to already recommend this unique leadpointer if you are shopping for a nice accessory to your 2 mm leadholders.
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