Derwent Academy Sketching Pencils Spotlight

Thanks Matthias for sending me this tin with 12 Derwent Academy sketching pencils. This set is clearly marked as "Made in the UK" on both sides of the tin, but that information is not included on the pencils' imprint which is limited to a single line indicating "Derwent - Academy Sketching - and the graphite grade" (Range from 5H to 6B). Personally I would prefer to see the country of origin clearly shown on the pencil barrels themselves as was customary with vintage pencils, but I guess nowadays it might not be as practical with pencil manufacture often being more of a global affair. While making the reference chart above, I noticed that there wasn't much difference between adjacent grade swatches. Yet the light to dark trend can be clearly appreciated when the 12 sample swatches are drawn together on a single sheet of paper. I started sharpening them with the Classroom Friendly crank sharpener that yields a fairly long point. This worked well for the harder H pencils, but resulted in weak tips that crumbled easily with the softer B pencils. For the softer pencils is best to use something like a KUM wedge sharpener that produce a shorter taper with a sturdier point. This tin set of 12 sketching pencils would make a fine introduction for students and hobbyists not yet ready to invest on an artist grade graphite set.