Faber-Castell Pitt Graphite 9B Pure Pencil

Product Information

It shouldn’t shed a dust of tiny particles of graphite on your paper, an effect known as ‘ghosting’.

You will receive the credit within a certain amount of days, depending on your card issuer's policies. Mono 100s generally vie with the Mistubishi Hi-Uni for the number one spot amongst true pencil aficionados.Because they are so soft the leads wear down quickly giving off a lot of graphite dust and they need sharpening a lot. With its rich and dark lead, it's easy to create bold and dramatic lines, making it an essential tool for artists, designers, and anyone who loves to draw. They are the lightest of all the pencil ranges I’m reviewing here and the harder grades make a very fine mark, but I don’t find them scratchy or the graphite overly shiny. All in all I didn’t feel that the Grafwoods were for me, but I’d advise you to try them for yourself and make your own mind up. I was a little astonished when I opened the tin to see that the pencils have round casings, which is something that I’ve rarely seen except in children’s pencils.

If they aren’t, you’ll encounter that gritty, ‘scratchy’ feeling (and sometimes even a squeaky noise) when you hit a lump of clay and your pencil doesn’t make a good mark.These pencils offer unparalleled possibilities for spontaneous expression, creating different effects based on the pressure applied and grade of hardness.

They have a pleasing black casing that is slightly thicker than some of the other brands, and nice retro lettering. CRETACOLOR, as the only Austrian manufacturer of arts supplies, is able to work with centuries of experience and tradition and stands for high quality products. The "green pencil from Faber", which was already being mentioned with approval by Van Gogh and Goethe, has now become part of everyday life. I’m not sure why they have this unusual texture but pencils leads are finished in a wax bath to fill in any microscopic holes in the graphite, so I would imagine that the Grafwoods are given a particularly long soak. I’ve been drawing professionally for many years and have tried a very large number of premium quality pencil brands.Faber-Castell's PITT Graphic range provides all creative artists with an extensive range of pencils and crayons in different grades of hardness for sketching, graphic design and shading work.

Another observation I made was that despite the softer ‘B’ grades being blacker than almost any of the pencils I’ve reviewed here, their leads were super strong, gave off no graphite dust at all and would hardly smudge even when I tried. They are light to hold and have their grade printed clearly on every other facet so that they are easy to identify. Before we begin the individual reviews, here’s a comparison of the grading values for all the brands I’m looking at. For example most people will probably prefer a pencil that doesn’t smudge very easily especially in the lighter grades, but if you actively want to smudge your pencils as part of your drawing technique then you’ll probably get on better with one of the softer brands, and may even seek out a range that gives off a lot of graphite dust.For instance, grades 3H to 6H or higher would be usually considered more suitable for graphic or technical/industrial design than for sketching. Based in Vienna, Cretacolor produces high quality and innovative pencils which have won several awards. Despite being most functional looking all the pencils, the Mars Lumograph would probably still top the charts as the professional artists’ choice. With such a wide tonal range you are really covered whether you like to draw more lightly or more darkly. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.