Author: Stephen

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Faber-Castell Goldfaber 1222 pencil

Faber-Castell Goldfaber 1222 pencil
The Goldfaber brand is definitely marketed in North America – but it’s more known as a student or craft line of pencils. I’m not sure if one can actually buy this specific pencil here – I’ve certainly never seen one in person.

The 1222 is a real sleeper in the New Zealand/Australia series.

The only branded pencil in the series with an eraser, it is a sleek alternating Royal Blue/Silver combination, with gold and white stamping. It has a silver coloured ferrule with a white eraser. No country of manufacture is indicated.

It certainly has a finished appearance. Unlike other pencils in the series, whose colour schemes may be equal or superior as palatte choices, the 1222 is unique in having a high quality varnished finish, absolutely smooth and bright.

For what I suspected was a B-line pencil, the lead is good – not nearly as nice as the 110 – but still rich and dark.

The eraser, though white, is rough, not a smooth vinyl, and a disappointment.

Browsing around various national Faber-Castell sites, it seems the pencil may originate in Indonesia, though it is cedar rather than jelutong.
Faber-Castell Goldfaber 1222 pencil
It is a very interesting pencil, and I am glad to have a couple of them.

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Staedtler tradition 110 pencil

Staedtler tradition 110 pencil
It was a real pleasure to discover the Staedtler tradition 110. Like the pacific, it is also made in Australia.

With red paint on four sides, black on two, and gold lettering, it does look different than a North American pencil. This is a pencil colouring I’ve seen in many photos and illustrations, but never previously in person.

The winning grace is the lead. In HB, it is easily the smoothest of the pencils of New Zealand and Australia that we’ve looked at so far. Other grades also handle themselves well. It is made in fourteen degrees, so it constitutes an entire line.

The only flaw I can see is the varnish, which is very thin. Without much scrutinizing, one can see a multitude of grain lines and dimples in the wood.
Staedtler tradition 110 pencil
This pencil is definitely recommended.

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Staedtler 132 pencil

Staedtler 132 pencil
Unlike the pacific, this Staedtler pencil is made in Germany.

It is a traditionally styled yellow pencil, with a pink eraser and shiny ferrule. The lead is also better quality than the pencils I’ve looked at the last few days – not great, but useably smooth, black, and non-crumbly.

A recent blog comment mentioned the Staedtler 134. A bit of searching around shows that the 134 is a made in China Staedtler pencil that is actually labelled “yellow pencil”, apart from being a yellow pencil.

Staedtler 132 pencil
If you have to use a generic looking office pencil, you could do worse than the 132.

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Staedtler pacific pencil

Staedtler pacific pencil
This is the first pencil in this series that specifies a country of manufacture, and the only one with a name associating it with a specific region.

The Staedtler Australia website proudly mentions a number of made in Australia pencils, including the pacific.

This pencil has a red varnish, with gold stamping that reads:

AUSTRALIA Staedtler pacific HB

The obverse has a black barcode. The cap is unfinished.

The varnish is quite thin. This is more than just an aesthetic issue – a thick varnish protects pencils from dings and dirt, and creates a more uniform surface and hence a more consistent grip.
Staedtler pacific pencil

The pencil itself is useable, but the lead is scratchy, and as we’ll soon see, there are some much nicer pencil choices available down under.

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Generic Pencil

The Generic pencil of Auckland.
This pencil is a bit more challenging to describe than others in this series. It has no brand, no name, no markings. Still, it’s apparently the common generic pencil in New Zealand.

One thing I’ll say is that compared to a cheap no-name pencil that I’d find in North America, it’s just a bit thicker and more substantial. The paint job is reasonable. The wood is very pale – poplar? It’s a bit scratchy to write with.

Not recommended.

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Stabilo Schwan 305 and 306 pencils

The Stabilo Schwan pencil.
Schwan-STABILO also manufacture the Schwan line – “Schwan” being a swan, derived from the name of company founder Gustav Adam Schwanhäusser.

The Schwan pencils I have are curious – a yellow version, the Schwan 305, marked HB=2, and a wine coloured version, the Schwan 306, marked HB=21/2. The 306 is also labelled with a barcode.

The 305 is a decidedly darker lead than the 306.

The pencils have unfinished caps, and appear to be in more of a discount line than the Othello.

The Stabilo Schwan pencil.

The 305 lead broke both while writing and during sharpening. No problems were encountered with the 306.

While the simple styling is a plus, I don’t expect pencil leads to repeatedly fracture in anything but the cheapest of pencils, so these are a disappointment.

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