Category: pencils

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Craft Design Technology pencil

Craft Design Technology pencil

It is a great pleasure to be able to write about this new pencil.

Craft Design Technology is a Japanese brand which produces home and office goods with an emphasis on a consistent, clean design aesthetic. They are associated with a number of manufacturers. If my understanding is correct, the brand is oriented towards functional and aesthetic goals, rather than “luxury”. Most of their website is in Japanese, which I am not able to read.

Luckily for pencil aficionados, their products include item 17, which are HB pencils.

Craft Design Technology pencil

The pencils are unsharpened, and richly varnished in a vibrant light green – almost a washed mint or green tea ice cream colour. Very unusual and pleasing. There are no bands or cap markings, and text is thankfully minimal, in black:

Obverse: Craft Design Technology

Reverse: Made in Japan [logo] item 17: Pencil – HB

High end Japanese pencils use gold or silver colour paint for lettering, and the black is a nice alternative on this already attractive pencil.

The pencil sharpened easily, and the lead was exceptionally dark, smooth, and rich, with no crumbling. CDT’s website says the pencil is made by Pentel, and Pentel’s name and logo are on the box. In my opinion, this is the right way to do it. I don’t like mystery pencils, and If I had a pencil made, I would absolutely want the provenance known. I appreciate CDT’s disclosure.

Craft Design Technology pencil

After trying the pencil, the next thing I did was reach for a Pentel Black Polymer 999. I was really astounded – I believe the CDT pencil to be noticeably smoother that the 999. And that is saying something. I next reached for an HB Tombow Mono 100 , and I had the impression that the CDT could keep up. While I haven’t put them through any lengthy paces yet, my sense it that this really is a first rate pencil.

Craft Design Technology pencil

It comes in just HB, so it’s not aimed at artists and designers. But as a general purpose office or writing pencil, it is a remarkable new entry in the market.

Craft Design Technology pencil

If you decide to buy some (I doubt you’ll be disappointed), be aware that they should be a normal price for a quality pencil – I’ve seen them offered online with astounding markups.

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Mirado Black Warrior pencil

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

After posting about pencil shapes and round pencils, topics which inevitably reference the Mirado Black Warrior, I decided to give these pencils a try, and use them at home and work for a couple of weeks. Many of my observations about their quality have already been noted by past commenters.

A few years ago, I didn’t typically see them at retail, but today they seem to be available from a variety of retail sources, such as department and office supply stores. They are part of the PaperMate brand, which is owned by Sanford, a division of the Newell Rubbermaid corporation. The official product page of the pencil is here.

The pencils are round, and painted black. They have a gold coloured ferrule with a red band, and a “Pink Pearl” pink eraser.

They are marked with gold colour lettering:

USA Mirado Black Warrior B 1 [logo]

The box is pleasant enough, and announces that they are “The World’s Smoothest Writing Pencil – Guaranteed!” As least Sanford can spell the word. And the guarantee looks real – they have an address for returning the product “if it fails to perform to your satisfaction.”

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

My first impression of the pencils is not good – the black paint has crept up over the ferrule, and even on to the eraser on a number of pencils. (I bought two boxes in B/No. 1 grade.)

The stamping appears quite second-rate, with the gold letters in “Mirado Black Warrior” blurring into one another.

Some people say round pencils are harder to sharpen, but with various handheld sharpeners, including the “long point” variety, I didn’t perceive any special trouble.

Now let me address the issue of the pencils rolling away on one’s desk – most of these pencils are warped, right out of the box, and won’t roll away. One of them has a deep vertical crack. I couldn’t believe it, but it’s true.

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

Perhaps these came from a bad lot or batch. Still, Newell Rubbermaid is a huge corporation that must have the capacity for some sort of quality control.

Now I know there are people who adore this pencil – but presumably you are not regularly seeing these serious quality issues?

For writing, I think it’s possible that the round shape is more comfortable over the course of a day. It’s certainly a personal preference.

The lead is okay, and did not break, but I don’t think it’s as smooth as our reference Lumograph 100 or the Castell 9000. To be fair, the Black Warrior is sold at a much lower price point than those pencils.

Mirado Black Warrior pencil

Overall, I am somewhat perplexed. The pencils are so badly made that they occupy their own unique category. I cannot recall ever buying any other brand of pencil with so many quality issues. Yet, the Mirado seems to have commercial success, with an ongoing following. Is this because they are almost alone in the category? Would the market have room for a higher quality round pencil?

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Staedtler Mars micro drafting pencils

Staedtler Mars micro drafting pencils

Along with the Pentel 120 A3 DX drafting pencils that I acquired last month at a university supply store, I purchased the rival Staedtler Mars micro line.

The micro, which may be Staedtler’s least expensive drafting pencil, has a metal tip, rubber grip, plastic body, metal clip, and metal cap. The lead advances by clicking the cap. A replaceable eraser is inside the cap. Just like the Pentel, a larger diameter pencil advances more lead per click than a smaller diameter pencil.

Staedtler Mars micro drafting pencils

I’ll admit that I immediately preferred the Pentel, and a month later, still do, for several reasons.

The Staedtler is a heavier pencil – about 13.2g to the Pentel’s 8.3g. The balance and hold on the Pentel seem (quite subjectively) superior to me, with the micro being unwieldy.

The grip on the micro is a patterned hard rubber. While I found the Pentel’s spongy grip pleasant, the Staedler was quite uncomfortable.

In appearance, I also much prefer the Pentel. It at least doesn’t seem to be taking itself so seriously.

For context, these are fairly inexpensive pencils, pretty much the cheapest that can make any claim at being a professional tool. Their price is equivalent to two to three quality woodcase pencils.

If you found yourself at a store with only these two drafting pencil choices, I’d recommend the Pentel.

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Pencil Boxes (III) – California Republic Palomino

California Republic Palomino pencil box

The third and final box of pencils that I was able to locate comes from California Republic Stationers. Two years ago on this blog, it was suggested that these pencils deserved a wooden box!

I was pleasantly surprised – the box has a pleasing patina, and seems reasonably sturdy, with a hinged lid. The hinge hardware is pleasant though generic.

California Republic Palomino pencil box

The box has six pencils – three red, three blue, produced by California Republic’s unnamed Japanese manufacturer. The last Palominos I bought were factory sharpened, while these are unsharpened. The box looks like it could hold another layer of six pencils. The pencils are seated in a clear plastic tray.

California Republic Palomino pencil box

The box I received has some slight blurring/smudging of the graphical imprint, but it doesn’t detract much from the aesthetics.

California Republic Palomino pencil box

Overall, it is a very nice box of pencils.

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Pencil Boxes (I) – Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus pencils

Sometimes pencils need a home, and one fine traditional home is the pencil box.

I’m sure I once had a nice wooden box of Blackfeet pencils, but I can’t find it. So, I decided to take a look around for other pencils still sold in wooden boxes. Here is what I found.

One place I looked is on Ebay, where I picked up this second hand box. The box is austere yet functional, with a sliding lid. It looks just like an archetypal old pencil box. The underside is stamped Neiman Marcus. I just looked at the Neiman Marcus website, and they still sell boxes of pencils – in no less than faux crocodile with matching box, though there is no offer of customization.

Neiman Marcus pencils

Inside the box are a dozen or so pencils, and it looks like it could easily accommodate a dozen more. The pencils have a person’s name stamped in gold letters. There is a title, initials, and a surname. The title might be civilian or military, and I’ll guess these were working pencils on an official desk.

Neiman Marcus pencils

The pencil, unfinished, is somewhat rough to hold, and the lead is a slightly scratchy light H or so grade. Still, they do the job. While there are novelty pencils aimed at children with pre-printed names (too bad if you have an unusual name), I don’t think a lot of adults today get their own name printed on a pencil. Too bad. This is a very nice grown up and practical appreciation of the pencil.

Neiman Marcus pencils

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