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Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

Yet Another Mike had mentioned these pencils a couple of months ago, and I recalled the comment when I recently found some for sale. Thanks, Mike.

From Faber-Castell, we have a slightly different type of pencil. It uses oil rather than wax as the binding agent.

The advantage is that this pencil type creates lightfast marks that don’t require a fixative.

The three asterisks on the pencil indicate the marks will last over one hundred years in museum conditions!

It also has some interesting properties – sharpening to a point is easy, and that point stays strong – unlike many alternate formulation (pastel, charcoal, etc.) artist-oriented pencils. The pencils are also very smooth and manageable in the hand.

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

They are offered in five degrees, Extra Soft through Extra Hard.

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

The five degrees on Strathmore Windpower Sketch 89g/m2 paper:

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

The pencils are attractive, priced no more than regular graphite pencils, and definitely capable. Do you use them? If so, why did you choose them?

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Colleen 3030 pencil

Colleen 3030 pencil

Regular readers will know the name “Colleen”. Formerly a major Japanese manufacturer, the firm folded a decade or so ago.

Yet the name lives on. A former manager is part of a new undertaking in Thailand, re-establishing the brand. We’ve seen some of their offerings for the Japanese market, especially their exquisite teak pencils.

Colleen 3030 pencil

What has remained less known are their offerings inside Thailand. The 3030 is one of them. Reviving a traditional Colleen model number, the 3030 is sold in boxes marked “Drawing Writing Computer”, with the phrase “Japan Lead” in bold.

Colleen 3030 pencil

The pencils are simply marked:

High Quality [logo] Colleen 3030 2B

Another side displays a bar code.

The pencils are blue with a black band and silver lettering. They are also slightly thicker than most modern pencils – a touch I like.

The pencils are factory sharpened, and re-sharpen easily. The wood appears to be pulai or jelutong.

Colleen 3030 pencil

The lettering and finish won’t win any awards, and are done to a much lower standard than modern Japanese pencils.

The lead is dark and rich, though somewhat crumbly. In a Mnemosyne notebook, the pencil lays down a fantastic line. From what I can tell, the 3030 is available in five grades – 2B through 6B.

Now I have a couple of other specimens of the 3030 – with a different cap. What is even more curious is that they appear to use a different species of wood – it looks like cedar – rather than pulai. I don’t have any further information on this subject.

Colleen 3030 pencil

While interesting, my sense is that the 3030 seems to be a lower end variant, and not part of the marketplace that the revitalized Colleen hopes to inhabit.

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Move over Moleskine

Congratulations to Canadian stationer Papterie Nota Bene for being prominently featured on two pages of today’s National Post.

By Nathalie Atkinson, Move over Moleskine is a richly illustrated leisurely look at the fine notebooks and writing implements that many of us enjoy.

What the online article doesn’t show are the photos and prominence that the print edition gives to the article.

The front page of the “Weekend Post” is covered with seven photos and the caption, “Never too cool for school”. Shown are a Roots saddle bag, Hermès Ulysses notebook, Field Notes notebooks and pencils, Erinzam notebooks, Rite-in-the-Rain notebook (with Ticonderoga pencil), Faber-Castell Textliners, and Whitelines notepads. I was certainly surprised and delighted by the prominence given to pencils.

The fourth page of the section has a near full page article, and shows some more photos of stationery items: A Kikkerland Endangered Species eraser, Globus pencil sharpener, Rhodia pad, Very Best mechanical pencil, and Reused News colour pencils. Pencils clearly rule!

The article is a tour of today’s stationery trends, guided by an interview with Russell Hemsworth of Papterie Nota Bene. I’ve never been to his store, but I’ve spoken with Russell on the phone and via email, and can personally vouch for his great service.

We get the scoop: Moleskine has officially jumped the shark, with Field Notes being the new hipster favorite. Longstanding brands like Canteo, Rite-in-the-Rain and Rhodia are also in high demand. And pencils, pencils, pencils!

Thanks to the Post for the article and congratulations to Russell.

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Urban Gridded Notebook

Urban Gridded Notebook

This might be the world’s only Urban Gridded Notebook. By John Briscella, it was sold by a print-on-demand publisher. Though I doubt it, I might be the only person to have ever purchased a copy.

Urban Gridded Notebook

The notebook has city grids, and no text aside from a list of cities on the last page.

You can study urban planning, or realign major cities with your doodles, or just use it as a notebook.

Urban Gridded Notebook

The paper is like thick newsprint, so there is some see-through with dark ink or graphite, though a Lamy fountain pen with F nib didn’t feather for me.

Urban Gridded Notebook

It’s a great product. Do you own one?

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Felissimo 500 Colour pencil set launches worldwide!

Felissimo recently relaunched their amazing set of 500 colour pencils in Japan.

This news was already exciting, but Felissimo recently contacted me, and told me about their plans to make these pencils available globally by monthly subscription! 25 pencils are sent from Japan each month for 20 months. The subscription price is $33.00 per month, inclusive of all costs.

I congratulate Felissimo on embracing the market beyond Japan, and wish them well. I hope other pencil manufacturers will follow.

Kossy has some photos of the second set here if you want a non-PR photo. They look amazing!

There is more. I’m happy to say that pencil talk has agreed to participate in the product’s promotion. There are a few reasons for this: I think it is an extraordinary offering that supports the creative use of pencils; I support the efforts of Japanese stationers to offer their outstanding products globally, and think a direct offer via the web is an excellent decision. And yes, they’re sending some pencils this way!

We’ll take a look at the actual pencils in September!

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