Posts filed under Pencil Reviews

Mitsubishi 9850 HB Pencil Review

I’ve known for years that the Mitsubishi 9850 HB Pencil was good, but maybe not necessarily great. I think I’ve been selling it short: it is great.

I guess I’m fortunate that I didn’t review it previously, as it has stood the test of time on my desk, in competition with dozens of other pencils that have passed through my hands. Good products rise to the top in this way. Usage is a good scoreboard.

In previous pencil reviews, I often grabbed the 9850 to use for comparison. Only when recently reviewing the Kitaboshi 9606 HB did I realize I had never done a proper review of the 9850. I went looking for that review because as I was testing pencils, I realized the 9850 was better than all of them. That included the Blackwing 602, a default favorite pencil.

There was no review to be found.

I found praise for it as a side note in other posts, but only against these other pencils did I finally realize how special the 9850 is. Am I going to tell you it is the best pencil on the market? No. But I’m not going to not tell you that, either.

Pencils are difficult to compare directly to one another. Graphite cores are an obvious differentiator, but sometimes they are tough to tell apart when they are the same grade. Heck, they are sometimes identical, as I discussed in the aforementioned Kitaboshi review. I like a dark core, with a balance between smoothness and some feedback, plus good point retention. That’s honestly not too difficult to find between several brands.

Freshly sharpened with the Uni KH-20 (left,) and 300 words later.

Aesthetics matter, too. The 9850 is a classic, general-use design, while other popular brands like Blackwing and Caran d’Ache have more premium fits and finishes-with prices to match.

This is all to say that when accounting for everything-quality, style, comfort, experience, price-the Mitsubishi 9850 might be the best total package on the market.

I do hedge a little bit, because there are a few pencils I prefer style-wise over the 9850-the Blackwing Eras with the Extra Firm core, and the Tombow Mono 100 HB, for example. But are they better than the 9850? I wouldn’t go that far.

The Mitsubishi 9850 has been around for decades, and is the standard by which all office pencils have been measured. It should be the standard by which all premium pencils are measured as well.

You can pick up the 9850 for $1.40 per pencil at JetPens, or grab a dozen from St. Louis Art Supply for $10.95.

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Posted on November 21, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Mitsubishi, Pencil Reviews.

Kitaboshi 9606 HB Pencil Review

Is the Kitaboshi 9606 HB Pencil good enough to replace the hugely popular Blackwing 602, for half the price?

This is going to be a fun exercise today. And the least interesting part of it is that Kitaboshi manufactures Palomino and Blackwing pencils. More on that in a bit. Until then, what is the Kitaboshi 9606?

Kitaboshi is a well-respected Japanese manufacturer, making pencils in Tokyo since 1951. Pencils.com gives more insight into their history, including their providing of Incense Cedar wood slats from Cal Cedar.

The 9606 is Kitaboshi’s take on the traditional Japanese office pencil category, as seen in products like the Mitsubishi 9850 and Tombow 2558. The barrel is a classic burgundy shade, with gold foil stamping on one side-with name, model, graphite grade, and “General Use” imprints-and silver foil stamping on the opposite-stating “Academic Writing,” and a second HB stamp. I haven’t seen this type of dual-color, opposite-side, stamping before, but I guess Kitaboshi wanted to have their bases covered.

From a performance side, they certainly do. This is a smooth, dark core with good point retention, all while not being too firm. That’s a good stock definition of HB, but there is often core grading variance between brands. I’m surprised with most Japanese HB pencils at how soft they pretend to be, while not having to sharpen them constantly, as if you were using a 4B core to write a novel with. The excellent point retention disguises the softness.

The 9606 is a great all around pencil. Clearly, it is ideal for academic writing or general use-the barrel says so-but yes, it’s great for every day writing, and has enough range to be used for drawing, sketching, and more.

As with many standard Japanese pencils, the Kitaboshi 9606 is priced right at $1 per pencil when bought as a dozen. For a pencil of this quality, it is a fantastic value, and an easy recommendation.

So, that whole manufacturing thing-are Kitaboshi cores the same as found in Blackwings? I made this comment in my Muji 2B Pencil Review:

“Surprisingly, the Blackwing Pearl was a close match for the Muji. The core felt similar, and the color and smoothness on the page was similar.”

Turns out, the Muji pencils are made by Kitaboshi, too! Three grades of the standard Kitaboshi Cedar Pencil are available. Hmmmmmmm …

So, the final question: Is the 9606 going to replace the Blackwing 602 for me? No. The Blackwing design is turned up to 11, and I’m happy to pay the premium that requires. This question is similar to the one I asked last week about the Zebra Sarasa Nano. Two great pens, and in that case I chose the cheaper of the two. This time, it’s the opposite. And that is no knock on either selection I didn’t make. It’s merely an aesthetic choice. If the insides are the same, I’ll pick the outside I prefer most of the time.

In the broader sense, the Kitaboshi 9606 deserves to be selected more times than not. The performance dictates that, and the price seals the deal. It’s a great pencil.

(St. Louis Art Supply provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 24, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Kitaboshi, Pencil Reviews.

Makers Cabinet Ferrule Pencil Extender Review

It has been difficult to get my review of the Makers Cabinet Ferrule started. What do I think of it? Who is it made for? Is it good, bad, or somewhere in between? What’s the hook?

When I don’t know where to start, the easiest place to begin is with a fact: The Ferrule is a $96 pencil extender. What I’ll try to decide the rest of this article is the opinion portion of the proceedings. Is it worth it?

There is no doubt that the Ferrule is expensive. In the grand scheme of Makers Cabinet products, that is the norm.

The job of the Ferrule is to extend the life of a pencil stub, aka the shortest remnant of the pencil barrel when it has been used past an easily grippable state. There’s a lot of good graphite left in there, so let’s try to get all of it out!

To do that, the Ferrule twists apart in the center of the barrel, opening a clutch mechanism to allow you to slide a 7-to-8 mm diameter pencil into the opening. A twist back the other direction locks the pencil in place for use. To sharpen, or extended the stub further, simply repeat the process to remove or adjust until the pencil is no more.

As you may have surmised at this point, pencils with erasers can be an issue. Standard ferrules and round erasers squeeze in there, but Blackwing’s rectangular setup need not apply.

(Note: Round ferrules are definitely an issue. I got one stuck when I was setting up the pictures for this post. After a moment of panic, I figured out a way to stick a long, skinny metal rod (thank you meat thermometer!) through the top of the barrel down far enough to push it out. Whew.)

Since the pencil is down to its final form as-is, I have no problem hacking the ferrule off to fit the Ferrule. That’s then entire reason for its existence anyway. It does ship with six Kitaboshi-core short pencils for use if you don’t want to use your own pencils.

Historically, pencil extenders are thin and lightweight, designed to mimic the traditional wooden pencil writing experience. The Ferrule is none of that. The brass barrel is heavy at 45 grams, and around 12 mm (I had to eyeball it, my digital caliper battery is dead,) at its widest part of the grip section. For me, these measurements are the biggest hangup. It turns a classic pencil into something completely different.

Different is ok, but the Ferrule is not additive to my writing experience. At this price, it needs to be. As I was using it over the last few weeks, I was hard pressed to find a situation where it would be my preferred writing choice. It’s too wide and heavy for much more than a quick note. Plus, I’m never short on pencil inventory, so if I get one down to the stub, it’s an easy choice to grab a fresh one out of the box. And who doesn’t love that?

This is primarily a drawing/sketching lead holder, similar to the 2 mm ones I enjoy. I think for extended drawing use you would have to grip it further back on the barrel and use broader strokes and movements. Another option would be for it to be a utility pencil; wood marking, for example. Any type of standard writing will tire your hand out quickly.

In the end, it’s a great design that turns a wooden pencil into something I don’t want it to be. I can also see where others could find good utility in the Ferrule, such as the person I borrowed it from. They like it so much they bought two!

(The Makers Cabinet Ferrule was loaned to me by a friend for purposes of this review.)

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