Uni-ball is leaning into their One Gel lineup, including these recently launched Hannari and Miyabi 3-packs of 0.38 mm gel ink pens. There are six total Japanese culture-centric colors in these two packs, all of which run on the lighter side of the scale. The winner will be sent one of each three-pack, so read the rules below and get to entering!
Caran d'Ache 849 COLORMAT-X 0.7mm Mechanical Pencil Review
The Washington D.C. pen show was an exercise in sensory overload, so it is time to get back to the basics this week and tackle one of my favorite product categories: mechanical pencils.
“Basic” is a term rarely used when referring to Caran d’Ache products. Classic is probably a better term, and they do classic as well as anybody, as seen with this Caran d’Ache 849 Mechanical Pencil.
Given my love for the 849 Ballpoint and Fixpencil, both of which share a similar 849 barrel design as the mechanical pencil, I’m surprised it took me so long to try one out. My first impression when unboxing it? “Oh, yeah.”
Top to bottom: 849 Ballpoint, 849 Mechanical Pencil, Fixpencil.
That’s the sound of being familiar with a product lineup and brand, despite never using this exact model. The aluminum barrel of the 849 Mechanical Pencil is lightweight, sturdy, and comfortable. This model features a Blue COLORMAT-X anodized finish, giving the pencil a subtle sparkle and satin/matte feel. If the Pentel Sharp P Series mechanical pencil shipped with a metal barrel, it would look and feel a lot like this.
Staying with the Sharp comparison, the primary aesthetic difference between the two is the lack of a screw-on nose cone. The 849 barrel is one piece through the front taper, with only the tip of the mechanism appearing through the opening. It is not retractable into the barrel, unlike its ballpoint brethren.
Pentel Sharp P205, top.
The stock Caran d’Ache 0.7 mm lead is soft and dark. While I enjoyed writing with it, if this was primarily a writing pencil, I would look into swapping the lead out for something harder. But for artwork, drawing, and sketching, this lead is ideal. 0.7 mm width is your only choice, though.
While the lead is an easy swap, the price isn’t. This pencil is expensive for what it is, but that is the C’dA way. At around $23 it isn’t outrageous, and the similar 844 model is only a few dollars cheaper, so you are paying that Swiss premium for sure. Some of their products are easily worth that premium for me, and others have more competition.
I think the 849 mechanical pencil falls into that latter category, where I find the various 849 ballpoint and Fixpencil styles more “worth it.” I’m glad to have this pencil in the arsenal to play around with and compare to other products, but I’m not looking to add another one at this point.
(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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Misfill, Grow You Own Pigments Edition
Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:
— 10 Questions for Ellie Irons, an Artist Who Grows Her Own Pigments (Hyperallergic)
— No More Grail Pens: Hunting Fun Nibs at the 2023 D.C. Pen Show (The Gentleman Stationer)
— Retro writing 15 – Pomera DM250 (Art vs. Entropy)
— Sketchbook Flipthrough (24 min) (Francis Theo)
— Ishimaru #35 Grasshopper (Inkcredible Colours)
— Wearingeul Kim So Wol Literature (Mountain of Ink)
— Studio Neat Mark One Review (The Poor Penman)
— Sophie Green on self-doubt, battling procrastination and growing as a creative (Creative Boom)
— Shibui North Copper Pocket Pen (dapprman)
— In love with mechanical pencils (José Naranja)
— Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo Fountain Pen Ink Review (BLAKE'S BROADCAST)
— Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black Returns To North America (The Pelikan's Perch)
— Peter Feigl’s Diary (Notebook Stories)
— Week 31 of the Pro Democracy Protests (Writing at Large)
— Issue#13 Keeping and letting go of Fountain Pens (Fountain Pen Weekly)
— Pen Shopping at Appelboom Boston (Line Variation)
— WeTransfer releases free colouring book with Tara Booth, Ori Toor and more (It’s Nice That)
— Color Traveler Seto Inland Sea Blue Black on Tomoegawa Tomoe River (Inkcredible Colours)
— Scribo Piuma (Figboot on Pens)
— Reader Question 6: Help, I'm writing in five notebooks daily, how do I pare down? (Analog Office)
— Slippery Smooth: Kokuyo Perpanep Tsuru Tsuru (Dime Novel Raven)
— Ink of the Week – Diamine Ruby (Fountain Pen Love)
— Yarn & Ink: The Weekender and a fall ink palette. (The Well-Appointed Desk)
— Incredible Manga-Like Drawing by Hokusai from Early 1800s (Core77)
— Touching the dice (Take Note Podcast)
— Let's do the 21 Pen Questions (Extra Fine Writing)
— Ink Review #773: Inkebara Brown-Gray (Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
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