Happy Hallowe’en!

Hallowe'en pencils

Happy Hallowe’en!

This year, neighborhood kids will be getting a few Hallowe’en pencils. (Don’t worry, I’m not cruel – this is in addition to the usual chocolates and such.)

The themed pencils came from a promotional offer at pencils.com.

Spielen & Lernen 2008

Spielen & Lernen 2008

I’m not sure how a German language pencil catalogue landed at a “Sears” store in Canada, but so be it. This is Faber-Castell’s catalogue for their children’s line.

Here are a few interesting things I noticed:

* Several varieties/extensions of the “Grip” line – including a compass, and several colour pencil sets.

* A Jumbo Grip variant with colour chalk cores that can be used on a chalkboard!

* A nice kit including a fountain pen, pencil, tub of plasticine, and other fun items.

* New sharpeners and erasers.

* A new “Perfect Pencil” version priced at 2.95 Euros. That’s much better than the existing green plastic version, though the clip appears to have become plastic. (Have any of our readers in Europe seen one yet?)

* A red fabric foldable pencil case/box.

Pencil Boxes (IV) – the KUM Nic Nac Box

KUM Nic Nac Box

A late addition to our series on pencil boxes, the Nic Nac Box is a less known offering from sharpener manufacturer KUM.

KUM Nic Nac Box

A plastic box in light tinted blue, the removable lid becomes a standalone ruler. While on the box, a sliding overlay with a window supports looking up a multiplication table.

KUM Nic Nac Box

There is also a built-in sharpener, appropriate for a KUM product.

KUM Nic Nac Box

The box contains twelve pencils, six in black, six in red. The red ones are factory sharpened. All have nice matte finishes. Unfortunately, the lead seems to be a bit scratchy.

KUM Nic Nac Box

Overall, the box has quite a lot of charm, and would be a nice gift for a young person.

KUM Nic Nac Box

My thanks to Gunther for assistance in acquiring this pencil set.

Related posts:

Pencil Boxes (I) – Neiman Marcus

Pencil Boxes (II) – Graf von Faber-Castell

Pencil Boxes (III) – California Republic Palomino

Fila Electrographic 203 pencil

Fila Electrographic 203 pencil

The Fila Electrographic 203 is an exceptional pencil.

Made by Fila in Firenze (Florence), Italy, the pencil has an unrounded hexagonal shape and an outstanding fire engine red finish. The lead is like that of the cousin IBM Electrographic – leaving an extremely dense, rich, saturated black line.

Fila Electrographic 203 pencil

The lead is of such high quality that it makes most competitors seem lacking.

Fila Electrographic 203 pencil

I’ve been comparing it with top modern pencils such as the Pentel Black Polymer 999, and subjective observation suggests it is at least as good at most tasks.

Combined with the outstanding finish, the pencil is a true standout!

Faber-Castell design pencil (II)

Faber-Castell design pencil

A round pencil with grip enhancements, this is Faber-Castell’s latest “design pencil”. We saw another version last year. It seems like an ongoing occasional series.

A winner of a “reddot design award”, it also comes in black, though I have just the white and silver versions. The white is “pearly”, while the silver has some sparkle – quite a bit when seen in natural light.

The grip, created by protruding swirls, will be a matter of preference. I neither loved nor hated it.

Faber-Castell design pencil

They lay down a nice firm dark line, similar to other Faber-Castell pencils in ‘B’.

Faber-Castell design pencil

After a couple of weeks, I’m not so enthused by the format, though I still like the predecessor very much.