Month: March 2009

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Red and blue pencils VII – Tombow and Mitsubishi

Red and blue pencils

So far, we’ve seen two examples of red and blue pencils from Japan – the first rate Kita Boshi 9667, and the very unusual finger-jointed Mitsubishi 2667.

Let’s continue our exploration of this interesting pencil format by looking at the mainstream offerings from Japan’s largest pencil manufacturers, Tombow and Mitsubishi.

Tombow makes the round 8900 VP. (VP for Vermilion/Prussian Blue.) There is also a very interesting variant – the 8900 VP 7/3 – a 70% red, 30% blue pencil!

Mitsubishi counter with their own round red and blue pencils, the Colour Pencil 2667, and an accompanying 70% red, 30% blue, Colour Pencil 2637.

Mitsubishi also produce a hexagonal pencil, the 772.

The Tombow CV-REA VP, an offering corresponding to the 2667EW, is the only product missing (to the best of my knowledge) from this review.

All the pencils have their principal makings in gold, and some have additional markings in white:

8900 VP
Obverse: High Quality Tombow 8900 *V.P* Made in Indonesia
Reverse: [bar code] Vermilion Prussian Blue

8900 VP 7/3
Obverse: High Quality Tombow 8900 *V.P* 7/3 Japan
Reverse: Vermilion Prussian Blue

2667
Obverse: Mistsubishi Pencil Co. Ltd. Colour Pencil 2667
Reverse: [bar code] Vermilion/Prussian Blue

2637
Obverse: Mistsubishi Pencil Co. Ltd. Colour Pencil 2637
Reverse: Vermilion/Prussian Blue

772
Obverse: “Mitsu-Bishi” Vermilion/Prussian Blue 772
Reverse: ????

A few observations about these pencils, starting with the more subtle distinctions. Two pencils have bar codes, and three do not. I don’t know if there is any greater meaning. The various pencils may or may not be meant for individual sale, and some might be part of packaging that contains a bar code. The pencils without bar codes certainly have a cleaner appearance.

Proportion – the unequal proportion of the two colours and implied specialization of the 2637 and 8900 7/3 pencils is fascinating and charming! It is a rare and appreciated touch!

Red and blue pencils

Lettering – the “C” in “Colour” on the Mitsubishi pencils is remarkable! A curl in a curl! It is a first rate traditional font.

Varnish. All five pencils seem to have nearly identical blue ends. Yet the red sides vary. The two 8900s seem the same, but the 26x7s are not. The 772 seems to be the same as the 26×7.

The 772 is nicely done in another way. The Latin vs. Kanji characters on opposite sides make a nice juxtaposition.

Red and blue pencils

Made in Indonesia. Okay, I am slightly shocked. I have not previously seen a woodcase pencil from a Japanese pencil manufacturer marked “Made in Indonesia”. And adding to the curiosity is that the sibling 7/3 is marked “Japan”. Has anyone seen any pencils like this?

How do they write?

Red and blue pencils

Before answering that question, let me mention that these pencils all arrived unsharpened – and some were not co-operating with the Irish and German made KUM Correc-Tri sharpener!

The blue ends were the worst – I gave up on the 772 and took out a pen knife. Guess what? The 772 was very hard to sharpen, even with a Leatherman Squirt pen knife.

On the red side, the 2667 red and 8900 blue ends needed two tries after breakage.

Red and blue pencils

The wood quality and breakage issues of the 772 seem to mark it as a lower quality pencil than the other four.

I retried the sharpening in my battery operated Panasonic sharpener, and it did much better.

Red and blue pencils

So as to how they write – all five wrote very well, with rich, higly pigmented lines. I didn’t distinguish much difference between them.

My favourite is probably the 2667, based on ease of sharpening and the distinctive makings.

Red and blue pencils

Further on red and blue pencils:

From penciltalk.org:
Red and Blue pencils
Red and Blue pencils II
Television! (The Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil)
Red and Blue pencils IV – Viarco
Red and Blue pencils V – a mechanical twist
Red and Blue pencils VI – the Kita-Boshi Vermilion and Prussian Blue 9667 pencil
FILA 795 BE Red and Blue Pencil
Chung Hwa 120 red and blue pencil
Mitsubishi 2667 EW red and blue pencil

From stdk.de:
Rot-Blau-Stifte

From rot-blau-stift.de:
Rot-Blau-Stift

From the uncomfortable chair:
?????????

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Bic 101 pencil

Bic 101 pencil

Though Staedtler and Faber-Castell may get more attention here at pencil talk, the Bic name might be better known to global consumers.

Famous as producers of disposable ballpoint pens, Bic also make woodcase pencils.

Bic 101 pencil

The Bic 101 is made in China, and is sold in a box that lists distributors in Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and China.

It has some interesting claims:

Bic 101 pencil

A couple of notes – first, the statement about the wood species is a welcome disclosure. Second, regarding “Fumigated wood” – this isn’t generally a consumer concern, but I’ve bought enough “vintage” pencils to confirm that like old books, mould can become an issue over time in pencils.

The box also states “Exam Grade”, “Low Breakage”, and “2B Superior Quality”.

Bic 101 pencil

There seems to be some new Asian pencil trend focused on “Exam” pencils. Does anyone know more about this? The 101 is yet another entry in this category.

The pencil has a sparse finish – black with grey cap and white cap ring.

Bic 101 pencil

The lettering is in gold, and states: “Bic 101 Superior Quality – 2B”.

Okay, down to business – the pencils sharpen easily and perform very well, laying down a dark, rich line. This was a complete and welcome surprise to me, as I really expected budget performance from this budget pencil.

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Ancient Kauri

Ancient Kauri wood pencil

Caution. Avert your eyes! This is a joint post, and you should first head on over to Dave’s Mechanical Pencils to learn about Ancient Kauri wood. Then head back here.

It isn’t too often that a letter carrier arrives at my door bearing a package with the markings of the New Zealand postal authority.

Ancient Kauri wood pencil

I’ll admit that I knew in advance about this parcel, and was eagerly looking forward to receiving it.

Ancient Kauri wood pencil

There was said to be some magic inside – ancient Kauri wood. And not in the form of a swamp log – but transformed into a mechanical pencil.

The pencil is indeed quite something – made from an ancient and historic wood that is important in traditional Maori culture.

It is now winter in Canada, and sunlight can be scarce. On a bright day, the wood just gleams and shines. Some surfaces have three dimensional aspects, and the entire surface is engaging. Bits of sap are translucent and shiny. The patterns call for twirling the pencil and careful examination. Different aspects of the wood are revealed in different light conditions.

Ancient Kauri wood pencil

The pencil itself is 137mm long, with Kauri body and gold plated metal accents. It weighs a modest 24.4g with the included lead. It takes a 2mm diameter lead – and is in the format of a mechanical pencil, with the cap acting as a lead advance button.

Ancient Kauri wood pencil

The clutch leadholder format is more common for 2mm leads. Yet recent years have also brought wide lead (defined as 2.0mm and greater) mechanical pencils such as this to the market.

This particular pencil has a nice advantage – some mechanical pencil style wide lead pencils don’t have sufficient rotational grip to support the use of sharpeners – but this pencil easily meets that goal. A minor disadvantage is that this pencil cannot accommodate a standard 130mm refill from manufacturers such as Mitsubishi or Staedtler, and about one third of a refill lead will have to snapped away to be made usable.

Ancient Kauri wood pencil

The advance mechanism requires a forceful click, but functions in a reliable manner.

The cap contains a basic lead pointer, functional in an emergency.

The grip and shape seemed visually “not quite right” to me, but have been completely fine in practice.

Ancient Kauri wood pencil

I’ll try to quickly mention the one flaw in my view – the appointments. The cap, clip, mid-section, and tip, though plated in gold, are generic and of inferior design. The Kauri seems to have no relationship with the trim. The appointments detract from the history and majesty of the pencil. No serious manufacturer could actually offer this level of quality at retail. Unfortunately, pen turners seem to have access only to extremely generic kits such as this.

The pencil writes nicely, and even if it isn’t one’s standard grip, holding the pencil on the Kauri area is irresistible!

The unique origins are another intriguing aspect – for me, contemplating the history in this pencil is very engaging.

Overall, this pencil has a fascinating history, and I am thankful for Dave’s generosity in commissioning it and sending a specimen to me.

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The curious arithmetic of mechanical pencil refills

Pentel Ain lead refills

Hmm, has anyone noticed this aspect of mechanical pencil refills?

Pentel Ain refills (just to pick a particular brand) are all the same price.

And all are 60mm in length.

But they contain:

0.3mm – 20 pieces
0.4mm – 30 pieces
0.5mm – 40 pieces
0.7mm – 40 pieces
0.9mm – 36 pieces

What gives? Thinner lead costs more? I would think one would get more pieces of thin lead per dollar.

If you calculate volume = length * pi * radius * radius

Then single pieces of lead are:

0.3mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.15mm * 0.15mm = 4.24mm3
0.4mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.20mm * 0.20mm = 7.54mm3
0.5mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.25mm * 0.25mm = 11.78mm3
0.7mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.35mm * 0.35mm = 23.08mm3
0.9mm = 60mm * 3.14 * 0.45mm* 0.45mm = 38.16mm3

That’s right – a 0.9mm lead is 9 times the volume of a 0.3mm lead! (Which makes sense as the volume is proportional to the square of the three-times-larger radius.)

So as to how much lead is in a Pentel Ain box:

0.3mm: 20 * 4.24mm3 = 84.80mm3
0.4mm: 30 * 7.54mm3 = 226.20mm3
0.5mm: 40 * 11.78mm3 = 471.20mm3
0.7mm: 40 * 23.08mm3 = 923.20mm3
0.9mm: 36 * 38.16mm3 = 1373.76mm3

That’s right – for the same price, a 0.9mm user gets 16 times more lead in a box than a 0.3mm user!

Curious?

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Viarco Desenho Premium 2001 pencil

Viarco Desenho Premium 2001 pencil

We have seen some specialty pencils from Viarco of Portugal, namely the Violeta Copia copying pencil and the Olympico and Comercial red and blue pencils. Today we’ll venture into more mainstream territory.

For those who didn’t read those articles, I’ll restate that “Viarco is a 94 year old pencil company from João da Madeira, Portugal, who produce a wide range of pencils – writing pencils, drawing pencils, carpenter’s pencils, and yes, even copying pencils and red and blue pencils – with a staff of twenty-eight!”

The Desenho Premium is made from incense cedar, and finished in matte black (including the cap). With silver lettering, it is an appealing combination.

Viarco Desenho Premium 2001 pencil

Hexagonal, the pencil comes factory sharpened, and is easily resharpened. Like other matte finish pencils, the grip is excellent.

Viarco Desenho Premium 2001 pencil

The pencil’s weak point is the lead. To me, it seems just average in smoothness, or perhaps slightly above average. While still a very good office pencil, I was disappointed that the Desenho Premium wasn’t just a bit more “premium”.

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Papermate Premium Exam Standard 1118 pencil

Papermate Premium Exam Standard 1118 pencil

While I once thought that the IBM Electrographic represented a legacy pencil category, I keep finding new exam pencils entering the market.

The Papermate Exam pencil is probably unfamiliar to North American and European readers. The box says the pencil is “distributed by Sanford Brands, a Newell Rubbermaid company,” and lists the Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Thailand Sanford offices.

Papermate Premium Exam Standard 1118 pencil

The Papermate pencil website states: “Made in Lewisburg, Tennessee, USA; our pencils are created from fine woods and polymers.” But we’ve also learned that the Lewisburg pencil works will be closing this year.

This pencil makes no statement about origin, but I think we can be fairly certain it wasn’t made in Tennessee.

Papermate Premium Exam Standard 1118 pencil

The pencil box has an optical scan sheet background, and makes some atypical claims. Quoting the back of the box:

Examination
Ideal for exam use.

Darker shade
100% accuracy using OPSCAN 6 examination checking machine.

Larger Lead
2.6mm lead for ease of shading.

Break resistant
Stronger lead for long lasting performance.

So it has a very specialized purpose. I was surprised to see a specific scanner model mentioned. The Opscan 6 seems to be desktop optical scanner that attaches to a PC via a USB cable. Used ones sell on eBay for as little as $200. I had no idea that this technology had become a commodity. I’ll presume that it’s a popular model at schools.

The 2.6mm lead diameter is in contrast to the standard pencil lead core of about 2.0mm. This seems to be a typical aspect of the exam pencil.

The pencil itself looks sharp, in an alternating black and silver pattern, with contrasting lettering, and black cap and white cap ring.

It does not sharpen easily, even in my Carl Bungu Ryodo. The wood is very tough and white in shade – very likely basswood with little or no treatment.

The lead is rough and scratchy. Though it is sold as a 2B pencil, it seems more like an F grade to me. I also found the lead to easily break.

While the larger lead claim can’t be disputed, I completely disagree that this pencil would be ideal for an exam – lead breakage, difficulty in sharpening, and the relatively faint mark all make it quite inferior.

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