pencil talk | pencil reviews and discussion
exploring the art and science of pencils since 2005
Regular pencil talk readers have seen a few train-themed pencils from Japanese manufacturers. Take a look at the kossy-RS4 blog (in Japanese) for even more examples!
The transportation theme continues, this time with destination signs from London buses used as the inspiration.
I like them!
(The post title is borrowed from the early 1970s hit British TV show.)
A recent trip to a large city didn’t allow for much stationery shopping. All I managed to bring back was this pencil.
The pencil has no markings, but was in a display that claimed the pencil was made of “recycled bamboo”, and the eraser of “recycled rubber”.
The pencil surface is rough – very rough. Yet I’ve learned through the feedback from a past post that some prefer a surface like this.
It writes well, though the eraser doesn’t do too well at erasing the pencil’s markings:
|
|
Overall, the pencil leaves a good impression that I can’t completely explain.
The highlighting pencil is one of those specialty pencils that never really worked for me – the idea is great, but the ones I’ve tried from Lyra, Staedtler, and International Arrivals had weak pigmentation, and were not very effective.
I’m very happy to report that I’ve finally found a woodcase highlighting pencil that works as well as the liquid felt tip alternatives.
Faber-Castell’s Textliner 1148 is oversize, and in Faber-Castell’s popular “Grip” format – triangular with raised “grip” dots.
Announced this year, it appears to supersede a hexagonal predecessor, even assuming the same bar code. I actually have a couple of the hexagonal variety that I never got around to trying.
Available in five colours, the lines are fluorescent and saturated, just as they should be.
|
|
|
|
Close-up photos reveal that they leave a bit of pigment residue, the only minor flaw that I observed. They have become a standard office supply for me, and I have no trouble recommending them as a great specialty pencil.
The last two weeks, we’ve looked at a few pencils from France. Or to be more precise, pencils from French companies.
Let’s take a look at them together, and see how they compare. I am including these pencils from this month:
Conté à Paris Graphite 601 pencil
The Evolution Triangle pencil is not included, being an oversize specialty pencil.
Samples of the following previously mentioned pencils were also retrieved from the pencil talk archives for this test:
A Rhodia pad (a No. 38 in particular) seemed to be an appropriate test paper. I coudn’t find a French made eraser, so testing was done with a Spanish manufactured Factis.
Overall, it is clear that these pencils didn’t come from a North American office supply store – not a bland yellow pencil in the bunch! Each single pencil (except the Mentor) has an unusual colour or design. I like all of them, but the Black’Peps and Critérium 550 are the standouts for me.
I tried sharpening each pencil in a Carl Decade DE-100 sharpener. Even the plastic Evolution. All sharpened well, but I noticed that the triangular pencils weren’t necessarily gripped properly.
Laying down a line, I tried each pencil I had in grades HB through 2B. The Evolution, though perhaps having other merits, remained a weak performer in my view. The Mentor as well seemed scatchy. The nicest lines were from the Critérium, Black’Peps, and especially the Graphite 601.
Handwriting erasure was a surprise – there were distinct differences. The Factis eraser on Rhodia paper cleanly erased the Critérium, Gilbert, and Graphite 601 writing – and had problems with all others. I suppose the specific formulations made the difference.
A number of these pencils have distinct merits – the Gilbert as a quality round pencil made in several degrees – the Black’Peps for innovative design in a triangular shape, the 101 for value – but I had no trouble in deciding that the Conté à Paris Graphite 601 was the best in overall quality.
The Conté à Paris Graphite 601 pencil is a great find, as well as a rarity, being possibly the only woodcase pencil currently manufactured in France.
I was very pleased to discover that a small local bookstore had tins of these pencils on their modest art supply shelf.
The pencils come in a range of degrees from 3H through 6B, and are finished in a serious grey with gold lettering.
They are truly first rate – very rich and smooth, leaving dense, saturated lines. If better known, they could potentially be market leaders.
Now about the names – I thank the Paris office of ColArt, and blog reader Frank, for research assistance with the following.
Conté is named after balloonist, military officer, and chemist Nicolas-Jacques Conté, creator of the graphite-clay manufacturing process which is still used today, freeing manufacturers from the need to procure intact whole graphite pieces – which in the Napoleonic era, would only have been available from the Borrowdale mine of then-adversary England.
Akin to Newton and Leibniz, Conté’s contemporary Hardmuth was making similar breakthroughs in this era.
I’m not an art supplies historian, but Conté is also cited for advances in manufacturing sanguine and sepia pastels, based on pigments first used in the Italian renaissance – and still today.
Conté received French patent No. 32 and formed la Société Conté to manufacture his creations.
The company (at least in name) seems to have survived almost two centuries, and was purchased in 1979 by Bic.
So what are all the various pencils we’ve seen, and what is this one?
The answer found in Bic financial statements is that they sold the trademark “Conté à Paris” to ColArt for 1.5 million Euros in 2004. The “Ballograf” brand was also sold as part of the same “return to core products” initiative. Essentially, Conté was seen as a focused high end brand, not aligned with Bic’s mass market strategy.
So wait a minute – “Conté”, “Conté à Paris”, what’s going on and what is the difference? Well the financial statements mention “Conté à Paris”, which is the name on ColArt branded products – pencils and otherwise. Bic has moved former “Conté” products to the “BIC Kids” line, while still selling older stock under the name.
So the agreement appears to involve a transition – ColArt uses and will use “Conté à Paris” for high-end fine arts products, and Bic retains rights to use “Conté” while it transitions to “BIC Kids” – school/children’s supplies.
So who is ColArt? Rest assured, they aren’t a name most of us would know – but they are the owner of leading artist brands “Winsor & Newton”, “Liquitex”, and many others. ColArt is in turn part of a Swedish conglomerate – but that’s as far as we’ll go investigating corporate lineage here.
The logos, particularly the rendering of “Conté”, are the same in both brands – no doubt by agreement.
Congratulations to ColArt for carrying on a tradition of excellence.
Further reading: Conté memorial.
The Bic Mentor seems to be Bic’s budget line. Unlike the Critérium and and Gilbert lines, it is available in a single grade – HB.
The pencil is hexagonal with an unfinished end. It has gold lettering on a bright red finish.
The lead seems to be somewhat scratchy.
I’m not sure if these are in current production, but the Mentor appears to be one of Bic’s last made in France pencils still for sale in 2009.
My thanks to blog reader Frank for sending me this pencil. I’ll try to add a full photo at a later date.
Further reading: Official product page.