First, an apology. I only recently became fully aware that since a hosting change, the blog has lost full support for international languages. This is unfortunate, since a number of previous posts and comments that discussed the translation of pencil nomenclature (often Japanese to English) no longer make sense. If you might know the solution, or have a clue or hint, it would be appreciated.
The immediate problem is that it seems that the blog can’t 100% accurately render the name of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is the home of Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth.
Koh-I-Noor is a major and important pencil company that I regret has received insufficient coverage at pencil talk. In the blog’s defense, their products are often quite difficult to obtain in Canada. Koh-I-Noor is a rival of Bic/Conté in being able to trace their history back to the origins of modern pencil making. I don’t know what records or archives they have been able to maintain, but hope a professional historian will someday be able to recount their story.
These pencils came from the best online source for European pencils that I’m aware of, Bundoki.com. Bundoki staff visited a number of European manufacturers in 2010, and picked up several goodies they have kindly made available to the rest of us.
This particular pencil is a special “home edition” or some something along those lines. Hexagonal and oversized with an oversize lead, with natural finish, it is a very impressive pencil.
Details of the imprint:
I really like the angle of the factory point on those pencils. General’s does something similar with their wide-cored drawing pencils (like the Layout and Draughting), and I have a hard time replicating it.
Would you be able to sharpen them at all in most standard sharpeners? One of the pictures on the Bundoki website makes them look pretty enormous next to a standard Japanese pencil.
John, they do present well.
Matt, the pencils are 10mm side to side and will not fit in standard sharpeners.
I see you’ve discussed it in a number of earlier posts, but do you have a favored sharpener at the moment for oversized pencils?
John, try a T’GAAL adjustable sharpener; it has an adjustable angle that lets you obtain different points. My German coworker went nuts over it; he prefers the European pencil angle of his youth over the standard American.
(available here at JetPens: http://www.jetpens.com/index.php/product/view/products_id/5778)
Oversize pencils of course won’t work with the T’GAAL or many other sharpeners, whether handheld or desktop.
Matt, I don’t really have a favourite. I try to use something new with a sharp blade.