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Blue is the theme of Felissimo’s fourth set of colour pencils. I’m a bit behind in displaying these – I’ve already received the fifth set, and a Canada Post notice tells me I wasn’t in when they attempted delivery of the sixth set. Wow, 150 colour pencils here or nearby! The collection is starting to take shape.
I’ve noticed that pencil blogs in Japan mention these pencils with different reference numbers. I’m afraid I only just figured this out – the boxes have a small circled identifier. I’ve been referring to the pencils as I’ve received them (calling this the “4th set”, for example), but depending on where you live and when you ordered them, you might receive them in a different order. For the record, this is volume 15. Quite a bit of feedback has been sent this way about the pencils. I’ll try to summarize. I’ll offer some feedback on these points: 1. I am very happy to see mentions of these pencils in mainstream North American media, especially television and magazines. Felissimo has clearly made an impact in the public arena, a place other pencil manufacturers seem to have forsaken. 2. A subscription may provide ongoing revenue, but it should be an option rather than the only purchase method. 3. Artists – the message is clear, but as I’ve written before, high quality pencils that offer open stock, accompanied by laboratory tested lightfastness reports, are in a completely different price range. If Caran d’Ache offered a 500 pencil set, it might cost thousands. But it would be amazing! 4. Cost. The Japan Post EMS (”registered air mail”) delivery multiplied by 20 is no doubt a large (majority?) part of the cost.
Perhaps five shipments of 100 pencils, or just sending the 500 pencils together, might be a better offer. If you could buy the 500 pencils in a single package for $250, would you be tempted? The offer may soon end. Though all orders will of course be completely fulfilled, the acceptance of new subscriptions may soon be closing.
Further reading: Felissimo pencils at pencil talk
Though erasable colour pencils may not be new, they remain a small specialty pencil category. This situation might soon change, as Faber-Castell has introduced a new product in this category.
Aimed at children, it is a set of twelve pencils, each with the lead colour matching the pencil finish and eraser.
The pencils have no model number, and are marked “Radierbar/Erasable”. As well as a space to write one’s name, they notably state “Made in Germany”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this full statement on the body of a Faber-Castell pencil. The box indicates some possible student uses, such as learning algebra or a foreign language, as well as drawing. The potential for erasable colour marks appears promising in the educational realm.
The box as well mentions FSC certification. I looked up the certificate (IC-COC-100002), and it unfortunately appears to be generic to Faber-Castell, with no interesting information about the species of wood, or even the part of the world it came from.
So how do they function? The colours seem bright, but somewhat on the pastel side. I like them. As to the pencil’s core claim – erasure – the marks seemed to hardly erase at all with the attached erasers! This was quite disappointing, given that erasability is supposed to be the set’s main feature. Yet I’ll admit to not being surprised – this seems like an almost impossible feature to offer in a low cost children’s product.
With a Tombow Mono block eraser, results were much better, though some colours erase better than others. I also compared them to colour pencils that don’t claim erasability – and these are definitely much better. So with a good block eraser (not the attached eraser), and reasonable expectations (much, but not complete erasure), they may be a fun item to try. And a bonus – inexplicably, the “black” pencil isn’t a black colour pencil, but rather a graphite pencil. My thanks to Gunther from Lexikaliker for sending me these pencils.
Colleen, a company we’ve mentioned before, makes double ended colour pencils – in round, hexagonal, and triangular shapes! I simply cannot think of another manufacturer offering a specialty pencil in such a variety of formats. Here is the “Mandarin Orange and Emerald Green” pencil in all three shapes:
Offerings like these bode well for Colleen. See also: Double ended colour pencils Blog reader Donnie kindly alerted me to an important auction. The background story is here at the Blackwing Diaries. The auction is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250570325938 and ends February 7th.
Faber-Castell’s Brazilian operation makes 1.8 billion pencils a year! It is a true wonder that more don’t wash up overseas. Well perhaps they do – but their origins aren’t mentioned. So here is an exception – the Presto 1210 is clearly stamped “Ind. Brasil” and sold in a package marked “Origen: Brasil”. The samples I have were purchased in Argentina, and I would like to thank blog reader dasmarians for kindly sending them to me.
The pencil is factory sharpened, blue finish with ferrule and eraser (pink or white). It has stamped imprints, silver imprints, and white imprints. The obverse reads: 2847 Ind. Brasil Eco {logo} Faber-Castell 2=HB The reverse: Madeira Reflorestada/Madera Reforestada 1210 Presto 7 891360 548294 {bar code} Of the many “pencils of the world” I’ve tried, many have interesting stories, names and finishes, but few are truly great writers. I will state that the Presto 1210 is an exception.
The lead is admirably rich, dark, and smooth. From the appearance of the pencil and the packaging, this is just an ordinary school or office pencil. I was comparing it with the 2B Grip 2001 (many of which are also made by Faber-Castell in Brazil), and it seems subjectively superior. The “Eco” name, and statements of FSC certification, are attestations to the forestry management processes behind the wood – probably a practical requirement for pencils made in rainforest areas. I’m curious about what species of wood might be in the pencil. A pine variety?
I wish I could find other pencils from Faber-Castell Brazil – they’ve done a great job with the Presto. Please take a look at pencils and music, a new blog focused on great writing implements and paper for music composition. It will not disappoint those who like Graf von Faber-Castell’s fine creations, and the first few posts show some of the rare and long retired early pencil versions. |
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