Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

Yet Another Mike had mentioned these pencils a couple of months ago, and I recalled the comment when I recently found some for sale. Thanks, Mike.

From Faber-Castell, we have a slightly different type of pencil. It uses oil rather than wax as the binding agent.

The advantage is that this pencil type creates lightfast marks that don’t require a fixative.

The three asterisks on the pencil indicate the marks will last over one hundred years in museum conditions!

It also has some interesting properties – sharpening to a point is easy, and that point stays strong – unlike many alternate formulation (pastel, charcoal, etc.) artist-oriented pencils. The pencils are also very smooth and manageable in the hand.

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

They are offered in five degrees, Extra Soft through Extra Hard.

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

The five degrees on Strathmore Windpower Sketch 89g/m2 paper:

Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

The pencils are attractive, priced no more than regular graphite pencils, and definitely capable. Do you use them? If so, why did you choose them?