Finding the Darkest Pencil

The sample images are a bit confusing; none of them include all of the recommended pencils, the names don't always match up completely (I guess "Caran D'ache Noir" is the same as "Caran D'Ache Grafwood 9B"?), and one of the recommended pencils doesn't appear in the samples at all (Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 12B).

Simply put: darker = softer (read: holds point for less time). Standard pencil is the sweet spot (2 hb). As a former art student and user of (probably) many hundreds of pencils, I can say it's hard to beat that middle ground for writing. Obviously drawing is a totally different thing where you might need a bunch of different weights.

I think the thing that makes a pencil a pleasure to use is what it looks like. Totally subjective aesthetic qualities will keep me coming back to the same pencil with much greater force than the actual writing characteristics.

> Charcoal requires a fixer (usually a spray) that prevents smudging after you are finished

My kindergarten teachers used sugar water sprayed using a home-made Bernoulli-effect mister made from two pieces of drinking straw meeting at 90 degrees.

There's a new type of matte graphite pencil from Faber-Castell called "Pitt Graphite Matt". [1][2] They go to 14B and lack nearly all of the normal shine of graphite. Probably best of all worlds if you want something that's very dark but not fiddly like charcoal.

Edit: I see Pitt Graphite Matt is mentioned in the article, but they only mention the 12B and don't cover the fact that it lacks the shine of other graphites (in spite of commenting on how charcoals don't have this issue).

  1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5OL3E59nX8    Kirsty Partridge Art - "If this pencil works, it will change your life."
  2: https://www.faber-castell.com/pitt-graphite-matt-pencils

Mitsubishi is an interesting company.

Cars, industrial size generators, erasers and now I see pitch black pencil.

Their Boxy eraser is amazing. Hard to get nowadays though.

Anyone know of a better one?

I want to emphasis the suggestion of picking up a box of Musgrave 600 News if you enjoy pencils. It is a weird pencil. I carry several of them in my tool bag (they work well as carpenter's pencils for situations where you need a better point for writing), and will sometimes pick one up to annotate a book. I found they work best with a non-long point sharpener, as the graphite is so soft, it's quite difficult to not break the point, especially if you have a heavy hand.

I really like pencils as well. A few years ago I started a development journal mainly to stay motivated and so that I could look back to see how far I had come. I quickly found out that the whole process was a lot more enjoyable with nice paper and pencils.

I use several pencils and like them all really. I currently use all four Blackwings (black, pearl, natural and 602) as well as as a Tombow MONO 2H if I want fine lines, and I occassionally use the Mitsubishi k9800HB which is nice but not my favorite.

Now I am going to try the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 10B and even the KH-20 pencil sharpener. I like the manual long point sharpener from Blackwing and it is what I use daily. Overall, for general use, I like either the blackwing natural or the 602. The Black is very dark and makes normal pencil look anemic but you do have to sharpen frequently, although sometimes pausing to sharpen helps me clarify my thoughts, so I don't really mind. The pearl gives you similar quality, but is slightly harder so it last longer between sharpenings. Also a very good choice.

I love the internet for this kind of content. I feel a breath of fresh air with this kind of niche piece.

It reminds me of that guy that sells onions on the internet: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-inter...

I feel cheated by #2 all my life. Barely gray.

Just some random observations for context:

Comparing the darkness of graphite to black ink, I find that pencil begins to look as dark as ink at around a hardness of 7B.

I personally can't write cursive with a woodcased pencil softer than 4B. Even then I have to renew the point every half dozen words.

Mitsubishi Hi-Uni have probably the overall highest quality for woodcased graphite pencils. That's considering the case wood, the finish, the consistency between pencils, the lack of grit in the graphite, etc. Other brands may offer something you prefer in a particular case.

Faber-Castell 9000 tend to be lighter by grade than other brands. Their harder grades are reputed to be firmer and smoother than usual.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph have added carbon in the mix to reduce glare, making the graphite look blacker. The softer grades are a bit darker than other brands. I have found quality and darkness to be rather inconsistent, though.

One thing the article does not mention is that the darker (and softer) the pencil, the more easily it smudges. Even if it is not charcoal, you’d do best to fixate if you use really soft pencils like the 12B they tested.

As a side note: I love a thick 5.6mm lead clutch pencil for quick notes and sketches in my notebook at work. It writes like a pencil and you can erase it, but it has the feel of a sharpie (thick lines, not very accurate). It forces me to be concise in what I write and draw.

But after experimenting there I did settle on #2 lead for most uses. My notebook simply becomes one grey smudge much too quickly with softer leads.

I've been a bit of a Mitsubishi pencil evangelist for several years now. Other than the shade of the graphite, the hardness/density, smoothness over paper, erasability, and more are all points to weigh when seriously considering a writing utensil.

The 9850 has been my preference, and it comes in a lovely deep red. Cool article!

I would guess this would be for drawing purposes? I don't see the appeal of writing with a charcoal pencil

I don't understand the recommendation:

    If you want the darkest pencil then you want a Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 10B.

When the picture at the top of the article shows that this particular pencil is the second least dark tested.

To be or not to be, that is the question.