Koh-i-noor Hardmuth pencils

 Had been reading a lot about the Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth pencils... 

Interesting read about the company! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koh-i-Noor_Hardtmuth

 Found this mixed pack of different graphite grades in my local store, Warden Collections. 

 Good pencils, for sure!

PLANT ME pens and pencils

 

Sweet friends sent me these in the post this morning... Plant Me ballpens and pencils.

 

I sharpened one of the pencils and I like it! Sharpens very well, unlike some other recycled material pencils I've used. It also writes well, dark enough for my liking.

 

They said they know the person who makes these (or maybe is a dealer), so I will definitely be making some inquiries.

 

Thank you, Q, Zo!

 

 

 

MORE TOMBOWS!

 My previous post spoke of finding the Tombow Mono R on Amazon India. Since I really liked them and others on the group were talking about the other Tombows as well, I looked for them. And voila! I found the Tombow 8900 available on Amazon India as well. So, of course, I had to order them. 

😃

Again, very satisfying. A very smooth writing experience, almost like a hot knife in butter. Sharpening it, ok. 

I love these Tombows!!

NavNeet Fun Fun Full Marks Pencils

Some years ago, NavNeet, known for its study-aid books, joined the bandwagon for stationery. They're doing a good job and their Fun Fun Full Marks pencils are really good. Light in weight, multiple colours in the pack, they help in encouraging young children to write. A decent dark lead, smooth writing and easy sharpening make it a good buy.
They also have a version of Fun Fun Stripes. Each box comes with 10 pencils and a free eraser and sharpener.

Old Pencils and an Eraser

My husband's family had these in their collection. The Faber-Castell one with the brush is an eraser that my husband used in Architecture college. The others are pencils - look at the one with the Bombay Telephone Company's advertisement. Amazing.

Pencil Story

Something that seems so basic but has been at the start of almost every artistic or creative endeavour - the pencil.

This article narrates a wonderful story about pencils -

http://www.pencils.com/blog/the-story-of-pencils/

Pencil lead? Where's the lead?

So! We all grew up talking about the lead in pencils. At some point in school, we learnt that it wasn't 'lead', but graphite. Now, I learn that it's a mix of graphite and clay.

So where did the word 'lead' get into pencils?

Here's a lovely article that answers this question and gives us some more interesting pencil trivia!

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/11/why-pencil-lead-is-called-lead/

Apart from this article, the website http://www.todayifoundout.com/ itself sounds interesting. Something new to learn every single day!

Pencil History

Who made the first pencils? How were pencils made centuries ago? With what were they made?
Find some interesting pencil history at

http://www.pencils.com/blog/pencil-history/

The Birth of Pencils

We use a pencil almost everyday. Writing, doodling, scratching our heads, winding loose tape back into a cassette (though we don't use cassettes anymore)... lots of uses! Different types of pens come and go but pencils live on. Millions of pencils are made daily. Have you given a thought to how pencils are made nowadays?

Here's an interesting post from the pencils.com blog!

http://www.pencils.com/blog/pencil-making-today/

Apsara Pop & Apsara Joi Extra Dark Pencils

We grew up in India with Nataraj and Apsara pencils which were two of the few pencil brands in the market between 1970-1990. Only after liberalisation of the economy in the early 90s, did stationery begin to boom in India and consumers had more of a choice.

Apsara Joi

I learnt only recently that Nataraj and Apsara are both brands made by Hindustan Pencils Pvt. Ltd. Not only do they have a huge market share of pencils in India, but they also export their products to over 30 countries. Their products conform to European safety norms, all their ingredients are non-toxic, and they continue to make the effort to develop plantations to ensure renewal of the wood they use. This makes me happy to support them!

In recent years, Apsara has been coming out with beautiful pencils!! Apsara Pop and Apsara Joi are two of their many different series. Hexagonal pencils with a smooth lacquer finish, extra dark smooth lead and the wood sharpens very well.

Apsara Pop

The box of Apsara Joi pencils has pencils with different coloured lacquers, but each pencil has primarily one colour with alternate thin stripes of a different colour. Each pencil of Apsara Pop has two colours separated by white thin stripes. Each box comes with a free eraser and a long point sharpener.

I highly recommend these series of pencils!!
For ratings, I give Apsara Joi 4.5 on 5 and Apsara Pop gets a 5 on 5.

My First Ticonderoga

I picked up a blister pack of 4 'My First Ticonderoga' in 2009 on a trip to the US. The blister pack has 4 pencils and a sharpener.

They're fat pencils, in the trademark green and yellow Ticonderoga colors. Absolutely perfect for little hands who're just beginning to write. However, I'm mad about stationery so I started using these myself.

I absolutely love them!

Compare the thickness with a regular pencil

I enjoy the control that the fat pencils give. Smooth core with a neat eraser. The pencil weight is just enough for little hands to manage conveniently.

The hardness of the pencil is a standard US #2 which is the worldwide HB. I personally prefer softer pencils, but for children, HB is possibly more suitable since they tend to use more pressure while writing.

To understand pencil grading, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil

Unfortunately these Ticonderoga pencils aren't available in India; however, you can buy them from Amazon.com with ease. If you have someone traveling to India from the US, you can buy them off Amazon, have it shipped to the person in the US who can then bring it to you! I plan on ordering a bigger pack soon!

I give them a rating of 4.5 on 5.  (Just because I'm a wee bit finicky)

Here's the Amazon link for the bigger pack of 12 (much more economical than the blister pack of 4) :

Ticonderoga My First Ticonderoga Primary Size 2 Beginner Pencils, Box of 12, Yellow (33312)