Tombow 2558 Pencil Review

I rarely find myself without a wooden pencil within reach these days.

That's quite a change, isn't it? I used to say this about fountain pens too, something along the lines of "I don't get it." Well, I'm starting to get it more and more, and I don't like being without a pencil. I may not use one every day - if fact I don't - but the comfort knowing the sweet smell of cedar is just an arms reach away is comforting.

I'm still in the discovery phase in my pencil addiction. What I have found so far is that I like good point retention and a medium/dark line. I also like nice paint jobs and dipped ends (no erasers) but those things are far down the list compared to the first two items.

For example, my two favorite pencils right now are the Tombow Mono 100 HB and the Palomino Blackwing 602. The Mono taught me that 1. Pencils can be beautiful, and 2. Point retention is a thing. I could write and write and see only moderate wear in the graphite. Certainly much less than some random #2 pencil from my school days. The Blackwing 602 taught me about smoothness and depth of color. It really leaves an amazing line on the page and is a pleasure to write with.

Taking what I like about those two pencils, I wanted to start climbing up the H side of the hardness scale to find the best point retention in combination with the darkest graphite. The Tombow 2558 H seemed like a nice place to start considering how much I like the Mono 100.

The 2558 is likely the most normal Tombow pencil going. It has that traditional yellow pencil paint job, standard size and shape ferrule, and a pink eraser. Put it in a pile with a bunch of first graders pencils and you may not be able to pick it out easily (although the ferrule has a sweet purple tint.) The looks of the pencil were a bit of a turnoff at first. Why buy something normal looking when their are so many better (for me) choices?

Fortunately, the graphite delivered what I was looking for in performance. It sharpened up well and the point held nicely through several writing sessions. Once you cross the HB middle line, the harder graphite cores are naturally lighter, and although this H is light, it is dark enough for me and how I like to write. I think I could go one to two grades harder in fact, although they are not available in this model.

While I'm not normally an eraser guy, the 2558 eraser is very nice. Probably the best I have used, although my sample size is admittedly small. It doesn't take much action to remove the graphite from the page, and the eraser bits roll up nicely for easy sweeping away.

The Tombow 2558 isn't going to knock off my favorite pencils any time soon, but every time I try something new (like this pencil), I learn more and more what my preferences are. Luckily for me, there are many more pencils to be tried.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Andy Warhol Philosophy Pencils Review

I’ve been an Andy Warhol fan as long as I can remember. His style of art resonates with me, as does the art of younger contemporaries like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Unfortunately, none of these great artists are still with us. I’ve been able to relive some of their lives through diaries, journals, and notebooks, and every now and then a simple reminder like a pencil keeps their memory alive in my head.

The Andy Warhol Philosopy Pencil Set is a reminder of how Warhol was able to get across very simple, and sometimes obvious, points in a way that makes you think. The quotes range from the philosophical, "Art is what you can get away with" , to the cleverly mundane, "Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art”, to the wild and fun "Wasting money puts you in a real party mood." I’ve heard these lines dozens of times before but seeing them and reflecting on them while creating with a simple pencil like this is very cool.

The pencils themselves have a clean natural wood look with an HB graphite core. Each of the eight pencils come with their own quote and different colored eraser, which I enjoy. I’m a no eraser or fun eraser guy, and with the range of colors these are definitely fun.

From a writing perspective, the Warhol pencils are what you would expect from a good mid-grade HB pencil. The lead is smooth, leaves a nice line, and has decent tip retention. Basically, your stock HB, which is a good thing.

I didn’t get these pencils with only performance in mind though. I spilt up the 8-pack between my two kids whith the hopes that they will read the quotes and ask about their meaning and who Andy Warhol was. Right now, the color of the eraser is the most important thing to them, but now that homework is back in full swing I have a good feeling we will be able to talk about more than just schoolwork.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

TWSBI Precision Mechanical Pencil Review

Most people know TWSBI for their ever-expanding line of fountain pens, but did you know they make ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils too? I found it to be an interesting decision when TWSBI first introduced these items, but as I have come to expect from them they have created a high quality, fairly priced product.

The model I received for review from JetPens is the TWSBI Precision Mechanical Pencil 0.5 mm with retractable tip. It is a full metal body pencil with a nice knurled-style grip, and a tip that retracts when pressing down on it and clicking the mechanism. It's a nice feature, although not one that is make or break for me personally. What is interesting though is that the retractable tip models are the exact same price ($25) as the fixed tip models. That is not something you see from other vendors. The retractable tip usually costs a premium.

Writing with the Precision is a nice experience. It is well balanced, the knurling is tame, and the provided lead of unknown origin is smooth, dark, and not too soft. The eraser is one of the niceset I have used on a mechanical pencil, removing all traces of graphite easily and cleanly. And it is extra long, so it is far more useful than it's competition. TWSBI also ships extra leads and erasers with the pencil, which is a great bonus.

If you are a mechanical pencil fan, the comparisons to the Rotring 600 are inevitable. The TWSBI Precision is less expensive and has the added retractable tip option, but the Rotring 600 is widely considered to be one of the best drafting pencils ever made. There is something about its feel that is solid and dense, yet its light enough to allow you to glide across the page without knowing the pencil is there.

So yes, gun to my head I take the Rotring 600 over the TWSBI Precision, but that's just me. The TWSBI is excellent in its own right, and fits in nicely with its competition in this price range. I look forward to seeing what else TWSBI has up their sleeve in the non-fountain pen realm.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)