There is something about Viking’s branding that is extremely appealing to me. It’s very simple, yet striking and recognizable. But it’s not just the logo that I’m a fan of - I’m a fan of their products too.
I bought the Viking Collector's Pencil Boxed Set a couple of months ago, which followed on the heels of my purchase of the Special Edition Viking X Caran D'ache 849 Pen Set back when we visited CW Pencil Enterprise in late 2018. So, you could say I’m a fan of the classic look and excellent quality of the Viking brand.
The pencil boxed set contains 14 pencils in total, covering the core of Viking’s pencil offerings. Specifically, it contains:
2x Viking School Pencil (HB)
2x Viking Office Pencil (HB)
2x Viking Element Pencil (HB)
1x Viking Election Pencil in 2B
1x Viking Election Pencil in Red
1x Viking Double Hole Sharpener
1x Viking Black Plastic Eraser
1 each, Rollo Pencils in 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B
I’ve had experience in the past with the Skoleblyanten, aka the School Pencil, and it is a good basic offering. If we lived in Denmark, this is the pencil my kids would most likely be using day in, and day out. It is better than most basic yellow #2 pencils, but it doesn’t rate much higher than that.
The Skjoldungen, known as the Office Pencil, is a clear step up from the Skoleblyanten. While still marked as an HB, the graphite is smoother and darker, and has a deep red/burgundy barrel that reminds me of another great pencil marked for office use, the Mitsubishi 9850.
Taking it up one notch further in the main Viking lineup is the Element 1 Writing Pencil. No Danish translation needed here, but may I suggest “Bedst,” because this one is the best of the bunch. As Viking’s premium writing pencil, it should be. The core is dark and smooth, and the pencil barrel is finished in smooth matte black for a great feel. If I’m buying more of any pencils in this set, this is the one.
Two of each of the standard writing pencils are included, which should keep me busy for a while, but there is so much more to go! For starters, the Viking Rollo pencils are their artist series pencils, featuring a range of graphite cores from 2H to 8B.
I’m not as dialed into pencils as I am pens, but I felt some inconsistencies in this series. For example, as someone who likes firmer cores, the 2H seemed far too light in color. It looks more along the lines of at least a 4H. And for some reason, the 2B core felt different than any other, and was lighter in shade than the HB core. I may be picking nits though, as the rest of the pencils performed as expected, with 4B the standout among them all.
The highlight of the Viking Collector’s Boxed Set are the two Election Pencils, one with a traditional graphite core, and a second with a red core. These pencils are amazing! They both have a tiny hole drilled towards the end of the barrel for attaching to your local voting desk, or anywhere else you don’t want people to run off with your pencils. During non-voting days, they are jumbo pencils that look great and feel great. I love these so much for what they are, and what they represent.
Rounding out the set are an eraser and pencil sharpener, although I must say that the sharpener is pretty terrible. I don’t expect any small, short point sharpener to be great, but this one is barely passable. The jumbo hole for the big pencils does its job well enough, but the smaller hole for standard pencils is too inconsistent to not be frustrated with constantly. Use any sharpener besides this one for the basics.
The eraser is surprising good, although with only a few corners in use so far I think I would chew through it quickly if I were a big eraser user. It does a fine job cleaning up these Viking graphite marks.
What can I say, I love Viking’s aesthetic. And thankfully, the product is pretty good too. As a whole, their products fall into the not-quite premium, but above the basics middle-ground of pencils. That’s a good place to be in my book.
(I purchased these pencils from CW Pencil Enterprise at full retail.)
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