Faber-Castell 9000 PENCIL DESIGN SET/12

Toch kleiner dan ik verwachte en 3 maal zo duur als van een merkloze set die even goed is. Achteraf ontdekt.

What is not to like. They are great pencils and lead.

I don't know why in the world I waited so long to buy some good drawing pencils! I have been sketching with whatever mechanical pencil I had in my bag for years with very little preference, but the way that my sketches have improved with these pencils has been dramatic! Now I feel comfortable creating full pieces of art in shades of grey, whereas before I would sketch lightly and then use other media to finish the piece. After ten years of sketching with, in retrospect, a highly inferior product, I feel confident that these are just what I needed to take the next step toward improvement. These are very high quality. They arrive sharpened, which is nice, since I'm used to colored pencils that arrive in dozens and take hours to sharpen. They sharpen well with a standard or high quality sharpener, and the graphite (even on the softer pencils) is strong enough to not crack in the barrel (a problem I had with some student grade pencils in high school art class). The case is nice, too, and has a soft matte-like finish to the touch. I imagine it will dent and prove less than perfect if thrust into a backpack pocket full of other materials, but if kept in between notebooks, it probably has a long life ahead of it. I bought a set for my best friend, and she is in love, too. This would make a great gift for any artist in your life, and is a good investment for your own arsenal of supplies if you are an artists as well.

Super quality as usual. My daughter delights in using these pencils for her great sketching.

Faber-Castell products are always exceptional value.