Best Graphite Pencils - Derwent, Faber Castell, TomBow + others 

Which were my personal favourite? Well the TomBow were real nice but VERY expensive, the Derwent performed great and I would not hesitate to use them, and they are so easy to get in the UK. But for me the Faber Castell had just that tiny bit more smoothness and also went a tiny bit darker. But those 3 were all great.

I'm liking the 9000s. They seem to lay down smoother on this test.

i would go for faber castell 9000 in my view they are the best within this three brands the most balanced and high quality, tombow the second and derwent the last. derwent has alot of clay stone in it.

I love Derwen, Tombow, and Staedtler pencils, but several years ago I got stuck for two weeks with nowhere to go to buy good pencils, and with no access to the internet. I used what I could get, which was a set of cheap Chinese pencils a cousin had. At the time, I think he paid eight dollars for eight graphite pencils, s nice nylon bag, and a bunch of things like some charcoal pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners etc. Really dirt cheap. He had barely touched the set, and said he really wasn't interested, so I gave him twenty bucks, and he gave me the bag. I was, framkly, stunned by how good the pencils were. Every bit as good as my expensive brand name pencils, and better in some ways. Since then I've learned that China makes some truly excellent pencils, and very cheaply. They also make some very bad pencils, but these are easy to spot. They're way, way too cheap, and usually come with some sales pitch involving children. Since then, I've made some good friends in China, and they tell me that good quality pencils are mandatory in the country. They must meet certain specs for university, for art classes, for exams, for government forms of some sort, etc. Yet they remain very, very cheap. One of my friends sent me a double handful in all the grades, and I was blown away by how good they were for drawing. The funny thing to me is that I seldom hear anyone complain about mechanical pencil lead. Every artist may have a favorite, but that favorite is most often based on the pencil they use than with the lead itself. Pentel pencils seem to be very high on the list opf favorite mechanical pencils. I won't use anything else other than the P200 pencils, and the Graph Gear pencils, primarily the 1000 pencils, and, one that few seem to know, the Graphlet series. I also use Pentel lead, primarily EIN/STEIN lead, there's a sort of inside joke there, because I can get it in several grades, but I've noticed that all the name brand pencils come with very good HB lead. One thing I absolutely know from personal experience is that an artist does not have to buy expensive pencils, whether graphite, or colored, or pastel, or watewrcolor, or carcoal, to produce incredibly beautiful, professional level art. We all seem to want the biggest and the best, even if the only real difference is the price, but a new artist simply does not need to worry about this.

I would put in a word for Staedtler Mars Lumograph, too. Very smooth, no impurities, full range of hardness. (oh, it is 'tor-tee-yon'). Thanks for the review.

I just ordered the Derwent full set partially based on your review (the other part being the price I found them for).....but honestly I can already feel it, soon enough I'll inevitably also get the Staedtlers, Tombows and Mitsubishi Hi-Uni's.....to start with. I have problems.

Thank you for your presentation Mr. Morgan. It was worth watching a very good video.

Thanks for a great review of these pencils Jason :)

what about STAEDTLER Mars® Lumograph, Lyra graphite are great!, and prismacolor turquoise...

Thank you for this review! I wasn't sure which to choose!

Hi there great video. I'm just getting in to sketching wondered what make sketching pads you use please thankyou x

You can get the tombows in open stock from cultpens. They go as light as 9H but unfortunately only as dark as 6B :)

These review videos are always so helpful. I was wondering if the hype about the Tombow was worth it or not, especially since someone mentioned that the values of the Tombow was messed up. Now I see that that isn't the case. Thanks for the video.

What is your opinion on Cretacolor pencils?

Good review. I am very happy using the FC 9000 graphite pencils. No need to change. Range of 16 harnesses to chose from. As well as normal or jumbo pencil.

Thank you. Excellent video.

This video was very helpful thank you 😊

Another good review. That Tombow paint scheme looks like the Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth Toison D'or 1900 series pencils.

I've been using Derwent pencils for years, but I've never tried other than those and Prismacolor. Based on this review looks like the Faber-Castell are the best all-around, Derwent close second and Tombow the darkest. I just wish the review included Staedtler pencils. Anyway, it's a great review!

What is the difference between derwent soft and medium graphite pencil?? Which is the best?

Staedtler Norica works as well as anything else.

The bruynzeel design series is really nice but hardest is 2H with very light pressure however can remain really light.

I am preparing for the exam, so I write a lot and I am solving tests. Which pen would you recommend? Pentel Smash 0.5 and Pentel Graph 1000 For Pro 0.5, which is better?

have you ever tried the MARCO RAFFINE GRAPHITE PENCILS they are amazing

Very good and informative video you really put in good work. I must say I laughed a lot especially when you reviewed your son's pencils (bottom range)

the derwent feel cheap,because they have a soft tacky casing,they dont have a coating

In Brazil open Faber Castell in stock is very cheap, and the sets (even sets with 3 pencils and no case) are expensive... same product!

For the darkest with no sheen I use Generals Kimberly 9xxb No sheen, or Staedtler Mars Lumograph EE if you can find them they are great for the darks. I have found the Caren d' Ache graphite to be the most consistent and a proper value scale. the derwents a a bit gray for my taste,. but to each his ( or her)own. I have progressed to clutch pencils for the Caren d'ache leads 2mm and 3 mm. . If you can't afford them then stay with the cheap stuff. You get what you pay for. Oh and by the way The pencils could use a better sharpening technique i.e. longer points.

Thank you.

High end art pencils are even more expensive since this video, Staedler mars and 9000`s are about £13 - £13.50 a set now and Derwent are not far behind. As a beginner I dont think its worth it but if you can actually draw reasonably well and have some skill then i can see why it is worth it then

Mars lumograph don't seem to have the shine that you get with the others...something I like

Thanks u so much

Nice review. You definitely get what you pay for I guess. Thank goodness you can smudge the Tombow as I got some of these today. I am not sure if I like pencils or using them better??? Cheers! Keep up the great work.

Brand or type of paper for graphite pencil ?.... Different video? OK

why not staedtler mars lumograph 100 ?

What about Steadler!? I heard it's even better than Fever Castle!!!???

What kind of eraser was that? Worked like a charm. Would like to purchase..

Derwent go from 9H to 9B. The 9B is quite a lot darker than the 8B. Cretacolor also make a nice graphite pencil.

Mitsubishi rules. The Hi-Uni is the best pencil in the world…others like the Tombow Mono 100 & some from Europe are close.

I find myself loving 6H pencils due to I color.

You need to go into making art with what you can afford with the mindset of "I'm going to make this work".

stadeler red/black less expensive and blue/black more epensive

I know this video is older, but know Derwent has new graphite pencils and they are way better. The "H'' pencils used to have this annoying scratch feeling, aspecially the higher 'H' but now they are amazing. And i'm normally not a big fan of Derwent to be honest. But so far the new Derwents are the best i've used so far. .... The old Derwents have 'England' written on them, but the newer have 'Britain' on them. This way you can be sure you buy the new one and not the old version.

Actually graphite isnt graphite. The cheap ones breaks alot. Sometimes I goe through half a pencil just trying to get a point

Graphite really is Graphite.

Hello🎧🎧🎧🎧🥁🥁🎧🎧📻📻🎷🎷📻📻

derwent goes to 9b

are they vegan?

Hey, fella! Graphite isn't a mineral, it's carbon. I just looked it up and when carbon is in a crystalline structure like graphite and diamonds, it forms a mineral. So, graphite is a mineral. Carry on, lol.

IT'S PRONOUNCED "AICH" NOT "HAICH"!