Review by Tina Koyama For most uses, I sharpen pencils in the most expeditious way possible: my trusty electric Bostitch Quiet Sharp 6 (or, on the street, a portable Kum). But for some pencils or specific drawing purposes, knife-sharpening is the best or sometimes the only way. I have a knife that does the job…
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Pencil Review: Koh-i-Noor Diamond Lead Holder Drawing Pencils
Review by Tina Koyama While woodcased colored pencils are commonplace (a quick search on Amazon resulted in 20,000 products!), colored leads for mechanical pencils or clutches are much harder to come by. They seem like they should be a promising idea – compact, refillable, no need for sharpening – and yet they generally aren’t. I’ve…
Pencil Review: Uni Dermatograph Oil-Based Pencils
Review by Tina Koyama The only grease pencils I knew about were the white and black ones I’d seen in hardware stores. Recently a few of my urban sketcher friends shared sketches they had done with some kind of bright, opaque material on toned paper, and when I asked what they were using, the answer…
The Great Eraser Rub-Off Challenge, Round 2
Review by Tina Koyama A while back Ana conducted a massive Eraser Rub-Off, in which nine erasers battled for dominance in the obliteration of graphite and colored pencil markings. I decided it was time for Round 2, with a little twist. (Sorry, no video from me!) In addition to the usual eraser needs when I’m…
Pencil Review: Moleskine Drawing Pencils
Review by Tina Koyama Last year Moleskine released two sets of pencils as part of its Art Collection – watercolor pencils and graphite drawing pencils. In my review of the watercolor set, I mentioned features that are common to both, such as the unique square barrel, matte black finish and semi-gloss end caps (please read…
Pencil Review: Moleskine Naturally Smart Watercolor Pencils
Review by Tina Koyama As it may have been for many stationery addicts, the Moleskine notebook was my gateway drug. Way back (and I mean way back, like before Facebook, blogs, maybe even the whole Internet), I’d occasionally find Moleskine journals in nicer stationery stores and fondle them lovingly, imagining the possibilities. When I began…
Pencil Review: Red Pencils
I have a thing for pencils, particularly red/blue pencils, but you knew that already, didn’t you? So, in my never ending hunt for red/blue pencils, I occasionally come across red marking pencils. These are also extremely useful. For most people, these are correction pencils or grading pencils. For me, these are sketching pencils so my…