I’m not necessarily saying that the 9000s are superior to the other pencils I’ve awarded top marks to, but for the type of drawing that I do (light, quite detailed portraits) they suit my style better than a darker, softer range. Whilst the lighter grades had felt very hard (maybe a bit too hard) there seemed to be a rather abrupt jump between the 2B and 3B grades where the consistency changed noticeably and the pencils suddenly became much smoother. The colours start from a pure white casing for the 4H grade, and then get progressively more grey towards the silvery HB. Graphite pencils are mixed with a binder of clay, and different grades of softness and darkness are created by the varying the graphite and clay ratio.

Apart from this omission, I’ve included the professional ranges from all of the top pencil makers including Faber-Castell, Staedtler, Derwent, Koh-i-Noor, Tombow, Caran D’Ache, and Conté à Paris. For example most people will probably prefer a pencil that doesn’t smudge very easily especially in the lighter grades, but if you actively want to smudge your pencils as part of your drawing technique then you’ll probably get on better with one of the softer brands, and may even seek out a range that gives off a lot of graphite dust. Faber-Castell's PITT Graphic range provides all creative artists with an extensive range of pencils and crayons in different grades of hardness for sketching, graphic design and shading work.

Despite being most functional looking all the pencils, the Mars Lumograph would probably still top the charts as the professional artists’ choice. CRETACOLOR, as the only Austrian manufacturer of arts supplies, is able to work with centuries of experience and tradition and stands for high quality products.

With such a wide tonal range you are really covered whether you like to draw more lightly or more darkly. The biggest frustration is that the grading seems inconsistent, with the 5B in my set drawing unmistakably darker in tone than the 6B! Although the Mono range is much darker than the Faber and Staedtler pencils I generally use, I just loved the way that they glide across the page.In this comparison chart I’ve not compared grades softer than ‘H’, as one rarely uses these for fine art drawing. This is the 9B version - the softest variety, which produces very black, easily smudged and blended marks. Whilst factors like strength and reliability are very important when judging pencils, people’s preferences will also be subjective in many ways. The only problem is that the attractive retro design of the casing is very restrained and grade of the pencil is only printed on them once and in tiny lettering.

Before we begin the individual reviews, here’s a comparison of the grading values for all the brands I’m looking at.From 4H to 9B, each pencil has been varnished with the tone of that grade, making it easy to spot in your pencil pouch. Lumograph pencils never scratch or feel gritty and as they rise up the scale the shades become darker in a most reliable and uniform manner. Caran d'ache Grafwood Graphite Pencils are professional artist pencils They are available in 15 different graduations from 9B to 4H. Derwent are an old British company (although now American owned) and are based in an area near the original Borrowdale mine in Cumbria where graphite was first discovered and was famously mistaken for lead.