When CW Pencil Enterprises announced earlier this year that it was closing, my first instinct was to stock up on their store exclusives and those items that you couldn’t easily get elsewhere. In addition to their custom pencil pouches, a copy of Caroline’s book, and Billy Reid desk accessories tray, I made a huge purchase of a bulk box of 2B Camel pencils. I don’t think it’s a full gross, but it’s something like 100 pencils and I don’t see myself using these up anytime soon. Why this particular purchase, you might ask? Because I’ve settled on 2B as my perfect graphite hardness.
There’s nothing like the look of a bulk box of pencils. All that untapped potential….
Orange caps on a box of a dozen Staedtler Noris 2B pencils.
Now, all true pencil lovers understand that the graphite hardness scale can vary significantly between brands and regions. A Japanese “HB” pencil, for example, might feel identical to a German 2B, and leave nearly as dark a line. I tend not to dwell too much on these differences, however. If there’s a “B” or “2B” version of any pencil available, it’s what I’ll buy, and chances are, it will work very well for me, striking the right balance of darkness and usability (meaning that the graphite won’t smear across the page).
Both the Tombow 2558 HB and Uni-Mitsubishi 9850 HB leave a smooth, dark line, especially for an HB-grade pencil, but they still don’t quite touch the darkness of the Staedtler Noris 2B, much less the extremely dark Camel 2B.
So what are my favorite 2B Pencils? Well, the 2B Camels that I picked up are wonderful, with their streamlined eraser that sits flush with the barrel. You get the look of an eraserless, “capped” pencil without losing any functionality. (See the pics below for how they do this - I always wondered “how much eraser” you actually get - turns out its a lot.) I’ve also grown fond of the 2B Staedtler Noris, that classic German school pencil that’s seemingly everywhere in Europe but difficult to find in the U.S. The 2B version has an orange cap, to differentiate it from the red, yellow, and black HB that’s typically considered the “standard” Noris. And though not a true 2B - some say more like a 4B but nobody really knows what the heck they are - I’m partial to the Blackwing Matte (or the Blackwing MMX, or “Original,” or whatever you want to call it). Sure, it’s soft, but for some reason I find the “softest” Blackwing maintains its point much better, and smears less, than the Pearl. Mechanical pencil refills are a no-brainer, with most brands offering “B” and “2B” options in both standard mechanical pencil leads and leadholder refills. That’s my default choice.
Now I just need to work on stocking some “B” and “2B” pencils for the shop. If anyone has a contact at Camel, hit me up! These are quite difficult to find anywhere else and I would hate to see them become even more difficult to obtain. I’m having visions of a red Camel with a black eraser….
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