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The Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood Pencil Review

To get right down to it this is one of my favourite wood case pencils. 

Why is that? Well, it looks Ace - that'll be the certified Swiss beech wood it's made from - it's COBS certified don't you know. I have seen some reviews around the web from a few years back that show an FSC certification. COBS is much cooler - great talking point amongst your cool stationary collecting pals. 


This is so refreshing and different in comparison to the more usual cedarwood the beech gives it a lovely dark colour - it's not dyed, that's the colour of the wood. Just looks like a clear coat of lacquer and that lovely dipped red top end (more on that later). Should be noted that the lacquer finish is matte and not gloss. This thing really stands out.

What's it like to use? Well for an HB it's a little light for my tastes but the plus side to that is it seems to hold a point for just a bit longer than a lot of my other pencils.


It's a good bit heavier than a normal pencil too. Tried it against Tombow Mono, Mitsubishi Hi-Uni, and others. It's also very slightly thicker in the hand. I haven't measured it or anything but it is very noticeable.

I did notice that the sharpener does have a tendency to "dig in" a little more. For reference, I am using a very capable but not very fancy KUM sharpener - nothing electric or very fancy.

Take a look at that lovely swiss flag at the top! Lovely gloss, the Swiss flag is not embossed though which is a slight disappointment. On the embossment plus side, the writing on the side of the pencil is. Doesn't rub off like a Staedtler -_-.


Honestly one of the most talked-about and coolest things about this pencil is the wood. It doesn't have that classic pencil sharpenings smell - you know like the die down on a cheap perfume? No, I'd say it's sweet - almost like maple syrup but then opinions are divided on that.

Any downsides? Well, it's only available in HB which is a shame because it feels like a harder lead to me. I would have liked to try this in a B maybe.


Oh and the price... it's um £3.47 at the time of writing over at Cult Pens (who are the best stationary nerd shop in the world) especially if you are UK-based.

Honestly, give it a go even if you are mechanical pencil obsessed like me. Get two... one to use and one to sharpen and sniff.
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