[Pen/Pencil Review] Castell 9000 Perfect & National Handwriting Day
So I couldn’t do the WHOLE review in an image – but hey, National Handwriting Day! You need more info in a readable format. Also, as a long-time Phineas and Ferb fan and a SF geek, CASTELL 900 Perfect is an AWESOME name.
The CASTELL 9000 Perfect cap is about 2.5″ long and comes with one of Faber-Castell’s classic green pencils, so the initial length is about 5.5″ long with a white, smudge-free eraser– with the cap posted to the eraser end, it makes the pencil itself about 7.5″ long. The remaining super cool thing? The twisty looking top? It pops out as a sharpener. So you ALWAYS have a SHARP wooden pencil. The lead in this is a soft “Bâ€, which means needing more sharpening for a strong point.
I tried the cap with generic pencils – both round and hex. The round pencil was a bit tight, but they both worked. So you don’t HAVE to use the Faber-Castell pencils with the Perfect Pencil – but they are really NICE pencils. So you COULD – the brand recognition alone makes this amazing.
This is the mid-grade, more expensive than the purple one, but totally worth it version. I still love this concept and product as a writer. If I were an artist I wouldn’t use anything else.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s one of those things that if you love wooden pencils, it will blow your mind. The cap is secure. The sharpener does a good, tight point.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – There’s no real “grip”. It does make shorter pencils easier to use and regular pencils a bit long – but the plastic is kind of light so it doesn’t throw off the balance too much. It’s not overly bulky.
3. Material – 1 It’s strong quality plastic with a decent metal-bladed sharpener that seats securely. Clip feels strong and unlikely to snap off.
4. Overall Design – 1 – Seriously? You don’t think this is something that will make a difference, but it does. If you’re an artist, please check this thing out.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – Considering this is Faber-Castell, the price is still pretty good. The Faber-Castell Green “9000” is $10 but has metal accents. It’s not the highest end but it’s also not the lowest end.
