Received five of these as I chose colours I wanted, they’re are lovely, very subtle. I wish they were in the paper wrapper tear-down format, I have charcoal pencils (another make) and find there is less waste and they’re easy to take out sketching rather than having to sharpen. Other than that, no problems. Lovely formula.

Always a great choice

My favorite pencil for sketches, only discounting one star because it arrived broken so I am going to have to shorten it and then sharpen

Unique shade and handling

A few years ago I favorably reviewed the compressed form of Derwent Light charcoal; now it's time to praise the pencil.Again, I'm restricting my comments to the "light" version. I've tried but not personally found use for the medium and dark. They all handle similarly.When applied with a light touch, the tone is similar to graphite. Although hard to describe, it handles a little differently than other brands, perhaps more smoothly, although it retains that open, grainy texture that makes charcoal such a beautiful medium.The drawing below is 6x8", done on Twinrocker 18th Century, a crisp, moderately toothy rag paper. (Every drawing is an inseparable combination of the tool, the paper, and the artist's hand.) It's 99% Derwent Light charcoal pencil with a few ... MoreA few years ago I favorably reviewed the compressed form of Derwent Light charcoal; now it's time to praise the pencil.Again, I'm restricting my comments to the "light" version. I've tried but not personally found use for the medium and dark. They all handle similarly.When applied with a light touch, the tone is similar to graphite. Although hard to describe, it handles a little differently than other brands, perhaps more smoothly, although it retains that open, grainy texture that makes charcoal such a beautiful medium.The drawing below is 6x8", done on Twinrocker 18th Century, a crisp, moderately toothy rag paper. (Every drawing is an inseparable combination of the tool, the paper, and the artist's hand.) It's 99% Derwent Light charcoal pencil with a few details in a Prismacolor hard pencil.

Very light

I used this product in and out of class and have come to a few conclusions: Generals pencils do a better job reaching the darkest tones, have a wider variety, and are cheaper in price. The only thing I like about Durwent pencils is that they are less likely to cause the nails on a chalkboard sound that Generals HB does. I just wish these pencils were more reasonably priced. I have used these pencils with many types of paper and canvas. Creatacolor also out performed Durwent charcoal pencils. I'm still using the Durwent pencils for lighter tones until I run out of them.The darkness of the dark is comprable to the Generals HB. On a few bright notes, this means I don't have to use a Generals HB with that anoying squeek any time soon. The other good thing is that the ... MoreI used this product in and out of class and have come to a few conclusions: Generals pencils do a better job reaching the darkest tones, have a wider variety, and are cheaper in price. The only thing I like about Durwent pencils is that they are less likely to cause the nails on a chalkboard sound that Generals HB does. I just wish these pencils were more reasonably priced. I have used these pencils with many types of paper and canvas. Creatacolor also out performed Durwent charcoal pencils. I'm still using the Durwent pencils for lighter tones until I run out of them.The darkness of the dark is comprable to the Generals HB. On a few bright notes, this means I don't have to use a Generals HB with that anoying squeek any time soon. The other good thing is that the Durwent pencils have had no issues with being broken. I hope this helps.Only reason I would recomend them is for use with other charcoal pencils as the lighter tones.

Yes, I definitely enjoy useing my charcoal pencils .

I use my pencil's to draw and do charcoal subject's. I also use them for shading and more. I find a new use for them each time I use them. I think they are of better quality than the ones I have now

breaks up when sharping.

I recently purchased a set of these charcoal pencils. They break up while sharpening. frustrating wittled down the entire pencil and never was able to get a point. It was like the entire core was broken in many places.I thought well, maybe it's my sharpening technique. Nope bought a different brand and they sharpened up without any breakage a single time

excellent for light value passages in charcoal sketches

this is a good choice for a light initial sketch on either paper or canvas. it also good for light passages in charcoal sketches and portraits.

garbage.

I train as a an apprentice w charcoal and pastel. These pencils are not the worst, but pretty close. They are very scratchy with very poor adhesion and paper saturation, and are more reflective than charcoal should be. They do reach a very deep value of black, but because they are so scritchy and otherwise poor in quality, they are pretty much useless. I can't think of any scenario in which I would recommend them. It is frustrating how blatantly bad most charcoal pencils on the market are.

never have charcoal shipped ;-)

Charcoal in pencil form is always a gamble. this one was impossible to "sharpen" as the charcoal corre broke no matter how I tried to knife, sandpaper, or sharpener. never have charcoal shipped ;-)#blicksweepstakes