TombowPencil with Eraser HB 2558 Dozen 2558-HB

I ordered one dozen of these splendid pencils about four or five months ago, and I have almost completely used up that whole dozen. These are magnificent pencils. Every detail of them screams high quality. The paint finish is very fine, exhibiting a lacquer-like quality. The feel of it is nicer than any other pencil I have owned: Ticonderoga, Staedtler Noris, or even General Semi-Hex. The color is a rich ambery yellow, closer to the color of a Mirado Classic or the cheaper Dixon standard yellow pencils. The ferule has a satiny sheen, and is an interesting and lovely shade of brownish purple that matches the stamped letters on the side. There is a cool dragonfly stamped there with the words, and a simple "since 1913 For General Writing" on the other side. Mine also have a black colored barcode and product number near the front end on that side. The eraser works well and is classic eraser pink. Also, the pencils came unsharpened with the unsharp end milled off so that there is no paint overspill on the end.These pencils write smoother than any other HB pencil I have ever used. The writing is dark and doesn't smear for me (and I am left handed!). The point wears out faster than other HB or number 2 pencils, and after a full page in a college ruled compostion notebook the Tombow 2558 definitely needs sharpened, where I can sometimes get 2 pages from a General's Semi-Hex or even 3 pages from a Ticonderoga. This is offset by the high quality of the wood and lead allowing a razor point to be put back on with barely one spin on the handle of a hand cranked pencil sharpener.These pencils feel like relics from a former era, when the quality of goods was paramount. This is definitely reflected in the price of these, and they will set you back almost a dollar each, which is the most I have ever paid for pencils. They did ship from Japan, which I can understand adding to the cost, and Amazon definitely has the lowest price I could find on the whole internet to get some of these in the USA. I will probably buy more of these when the supply I have runs out, but I am conserving what I have to make them last longer! I'd definitely recommend getting these if you love wooden pencils and want to see what really nice ones are like. The side of the pencil says "High Quality", and they certainly are.

Probably the biggest thing about these Japanese pencils is that the eraser doesn't suck like the erasers on Ticonderogas or whatever other "Amairkin" pencils. The Tombow erases clean and doesn't dry out and rub away the paper like the others.Then there is the smooth writing of the lead, nice wood/sharpening, and general overall feeling of highest quality. I might not buy these for employees who didn't care one way or the other but I won't buy anything else for my own use.

These are my favorite affordable woodcase pencils. They write with a nice touch of feedback and erase cleanly, even with the attached eraser. I find that they are slightly darker than the comparable Mitsubishi 9850, which I like. If you're used to Tombow Mono 100's, you'll probably be disappointed with the Tombow 2558. However, they are excellent pencils for the price point and a great choice for keeping multiple sharpened pencils on your desk, in a drawer, or lending out to people who need a good woodcase pencil.

Good quality wood and lead

My favorite HB wood case pencil out of the 20 or so pencils I've tried to include the lauded Blackwing 602. A nice, affordable alternative to expensive pencils. I found nothing I didn't like about it and much to like. Best eraser on the planet. Try one. I think you will be pleased as well.

I like this pencil very much. It writes smooth. it uses high quality wood and lead. So one can sharpen these pencils smooth whether one uses a manual pencil sharpener or electrical. I say these smitsubishi pencils are the best in the world. the us government supplies the government workers with the equivalent pencils (N0. 2) in term of quality via GSA. However they are not available to people outside of th government services. I also like BIG mechanical pencils (5 mm). they also write smooth, comparable to the mitsubish pencils. no other commercially avail pencils in the market can match these pencils, from mitsubish, the us government and BIG (of lighter fame).

Great lead, great eraser, slightly larger barrel for adult hands. Might need a different sharpener than what you have now. The kind that can only sharpen typical US school pencils is too small. If you have a selector of some kind or one with a bit larger hole you'll be fine.

Oh so nice, but the wait is excruciating. The Tombow 2558's don't look like much from afar but once in hand the "High Quality" becomes obvious. These compare very favorably with other high end Japanese pencils such as the Palomino Blackwings, Mitsubishi 9850's and Custom Design Technology Item 32's. They may be the Plain Jane of the bunch but when the graphite hits the paper they can hold their own just fine. A must for any pencil enthusiast.