Consumption Item 3: The Prospector

Item: California Republic Prospector HB pencil

Case: Ecoslat, natural stain

Ferrule: Unpainted brass

Eraser: Pink

Markings: California Republic Prospector HB in gold, one face only

Price: US $4.75 for a 40 pencil tube, or <$0.12 per pencil

Note: H, B and 2B hardnesses also available in natural finish for the same price. HB also available in a green finish and eraser for an extra 70 cents per 40-pencil tube.

Pre-sharpened when new?: Yes, sadly

Vendor: California Republic Stationers/Pencil World Creativity Store

Primary Strength: Strong, smooth lead that keeps a long-lasting point

Primary Weakness: Blah finish

Verdict: A very good everyday pencil. Heartily recommended for general use.

Details:

If you follow the Ecoslat link above, you'll find that Cal Cedar uses treated basswood for these pencils. Some pencil snobs will tell you that Incense-Cedar (see also here) is the only way to go for pencil casing. In fact, the Ecoslat page describes it as "providing only slightly reduced finishing and sharpening characteristics versus Incense-cedar."

While the finish of these pencils isn't all that I could hope for, the sharpening quality is outstanding and due to its minimal grain, the Prospector fared much better against the dulled blades of my sharpener than some cedar-cased pencils. While the grain of incense-cedar is reliably straight, it can be quite pronounced, to the objection of dull sharpener blades.

Fig. 1: Brand new up front, one week old in back, with its trusty Shield

Basswood is frequently used in model building. It's denser and less brittle than balsa, and its whisper of a grain pattern allows it to be shaped pretty much any way you please. I'm very much a fan of its application in pencil-making; its softness yields to my grip just enough, and when pressing down on the paper it feels almost springy.

The lead itself is a bit harder than what I think of as a "true" HB.

Quick aside: H means "hard" (i.e. light marks), B means "black" (i.e. soft lead), F mans "firm" (the next step or half-step harder than HB), and HB means...uh, "hard-black"? Confused yet? Just wait, there's more: HB is usually equivalent to #2, but there are some idiosyncrasies here and there, such as "HB=2-1/2" and some manufacturers used to make distinctions between "2-4/8" and "2-5/10". Here's a pretty good summation, along with a description of how modern leads came about.

Fig. 2: Dark to light. Your mileage may vary.

There is no Mohs scale equivalent in determining pencil lead hardness, so each manufacturer makes their own designation and tries to stay consistent from one production run to the next. Further, if a manufacturer offers multiple hardnesses, it must be careful to evenly "space" each grade. Also, different models from the same manufacturer sporting the same hardness designation may vary.

Case in point, the HB Golden Bear line from California Republic is considerably softer and darker than this HB Prospector. It's closer to what I'd consider a B, while I'd say the Prospector is certainly (to my mind) an F, if not an H.

That out of the way, it's a very nice lead. Not once in a solid week of using it exclusively did I feel the least bit of scratchiness, no matter what I wrote on. I usually insist on the sharpest point possible, and this lead never crumbled immediately after sharpening, maintained its point a very long time and was a pleasure to write with even when worn down.

This lead is absolutely top rate. It does write a little lighter than I normally would prefer, but since I gain the long-lasting, non-crumbling point of the harder, lighter lead, I'd say it's at least an even trade. The lead also did very well in erasability and smudge resistance (see Fig. 3 below).

Fig. 3: The Prospector's lead did very well in erasability and smudge resistance tests (see text above)

My one gripe is the finish. I like natural finish pencils, to a point. Seeing the wood instead of umpteen coats of lacquer is nice sometimes. However, the finish on any pencil should be smooth enough that I'm not aware of the grain when I'm writing. With the Prospector's basswood, I was never aware of the grain per se, but the grime from my own hands and the graphite dust accumulated from sharpening tended to get trapped in the grain and make themselves known.

This didn't bother me enough that I wouldn't buy the Prospector again -- far from it -- but I think I might try the green version next and see if that doesn't answer the finish problem. MissCegenation thinks I have too many pencils already, but this is for science, honey!

The only other complaint -- and this one is really trifling, but I have to mention it -- is that the stamped gold imprint wore off in barely more than a day! OK, I live in the tropics, and I sweat, and this pencil spent a lot of time tucked behind my ear and all, but I'm still pretty surprised it came off so quickly. What gives, California Republic?

Fig. 4: Same pencil, same face showing, no detectable imprint on the one week old one. However, it's a lot shorter because I used it so much. I really like this pencil.

Lastly, whether it's the softness of the wood or just the way its cut and sanded, the rounded corners of the hexagonal barrel are just a little too rounded for me. I frequently rotate my pencil in my grip to conserve the point, and these don't provide as much tactile reference as I'd like. That's really more a personal preference than a criticism, though.

The Bottom Line: The Prospector is a very good pencil and I'd recommend it to absolutely anyone as a carry-with-you-at-all-times pencil, which is a big part of why I chose to review it first. If you haven't used a pencil in a long time, you can't go wrong choosing this one to get back into the habit. My complaints about the finish are so trivial that I'm almost embarrassed to mention them, but this is supposed to be a thorough review, not a eulogy.

I will say this, the finish and shape issues did play a factor in my choice for next week's pencil review subject. What is it to be, you ask? You'll just have to tune in again next week -- same Crap time, same Crap channel.

Second Opinions: The Prospector has been reviewed before here. A green triangular-barreled version that sadly no longer seems to be available was reviewed here. Pencil Talk, one of my favorite pencil blogs, included the Prospector in an overview of several natural finish pencils here. If you know of reviews I don't, please mention them in the comments.