Review: Faber Castell Perfect Pencil

I only knew of The Perfect Pencil when I saw my friend using one. It's quite an interesting design by Faber Castell to give the good old pencil a new spin.

Design

The Perfect Pencil isn't actually a pencil. More accurately, it's actually a pencil cap.

It's a smartly designed pencil cap that also hides a sharpener at the top. You can pull the knob above the clip to reveal the sharpener. From what I can see, the blade is not replaceable.

You can use it to fit both round or hexagonal pencils into the cap. The fit is tight enough that the pencil won't fall out, but it's also easy to pull out the pencil.

The cap can also serve as a pencil extender when the pencil gets too short.

It's certainly a very functional pencil cap.

Different editions

There are three editions for The Perfect Pencil.

The cheapest version is the plastic one with metal clip. The plastic only comes in dark dull green. Overall it feels kinda cheap but it's functional.

Then there's the premium version with a cap that's Platinum plated. The body is smooth and it looks exquisite. If you like to indulge yourself in some luxury stationery, this would be it, a pencil that cost more than fountain pens.

Then there's the Desk Set #1 Chrome Plated one featuring pencils made of Californian cedar wood and a wooden case carved out of selected native alder.

And I saved the best for the last...

To mark Faber Castell's 240th anniversary, they came up with the exclusive Limited Edition 1761-2001 Perfect Pencil. Both extender and the end piece are made of 18K white gold. Underneath the count's coat-of-arms at the cap are three diamonds that symbolize the third millennium.

This particular edition is larger than the standard versions and is limited to 99 pieces. The price? 10,000 Euros.

A pencil (cap) that cost more than my computer!?!

Refills (aka the extra pencils)

Alright, back to reality. The pencil that comes with The Perfect Pencil is the Faber Castell 9000, shorter than the standard length pencils and comes with a short eraser behind.

Extra pencils are available separately but they do not come with the short erasers, which are also sold separately.

For some strange, no doubt commercial, reason, Faber Castell has chosen to price their spare pencils and erasers at insane prices. They sell the refills more expensive than their other pencils. For goodness sakes, these are just wooden pencils and they want to sell it as luxury items? *Eyes roll* Anyway, the good thing is you can get any other pencil to fit the cap.

Conclusion

The Perfect Pencil is a smart idea. I remember using spare pen caps to protect some of my pencils in the past. Faber Castell has pushed that idea further by putting a sharpener inside, and have a cap that also doubles as an extender.

The nice thing is you can bring the pencil around without the need of a pencil case to protect the lead.

As for the pricing, I felt that it's a bit overpriced even for the plastic version. The aluminium and platinum ones are even more expensive. If you just want something functional, the cheaper plastic version should suffice. If you want people's jaws to drop, the chrome-plated or Limited Edition 1761-2001 is the one for you.

Availability
Check out more reviews and pricing on Amazon:
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Search Jackson's Art (UK) too.