Shelbyville Times-Gazette article on Musgrave Search 17 years of pencil talk: Search for: Search Latest Posts On the scale, a couple of dozen pencils ranged from 5.3g to 6.3g, with a mean weight of 5.8g. Compare this with the Castell 9000 (3.9g) or the reference Mars Lumograph (3.8g). This pencil weighs 50% more than the European competitors! The distance between the sides is the same as a Lumograph (maybe a hair larger) – about 7.47mm. So where is the weight? Some must be in the ferrule and eraser. I’m also comparing unsharpened to sharpened pencils. The Musgrave HB (that’s really the official name) is part of Musgrave’s “School Line”. It came to the attention of the online community through pencilthings.com, which is where I obtained these pencils. Does anyone know where the rest of Musgrave’s line can be obtained? They seem to have hundreds of pencil varieties, but very few seem to reach retailers, nor does Musgrave sell directly.

Overall, I am very impressed with these pencils and the box will be something I keep pencils in long after I have run out of the Tennessee Red’s; I think it’s a wonderful idea Using these almost century-old slats, we worked closely with the company chairman, Henry, and their manufacturing team to give these slats life as the pencils they were milled to be. This vintage wood now has a top-of-the-line graphite core and distinctly modern imprint and end cap. They are a piece of American pencil manufacturing history and a joy to write with. And once this limited run sells out, they are gone. The pencil writes very nicely (the lead seems to be a step up from that of the Tennessee Red), with a dark line, nice glide, and minimal crumbling. When you open the box you are met by the gentle scent of cedar wood or to be precise, in this case, Eastern Red Cedar, from which the box and the pencils are made. The box is smooth but as far as I can tell the wood is unfinished whilst the pencils within have a lacquer finish which helps to bring out the depth of colour in the wood. I’ve previously mentioned that the Techograph 777, Mars Lumograph 100, and Castell 9000 leads (in HB) are all sufficiently similar that the differences are nuanced and hard to describe. The Musgrave’s lead isn’t at all hard to distinguish. It is softer, smoother, and darker than those three European pencils, and leaves a darker line. It also has an aspect of crumbling or disintegration, and leaves more graphite dust in the area of use. Markings erase as easily as those of the European pencils.Musgrave is a family-owned, 100-year-old pencil factory located in Tennessee that prides itself on making a pencil that is simple, utilitarian, and yet the starting point for creativity, education, and human connection. The pencils arrive wrapped in an outer cardboard box and inside this they are wrapped in bubble wrap which ensures they arrive in pristine condition. Tombow 2558 “For General Writing”. I had to have one yellow No. 2 on here, right? Over the years, I’ve used this pencil in B, HB, and H grades, and frankly, they’re all excellent. Even Tombow’s “H” graphite maintains legibility without sacrificing point retention. The eraser is also ridiculously good, and the ferrule firmly attaches to the barrel to the point where I’ve never had one come loose, much less fall off. I’m truly torn on these pencils, but I still use them fairly often so I’ll include them on this list.

In late 2019 Musgrave announced some new releases, including three new pencils. This was an unexpected treat, and all three of the new pencils have been roundly welcomed. Musgrave Harvest 320 Pro Musgrave Harvest 320 Pro The article cites Musgrave using American, Vietnamese and Singaporean slat suppliers, and doesn’t claim completeness of this list. The central focus of the article is that Musgrave is using a new American supplier – so Musgrave has definitely not been solely using a Chinese wood supply. The name was more of a no-brainer, as we’d internally called the pencil prototype “The Tennessee Red Cedar Pencil” for months. By the time we came to the design phase, the name “Tennessee Red™” just came to us. It is worth noting that we did not give this pencil a customer-facing number. Just like the greats who go by first name only, we believe this one and only pencil needed no number to be differentiated from its pencil contemporaries. And while it’s not technically a mononym (á la Beyoncé, Madonna, or Prince), perhaps we could dare call this hardworking American classic “The Boss” of pencils.

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The Mitsubishi 9800 is an everyday writing pencil, similar to the 9852 but without an eraser. The 9800 is a really good looking pencil that sells in a great green paint color with high quality HB or B lead. Other hardnesses are sold but they aren’t as readily available in the US. I really like the printing on these pencils as well as the thought that they use “Matured” wood, which is noted on the side. American heritage pencil maker Musgrave introduced a very interesting product in 2019: The Tennessee Red pencil. The pencil’s notable feature is the use of Eastern Red Cedar ( Juniperus virginiana), the original American pencil wood. The pencil is very fragrant and visually interesting – each pencil is different, and many contain both cedar sapwood (pale colour) and cedar heartwood (dark colour). To summarize, there are some challenges, but I really like the story of this pencil. Telling me that the slat is 90 years old grants a lot of forgiveness. The graphite on these pencils is just right in terms of hardness and color, and the eraser works well enough too. They don’t erase that well and the eraser isn’t particularly good, but it’s a great all-round pencil. The 9852 is a great all-round pencil with a classic look despite coming from Mitsubishi Pencil Co., who doesn’t tend to include erasers on many of their pencils. This is a nice pencil for general writing with a very good eraser and a deep bronze-colored ferrule that just looks plain cool. I really enjoy the writing on the side as well, saying “Master Writing” and “* HB *” prominently on three sides.