Surprising Japanese Pencil: A Review of the Chikyu "Gold & Black" Drawing Pencil

Beautiful pencils. Sorry to hear there was some quality loss. And definitely not a 2B. I prefer a harder graphite for layout purposes, but something a bit darker for finished pencils.

I’ve used Staedtler drawing pencils for years as a kind of solid go-to pencil. But have diversified over the past year, however. As you’ve demonstrated in this video, not all graphite is created equal. Then again, neither is paper. And the quality of art paper has changed over the years as well and not for the better. So it’s good to have a variety of drawing pencils in your arsenal. Not sure if you draw since I’ve only recently discovered your channel from watching “Always Analog.” But if you do enjoy drawing, you may yet find a use for these European 2B style pencils, depending on paper quality.

Thanks for sharing these pencils.

You mentioned you were curious about eucalyptus wood for pencils in the past, and unwittingly you have found a PERFECT parallel. No exaggeration, this pencil sharpened on the Apsara EXACTLY like an eucalyptus pencil would - usable, sure, but messy with lots of splintering, and the cone shape of the point is lost at the wood/lead interface. Which is why I swear by crank sharpeners.

If you'd told me that trace was from a Ticonderoga, I'd believe you. 2B this is not - by Japanese standards that's an F, if not harder! Seriously mislabeled. Probably why Chikyu went out of business, unlike the other brands we know and respect. Hard to maintain face when you falsely advertise, and business in Asia is all about face. (Or maybe this is from the '50s/'60s, decades when Japan was a marked producer of cheap low-quality goods, like China was seen as until recently.)

Anywhere in the world has quality products and cheapos. And this just so happens to be the first Japanese cheapo on the channel.

こんにちは (Kon'nichiwa) .. great pencil for using while in my Limo. LOL have a great day

Hi MAMO - interesting pencil. It is certainly the exception when it comes to Japanese pencils and how they perform relative to their core grade. I'm a bit stumped (no pun intended) about the wood. Pre-sharpening it sure looked like cedar to me but I'm wondering if the dust and mildew on the pencils give some indication as to the climate they had been stored in, possibly for a long, long time. UPC/bar codes first showed up in the US around 1984, I believe. Not sure when it might have started in Japan, but these could be 40-ish years old. Sorry they didn't perform to expectations, but getting a look at these (I've never heard of this brand) was certainly worthwhile. Thanks!

I have several grades of Chikyu G&B pencils. H, HB, 2B, and 4B. They all perform for me as expected for a Japanese pencil. As far as I can tell, they are made with red cedar. Red cedar tends to crumble and splinter unless sharpened with a fresh, sharp blade. ESPECIALLY vintage red cedar! I sharpen mine with an M + R Pollux without issue.With Chikyu being one of the much smaller pencil makers from Japan, it is possible that the batch you have was mismarked with the lead grade. It does happen. The cores in the 2B pencils I have seem to be slightly larger, judging by what I can see in your pencil. While Chikyu may not be on par with the likes of Tombow or Mitsubishi, for the small maker they were, they produced a very fine pencil that is getting harder and harder to come by.

2B or not 2B, that is the question.

「地球鉛筆」- 鉛筆業界では古くからの有名な企業でした！
・明治37年（1904年）2月、天方貞平が創業した「SA筆ペン軸製造所」が起源となる。
・大正07年（1918年）、「日本鉛筆株式会社」を設立。
・大正08年（1919年）、鉛筆業界五社を吸収合併し「大日本鉛筆製造株式会社」を設立。
・昭和22年（1947年）、会社の名称を「地球鉛筆株式会社」に変更。
・平成03年（1991年）、会社の名称を「株式会社地球」に変更。
・令和06年（2024年）7月、会社の名称を「株式会社JK」に変更。

恐らく、2000年ぐらいまで鉛筆を製造し続けていましたはずです。当時は、ボールペンやシャープペンシルなどの文房具も発売していました。現在は法人だけが残っていて鉛筆は製造されていない状態です（その後の会社の経緯が全くわからない状態）。

Great review, and I must say excellent work in following the clues!

I'm now the grateful recipient of several of these beauties. Each now have a home and an extra story to tell, and are prized in the museum.

I'll be selecting one to use in the office today, in my work that will benefit others.

Such a splendid gift from a splendid friend.

Thank you!