Faber-Castell Castell 9000

What it is

The Castell 9000 is a graphite pencil with a dark green lacquer finish, made by Faber-Castell in Stein near Nuremberg. It was launched in 1905 under Count Alexander von Faber-Castell, the sixth generation of the family business. It is available in a wide range of hardness grades, from very hard leads for precise technical drawing to soft, dark leads for sketching.

How it works

A pencil lead is a mixture of graphite and clay, fired at high temperature. The proportion of clay determines the hardness: more clay produces a harder, lighter line, more graphite a softer, darker line. The lead is glued between two grooved slats of wood, which are then shaped and lacquered. Faber-Castell controls the mixture and firing closely to ensure consistent quality across grades, so that a pencil marked with a given grade behaves the same way every time.

Why it stands out

The Castell 9000 helped establish the idea of the quality branded pencil at a time when many pencils were anonymous products. Its distinctive green finish made it instantly recognisable. Generations of architects, engineers and artists have used it as a standard drawing tool. According to Faber-Castell, the special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi sketched the extraterrestrial that became E.T. with a pencil from this range.

Where you meet it

You find the Castell 9000 in design studios, art schools, architecture offices and stationery shops, and on many desks where precise drawing or writing matters. It is sold individually and in sets, often in tins that show the range of hardness grades.