Jetpens.com sent over a very nice package of gear to review, and we’re starting today with the Mitsu-bishi Hi-Uni pencil in HB. Several greater minds have already written about the virtues of this well-crafted pencil (in no intentional order). But, just as these reviews are unique among one another, we hope this review can add to the Pencil Consciousness regarding this burgundy beauty.
I first encountered a few Mitsu-bishi pencils briefly in 2005. Woodchuck included three in the original package of Palomino pencils he sent us. I’d never tried Japanese pencils, and I knew the Palomino used a Japanese lead. At the time, Mitsu-bishi pencils were difficult-to-impossible to come by in the United States. Still, well, I used mine right up. They were too good not to use!
So I was very excited to open a package containing a dozen Hi-Unis in HB! The pencils come in a hard plastic case with a hinged lid, inside of a cardboard sleeve. There is a plastic separator/stabilizer in the pencil box to keep the pencils from rolling around. While this may be there to keep the finishes looking their best, it has the added bonus of keeping the pencils from banging around after pencils are removed to be use. And my dozen stayed whole for all of five minutes after I opened the mail, when I sharpened one right up.
The first thing I noticed [after the package] was this pencil’s amazing finish. Not only does it blow away pencils like Dixon and General’s (sorry, guys!), but it surpassed even the Uni-Star and Uni. The Hi-Uni sports several layers of lacquer, finished so smoothly that one forgets that there is a wooden pencil in there. The ends are finished with a cap and gold and are very precisely topped off. The business ends are, well, perfect. There is no paint overlap, I can tell that the cores are as perfectly centered as every other Japanese pencil I’ve used. The barcode detracts from the pencil’s appearance, but I understand that this is a necessity in places where one can easily buy quality, open-stock pencils (unlike most shops in the USA).
The Hi-Uni reminds me of a Palomino’s finish, with the thick lacquer and clean ends. However, for better or worse, there’s a lot more print and design on the Hi-Uni. I’m not bothered by it, really, nor by other pencils with very minimalist tendencies. The Palomino looks great in the colors in which it comes, with minimal marking on the barrel of the pencil. Burgundy, however, benefits greatly from a little more gold and black design work.
There does seem to be something different about the wood used in this pencil, compared to others. It’s much more…red and very much more fragrant than other high-end cedar pencils. In fact, the lovely grain and aroma combine to serve as a pleasant juxtaposition to the ultra-smooth finish of this pencil – something about the natural material inside opposing the craftsmanship of the pencil.
The lead is just, wow. It’s as smooth as any HB I have ever tried, with a darkness anyone familiar with Palominos would find welcome. This core achieves a nice balance between blackness and point retention, also. While the core reminds me of the HB Palomino that I hold very dearly (the blue end-capped HB is one of my favorite pencils in the world), I have to admit that the Hi-Uni does hold its point a little bit longer. I feel like it’s ever so slightly less dark than an HB Palomino, but it’s really hard to tell. (It could be the same lead for all I know!) Smearing and ghosting, for a pencil that writes like this, are very very good. This pencil smears less than a lot of considerably lighter-writing HB pencils, and the ghosting is no worse, either. In fact, given the black line the Hi-Uni lays down, I was expecting them to smear quite a bit and to be messy pencils. On the contrary, they are precise, neat and, again, dark for HB pencils.
I should mention that these pencils are also noticeably wider than most pencils. I am told this is a quality of Japanese pencils, along with darker cores. If you’re a wide-fingered Comrade like me, this is a good quality. They are certainly not so much wider as to be difficult to sharpen. On the contrary, they fit better into my favorite (German) brass KUM wedge than my (German) Faber-Castells do.
Thanks again to David at Jetpens for the very generous review pencils, and I hope that Comrades who like a dark and smooth pencil find some Pencil Happiness with the Mitsu-bishi Hi-Uni! I am, frankly, smitten by this pencil.