Kitaboshi is a Japanese family-owned business that has been making pencils for over three decades. The pencils are made from cedarwood sourced in Indonesia. The lacquered wood has a beautiful simplicity and the printed words “For Special Drawing” made me smile. They are obviously not for any old drawing. I bought the Art Set of 12 pencils containing a range from 6B to 4H from Choosing Keeping.  I have to say I really like theses pencils. I must do as I have started two other drawings with them. They are very smooth to draw with. I have had no issues with scratchiness or inconsistencies in the graphite. They are not grainy either. This makes me question the similarities I have seen pointed out between Kitaboshi and Blackwing pencils. I cannot draw with Blackwing’s as they are too soft and grainy, but these are great to draw with. They also sharpen pretty well and do not give off too much graphite dust. They also blend well, so all in all I like them a lot. My only issue was t...