Faber-castell Tk9400 3mm 4b Clutch Pencil

I love these! So much so that I now have the 4H, 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and a 6B. I like that you can leave them as sharp or as dull as you want, without needing to shave off wood. They're a bit of a pricey investment at first, but the cost of the 12 pack of lead (after you eat through the one stick it comes with) is way less than 12 replacement pencils. There are cheaper clutch pencils out there, but these feel great, hold lead firmly, and have the option of having the hardness stamped on the end (instead of the typical rotating indicator). These also offer more size options, up to 3.5mm, for the softer leads. Truly professional instruments.

Success! A way to use my broken colored pencil leads instead of having to throw them out! Now I can just pop the lead into the clutch pencil and keep on coloring :) I do adult coloring and also use colored pencils for art, and we all know how frustrating it is to have to throw away the tips of your colored pencils when they break! Especially if they were expensive ones. A local store that sells game board figures and train model kits gave me the idea to use a clutch pencil to grip the leads. I had been looking for a tiny hand drill, which also uses a clutch mechanism, but they're designed to hold drill bits that are way too tiny, at less than 1mm. Most colored pencils are between 3mm and 4mm. After a lot of research and a lengthy search, I managed to find a clutch pencil that would hold the most common sizes of colored pencil leads. The Faber-Castell TK4600 3.15mm. (It also comes in 2mm, but same model number, TK4600, which is a bit confusing.) There is some leeway as to the thicknesses it will hold. In the pictures I've uploaded, the lavender lead is about 3.8mm (Prismacolor) and the magenta is 3mm (Brutfuner square). I tried a few other clutch pencils, but most would not fit my broken leads, or were all-metal bodies and waaaaay too heavy. I have arm/wrist tendonitis and frozen shoulder, so I needed something as light as possible. It's well-weighted, too. Most clutch pencils are too top-heavy, unless they have a gnurled metal grip. I don't like those; they get grungy-looking as they oxidize. Also, they really irritate my skin. The Faber-Castell has plastic ribbing at the end that is a little bit irritating, but not too much. And since I'm only using it to use up the tip of a pencil, I won't be using it too long anyway. It does also hold 3.15mm graphite leads, of course. Apparently with clutch pencils, you can only get softer graphite (4B and softer) in thicker sizes, because they break more easily than harder leads. (FC only makes their 3.15mm in 4B, 5B and 6B, but some manufacturers go to about 8B). FC also makes this clutch pencil in 2mm. I bought one. It can hold 3mm leads, barely. The 2mm is sold in a LOT more places than the 3.15mm; even in some retail stores like Blick's. I had to order the FC TK4600 3.15mm from Amazon World Market. It arrived with a broken lead inside, but I didn't mind since the clutch still holds it fine, and anyway, I'm mostly going to use it for colored pencils anyway. Otherwise, I've only seen this pencil listed from European sellers like Jackson's Art Supplies and Cult Pens. Jackson's has a yearly sale on Faber-Castell products, where I saw this clutch pencil at nine dollars, plus shipping. I hope this is helpful to save you from the long, involved process it was for me :)

Great little clutch pencil! It works well and holds the lead securely. The clutch is weighted and makes using this drawing implement a highly pleasurable experience! I recommend this 3mm lead holding clutch-plus, it came with a single lead which I’m quite enjoying as well (bought the clutch to hold some 3mm watercolor lead for sketching out my portraits, but I have now been using the lead it came with even more often-such a Nice little bonus). I would absolutely use a lead sharpener with the lead (and I do so!) as without a way to sharpen the lead this would be a less pleasant tool…

I use dip pens nibs for calligraphy and lettering. I use a Speedball Hunt 102 nib, one of my favorite nibs to use, which is very very small. I have nib holders for this nib but they are small , short and uncomfortable to use. I found an artist on YouTube that recommended using this clutch pencil as a holder for the hunt 102 nib, specifically size 4B, it fits perfectly! Not only is the nib firm in place but makes it so much more comfortable to use like a regular pencil. I use other Faber Castell products, it’s always quality, this clutch pencil is no different. Can’t have just one so I’m buying another one. Who would have guessed, this was a genius idea! I hope others find this useful, I sure did.

Very good quality lead holder, great for drawing (especially shading).

This lead holder feels great in my hand because it's just a touch thicker then the 3B and below holders that carry a thinner 2mm lead. Cleverly, this one is thicker to accommodate the 4B and softer leads which are 3.15mm. This is probably to defend against breakage. Well done !

Great for sketching

The lead holder itself is great, but the 4b lead is disappointing. It looks more like HB or B at the most. I have 2B pencils that are darker than this. This is important if you're serious about pencils and sketching because the size seems very specific to this brand. I looked for this size in other brands, but haven't found any yet, so I'm stuck with this if I want to use this leadholder.