Helix Oxford Premium Grade HB
(Click here for product page)
Being an anglophile, I appreciate all things British. I love loose-leaf tea, Doctor Who, Crispix crackers, not pronouncing the letter "H," among others. So when I read that Pencil Things introduced a UK pencil not found in the US, I jumped.
And for the most part, I like it. Let’s talk about the aesthetics first, since that is what initially attracts buyers. I don’t dig the pink wood. The navy veneer and the white eraser look good, but the red-hued wood just doesn’t go. It doesn’t even smell good, like the incensed cedar so many fine pencils use.
One positive thing about the wood, though, is that it sharpened really smoothly. Although my sharpener was bought from Target, it was like cutting butter with a knife.
Kudos to the graphite, though — it stayed sharp and although it initially left a fine dust on the paper after pressing the newly sharpened point to the paper, it held its sharpness like a champ.
As the product description says, the eraser lacks the pumice-like quality of the pink variety, and I think that may be a step in the right direction. It erases clean and smoothly, and doesn’t leave grit in its wake. (Plus, I think it looks nicer.)
Speaking of erasers, I think it is brilliant that the eraser is removable and replaceable. Just give it a firm tug and it pops right out. Although I don’t make too many mistakes when writing (being a pen user before I was converted to graphite), my handwriting is atrocious, and I often have to erase and write more legibly. I always run out of eraser before running out of pencil.
I also wonder if any British people out there can explain this to me — There is a large barcode imprinted on the side of the barrel. Why is that? I own a pen bought at an office supply store in England with the same thing on it. Can’t you put it on a sticker, so as to peel the unsightly barcode off after purchase?
UPDATE: I conducted a writing test comparing the Oxford to California Republic’s Golden Bear HB, a pencil with a similar price point. (A detailed review of this product forthcoming) The test is conducted on regular white office paper (and will be moved to the high-quality Rhodia paper in anticipation of a new notebook!) and measures darkness and shading, smearability, and erasing ability. It is similar to this test conducted to find a replacement for the legendary and sometimes mythical Blackwing 602 by FaberCastell. I don’t have a scanner or camera suitable enough to show you the differences in performance, but as soon as I can get access to one, I will post the comparisons for your review, dear readers.
In any case, the Oxford ran circles around the Golden Bear. Although the Bear’s orange eraser is much better looking than the white eraser of the Oxford, it didn’t perform nearly as well. It calls to mind the rubbery grade school erasers that are shaped like little happy faces, that if you used it more than once, it deformed. The Oxford’s lead didn’t leave a grainy pattern on the paper when used lightly as did the Golden Bear. However, it did smear more — the trade off for a darker smoother line. The Golden Bear’s pencil line was left intact when I took my finger to it, and the Oxford gave way.
Here’s my point breakdown:
Performance: Four out of five points
Aesthetics: Two out of five points
TOTAL: 3 out of 5 points
-By Andy Welfle
Be sure you compare the Helix Oxford pencil with one or more other HB pencils. Do a writing comparison on hard paper (such as 20# photocopy paper), softer papers and high-quality papers, such as in Rhodia pads. You will definitely feel the difference, as well as see it.
I have a hint about sharpening the Oxford pencil. I believe that one reason the lead is so smooth is that it may not have the “flexibility” hardening additive many leads do. The reason I think so is that I’ve noticed that if I wobble the pencil while sharpening it, sometimes the point will break about 1/32″ inside the wood casing. Of course, the proper sharpening technique for any pencil is to NOT wobble it, and to hold on to it as close to the sharpener opening as is comfortable.
Good point! I did conduct a test on a piece of paper inspired by one found at Ninth Wave Designs. See the update on the post.
I find the Oxford comparable to the Palomino HB in softness of the lead and darkness of the line. In my use, the Oxford required almost as many frequent sharpenings as the Palomino. Personally, I love the rose wood color and the way that it contrasts with the Navy blue barrel and gold lettering. I agree about the barcode—European pencils, including the timeless Faber Castell 9000’s, usually have the barcodes printed on the actual barrels. A pity! The one and only real problem that I experienced with the Oxford is similar to Penciling’s: during one sharpening (with the KUM automatic long-point) the lead broke inside the shaft and simply slid out. It only happened once. In general, I think this is a very good pencil, sold in an attractive box, too!
I got my order of Oxford Helix pencils today.
In addition to the product I bought, the package contained several very charming favors which I will enjoy greatly. You have a great style.
However, I was only moderately happy with the product. Despite the quick delivery, wonderful packaging, and quality which does equal its description, one side of each pencil is horribly defaced !
One side has fine old-fashioned gold print. The other, a gross white barcode and computer number.
The gold lettering evokes ivy-wreathed towers of academe.
The white barcode is suitable only for a coroner’s clipboard, or a prison log.
The white barcode utterly destroys the aesthetics of this otherwise excellent product.
You lost business. I would gladly have paid more for a fine imported Japanese pencil, or something equally exotic, rather than enduring the cutting disappointment of an almost great thing. All you had to do was show the dirty backside on your web photos.
The manufacturers might have printed their lovely barcode in soluble ink. But it’s baked on.
Wayne, I agree with you — to a point. Unfortunately, it seems that all British pens and pencils are putting barcodes on their products. I bought a few products from jolly old England, a couple pens and markers, and they all feature that same ugly barcode. And since they are stamped into the veneer, there doesn’t seem to be any way to get it off.
So, while I do appreciate your feedback, there isn’t anything to be done about it, since it is on any Oxford you buy, whether through Pencil Things or through a British stationer’s store.
I would recommend the California Republic Prospector or the Mongol 482 if you’re looking for something quality and barcode-less. Thanks!
-Andy
I don’t mind the barcode so much because that side doesn’t face me. I find it much more annoying when the barcode is a sticker on the pencil and has to be peeled off, leaving a sticky residue that is nearly impossible to get off (except maybe with the magic eraser). I had some Faber-Castells from an art store like that. So I guess that’s part of why it’s not the end of the world to me. I love the way the Oxfords write, and that’s what is important to me.
Is the cedar angry or just fragrant? :>)))
The bar code isn’t unique to the Helix pencil, however. The Creatacolor (Austria) and the Tombow Mono (Japan), Staedtler Noris and Lyra Osiris (Germany) are at least 4 other brands which carry bar codes on the pencils themselves. Seems as though non-US pencils are into bar codes.
I think I’d rather have a bar code imprinted on the pencil itself than try to remove a bar code sticker from a pencil–that’s almost impossible to do.
What do you mean you don’t like the pink wood! I think it’s totally cool. I think it’s actually red, not pink. Maybe it is red cedar or something.
As far as the barcodes — definitely not cool. However, I don’t think it’s limited to Jolly Old England, as someone else mentioned. My new Tombow Mono (Japan) is also besmirched with a bardcode, albeit not so ugly a one as the Oxford bears. A Lyra Osiris (Germany) I just got also has a bar code.
At least the California Republic, Musgrave, and some other American brands do not yet engage in the hideous branding of barcoded pencils.
Hopefully my Oxford “lead” will not break off in the sharpener. I hate it when pencils do that.
Thanks for the PencilThings webstore and website. I’m loving having re-discovered woodcase pencils recently.
[...] However, that’s where the similarity ends. Performance-wise, this is a great pencil. It holds a sharp point at least four times longer than the J, erases cleaner with the same eraser, and is a little thicker and blacker. When sharpened, the wood cuts smoother. It’s clearly made of a different wood, maybe a red cedar — the color is a bit more pink, not unlike the Helix Oxford. [...]
My Oxford pencil also has a barcode on it and a number… Its quite late now (22.23) and I’m still at work, and getting tired and fidgety so was examining my pencil in detail when it crossed my mind that the number on my pencil looks remarkably like a mobile number. So having my mobile sat on my desk I decided to dial the number… It is indeed someones mobile. What do you make of that then.