Faber-Castell TK4600 Leadholder Review

A while ago Vikram from Illinois got in contact with me and I persuaded him to do an article or a review for this blog. Well, the end result is that he sent in two articles, both on leadholders, because he quite rightly thought they were under-represented on this blog. So, this week is Virkam’s Leadholder Week, with two postings to publish. Here’s the first one.

Faber-Castell TK4600 Leadholder

Firstly, I would like to thank Dave for this great opportunity! I have been interested in pencils for a while, and at 16, I think I am the only one of all my friends to love pencils so much.

Faber-Castell: a name highly regarded in the pencil and writing instruments industry for high quality yet affordable products. As a drafting student, I was eager to try out one of their leadholders, the TK4600.

Faber-Castell TK 4600

This 2mm leadholder is a normal, economy grade pencil. The balance point is almost exactly at the midpoint, making this an ideal drafting instrument. A forest green, hexagonal body, similar to that of their Castell 9000 series of drawing pencils, makes it clear that Faber-Castell associates this leadholder to that high standard. The all plastic body of the TK4600 is very solid, similar to the Pentel P205 - able to withstand abuse and still deliver - a student model, for sure. The foil stamping on the body clearly states “TK4600 Faber-Castell” with “Germany” stamped in small letters on the clip. The metal tip section, (removable?) clip, and pushbutton show that Faber-Castell did not skimp on quality with this one.

The grip of the TK4600 is aided by the ridges toward the front of the pencil, but they do not really help; when drafting, the draftsman generally holds the pencil farther away from the tip-closer to the midpoint. Maybe this was conceived as a multi-use pencil; one for occasional writing and sketching as well as drafting? While writing with the TK4600, it was very clear that it is not a writing tool primarily - after a half page, my hand started to develop a painful cramp. Sketching and drafting is comfortable, and this is plainly the TK4600’s forte. Another, slightly shorter version, the TK9500, has “HB” stamped into the body, making it seem like more of a sketching and writing tool than the TK4600.

Faber-Castell TK 4600 and TK 9500

The TK4600 is a student leadholder, and a good one at that. However, the lack of a built in sharpener, higher price point (about USD $16, $12 for the TK9500) and the small grip section push me toward the Staedtler Mars 780 technico leadholder (USD $3-5) as a general leadholder. However, this one remains highly recommended!

Pros: -solid design and feel, great for drafting and sketching, solid metal clip

Cons: -high price for student leadholder, ridged grip in inconvenient place, no built-in sharpener

Overall: highly recommended, but consider Staedtler as well.

Thanks Vikram. Posting No. 2 coming in a few days.
Dave.