One thing that’s ubiquitous in Thailand is the 7-Eleven convenience store. Almost every street corner in Thailand features a 7-Eleven. And almost every 7-Eleven in Thailand features small packets containing a few black-lacquered, unassuming pencils that can be yours for a handful of Baht: the Faber-Castell 1112.

Information on the internet is sparse, and the little packet they came in is long-gone (not that I could decipher the Thai writing anyway), but from what I can tell, these little black fellas are manufactured in Thailand, as are most of the pencils commonly found there. The flat-black finish with silver printing and ferrule, holding a white nub eraser, is nothing magnificent but is presentable, especially when compared to the typical schoolhouse yellow pencil. The quality of the imprint stands up just fine.

Sharpening the 1112 is a generally good experience, with the shavings peeling off smoothly in one long ribbon. The whiteish wood doesn’t seem to be the best quality; sharpening reveals pits and streaks, and the wood near the tip occasionally splinters away from the graphite. However the graphite seems to be uniformly centered in the specimens I picked up, and the wood does the job it’s assigned to do — hold the graphite — OK. [Update: having gained some experience with other Asian pencils, I now believe that this wood is Jelutong, a tree native to southern Asia. The species is known to be illegally harvested from rainforests in Indonesia, making Jelutong pencils controversial. That said, it is also grown commercially in tree farms, and is a protected species in Thailand; so I don’t necessarily have an ethical problem with its use…and it seems to work fine for making pencils.]

OK, so it looks and sharpens OK, but how does it perform? Pretty darn good. Writing with the 1112 leaves a nice, dark mark that really does it for me. One would expect the line left by the 1112 to be a bit more bold than the standard HB graphite, since this pencil is a 2B. However, I’d say the quality of the mark left behind is on par with the Palomino Blackwing Pearl (my pencil of choice when I’m feeling fancy).

While we’re comparing the two, let’s talk about smudginess: the 1112 smudges about the same — perhaps a little more — than the Pearl, and a little smudginess is to be expected of a 2B core. That said, it’s not nearly as bad as the Chinese HB Ticonderoga Blacks I keep on my work desk, so it’s definitely not awful.

The eraser on the party-end of the 1112 is soft and fully functional, stacking up comparably to the competitors I compared it against. The eraseability of the graphite mark itself is fine, also — not remarkable, but pretty good.

The feeling in the hand while writing is a bit scratchier than the silky Pearl, but is smooth enough for my tastes. Point retention isn’t this pencil’s strong point — you’ll find yourself sharpening several times a page, but again, it’s a 2B, so that comes with the territory. Supposedly it is “break resistant due to a special bonding process” (I am assuming that refers to the core) but I’m not sure that I’ve noticed anything remarkable about the break resistance, for better or worse.

The matte-black finish of the standard-hex barrel is actually a bit grippier than the slicker, glossy finishes on the Blackwings, Ticonderogas, etc. I have on hand. According to the Faber-Castell website, it is an environmentally-friendly water-based lacquer. It feels nice, looks good enough, and scores points with the Earth Mother? OK, I’m down.

The Faber-Castell 1112 is a solid workhorse of a pencil. It writes quite nicely while also holding its own in terms of aesthetics, smudginess, erasability, and feel. I’m definitely not a cedar snob, although I do think they could choose a better wood, as there are some pits and such that interfere with an otherwise-pleasant sharpening experience. However, that’s not annoying enough to turn me off to the 1112.

In fact, during my time in Thailand, I used the 1112 as a “daily writer” despite having numerous other American and Asian pencils readily available. The only problem? Getting your hands on them if you’re not Thai! There are a few sources on Amazon but it’s hit or miss and the price is relatively high.

But next time you find yourself in a Thai 7-Eleven, make sure you pick up a little packet of Faber-Castell 1112’s. You won’t regret it.