Product Profile: Caran d’Ache 844 Mechanical Pencil and Fixpencil
We’ve offered mechanical pencils on Pencils.com before, but never one as storied as the 844 mechanical pencils and Fixpencils found in our new Caran d’Ache offerings. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at what makes these pencils so special, and why they deserve a place alongside your woodcased pencil arsenal.
Fixpencil
The best place to start is always the beginning and, in the case of mechanical pencils, the beginning is the Caran d’Ache Fixpencil. Invented in 1929 by an engineer in Geneva, the Fixpencil was the world’s first mechanical pencil. When it was released by Caran d’Ache one year later, it became a global success, propelling Caran d’Ache and their revolutionary pencil into the global spotlight.
The Fixpencil features a sleek, black metallic barrel with chrome accents, and a hexagonal shape that is reminiscent of its woodcased bretheren. The “mechanical” portion of this pencil is in the form of a clutch mechanism that holds its graphite core in place and a push button that releases the mechanism, allowing you to refresh the tip whenever necessary.
Unlike most mechanical pencils, the Fixpencil comes stocked with a 2mm HB graphite core. In order to keep the graphite core’s tip sharp, the pencil also features a sharpener built into its push button. Refills are available in 2H, H, B, 2B, and 3B.
844 Mechanical Pencil
The Caran d’Ache 844 mechanical pencil is a more traditional mechanical pencil by today’s standards, albeit with a level of quality not often found in other mechanical pencils. It features the same design as Caran d’Ache’s 849 ballpoint pens, highlighted by its aluminum, hexagonal barrel, chrome accents, and subtle details.
The 844 mechanical pencil is available in white, black, and grey, and features a high-quality 0.7mm diameter graphite that is advanced by a push button. Unlike the Fixpencil, this pencil does not require you to sharpen the graphite, providing an experience that should be familiar to mechanical pencil users. Refills of the high-quality 0.7mm graphite are also available.
What do you think pencileers? Will you give these mechanical pencils a try? Have you already? Sound off in the comments below!
I have just begun my addiction to pencils. I am currently loving all things woodcase, but that Fixpencil is grabbing my attention. I have been glancing at various mechanicals, but I like the more sleek designs rather than the “tech” designs with all the grips and various adornments. The hex shape and fat lead is what I like about these lead holders. I like a more bold/broad line as well in my fountain pens.
I have a 844 caran dache 0.7mm pencil that has about 5 small pieces of led jammed inside. I cannot find online a way to fix this and have fiddled with it for hours.
Theric website is surprisingly hard to find answers on for a luxury company. There are only a few companies they Ship to outside Helvetica. Mine is not one of them.