China Markers Wax Pencils - Full Set of 7 Colors

This review is for "China Markers Wax Pencils-- Full Set of 7 Colors" by Phano. Worked well for marking legible prices on a variety of garage sale items, including glass, metal, and plastic. The paper rolled pencils did not break while in use, unlike a lower priced set that I used previously.

These work as intended. I'm using them as a primarily to design skateboards before painting or etching them. I don't say this to sound like a hipster douchebag artist (although I do wear a beanie). I say this because if these were hard to erase or wipe away I wouldn't use them. If these left a permanent streak on the board I wouldn't use them, and if they left and indentation from writing on the board, I wouldn't use them.Awesome all the way around. Would buy again.

I'll begin by say I am very please with these. I have primarily used these as a sketching medium and for that purpose they work nicely. The reason I didn't give them 5 stars is that they didn't apply quite as well as I expected to some smooth surfaces.Physically they are exactly as I'd expect. A thick, soft core surrounded by a coil of perforated paper. They feel sturdy enough and the thick lead makes them quite suitable for sketching. The paper barrel is perforated but I found that sometimes it doesn't peel off cleanly requiring some fiddling to remove fully. The core is very soft and applies easily.In use they apply to paper (rough or smooth) very smoothly. They feel like a combination of the slickness of graphite on smooth paper with a tiny bit of drag. They are very soft and do not hold a point for long which is very suitable for expressive lines. As with an equivalent pencil I expose the lead one perforation greater than is necessary so the side is usable. The softness of the core means it wears fast creating a flat surface with sharper edges, much in the way thin, soft vine charcoal does. This allows you to roll the barrel to select the newly created sharp edge or the flat giving a broad or narrow line. They also react very well to pressure giving anything from light to fully opaque coverage. Once applied the lines are very hard to smudge and do not erase fully. They can also be layered over each other without smudging too much but note that, in my experience, the lighter colours have little effect when applied over the dark, other than smoothing the surface texture so building dark to light (as you would with Faber-Castel 24 Piece Polychromous Colored Pencil Set In Metal Tin) makes the most sense. Overall, this fits my use case nicely.In terms of value it's quite hard to judge. This was one of the more expensive sets on Amazon at about two dollars a pencil (vs as low as fifty cents), but also the best rated. The most similar pencil I've used is the Prismacolor Ebony Graphite Drawing Pencils, Black,12-Count which has a comparable feel in application but is less responsive to pressure and (at least compared to the black) isn't quite as dark but also about fifty cents each and only available in jet black (aka, dark grey). The other similar material would be oil based pencils like those by Faber Castell or Cretacolor (e.g. Cretacolor Oil Pencils- Set of 6 in a Reusable Tin at about the same price per pencil as these). Those are comparably priced and have a similar feel, style of line and expressive capability. The benefit of these, in contrast, comes in the bolder colour range and the range of surfaces they work on.Overall these work as I'd expect and fit well into my sketching lineup. I may experiment with some of the cheaper brands available on amazon as I don't really need the colour range but for what these are they meet my needs and expectations. I look forward to experimenting with them further on other supports to see what effects I can achieve.

I wanted these to mark bicycle chains so I can see when I've lubed all the links, to mark flats on bicycle tires so I know where to patch, car tires so I can see if the dealer's mechanics actually rotated them as called for, and other small jobs. I don't use them a lot but they are so handy when I do need them. A nice price, different colors are handy, and 7 is plenty to last me a long time.

My hubbie dabbles in winemaking and we enjoy wine in general. He wanted a way to mark the type of wine without having to pull all bottles out of wine rack. I purchased for him reusable wine tags and these pencils are exactly what he needs to write on tags. Full range of colors at great price. Items arrived within 2-3 days of ordering. Very impressed!

.Nothing like they were 40 years ago.

These did not write on glass or mirrors without me having to draw over and over and over the same spot repeatedly until it became (barely) visible. The wax simply does not stick out enough. This is true with all of the colors. Very disappointing and a waste of money.

These are what I was looking for for doing some sketches in different colors. It's one of my favorite mediums to draw with. I thought one of these was going to be brown, based on the picture, but it was a second shade of red. That was disappointing. Otherwise, I am enjoying using these.