When I decided to stock Kaweco, it wasn’t necessarily to carry their iconic Sport fountain pen (though it’s a favorite). It was the “Sketch Up” clutch pencil. While I’ve previously written about clutch pencils / leadholders like the Caran d’Ache Fixpencil - which is geared toward writing and originally designed as a wartime replacement for the standard woodcase pencil - the Sketch Up uses thicker 5.6mm leads intended for drawing. How can you use one of these pencils, if you’re not an artist or sketchnoter? Let’s take a look.

The brass version of the Sketch Up is shiny when new, but will develop a cool patina as it ages.

Intended Use No. 1: A Sketch Pencil for Drawing

As mentioned, the first use for a clutch pencil like the Sketch Up is as a drawing tool. Each pencil ships with one 5.6mm 5B lead, which is very soft and very dark, perfect for blending. What it’s not great for is writing, unless you write very large, but again that’s not the intended use. I’ll take this opportunity to discuss the main question people have regarding this pencil and its refills: Whether you use it for drawing or writing, how do you sharpen a lead this big? Use the excellent integrated sharpener inside the cap, which unscrews. While I don’t really bother with sharpening when I’m using clutch pencils for highlighting because I like a broader edge, the cap contains a good lead pointer. For a demonstration of how the clutch mechanism works, and how to sharpen using the cap, I thought it would be easier to do short videos, which I’ve linked to here.

The Kaweco Sketch Up loaded with a pink highlighter lead.

Intended Use No. 2: A Highlighter/Drylighter

My own primary use case for the Kaweco Sketch Up is as a highlighter. I’ve long favored so-called “drylighter” pencils over traditional liquid ink highlighters, since they don’t dry out, don’t bleed through thinner paper, and work better with less-waterproof inks like fountain pen ink and gel ink. The Sketch Up serves as a nice, compact refillable highlighter that’s a more sustainable option than woodcase drylighters or plastic highlighter markers. Most brands sell highlighter refills for their clutch pencils in addition to standard graphite, and Kaweco highlighter refills are sold in packs of three.

I wrote pretty hard here to try to get it to smear, and was only able to get the slightest smearing on the still-wet gel pen. For everyday highlighting I’ve found these to be great.

Not-So-Intended Use No 3: A Dip Nib Holder

I may get into a bit of trouble for promoting an “off label” use of the Sketch-up, but what had me the most excited about this product was the ability to use it as a holder for my Kakimori Brass dip nib. I love the idea of carrying a dip pen with me to meet-ups and pen shows, but longer handles are inconvenient and portable versions such as the Drillog are expensive and perhaps don’t lay enough ink on the page. Many people use dip nibs for drawing as well, adding to the versatility of the Sketch Up as an art tool. To see how the Sketch Up works as a dip nib holder, check out this short video.

The Sketch Up is handy for sampling fountain pen inks, such as the Kaweco Palm Green shown here.

A couple of people have asked whether or not the Sketch Up will fit dip nibs other than the Kakimori conical-style nib. I’m not a heavy dip pen user other than this particular tool, but I did experiment with a Zebra G and it seems to work. I make no representations otherwise, YMMV. Also, I do feel a need to issue a disclaimer: The clutch mechanism on the Sketch Up is made of metal. When using this pencil as a dip pen, be sure to clean and dry the mechanism after use, and try to minimize any ink or water leaking into the interior of the pencil. Otherwise you may see some corrosion.

The Sketch Up fitted with a Zebra G dip pen nib. (And that crazy grey ink in the bottom right is Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same. I just realized how good that looks….)

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I plan to keep the Kaweco Sketch Up in stock alongside other clutch-style pencils such as the Caran d’Ache Fixpencil and perhaps a few other styles. I’ve long carried one of these as a key highlighting and annotation tool, and the added versatility of using this particular model as a portable dip nib holder for playing around with inks at pen club and pen shows is an added bonus. I may even break out the 5B lead from time to time when I’m drawing with my daughter.

The Sketch Up fitted with the Kakimori Brass dip nib.

The Kaweco Sketch Up starts at $21 for the “Softfeel” black and yellow model (which I chose for my own carry and which is shown in most of the photos here), and runs $38 for the brass version, which will develop a nice patina as it ages. As mentioned, the T.G.S. Curated Shop carries both the pencils and the Kaweco lead refills in both the 5B graphite and the highlighter versions. We are now authorized Kaweco retailers and look forward to stocking more of their pens, pencils, inks and accessories going forward!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

It’s been a looong time since I’ve posted any pencil-related content around here, but pencils are something I certainly love and use a lot, as do many of my readers, so I need to make more of an effort to diversify. First up is a short piece on a category of pencils that plays a key part in my workflow: highlighting pencils, also sometimes referred to as “dryliners.” Why, you might ask? First of all, I find that they last longer than traditional ink-guzzling liquid highlighters, they don’t dry out, and I would think they’re also a more eco-conscious choice because you’re not stuffing landfills with discarded plastic bodies. Second depending on how you sharpen these pencils, you can adjust the tip size to make it narrower or broader, per your preference. The downside, of course, is lighter pigment than in traditional liquid ink, and some might find sharpening inconvenient because the core is soft, like a colored pencil. If you want to keep a point or a narrow tip, you’ll have to sharpen a lot.

The Caran d’Ache Graphicolor Highlighter/HB Combo, which combines a highlighter/dryliner pencil with a standard HB graphite half, to make notes while you highlight without switching writing implements. It’s great for when you’re reading!

“The Editor” by CW Pencil Enterprise and Caran d’Ache, as well as the more economical Milan highlighter/HB graphite combo.

Similarly, so-called double-ended editing pencils combine two different colors of graphite, traditionally blue and red. CW Pencil Enterprise, however, recently released their latest collaboration with Caran d’Ache, “The Editor,” which is a double-ended pencil featuring red and HB graphite - a more convenient combination. I haven’t quite figured out a use case for this pencil yet. I mostly prefer to edit in ink as opposed to red pencil, but Caran d’Ache’s red pigment is excellent and very visible.

Highlighter-pencil-editor-writing-sample

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Unfortunately, those of us who are into quirky stationery items like these know that the only place to get them are via highly specialized shops. CW Pencils carries the Caran d’Ache Graphicolor HB/Highlighter combo, the Milan graphite/highlighter combo, and of course, “The Editor”. Of these three, the Milan is the one that’s most likely to make its way into my daily rotation. At $1 each, it’s a more economical choice for a workhorse than the Caran d’Ache pencils, which run a pricey $3 per pencil. I do like the editor though, and I’ll likely keep them tucked into books I’m reading for annotations. That way they’ll last longer!

Another option for highlighter pencils are Faber-Castell Textliners, which can be extremely difficult to source in the States, so I stock up on them whenever I place an order to UK retailer Cult Pens, which sells them by the box in all available colors. These also aren't double-ended pencils - they’re quite long, triangular jumbo grip highlighters that last a while, which defrays the cost a bit.

Disclaimer: I purchased the products featured in this review with my own funds, for my own use.