“1” is a small number. But even small steps can make a big difference. In this case I’m referring to the “2001” the younger brother of the 2000 that I have reviewed some time ago. I didn’t really like the 2001, not especially bad, but really far from being any good. So I got my hands on some Faber-Castell 2000 HB/2. So it’s the exact same grade as the 2001 I have reviewed. But you have already guessed it: the “1” makes a big difference. The 2000 is a beautiful pencil, exactly like the 2001, but without the ferrule, which is in this case a good thing. The pencil is very light and sharpening it feels quite right.
A recent comment on the 2001 made me realize that I am perhaps sometimes using the wrong words when talking about the softness of the lead. I was referring to it as smoothness occasionally. Well in this case the lead is really soft for an HB, but not too smooth, nicely gritty, which gives a whole different feeling to drawing with this pencil as opposed to the 2001. One big negative point with the 2000 is that despite it’s relative lack of blackness it smears easily. So when drawing with this pencil, you should really put a piece of paper under your palm if you tend to rest it on the paper. So the lead is not giving an especially black line, but the result is still enjoyable, but I feel that it is maybe a bit too soft and you have to sharpen more often than with higher quality pencils. I felt that this pencil could find its place as a sketching pencil for loose lines, relaxed doodling and quick drawings, but less as a dedicated drawing pencil.
And I found it particularly pleasant to write with it. My writing is very loose and uneven, so a soft pencil like the 2000 is great for me. So as you can see I have a very different opinion on the 2000. The 2001 feels compared to the 2000 even less appreciable and cheap. This is a very biased opinion, but I hope that through this you can draw your own picture on the quality and usability of these pencils.
My pencils draw worlds 