How Many Pencils Are Too Many?

Hi friends! I totally realize that I am probably NOT he best person to answer that question but I had the opportunity to review a very hot new product. the Brutfuner set of 520 “oily” colored pencils. I had recently reviewed the Brutfuner square set of 120 which I recommend as probably the best budget colored pencils on the market under $30 so I was thrilled to try the new set. I was sent this set for free from the Andstal Stationary shop and they arrived in perfect condition and very well packaged. You can see my unboxing here. I have heard from other viewers that have ordered from this shop on AliExpress that they are top notch which is always nice to hear as I did not know them before they contacted me as I had purchased my Brutfuner Squares on Amazon. Watch the video for my full review on these.

Pros:

• Great variety of colors including pastels, neon and metallics

• Centered cores, straight barrel, nice build construction (3.3mm lead in 7.5mm body)

• Sharpens well to a fine point (lead is harder than Prismacolor, it is similar to Arteza and Deli/Markart pencils)

• Layers well

• Holds a point well

• blends with water or OMS

• Set came well packaged to protect from breakage and package is reusable for storage

Cons:

• Lots or near-identical colors

• The color numbers are difficult to read on the barrel

• Pencils are inconsistent in laydown, some are rich and pigmented and some are weaker and streaky

• Price (of 520 set, smaller size sets are reasonable)

• Difficult to blend

What would be the best use of this set:

• Classroom-the harder leads will be more resistant to breaks from droppage and the many similar colors mean several people could share this set and not want for a color or have to wait for one.

• rubber stampers or adult coloring book enthusiasts who need a sharp point and variety of colors for fine details.

• Studio décor, it is a pretty set of pencils to display in jars or a rack

• As a design tool for color picking (the colored barrels can be used as color swatches)

• photo props

• as a collectors item as it is the largest set I have ever heard of.

Bottom Line: I can’t say if this set is for you. It’s a lot of money to spend for a budget quality pencil and for that money you can buy a professional quality set that meets your exact specifications that would have replacement colors available. To be totally fair you could purchase a smaller set for a much more reasonable price, like a 48 set for around $15 so it’s not the per pencil price that makes this expensive, just the total set price for the 520. What do you think? Happy crafting!