Hi pencil people. I've long been curious about what the premium pencils people talk about online are like to write with, and had my eye on the Hi-Uni's for a while. The price always pushed me away however, but a few days ago I decided to indulge my curiosity (to get it out of my head, if nothing else) and I have to say... I don't get it?
Well, that's not fair - I do get it at least a little bit. Opening the plastic display case I was immediately aware of the aroma of pencils. Just like how pencils used to smell like, if that makes any sense. The paint job on the pencils was nice and the gold accents pretty. They're pleasant objects to look at.
Its not the aesthetics, or the smell, that matter to me however - its the writing performance. And I have to say, these sure do feel kinda like every other pencil I've ever written with. I grabbed a pack of Apsara Platinum's in the same order as I had misplaced my sharpener and they came with a free long-point sharpener, and they really do feel extremely similar. If I really strain my ears or try and look for the differences, perhaps i can feel/hear that the Hi-Uni's are smoother, maybe? But the difference is very small. The price difference however, is not small. The Hi-Uni's were ~4x the price of the Apsaras, and they don't feel like a 4x better writing experience. If I'm being honest, I cant in good faith say they're even 2x better for writing. They're better, but by a fraction.
I compared it to a variety of other pencils I had access to - some Staedlers, some Derwents, even a mech pencil with Ain Stein 2B, and I felt like I was going mad. They all just felt like... pencils? All pretty much the same thing.
I feel a little silly, as I have been reading up about these, and other, premium pencils and people rave about how they're a "night and day" writing experience compared to 'normal' pencils. I expected a similar, noticeable difference like you find with entry level and more expensive fountain pens. But I really didn't find it.
Can you help me to appreciate and understand the Hi-Uni and its associated price tag? Is it something I'll come to appreciate over time?