A graphite pencil for every artist. Learn the difference between Castell® 9000 and Goldfaber Graphite Pencils.

Consistently priding ourselves on being your artistic companion for life, Faber-Castell offers products for artists and creators at all stages of life. Amidst the creation and celebration of our wide variety of quality products at Faber-Castell, our core competence stems back to our graphite pencils.

Faber-Castell offers several different kinds of graphite pencils; our two most popular being the Castell 9000 and the Goldfaber Graphite Pencil. With frequent questioning of the differences and similarities of these pencils, we are breaking down the details of these two popular products.

The Goldfaber Graphite Pencil lives in our Creative Studio product line. The name Goldfaber was coined in 1935 and has been renowned for its high-quality and outstanding design ever since. This pencil is the perfect pencil with excellent value for art students and aspiring artists. Versatile with great writing performance, Goldfaber Graphite is available in eight degrees of lead hardness: 4H, 2H, H,HB, B, 2B, 4B, and 6B.  

The Castell 9000 Graphite Pencil lives in our Art and Graphic product line, holding a quality reputation that has stood for over 110 years. Launched by Count Alexander von Faber-Castell, the pencil has become a firm favorite with professional artists and illustrators. The Castell 9000 is a Faber-Castell Pillar Product along with the: Pitt Artist Pen®, Polychromos® Color Pencil, and the Albrecht Dürer® Watercolor Pencil.

With superior leads made of finely ground graphite and clay for smooth laydown, the Castell 9000 is a professional grade graphite drawing pencil. The pencil is available in 16 degrees of hardness: 8B, 7B, 6B, 5B, 4B, 3B, 2B, B, HB, F, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, and 6H. It is also available in jumbo with five degrees of lead hardness: HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, and 8B.

Though the history and make of both pencils differentiate, there are many similarities in the way Goldfaber and Castell 9000 Graphite Pencils are created. Both pencils are SV bonded and extra break-resistant. They are also hexagonal, acid-free, and coated with environmentally friendly water-based varnish. Our graphite pencils have even earned the recognition of Vincent van Gough.

“I wanted to tell you about a kind of Faber pencil I discovered. They are thick, very soft, and better quality than carpenter’s pencils, the black they give is excellent and they are perfect to work on bit sketches,” – stated Vincent van Gogh to friend Anthon van Rappard in 1883.

The Goldfaber and Castell 9000 Graphite Pencils both possess a high lightfastness rating and have a history of dedication and passion for quality and the success of the artist. Whether you are a student or a professional artist, Faber-Castell’s selection of graphite pencils has the perfect pencil for you.

 Shop graphite pencils, here!