Yeah, I'm just running off of my experience with the 602 and the Palomino HB when I say that one to two pencils gets me through LR and RC, two or three gets me through LG, and three or four gets me through the writing section. Just from running this test, they all seemed to lose their point at a pretty similar rate. However, I always seem to burn though 602s for some reason in test conditions.TheMostDangerousLG wrote: Only other information that I think is relevant to a thorough pencil review is ease of sharpening and point retention, but I don't know how you could design a test for these; they seem to be things you gather over time through experience with a pencil. But if you think of a way, it'd be cool to hear how the Palomino HB, Palomino Blackwing 602, and General's Semi-Hex compare.
On the sharpening question, the quality of the pencil, the quality of the sharpener, and the skill of the person sharpening all play a role. It took me a bit of time (like a day or two) to get the hang of the Kum Long Point, but it is well worth it and I can knock out a quality pencil in less than a minute. If the pencil is not good quality (uncentered lead, paint on the end of the unsharpened face, shitty wood, etc.), it will definitely result in a less than optimal sharpening.
I'm just chalking that one up to me being too lazy to go out and find some. Once I found the Palomino and General's brands, I figured that I wouldn't find any better, although I will probably pick those and the Palomino Pearls up at some point.TheMostDangerousLG wrote: By the way, any reason you didn't test the Mirado Black Warrior? I'd be interested to see how you think it fares in these tests.
) makes it a less than ideal Writing Sample pencil. 
