Quick question- Prismacolor Scholar or Premier Soft Core or ?

[matrips]

Which Prismacolor colored pencils are the highly recommended ones?  They have several different kinds.  And how many do you recommend buying?  (12, 24, 36, 48 or 72?)

My kids will be 12 years old soon, and it's time to buy some nicer quality than the Crayola stuff we've had!  

 

What's a good price?  Amazon had the 72 count Premier for $38.  And the 24 count for $12.  And the 48 count for $18.  

 

Is their sharpener worth it?  or can we use one of our hand held sharpeners?

 

Thanks!  Going to order them tonight!

[Bambam]

I can't speak about the Scholar. We have the soft core, I believe. Nice color, blends well.

 

We bought a small set at first - just to see if we liked them. We purchased the 72 set later. It has been several years, but those look like good prices to me. 

 

Yes, the sharpener is worth it. 

[matrips]

I can't speak about the Scholar. We have the soft core, I believe. Nice color, blends well.

 

We bought a small set at first - just to see if we liked them. We purchased the 72 set later. It has been several years, but those look like good prices to me. 

 

Yes, the sharpener is worth it. 

 

thanks!

do they break easily because of the soft core?

[Cinder]

Dd likes Premier. I think the Scholar has a slightly harder lead. We started with the 24 and quickly moved up to 48. Now we're looking at the 150! Dd is only 11yo but already very serious about her art.

 

Single pencils usually cost about $2; you should be able to get sets for $1 or less per pencil. I recommend the sharpener. It doesn't chew up the leads, and it sharpens them to a shorter point--not like a standard pencil sharpener--which helps reduce breakage.

[Ali in OR]

Those are good prices. We've been happy with our set of 48. They're not the student ones--must be premier.

[Ali in OR]

dp

Edited November 26, 2016 by Ali in OR

[MomatHWTK]

The soft core just makes them blend and smooth nicely. You do want their sharpener because a lesser sharpener won't work as well with the core. I haven't heard dd complain about breakage. 

 

Here's a short description of the differences in softness: https://pencils.com/hb-graphite-grading-scale/

This is for graphites, but the concept is the same. Soft cores probably won't last as long, but the effect will be more pleasing if you child is very artistic (IMO). 

Edited November 26, 2016 by MomatHWTK

[SparklyUnicorn]

Whoa.  I have wanted a set of these pencils for awhile.  I just bought a set of 72 for $18 (free shipping). Not from Amazon directly, but one of their sellers.  This is too good to be true so we'll see!