I have used #2 lead pencils all my life. They sharpen well and write quite smooth.Also dark enough to see. The Purell hand sanitizer I purchased is also some thing I have used since it was first introduced good quality.
I would have been happy just to decorate with these beautiful yellow and pink pencils but was beyond ecstatic to discover that they also write words! It took a while to realize I needed to hone the end (the non eraser end after several failed attempts) to a point to accomplish this Task but they worked like a charm. I only wrote words in english but I have read other reviews that they work nearly as well in the other languages.