Nitram 700301 Charcoal

I have been salivating over this brand of charcoal for a while now, thanks to the stylish Youtube videos uploaded by Nitram. You get see several artists creating flawless charcoal drawings of plaster busts using the Nitram products, and the setting is a beautifully outfitted atelier studio. Everyone has an easel and a leaning stick or "bridge", and there are plenty of the white plaster sculptures around to class up the scenery. Well, I cannot afford all of the trappings of a fine atelier, but at least I could buy one box of Nitram charcoal to see if it is better than other brands.Neither the package nor the Nitram website states whether the batons are vine, willow, natural, compressed, or whatever. When you look at the baton's cross-section, you do not see the hard little core that is in most of the willow sticks from other manufacturers, and there are seam lines on the sides that indicate a mold is used. I would never call this a compressed charcoal, however, as the texture is more porous, or fibrous like vine charcoal. So Nitram's proprietary formula/process must be different from that of other brands.Below are my initial observations:- Very soft texture, creates velvety strokes like willow sticks- No need to sharpen- just start drawing and rotate the stick as you go to create a fine edge or tip- Very low dust- most vines and willows will leave a pretty mark that disappears when you blend it or blow on it, but not the Nitram- VERY easy to clean off your hands and erase from paper with a kneaded eraser- Feels sturdier than it looks- you can use some pressure when shading. My sticks didn't break in transit, either, save for one small end piece- not a big deal for me.- You will not get a true black from this particular charcoal- just a dark (but not extremely dark) grayThe last point was surprising to me because most charcoal labelled as "soft" or "extra soft" will be darker than harder formulas. This is one of those rules that have remained consistent with both charcoal and graphite, but perhaps that only applies to the compressed varieties. Nitram makes three degrees of Fusains Acadèmie, which are 5 mm thick square sticks that come in hard, medium, and soft grades like many other brands of charcoal. I have a feeling that these are more like compressed charcoal, but I will confirm this when I have a chance to try one of them.Now the BIG Question: Is Nitram charcoal worth the price?My short answer: YesWhen it comes to price, I am not sure I really paid more for the Nitram batons than I would for a box of 10 or 12 charcoals from other good brands. Any way you look at it, the sticks are about $1.60 if you pay around $8 (suggested retail for this size) for a pack of 5- not counting shipping or the special Prime price. That is a little bit more than General's, but it is in the same range as Derwent, Cretacolor, Faber-Castel Pitt, and other artist grade brands. The Nitram sticks are 8 mm wide x 152 mm (6 inches) long, while the Derwent and many other brands are about half that length for compressed sticks. If you look at it this way, you are not paying a ridiculous price for the charcoal because it should last a while.I do plan to try one of the Academie boxes next- probably the B, which may be more comparable to a compressed stick than the batons. Theonly issue I have with the batons moyens is that I cannot get a nice black, but I did not take a star off because I have never used a willow or vine charcoal that could do that. Now if I have the same issue with the Academie, it might make me less enthusiastic about the brand, but for now this charcoal earns the five stars from me.

I recently got Nitram charcoal for my portrait work and really appreciate how it can be thinned and sharpened without easily breaking. It blends smoothly and remains easy to manipulate on the paper, even after being applied.

It came right in time and is good for completing my project

Easy to handle and good quality charcoal but a bit pricey

I noticed right away that the product ‘s unevenness, meaning there is some hard bits in the charcoal just glide through the paper. Very annoying, I found it the same thing common in the charcoal pencils but it shouldn’t happen in the vine charcoal.

These charcoal stick are great to work with. Keeps the dust to a minimum and gives my artwork a depth that I love!

Great product!

About the same darkness and characteristics of a soft vine charcoal. Was expecting something more from the reviews, little disappointed but that's on me.