If you have spent any time reading about graphite, you already know these are the two names that come up: Mitsubishi's Hi-uni and Tombow's Mono 100. They are the flagship drawing pencils of Japan's two great pencil houses, both have been in production since the 1960s, and both are routinely called the finest wood-cased pencils made anywhere. People argue about them the way some argue about cameras or fountain pen nibs. We hold every grade of both ranges in the House of Graphite reference collection, so rather than recycle the usual forum hearsay, this is what we find when we actually sit down and draw with them on the same paper, on the same afternoon.
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- Hi-uni lays down a fraction more graphite per grade and reaches a far darker extreme (down to 10B), with a hint more tooth and feedback. It is the artist's range first.
- Mono 100 feels marginally smoother and cleaner under the hand, with about the most refined fit and finish you will find on a wood pencil. It is the writer's and draughtsman's range first.
- Their grade labels broadly line up, but they are not interchangeable: each house calibrates its own scale, and Hi-uni runs a touch softer and darker grade-for-grade.
- Both are superb. The honest answer to "which is better" is "whichever feel you prefer" — so most serious users end up owning some of each.
In a hurry? For darks and tonal drawing, get the Hi-uni →. For a cleaner, glassier writing feel, the Mono 100 →. Full breakdown below.
The two contenders, briefly
A little background matters here, because both of these pencils carry genuine pedigree — and pedigree is part of why they cost what they do.
Mitsubishi Hi-uni comes from Mitsubishi Pencil Co. (the company behind the uni and uni-ball brands). It has nothing to do with the Mitsubishi car maker or wider conglomerate: the pencil firm registered its own three-diamond mark in 1903, derived from the founder's family crest, and the two companies have never been connected. The original Uni launched in 1958 as Japan's answer to the world's best drawing pencils; Hi-uni arrived in 1966 as the premium tier above it. It is the deep burgundy-lacquered, rounded-end pencil you have seen in every "best pencils" list, and it is offered across an unusually wide 22 grades, from 10H to 10B.
Tombow Mono 100 comes from Tombow Pencil Co., founded in 1913. The Mono name dates to 1963 and the Mono 100 sits at the very top of that family, above the Mono R and the everyday Mono J. It is the black-barrelled pencil with the instantly recognisable black-white-and-gold banded end cap, and one of the best-finished pencils Japan turns out. Tombow builds it around tightly particle-controlled graphite for a consistent, clean line, and offers it in 17 grades, from 9H to 6B.
The headline difference in the two ranges is reach. Hi-uni spans 22 grades (10H–10B); the Mono 100 spans 17 (9H–6B). So Hi-uni goes one step harder at the top and four steps darker at the bottom — the Mono 100 stops at 6B and does not chase it into 7B–10B. For most people that soft end is the part that matters. Stock and grade availability shift, so check the Mono 100 line page for what we currently hold.
Smoothness: which one feels better under the hand?
This is the difference people notice first, and it is real, but it is smaller than the internet would have you believe. Put a freshly sharpened HB of each on a smooth cartridge paper and draw a slow, even tone:
Mono 100 feels a touch cleaner and more glassy — there is very little audible feedback, the graphite seems to glide and release evenly, and lifting the pencil leaves a crisp edge. It is the more "polished" sensation, and it is why the Mono 100 is so beloved by people who write and rule lines for a living.
Hi-uni has slightly more tooth — a little more of the pencil-talking-to-the-paper feedback that many artists actively want, because it tells your hand exactly how much graphite is going down. It is not scratchy; it is communicative. Some people read that as "less smooth"; others read it as "more control".
Our take: if you blind-tested ten people, most would call the Mono 100 marginally smoother, but a good few artists would prefer the Hi-uni's feedback and call it the better drawing tool. Neither is "rough". Both are in the top tier of anything you can buy.
Darkness: which one lays down more graphite?
Grade-for-grade, Hi-uni reads slightly darker and richer through the B range. A Hi-uni 4B tends to deposit a little more graphite and sit a shade blacker than a Mono 100 4B drawn with the same pressure. The gap is modest in the middle grades and widens toward the soft end.
The decisive point is range. Hi-uni keeps going where Mono 100 stops: Hi-uni offers 7B, 8B, 9B and 10B for genuinely deep, velvety blacks, while Mono 100 bottoms out at 6B. If your work depends on the darkest possible passages — dramatic portrait shadows, rich block-ins, reproduction-black lettering — Hi-uni simply has gears the Mono 100 does not. (For an even wider view of who makes the blackest pencils, see our guide to the best Japanese pencils, our pencil grades reference, and our roundup of the darkest pencils you can actually buy.)
Do their grades match each other?
Short answer: they use the same labels, but the labels are not a common standard. There is no international body policing what "2B" means, so every manufacturer calibrates its own ladder. A Hi-uni 2B and a Mono 100 2B are close — both being Japanese, both run a little softer and darker than the harder-running European scales of Staedtler or Faber-Castell — but they are not identical.
In our side-by-side swatches, Hi-uni runs very slightly softer and darker than the Mono 100 grade with the same name. A practical way to think about it: a Mono 100 grade behaves a touch like the Hi-uni grade roughly half a step harder. The effect is small in the H and HB region and most visible in the B grades. If you are switching ranges mid-drawing, expect to drop one notch on the Mono 100 to match the darkness you were getting from a Hi-uni.
| Grade | Mitsubishi Hi-uni | Tombow Mono 100 | Our read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2H | Crisp, light, holds a needle point; faint extra darkness. | Equally crisp, a hair lighter and cleaner; superb for fine lines. | Near-tie. Mono 100 edges it for precision line work. |
| HB | Balanced, slightly more feedback, a touch darker baseline. | Glassy-smooth, very even, slightly lighter baseline. | Writers lean Mono 100; sketchers often lean Hi-uni. |
| 2B | Noticeably rich, smooth-with-tooth, lovely for shading. | Smooth and clean, marginally lighter for the same pressure. | Hi-uni for tonal drawing; Mono 100 for controlled, even fills. |
| 4B | Darker and more buttery; lays graphite generously. | Smooth and consistent but clearly lighter than Hi-uni 4B. | Hi-uni wins on darkness; Mono 100 wins on point life. |
| 6B | Deep, velvety, still controllable. | Tombow's softest grade — rich, but the end of its road. | Tie at 6B; only Hi-uni continues to 7B–10B. |
Point retention: which holds a sharpened tip longer?
Both ranges are excellent here, because both use finely milled, well-bonded graphite that wears evenly instead of crumbling. In practice the grade you choose matters far more than the brand — a 2H of either will outlast a 4B of either by a mile.
Comparing like-for-like grades, we give a slight edge to the Mono 100 for point retention, which follows logically from the darkness finding: because it deposits a touch less graphite per stroke than the same-named Hi-uni, the tip wears down a little more slowly and keeps a fine point through longer stretches of writing. That is part of why it is such a favourite with people doing sustained drafting and handwriting. Hi-uni's tips are still very durable; they simply give up graphite slightly faster in exchange for that extra darkness. If you sharpen with a good long-point sharpener or rotate the pencil as you work, either will hold a usable point for a satisfyingly long time.
Value: which is better for a full set?
Both sit firmly in the premium bracket, and a complete set of either is a real investment — these are not pencils you buy by the gross. Pricing on Amazon UK moves around (and import stock makes it bounce more than most), so we are not going to quote figures that will be stale next week. As a rule of thumb, the two are close on a per-pencil basis, with Hi-uni usually a little dearer, partly because a full set runs to 22 grades against the Mono 100's 17.
Our value advice is less about which flagship and more about whether you need a flagship for every grade. The honest truth is that you get the most from these pencils in the grades you draw with most — typically HB through 6B. Buy the premium range there, and you will feel the money. For your harder grades, or for everyday writing, sketching thumbnails and general use, the step-down ranges from the same factories deliver most of the experience for a fraction of the cost:
- Tombow Mono J — the entry tier of the Mono family. Not as refined or as wide a range as the Mono 100, but genuinely good graphite and outstanding value; the natural budget companion to a Mono 100 set.
- Mitsubishi 9800 — the classic green-barrelled general-writing pencil. A true workhorse: reliable, cleanly made and very cheap, ideal for everyday writing and rough work that doesn't justify a Hi-uni.
The verdict
If you draw and you want the richest, darkest range: buy the Hi-uni. The extra darkness, the communicative tooth and the 7B–10B grades make it the more complete artist's tool.
If you write, rule, draft or simply love a flawless, glassy feel: buy the Mono 100. It is marginally smoother, holds a point a little longer grade-for-grade, and few pencils are finished as immaculately.
There is no wrong answer here, and after years of using both we have stopped pretending there is. They are two of the best wood-cased pencils made anywhere, from two Tokyo houses that have been trading shots since the 1960s, and the only real way to settle it for yourself is to draw the same thing with one of each. Most people who do that end up keeping both.
Whatever pencils you choose, these are the accessories we reach for daily (Amazon UK; as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases):
- KUM long-point sharpener → — a two-step sharpener for a long, artist's point
- Faber-Castell kneaded eraser → — lifts graphite for highlights without tearing paper
- Staedtler Mars Plastic eraser → — clean, precise erasing for crisp edges
- Blending stumps & tortillons → — for smooth tonal blends and soft gradients
Frequently asked questions
- Hi-uni vs Mono 100 — which is actually better?
- Neither is objectively better; they have different characters. Hi-uni lays down a touch more graphite, reads darker and has more tooth, and reaches 10B, which makes it the stronger artist's range. Mono 100 feels marginally smoother and cleaner, holds a point slightly longer grade-for-grade, and has an unmatched finish, which makes it a favourite for writing and drafting. Most serious users own some of each.
- Which is smoother and which is darker?
- Mono 100 is the marginally smoother, glassier of the two. Hi-uni is the darker — it deposits a little more graphite per grade and, crucially, extends to 7B–10B, where Mono 100 stops at 6B.
- Do Hi-uni and Mono 100 grades match each other?
- Roughly, but not exactly. There is no universal graphite standard, so each maker calibrates its own scale. In our swatches Hi-uni runs slightly softer and darker than the same-named Mono 100 grade, most visibly in the B range. Switching from Hi-uni to Mono 100, expect to go one grade softer to match the darkness.
- Which holds a point longer?
- Grade matters more than brand, but like-for-like the Mono 100 has a slight edge: because it lays down a little less graphite per stroke, the tip wears more slowly. Hi-uni tips are still very durable.
- Which is better value for a full set?
- They are close per pencil, with Hi-uni usually a little dearer and offering more grades (22 vs 17). Best value comes from buying the premium range only in the grades you use most (HB–6B) and filling in everyday and harder grades with the cheaper Tombow Mono J or Mitsubishi 9800.
Sources & further reading
- Manufacturer information: Mitsubishi Pencil Co. (uni / Hi-uni) and Tombow Pencil Co. (Mono 100) product literature.
- Pencil Talk (penciltalk.org) — long-running independent reviews of both ranges.
- JetPens buying guides and product specifications for the Hi-uni and Mono families.
- Community consensus from r/pencils and pencil-collector forums, used to sanity-check our own bench observations.
- House of Graphite reference collection — every grade of both ranges, drawn on common paper for the comparisons above.