I love this coloured charcoal pencils. They are certainly charcoal, but made of a very soft one that spreads easily either with your fingertips or with water. This colour is my favourite in the range because it's actually the colour of those golden sand beaches that you find in some countries. It's perfect to ad subtle splashes of colour to any mixed-media piece, or to use them in combination with soft pastels (bear in mind that tinted charcoal pencils have way less pigment than soft pastels). Also ideal for charcoal studies where you want subtle coloured highlights without the piece being fully coloured. I use an average sharpener with this, and it works well with these pencils. I bought this item in a promotion, so the price was fantastic, but they're usually a bit pricey.