Charcoal is like any other product. Whatever fits your style -that is the correct one.
In the pencil (crayon) form, Ritmo charcoal pencils were loved by many. They are no longer on the market (Disney bought all they could find). If you are looking for a pencil form charcoal – try the Ritmo-like cousin, General’s ‘Primo Euro’. It cost a lot less than most. You can find it at Michael’s Art and Craft Stores. Other good pencil form charcoals are Conte’ and Faber-Castell Pitt charcoal (found most often at art stores).

Grumbacher, Winsor & Newton, and Coates (willow sticks and compressed) are good.

I don’t care for charcoal pencils much. I hate the ones with the strings on them!

I have a couple that aren’t bad, but I usually just get charcoal in a stick, either vine or willow. These come in various hardnesses, and I think they force you to deal with the substance better.

I have had more success with kids and the stick charcoal than I do with pencils too.

They keep wanting to use a charcoal pencil like a writing pencil, but with the sticks they know it is a different medium.

I am very fond of Derwent’s charcoal pencils, either tinted or pure

In pencils I like General, Pro Art and Faber-Castell. I also play with willow and ivy sticks and compressed charcoal. I don’t think I have a strong preference….. some are just better suited for my needs than others.
I like experimenting with different forms of charcoal to get the effect I’m looking for.
Sheila

Charcoal is my new passion so I have been experimenting a lot. I have tried about nine different brands and they can be very different from each other. I did not find find the General’s particularly rough. You have to expect charcoal to be rough unless you use natural charcoal. Faber Castel and Lyra have natural charcoal pencils (although they are ground to a powder and then combined with a little clay and binder – which makes them a tad rougher than pure vine charcoal) Finding the right balance is tricky and in the end it will depend on what you are trying to achieve. If you are looking for precise drawing you would choose a different type than if you are looking for expresive sketching. The only way to find out is to experiment. Also don’t forget that you should try them on different papers as well as that can make a big difference as well.

Michael

The best black is that of the PITT charcoal pencil (Faber-Castell) in my opinion.

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Comments & critiques are welcome.
Greetings!
Isaac

A true friend is somebody who would never allow you to do crazy things... alone!