Wooden hedgehog pencil holder 9960M (small, with pencils)
Genuine Czech design history you can put on a desk — the pencil company that named HB, at home prices roughly half what US and Indian importers charge.
Price: 1340 CZK (Official eshop.koh-i-noor.cz price for the small hedgehog 9960M with pencils (1,340 Kč); large 9960/V with 84 pastels 3,558 Kč)
Where to buy: Koh-i-Noor brand stores in Prague (Na Příkopě, Nerudova) or the official e-shop; stationers nationwide for plain pencil boxes
Price checked 2026-07-03
- Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth (České Budějovice, roots to 1790) invented the modern graded graphite pencil — the 'HB' scale comes from Hardtmuth and Budějovice
- The bristling hedgehog ('ježek') is the cult design piece; a tin of 1500-series graphite or Polycolor pencils is the 150-300 Kč budget alternative
- Note: no relation to India's Kohinoor rice/diamond — but the pencils are prized by Indian artists and heavily marked up as imports
- Under the tax-free bar alone; pair with the large hedgehog or art sets on one receipt