Nitram Charcoal Starter Kit

This starter pack provides a great way to test drive some of the popular Nitram charcoal range. This set contains one 'H' – Hard, perfect for fine lines and detail, one 'HB' – Medium, for drawing and sketching, one 'B' – Soft, for dark notes and shading, and one 'B+' – Extra Soft, for rich blacks. All sticks are 5mm thick except the 6mm B+. Also included is the Nitram professional sharpening block.

Nitram produces its charcoal using a unique process that maintains the wood’s cell structure which increases the charcoal's durability and helps prevent breakage. Nitram charcoal doesn't break like willow or vine do, and feels much less brittle.

Because of its solidity and strength, the charcoal can be sharpened to a fine point with the Nitram Sharpening Bloc. Working in expressive technique produces less dust than willow or vine charcoal. The solid charcoal allows for deep dark shades while still being easily erased for luminous light effects.

The unique manufacturing process produces a high-grade rich black charcoal that is neither compressed nor reconstituted. Unlike other charcoal, Nitram is less prone to breaking, splitting or excessive dusting. Nitram comes in different grades in colour-coded packs: B, HB and H, as well as Extra Soft grades in a variety of larger sizes.

To learn how to sharpen your charcoal, click this link - YouTube Nitram Charcoal

Features:

• 4 x Square Charcoal Sticks: H, HB, B, and B+

• Nitram Sharpening Bloc and 2 x Replacement 180 Grit Sheets

• Charcoal Sticks are 150 mm long and 5 mm wide

• Harder than willow charcoal

• Durable and sturdy

• Less dust

• Sharpens to a fine point

• Easy to erase

• Made in Canada

Nitram Charcoal Hardness

• The Nitram H can be sharpened to an extra fine point for creating fine detail. The unique hardness of Nitram H makes lighter and mid-tones easier to attain.

• The Nitram HB is a medium soft charcoal is the one most preferred for drawing and sketching. Nitram HB’s superior hold is perfect for homogenizing tones and retaining tonal detail.

• The Nitram B is a soft charcoal that produces a rich black. It’s soft, yet can hold a point.

• The Nitram B+ is an extra soft charcoal that produces an ultra rich black. 

About the Brand

Martin Gros was born in Spain in 1914 and moved to France just as WWII started in 1939.  Working on a local farm, he started making charcoal in the forests of L'yonne, France. He did this until 1962 when the new owner for a very old charcoal manufacturer (Luxor) hired him.

He worked there until 1965 when he decided to open his own factory. The new charcoal Company was called NITRAM, which is Martin spelled backwards.

To begin with, demand was small, and production was not very consistent. However, in 1968 an important client placed a large order that could not be met using current production methods and techniques. This required a new approach, quality wood and specialized equipment.

In 1981 Martin Gros retired, and his son came to continue manufacturing Nitram. With a larger property as well as new machinery helped assure a cleaner manufacturing process, while maintaining quality. Over the years the process has been further refined with newer and larger equipment.

The Nitram methodology and the spirit of Nitram Fussains has been passed on to Jerzy Niedojadlo, who as a practicing artist has shown a great passion for Nitram charcoal. Jerzy has what it takes to maintain the quality of Nitram Charcoal and continue to make it available to artists worldwide, and they also now have a manufacturing plant in Canada to service the Americas, and the pacific region.