Yea its an ebony and they are just as strong as a normal pencil but they waste really fast. You sharpen it once it just chews through it

I love Prismacolor and all, but the graphite would always crack in the barrel so sharpening a new pencil would leave it about the size of a pinky. Personally, I switched to Faber-Castell. Would recommend the same for you, they're a bit more expensive, but they're quality.