Prang Board Chalk, Assorted Colors, 12 Count

My wife and I recently did a DIY project of creating our own chalkboard for the kitchen (thanks to Pinterest). We bought chalkboard paint and painted it on a glass window. It took a couple coats but after the 3rd one, it was ready to go.She asked if I would buy her some chalk on Amazon after the chalk she bought (some cheap brand) did not write on her board cleanly/evenly. Having been out of school for a long time (I haven't seen chalk since college), I didn't know there was such thing as "quality chalk" or "low dust chalk". I thought chalk was chalk!After reading several reviews on various products, I finally settled for Prang Hygieia. According to other reviewers who seem to know more than me, Prang is one of the "best" chalk brands. Wanting to learn more, I found this from a 3rd party website (Amazon does not let you link externally).**HYGIEIA CHALK Hygieia is made of 95% pure calcium carbonate. This high percentage of pure levigated or refined chalk means it is virtually free of grit, greasy binders, or other ingredients harmful to board surfaces. This high quality produces a clean, white mark, easily legible anywhere in the classroom. It erases easily (the heavier particles settle in the chalk tray and significantly cut down on dust). Hygieia outlasts ordinary chalk, and actually preserves chalkboard surfaces by keeping the "tooth" of the board in perfect writing condition.**I'm not a geologist, so I have no clue what calcium carbonate does vs whatever traditional chalk is made of but this chalk truly is magical. It writes smoothly/evenly/clearly (even on chalkboard paint surfaces). There doesn't seem to be much dust at all and it erases nicely.My only complaint is that some of the chalk arrived in broken pieces but I'm not docking stars for that. Out of all 12 sticks, only 2 of mine were broken. Bottom line, chalk is fragile. Whether you buy it from Amazon or you buy it at your local store like Walmart. All of it comes from the same place and it is stored in warehouses. The slightest drop/bump/hit will break your chalk. If you get a pack with all of them in one piece, then consider yourself lucky. But there is no reason to dock stars just because your chalk is broken. That's like docking stars from a Butterfinger or Heath candy bar that isn't in one piece.

I was hesitant due to other reviews making it sound like the chalk would be in utter pieces, but I couldn't pass up the price!To my surprise, they were pretty much all intact. It is CHALK, so yes, some are going to be broken regardless, but nicely surprised to see only 3broke. They write very well!!For the price, the quality, and how quickly it arrived would 100% buy again.

Many other customers reported that their chalk was broken to bits. Mine arrived in good condition, with only 2 pieces broken in half. The colors are nice, especially for the low price. I use the chalk on chalkboard contact paper and it erases easily. These chalks do leave some dust on my fingers, but not nearly as much as my previous chalk. I will repurchase when this box is used up.

I like Prang as a brand. I saw this chalk listed here at a fantastic price and since I'm planning craft at work for very young children, I ordered 4 boxes. Do I need 4 boxes? Probably not but the price was so low i just went for it. Well, good thing I did-- the 4 boxes were sent in a small box with some scrunched up packing paper. Unfortunately, it wasn't it enough to protect the chalk. Or, possibly, the chalk was already damaged-- who knows? Chalk IS inherently fragile. Anyway, each box contained 2-3 pieces of unbroken chalk ( I think there was one box with no unbroken pieces but I'm not sure). The remainder were in 2,3 or more bits. I tossed out the really small shards and put the rest in the boxes. The colors look good. Dustless? I couldn't say. My hands were certainly a mess. I will be bringing wet wipes to clean up little hands. Maybe masks, too... just in case. But for the price... I probably would break the chalk in half, so it's not really an issue. If I wanted to use it on a blackboard, I'd be quite unhappy. As they used to say, your mileage may vary.

As others have pointed out what you are very likely to get is just broken chalk. The chalk it's self is good chalk, it's the shipping --boxes just tossed in loose with other items in my order in a large box, (with not even a bit of bubble wrap!), with predictable results. Don't buy this here, it simply is not worth it. Find an office supply where you can check the chalk before you buy it (or at least return it easily if you discover it is badly broken when you get it home). The brand of chalk is fine --but it has to arrive usable --not one stick that wasn't broken in at least three places, some in four or five and a couple (per box!) that were just dumped in the bin for the broken garbage they had become. A real waste of money. One star even though the chalk is good chalk, because no matter how good the chalk is, if it arrives unusable it has no value and is not fit for purpose. One star is one star to many but that was the lowest option I could give this.I'm a reviewer that would rather be positive if possible, normally even if I have to give a bad review I'll look for something positive to at least mention in the belief that someone was trying and maybe if they saw what they did right they would do better at what they did wrong. Well not this time. I strongly urge you to just save your money and get this elsewhere --you would be better off with inferior chalk that you could use.Yes I know that I'm reviewing the shipping as much, or more, then the product, but if you buy it here then it has to be shipped and that becomes a part of the product experience --you can not separate one from the other in this sense.