Charcoal - General experience, Difficulties

Since this is the first time I am using charcoal there are a lot of peculiarities I noticed.

1. Charcoal cant be used with polished paper. It needs a rough surface. I had to look out for a sketch book. And again either India is poorly equipped or I am ignorant about the places, it took a long time to locate a proper Art materials supplier. Finally found one in Chennai, Parrys corner, Giri emporium.
2. Charcoal needs more control. You cant even draw a straight line or a sharp line. It just gives you a wide line. Its not as flexible as graphite.
3. Charcoal pencils are difficult to sharp. Had a tough time sharpening my pencils, at one stage I even thought of continuing with charcoal sticks. Planning to get a mechanical or electric sharpener.
4. Getting the right tones. Charcoal has its own mind, kinda unpredictable. It does what it wants to do. You will never know what tones will come out of it. You need lighter tones to make the nose look 3d but it screws up everything by making it darker. Its however easy to do hair portions with charcoal.
5. Charcoal makes the entire setup dirty and clumsy, so be more diligent and organised.