Jacqueline from Los Angeles, CA, writes:

Hello Mr. Pencil,

I am hoping to learn from your pencil expertise.  I am currently looking for the "perfect test pencil."  I have discovered that I will have to sit for the hardest test of my career that only allows "regular pencils" (i.e. no mechanicals) and I am used to writing with only mechanicals/pens.  This test is 4 hours long and I will need a pencil that is good for bubbling, doing complicated math problems, and drawing complex diagrams.

Thus, I am looking for a pencil that is:

• Good for endurance in weight/shape/lead
• Good for crappy thin fibrous test paper (won't break through or smudge paper)
• Easy to erase
• A #2
• Smooth and easy to write

Good sharpening is not key because it is suggested to bring 10 pencils to each test and to practice/study with them because there will be no time for sharpening.

Could you please suggest a pencil type/shape/weight that would be perfect for this?  Can you also suggest an eraser and grip attachment since I have heard the eraser unbalances the pencil?

Can you also suggest a place/supplier of those pencils so that I can buy in bulk?  I estimate needing at least 200 or so (hopefully affordable).

Thanks!

Jacqueline,

Thanks for your question!

Ah, you gotta love those crazy standardized tests that have so many different requirements. Technically, there is absolutely no difference in the lead of a #2 woodclinched pencil and that of #2 mechanical, but I understand that you want to stay within the letter of the law, so to speak. Although the mechanical is more comfortable for you, it's not worth risking this big test over a small matter like that.

But wow — 200 pencils! That's a huge test. Are you passing these out to others? You're right, you'll need a good pencil. I could just tell you that it makes more economic sense to go to Office Depot and get some plain ol' yellow pencils, but in reality, those Office Depot brand pencils are not comfortable to hold, hard to erase, and aren't smooth. Although your wallet will thank you (they're about $3.99 for 72 of them), your hand will not.

My primary recommendation the Palomino by California Republic. (Product Page) Here are the main reasons why:

• It has a smooth, glossy lacquer on it, making it comfortable for extended periods of clutching it in terror.
• There is no eraser on the end, so it is extremely lightweight (though not unsubstantial-feeling!)
• The graphite (you need to buy a hardness of HB to equal #2) is thick and dark.

My only concern is the price. It is a high-end pencil, so it is expensive. If you were going to buy less than a dozen, it would cost you about $1.19 per pencil. I talked to Don, our glorious PencilThings.com leader, and he says if you want to buy a quantity as large as 200, he can get you a significant discount.

If price is indeed the breaking point for you, a close second is the Mongol 482 Natural-finish pencil.(Product Page, Review) It has a really nice graphite that rubs off smooth and dark and stays sharp longer than most. It also has an unlaquered surface, so although it isn't glossy and won't cushion your hand as you hold it, your skin's oils will condition it as time goes on. You know what I like most about nice unlaquered pencils? They smell good. Mongols are made out of an incensed cedar, and when you sniff it, it has a scent of cedar chips.

Mostly, the benefit over a Palomino is the price. It is $.41 instead of $1.19, and if you order a gross (144) or more, the price goes down almost by half.

One more thing: if you decide to go with the Palomino, make sure to buy an eraser or two! Since it doesn't have one on the end, you'll want one to erase those mistakes. Plus, individual erasers are superior to the ones at the end of your pencil, and will erase more evenly, comfortably, gently, and cleanly. I recommend the Mercur original eraser, one of the best erasers I've ever used. Actually, I'd recommend this even if you go with the Mongol. I'm not impressed with their erasers.

I'm afraid I can't honestly give advice on a pencil grip, because I don't use them. I find them to be cumbersome and uncomfortable. Plus, the extra bulk makes my already bad handwriting WAY worse. I've used these, and they weren't awful. Honestly, though, if you get the Palominos, I don't think you'll need a grip — the lacquer is nice and thick and cushions your fingers nicely.

Anyone else have any recommendations? Post them in the comments, and Jacqueline — let me know what you decide, and good luck with your test!

—Andy, er, Mr. Pencil

Hello, friends! Sorry it's been so long. It seems like we've all been out of commission for a while.

I've been meaning to share with you a  new innovation in the world of quality paper. I ran across this from various websites and sources, and although Pencil Things isn't selling them, I thought this would be the perfect forum to share them.

As connoisseur of fine pens and pencils, I'm sure you are already well-versed in the finer points of what makes paper good. Thickness of each sheet, the smoothness which allows you writing instrument to glide across its surface smoothly, the whiteness, etc. I also look at the innovation of the design, size, and layout of the lines (if it is lined paper).

We all are familiar with Rhodia notepads (see my review here), Moleskine, Clairefontaine, etc. Some of you even may have read the awesome Black Cover blog, a search for the perfect little black notebook, and are itching to get your hands on a Stifflexible notebook (I know, it sounds dirty, but read the saga here, here and here.)

Meanwhile, I've been on the lookout for the perfect pocket notebook. Of course, there is the Rhodia cahier pocket notebook that Don sent out with the most recent Pencil of the Month club, but before I got that, I discovered Field Notes.

Created by Coudal Partners, makers of a wide variety of cool and random products and online services, and the Draplin Design Company, these small notebooks are inspired by "the vanishing subgenre of agricultural memo books, ornate pocket ledgers and the simple, unassuming beauty of a well-crafted grocery list."

Well said, Field Notes guys.

I love it because it is simple, attractive, and really durable. I've made a habit of keeping it in the back left pocket of my pants, and I pull it out to jot down lists, memos, phone numbers, emails, and anything other little information bytes I know I won't remember but will need to later recall.

You can buy a 3-pack off their site for $9.95.

But wait, I say in a voice sounding like Billy Mays and his annoying Oxi-clean commercials, that's not all!

To be true to this blog, primarily about pencils, I have to mention the extremely good-looking and good-feelin' pencil that's included with it. An unvarnished round cedar wood casing holds a nice dark stick of graphite. And the lime-green rubber eraser works like a champ. I sorta wish the barrel was hexagonal instead of round, but eh, it is an extremely clean-looking instrument the way it is.

It also includes a somewhat blah-looking Bic-clicky pen with the logo on it. Personally, I think they should gussy it up to look like the old-school Skilcraft pens the US Government buys by the millions. Now, these are retro-rific. Check this out for more info about that (or just steal it from your local post office. But you didn't hear that from me).

So this notebook is really durable. I mean, really. Durable. It has to be, since I sit on it every day at work when it is in my back pocket in my trousers. And, well, as absent-minded as I am, I ran it through the wash. Here's what happened:

Yeah, it was destroyed, but it didn't break apart and disintegrate like other paper does. Those generic old Mead notebooks used to disintegrate right in my bag after a semester, without being sent through the spin cycle! I was still able to (carefully) pick out my notes and transcribe them to a new notebook.

Finally, I have to talk about the graph paper. I know I already talked about the benefits of graphs instead of lines in the Rhodia review (see link above), but it is worth mentioning again. Not only can you more easily sketch illustrations or graphs with it, and properly plot out proportions, but you can write portrait  or landscape. This is handy because, well, it  is  a smallish notepad, and sometimes you need to turn it sideways to get a proper grip on it.

Check out Field Notes (fieldnotesbrand.com) for more information.

—Andy Welfle

If you're like me, holiday shopping doesn't come until you can see the whites of Father Christmas's eyes. When December 20 rolls around, I look at my planner and realize, "Holy #%*&," Christmas is in less than a week!"

If you want a little bit of advance warning, however, have I got the blog post for you! In the spirit of a list-lovin' American capitalist, I am presenting, from cheapest to most expensive, the TOP FIVE PENCILTHINGS.COM GIFTS.

5. The California Republic Graphite Sample Pack    -    $2.25

For a mere two Washingtons and a, um, Washington coin, you can purchase the following top-quality pencils:
 
Palomino. Orange. #2 HB.
Golden Bear w/eraser. Blue. #2 HB.
Prospector w/eraser. Green. #2 HB.
Forest Choice w/eraser. Natural. #2 HB.

This is perfect for when you want to introduce a quality pencil to a plain ol' Office Depot-brand pencil user. This very sampler pack was what I ordered when I first discovered Pencil Things and my love for woodclinched pencils.

4. Pencil of the Month Subscription    -    $6.00 to $9.00 per month

An extremely innovative idea, Don has had nothing but positive responses to this. See this post and this post to get an idea of what your giftee would get each month. And trust me -- pay the extra three bucks to get the limited edition pencil, too. The sheer history behind the vintage pencil picks are worth it.

3. A Rhodia Notepad or two    -    Price varies: from $2.00 to $10.00

As I pointed out in my review of Rhodia notepads, when you use it, you know you've reached "notepad nirvana." Think that's an overstatement? Go ahead and buy the 3" x 8.25" notepad ($3.00) for yourself. It's perfect for grocery lists and on-the-go note-taking. I've personally converted two newspaper reporters to this product. And its only three bucks. Do what the Europeans do and get the graph paper for portraite or landscape writing.

2. California Republic Palomino 12-count with gift box    -    $16.95

Two of my close coworkers and my best friend all have a birthday two days apart from each other. This year, I bought all of them one of these little babies. Uninitiated as they are to quality scribomechanica, each of them told me what a fine gift these pencils made. And how cool is the wooden box it comes in?
Take your pick from a variety of colors, styles and hardness. Personally, I bought the HB orange barrels with erasers, but that's the way I roll. What sort of pencil would your giftee like?

...And finally, the number one gift for someone very special in your life...

1. A Zimmbro Handmade Wooden Clutch Pencil    -    $125.00

Now, I haven't had the pleasure of using one of these beauties yet, but believe me, I can't wait. Gaping at the price? Well, think about this: You can't find this anywhere else. Don from PencilThings commissioned these EXCLUSIVELY for this website. Only two craftsman produce these, a mechanical engineer specializing in prototype design, and a world-renowned pen turner and inventor. These just happen to be brothers. With a variety of exotic hardwoods to choose from (Bubinda, Tiger Maple, Bloodwood, Cocobolo and Red Flame Box Elder), you feel like you're in a Harry Potter novel getting a customized wand made at Ollivanders. (Sorry, geeky moment.)

Read the product page for more information, or email Don. He can explain it much better than I.

I hope I planted some ideas in your head if inspiration for the perfect gift has not yet struck, and have a happy holiday!

-Andy Welfle

I went to school to be a journalist, with every intention of writing for a newspaper. It wasn't until after college, when I worked part time as a copy editor at my hometown paper, that I realized maybe I didn't want to work at one after all.

I know there are those who will disagree with me, but newspapers are a dying industry. Well, dying is a harsh word. I'll say declining. It's tough to work there, and plus newspapers are wasteful. Look at all that paper they produce, just to be kept for a day or two.

A while ago, Don from Pencil Things turned me on to pencils made from discarded newspaper broadsheets. Apparently these are manufactured from a single broadsheet which has been cut and rolled up over a glue-covered piece of graphite. It's then dried in a hot over for several hours. Pretty awesome if you ask me, and environmentally friendly. Granted, pencils are so small and compact there is hardly any wood used up anyway, but I like to do my part for a sustainable future.

The first pencil I tried was a O'BON "Protect Wildlife" recycled newspaper pencil. (Product Page) It's pretty stylish with a bright green barrel and a little picture of a turtle at the end (which is, I am assuming, where the "wildlife" part comes in. While sharpening it, I noticed that it felt drastically different than conventional wood-clinched pencils. In fact, it was almost easier to sharpen! The shavings came off in one piece and didn't crumble, leaving a dusty mess on your blade. I think we can thank the dozens of layers of newsprint for that.

You may notice that the barrel says "2B" on it, so recalling your amazing respository of scribomechanical knowledge, you'll know that this means it is somewhat softer lead than a regular HB pencil. Still well within the boundaries of normal writing pencils, however.

I was impressed. I initially thought that maybe since it wasn't made of the finest California incensed cedar like, oh, a California Republic Palomino, the writing experience might be somewhat diminished. But I was wrong. It was nice. The newspaper gave it a slightly heavier feeling in my hand, which I liked. The white-as-a-ghost point is speckled with ink, and every now and then, you can make out a bit of a character. You can't see it in the picture above, but I see the ascender on an "a" near the edge of the paint and the point.

Although it is very attractive, it is lacking a ferrule and an eraser, which is always a drawback, at least for me. And it felt a little too light and whippy (because of said lack of eraser). Still, very usable and very cool. And, at $1.90 for two pencils, you don't have to break your bank to save your environment

I also checked out the other O'BON, a slightly garish clown-like one with an unfinished back. It wrote almost identically to the Wildlife pencil, but without the panache. It felt like an afterthought, sort as if a regular pencil company said, "Oh, let's make this one out of newspaper," and this was the prototype.

The last pencil in this series is the TreeSmart HB. (Product Page) It defnitely looks the way a pencil should look, should your pencil be made out of newspaper. The unglossed barrel is tipped by a brass ferrule and a good-quality rubber eraser. What's more, you can make out the characters on the outside of the barrel! My pencil was made from Chinese newspapers (as I believe all of them are), and if I had the ability to read Chinese, I could have probably made out the words!

The writing quality is a different story. It wasn't bad,  but it definitely wasn't as good as the O'BONs. the lead wrote as if it were much harder than the mid-line HB it was. The line was definitely gray and not black, and you had to press harder to make it strong. Again, it's better than your house brand big-box-mart pencils, but not like a Palomino or even a Ticonderoga.

You can't beat the price, though. At $4.10 a dozen, you are getting a definitely awesome deal.

IN A NUTSHELL:

If the novelty of a recycled newspaper pencil is what you're looking for, get a TreeSmart. If you are looking for a regular, good-quality pencil but want to lessen your ecological footprint while doing it, get the O'BON. It doesn't have a metal ferrule and a rubber eraser, so it is more biodegradable.

I wonder if Al Gore uses one of these...

-Andy Welfle

Jack Boles Wood Spirit hand carved pencil.
Jack Boles is a wood carver living deep in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. His passion for wood carving started as a 5-year old lad at the Silver Dollar City County Fair. While the other boys were on the amusement rides, Jack was propped against a tree, fascinated by the woodcarvers! Now a grandfather, Jack loves to carve for the little ones. At the fairs, the adult folks are by the tables browsing his high dollar woodcarvings. But Jack is over yonder, fascinating the children sitting all about him.  He’s carving something they can afford to have as their own -- a Jack Boles wood spirit pencil!

Bridge Scoring and  T I N Y  pencil.
Musgrave Pencil Co. (Tennessee) manufactures these pencils. I don’t get it. What does one do with the tiny pencil, and why do bridge players favor a shorter, smaller diameter pencil? Musgrave’s sales manager, Vicki, despite having over 20 years in the pencil business, is just as puzzled! She advised us, however, to stock up on them because they are becoming popular again. We will, but we would like to know why? Well, have fun – and if you know something we can write about when we post them in the shop, please speak up. We’re pencil stumped!

Snowflakes & Trees pencil.
Twist this attractive pencil in your fingers by a bright light. See the twinkling falling snow! Most pencils are rather plain. Yet, it is a particular pleasure to view and use a picturesque pencil. They attract your eye at the drug store, although you pass them by for quality reasons. But, this is a well-made school/office grade pencil, one of over 800 special enhanced graphics pencils en route to PencilThings. It’s the kind of pencil that, when you take it out around others, you will receive nice comments. So, being the pencil ambassador you are, enjoy it for a brief time. Then brighten another person’s day with a nice pencil gift!

Rhodia 3 x 4 ¾ notebook. Gift to Club Members from Exaclair, Inc.
Here’s a simple staple-bound notebook. And yet, with its characteristic eye to quality, Exaclair uses their extra white, 80 g., acid free, pH neutral smooth finish paper. The 12 sheet folio (48 pages) is set between coated and waterproofed card covers. I always keep one on hand to supplement my photographic memory. (Yeah, right!) By the way, RhodiaDrive.com is a classy BLOG that may interest you. I found the November 21st feature a pleasant reminder of the first Thanksgiving. I’m also trying out a few of the techniques featured on the GTD+R (Getting Things Done + Rhodia) blog mentioned at RhodiaDrive.com.

Limited Edition Subscription:
Staedtler yellow pencil 134-HB. You’re holding one of only 288 of these pencils in the United States. This is a staple school and office pencil in Germany. Staedtler doesn’t sell them in the United States, probably calculating that there is not a sufficient market for another yellow school pencil. I’m not so sure about that. Look at the beautiful finish – a little brighter than “school bus yellow” and definitely sporting more lacquer coats than typical school/office pencils. The eraser works well, and the black ferrule is distinctive. This pencil, in its elegant simplicity, is a nice companion to the flashy Staedtler Cadet.