hamerhead Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 Pencils. Seriously.The ones we get here at work have the lead fall out whenever you sharpen them - until they're about 3" long. So I went and bought some of a different brand - same thing.As simple as it sounds - where do you find a decent pencil nowadays?
cynic Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 It's been years since I've use a traditional wooden pencil, but if you're open to mechanical these are my weapon of choice.
LordsoftheJungle Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 yup, go mechanical, they're always sharp and the erasers actually work! The only time I use wooden pencils is when I'm going out in the field and don't want to lose one of my mechanicals,,,
Bloozguy Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 I haven't used a wooden pencil in years either, but I remember the last ones I used being absolute garbage. I've used one of these for years now
Hamerhack Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 Every once in a while, someone buys wooden pencils at the office. They stink! What the heck happened?!!I get rid of them and I've gotten everyone mechanicals (7 or 9) and a fairly soft lead so it photocopies easily.
a.bandini Posted November 1, 2012 Posted November 1, 2012 Every once in a while, someone buys wooden pencils at the office. They stink! What the heck happened?!!Made in China? Not to bash the place or the people, but a lot of what comes out of there is absolute rubbish, including wooden pencils.
tmsfo Posted November 1, 2012 Posted November 1, 2012 Art supply stores usually have nice wooden pencils.
hamerhead Posted December 12, 2012 Author Posted December 12, 2012 UPDATE: I picked up some Dixon Ticonderogas and after a month or so they seem to be WAY better than the other regular pencils.And because they're worth 1/4 as much used, they truly are the Hamer of pencils.
marcnorth Posted December 12, 2012 Posted December 12, 2012 I saw this thread and pulled the pencil out of my pocket because they are the best I've found in years. It's a Dixon Ticonderoga. I've been using them since my artist buddy told me about them a few years ago.
JohnnyB Posted December 12, 2012 Posted December 12, 2012 Aah, Ticonderoga. That's what I was thinking of when I wrote "Saratoga." I was referencing the wrong revolutionary war battle; the towns are 65 miles apart in upstate NY. All part of the fun of being 59.
stobro Posted December 13, 2012 Posted December 13, 2012 We have a supply of Dixon Ticonderogas at the office where I work. I use wooden pencils everyday because I do a lot of hand sketching of product design concepts before I ever fire up the SolidWorks. For about the past year, every single one of the pencils I use has the lead broken in several places inside the pencil- like every 1/2 inch or so. I can feel the lead getting wobbly until eventually it just snaps off and I have to sharpen it all over again.I have only a handful of Paper Mate American Naturals (natural finish cedar) left that I keep at home. I think they've been discontinued. There's a manufacturer somewhere in New Jersey and another out of California that still make pencils in the US. I might have to start buying online it I can trust UPS of FedEx to get them to me without them breaking all of the leads like the ones at work.
cynic Posted December 13, 2012 Posted December 13, 2012 The lead issues Stonro mentions are typical since many of the companies moved production to Mexico.
django49 Posted December 14, 2012 Posted December 14, 2012 I picked up a dozen each of the Pentel .7 and .9 automatics. That way I can have a few in the shop, as well as the office, the kitchen, Eileen's desk, etc.....Less need to search for one----Or a sharpener. With some extras in the closet, less need to get anxious if the one at my desk walks away.Nice and dependable----Sharp lines for design work too.http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_1_2_acs_trend_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pentel+mechanical+pencil+0.7&ie=UTF8&qid=1355449360&sr=8-2-acs
sixesandsevens Posted December 14, 2012 Posted December 14, 2012 We've had good luck with DixonTiconderoga here at home. My seven year old loves to draw and the cheaper pencils fail so often they're almost not worth sharpening. Lack of eraser aside, I'm a fan of the Staedtler blue pencils with the little claw. Compared to mechanicals I like that you can still shade with the side like you can with a wooden pencil. Plus it's fun to play with the claw when I've got a mental block.
LordOfTheThighs Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 Every once in a while, someone buys wooden pencils at the office. They stink! What the heck happened?!!Made in China?Not to bash the place or the people, but a lot of what comes out of there is absolute rubbish, including wooden pencils.And like the paint on Chinese toys, Chinese pencils have lead in them.(OK, OK ... It's graphite)
Thundernotes Posted December 22, 2012 Posted December 22, 2012 As for the lead being broken inside the pencil, it's because we use them as drumsticks, don't we?
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hamerhead
Pencils. Seriously.
The ones we get here at work have the lead fall out whenever you sharpen them - until they're about 3" long. So I went and bought some of a different brand - same thing.
As simple as it sounds - where do you find a decent pencil nowadays?
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