Is this pencil good?

Truthfully, I think it depends on your program.

Tell us, please, what's your program?

Ask you friend to first chew off and swallow the lead yellow paint on the pencil.

I find pencils to be pushy.

See Jane write. Jane writes with a pencil. Is it a good pencil? Yes the pencil is good.

It's a good pencil for maths. But not for sketching. You want some nice Koh-I-Noor pencils for sketching.

Can it dial a phone?

I knew a cat who would sit on a pencil when in heat. I'll ask her what she thinks.

#3 pencils are harder, and that's a a good thing.

OP - your friends have lots of questions.

OP--is she a good candidate for a grease fire?

I prefer to dial with a #3 pencil.

Dialing with a #2 is so bourgeois.

these are the best pencils ever made but they stopped making them. you can only buy vintage ones now.

I've always liked pencil dicks.

I prefer mechanical pencils that way when my boss says "get the lead out" I can actually do it.

I'm a Type-A perfectionist; not to be redundant(!).

Here's the perfect pencil for perfect people, a Pentel .05 mechanical pencil!

The best pencil is the Palomino Blackwing. Hands down.

Get the lead out, OP!

R16 I'm getting into the Palomino 602 by Blackwing too.

I also enjoy the Golden Bear blue for routine use too.

Any other pencil enthusiasts out there?

A good pencil needs a good sharpener. This is my favorite:

I really like the Mitsubishi 9850 with eraser.

R1 Dixon Ticonderoga was once a great pencil--some manufacturing has been moved offshore and it's not as reliable as it once was. In a pinch, I'll use one, but I prefer other quality American and Japanese brands. It's a definitely a hit with the school teacher crowd and step up from some other mass produced garbage out there. This brand was specifically requested on my son's school supply list as they use a shared pencil supply system in his classroom.

R21 How about the Dixon Ticonderoga blacks? They look sharp! Black finish, black eraser, black wood--sleek!

I hated shitty pencils as a child and hoarded the ones I liked. To this day I will not use a generic pencil from Staples.

Another vote here for the Blackwing. Nothing else comes close, really.

For mechanical pencils, I agree with r15 on Pentel. (I think you mean 0.5 mm.) I prefer 0.7 mm, though.

I'm a fan of the BIC Extra Strong. They've done for mechanical pencils what they did for pens years ago: made them cheap and highly functional.

I couldn't maintain my strict monthly budget without an eraser. I print out a ledger sheet with all the hard numbers, then get creative with my BIC on the 'mad money' that makes life on a budget fun.

Sondheim uses Blackwing. They went out of business, so of course he bought cases of them.

When I was a kid I insisted my parents buy me Moonlight pencils for school and found that the wood was a lot stronger than most number 2 pencils and when it was sharpened it had a faint mint scent to it, I haven't seen on of them in years.

Oh honey, it's just the BEST.

R28 It's only considered the best by low class school teachers who haven't been exposed to better quality pencils. Palomino Blackwings or Mitsubishis are favoured by those who can afford better.

Of the mainstream available pencils in my part of the world I like Faber-Castell.

R30 Which part of the world are you in?

It's HB, so no.

Which hardness level do you prefer R32?

Any other fans of the Baron Fig Archer pencil?

Anybody know the approximate hardness levels of the Blackwing (vintage and current), Blackwing 602, and Blackwing Pearl?

Also, FWIW, the Blackwing Slate notebooks are great. Much better than Moleskine.

Blackwing Current 4B Blackwing Pearl 3B Blackwing 602 2B

R35 The vintage Blackwings are said to be closest to the current 602's.

Thanks, r36 r37.

This explains a lot. I've always favoured 2B's, and prefer the 602 over the other current Blackwings. (My mechanical pencil of choice is the Pentel, 0.7mm 2B. Replacement leads are not always easy to find!)

R38 Which type of sharpener do you use for your wood pencils?

r39 Carl CC-2000. There are more expensive sharpeners out there, but I don't think there's a better one. A smaller one (that, say, fits in a pencil case) is harder to find. The Palomino-branded one has a tendency to chip the lead.

r39 This is the Palomino sharpener.

[quote]Is this pencil good?

Dunno. I'd need to sniff it a few times.

I like Ticonderoga #1's - I like 'em soft and dark.

R29 is right. Those pencils were passed out by the box at schools where I was working as a substitute teacher. They're good if you're in 4th grade.

I found a Dixon Ticonderoga #3 HARD in my car the other. I prefer a firmer lead and I press hard. People rave about Blackwings, but I find them too soft and they get dull fast.

I've been keen on the Camel HB pencils from Japan. No ferrule eraser and great smooth graphite!

My grandmother used Venus Velvet pencils for her crosswords. I loved those, but I don't think they're still made. I had a stash of Mirado Black Eagle pencils, now gone. I heard the quality has dropped. I'll add some Mitsu-Bishi pencils to my next Amazon order. I just prefer wooden pencils.

Anyone else excited about Palamino's new Blackwing "naturals"? Extra firm Japanese graphite, natural wood casing, and those great Blackwing erasers!

It's a #2 pencil, I prefer #1 pencils.

These are gonna be great!

It’s a crud pencil, but it depends on what you want to use it for. Regular writing is okay, if you like generic, cheapo pencils, but there are much better ones for sketching and he leads for mechanical pencils are less scrape-y n paper.

I do everything in indelible ink.

The Blackwing Instagram account says the new Blackwing natural has the same lead as the Steinbeck Blackwing, that is to say firmer than the 602. I have a couple of boxes of the Steinbecks. They're great for writing. I'm really glad I can now get the same lead in a regularly available casing.

Can people confirm that the Naturals are firmer than the 602?

Another vote for Blackwings 602. Plus with Blackwing you are sure to not be deforesting California as Faber-Castell, Prismacolor, and Mitsubishi are doing. Remember, Blackwing uses burned trees from California fires only.

If you're spending less than £320 on a pencil, you're buying junk.

Just when I'm about to give up hope in the DL I run across a thread like this one. Thanks Gents

I like them, but another vote for Faber-Castell.

Anyone remember those thick black pencils we used in elementary school? The lead was buttery soft, and they were great for drawing. I want one.