I Prefer Pencils

[Highbinder]

Well, a half truth anyway.

 

I prefer pencils for writing when I'm outside. My pens tend to stay at home. And I derive a similiar cathartic enjoyment from scribbling with a pencil as I do with my fountain pens.

 

Anyone else agree with me here?

[Mech_Pencil]

Definitely! My favorite one right now is the Uni-shift 1010

Greeeeeeeat pencil

 

I like pencils better than fountain pens, but that might only be due to the fact that currently, I have two fountain pens

[Chris H]

I am very fond of pencils, especially mechanical pencils. I tend to write initial drafts in pencil and then copy over in pen. I find the "impermanence" of pencil to aid in the creativity process. What I write is not permanent, so I can dash it off and come back to perfect it.

 

Chris

[Inky dog]

I am pens all the way :hmm1: :clap1: :ltcapd: :roflmho:

[Joane]

I luuuuuuuv writing with pencils, especially those with soft fat leads. Among contemporary pencils I like the Faber-Castell writing experience the best for regular black writing and in coloured pencils, which I use to decorate my letters (written with fountain pen, of course), I like Caran d'Ache. I also have a Gessner pencil that is so much fun.

 

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab65/JoanePhoto/GessnerJoannIMG_3481_2.jpg

[Mech_Pencil]

I luuuuuuuv writing with pencils, especially those with soft fat leads. Among contemporary pencils I like the Faber-Castell writing experience the best for regular black writing and in coloured pencils, which I use to decorate my letters (written with fountain pen, of course), I like Caran d'Ache. I also have a Gessner pencil that is so much fun.

 

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab65/JoanePhoto/GessnerJoannIMG_3481_2.jpg

 

 

 

Joane, if im not mistaken, all those pencils are uni shifts!

Are there really that many colors?

 

 

[Joane]

I luuuuuuuv writing with pencils, especially those with soft fat leads. Among contemporary pencils I like the Faber-Castell writing experience the best for regular black writing and in coloured pencils, which I use to decorate my letters (written with fountain pen, of course), I like Caran d'Ache. I also have a Gessner pencil that is so much fun.

 

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab65/JoanePhoto/GessnerJoannIMG_3481_2.jpg

 

 

 

Joane, if im not mistaken, all those pencils are uni shifts!

Are there really that many colors?

MP, I'm not sure what uni shifts are--haven't heard the term before. If you're referring to the pencils in my avatar, those are Faber-Castell pencils. Not only do that many colours exist in the line but what I have (found in a thrift store) is only a fraction of the colours F-C puts out. They actually have a set with 120 different colours! I use that photo because I like the visual effect but I still prefer Caran d'Ache pencils for artwork.

Edited January 26, 2011 by Joane

[lapis]

I prefer pencils 9 % of the time. 90 % are FPs. To repeat what I wrote elsewhere, my perfect non-pen remains a pencil. Especially when I jot down what groceries to buy, since I usually hold that note in between my lips and don't want to end up with a blue or blue-black mouth. BPs (the remaining 1 %) likely offer the same cosmetic discretion, but my mouth finds those instruments unsympathetic.

 

Mike

[alexander_k]

It doesn't matter as long as you keep writing, sketching, drawing or otherwise making marks with your hands on paper. There's a time and place for everyting - even b*llpoints (well, almost ;-).

[writebyhand]

I think pencils are great and under-appreciated.

 

Some of my favorite pencil varieties:

 

Mitsubishi Hi-Uni

http://www.jetpens.com/index.php/cPath/620_621

 

Staedtler Tradition Rubber-Tip

https://cultpens.com/acatalog/Staedtler-Tradition-Rubber-Tipped-Pencil.html

 

Dixon Ticonderoga (although quality has declined since production was moved outside of the United States)

http://www.staples.com/Dixon-Ticonderoga-Pencils/product_SS138180

[LuckyDog10]

I have my old Pentel mechanical pencils with me as we speak. The .5 mm is my go to, but I have the .7 mm as a backup, and my two .3mm at home are WAY fun to use on my calendars! (I have a .9 mm as well, but my husband has claimed it for his math class.)

 

I used to walk around with a wooden pencil stuck in my ponytail, but the cheap wooden pencils they supply around here have lousy wood that gets all rough at the sharpened end and they catch in my hair. Plus the erasers suck. PLUS they are the kind that don't sharpen evenly, so the sharpened point barely sticks up above the wood on one side (which drives me NUTS).

 

I certainly don't prefer pencils to pens, but my Pentels do give me a nice writing experience.

[Dutchpen]

i also use a pencil at work.

a fountainpen is very nice to write with when i'm inside. but writing with a fp outside, especially when it's raining, is almost impossible.

i really love my rotring 600 trio pen (first edition with knurled grip). it's almost the perfect pen/pencil.

 

 

 

 

Lennard

[Tberry010]

I like pencils and prefer my Pentel Classic 5 (a .05), a Pentel Kerry, a Caran d'Ache 2mm Fixpencil, and wooden cased California Cedar Palominos. I prefer lead a little harder than the standard #2. I think the Mirado is not as good as it used to be but loved the 2 1/2 and used it for years. .

Many years ago I thought the Sheaffer mech pencil was the very best pencil ever made, and still think it was pretty good.

[razr]

I am very fond of pencils, especially mechanical pencils.

 

For some strange reason I went through a period buying dozens of mechanical pencils on eBay. I guess it was because my dad was a Civil Engineer and we always had a bunch of these lying around.

[LuckyDog10]

I like pencils and prefer my Pentel Classic 5 (a .05), a Pentel Kerry, a Caran d'Ache 2mm Fixpencil, and wooden cased California Cedar Palominos. I prefer lead a little harder than the standard #2. I think the Mirado is not as good as it used to be but loved the 2 1/2 and used it for years. .

Many years ago I thought the Sheaffer mech pencil was the very best pencil ever made, and still think it was pretty good.

 

Yes, I was disappointed with the Mirados I bought too. Based on the catalog description, I was expecting something...well...different than a standard-issue wooden pencil. It was nothing special, not worth the additional expense.

[Parc Monceau]

I also like pencils. Like Joane, I like soft leaded ones. No. 1 wooden pencils are great. And I also like the Bic mechanical pencils. A very smooth write and easy to use.

[beak]

Pencils are magic. Have used them all my professional life for drawing, and for writing. Can't stand 'mechanical' pencils - too fiddly and unreliable for me (personal) - my draughting done with 2mm clutch holders.

 

My first choice general use pencil - 2B Faber 'Junior grip' which can be had cheaply in a supermarket. Easy to hold, don't roll off a chart table, and well made. When they get too short to hold, I tightly roll the stub in a scrap paper tube to extend it - glue or tape in place.

[rwilsonedn]

I trust all you pencil fans have read Henry Petroski's wonderful history, "The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance."

ron

[Safari_Camo]

Nothing is faster for writing than a pencil...

 

I like this two:

 

 

 

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4599/marslumograph100564.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5748/noris120628.jpg

Edited January 27, 2011 by Safari_Camo

[Joane]

Nothing is faster to write than a pencil...

 

I like this two:

 

 

 

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4599/marslumograph100564.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

SC, my late dad was an industrial designer and his pencil of choice was the Staedtler Mars. He had just about every hardness grade for different purposes. I have inherited a number of them and my fave among them is the 4B. I also like the Staedtler Mars erasers.