Why Wooden Pencils?

[Mister5]

Just wondering about why people use wooden pencils vs mechanical pencils. I have a few mechanical pencils and was wondering how some of these high end wooden pencils (Blackwing, General, Mitsubishi etc) compare. The most I use a wooden pencil nowadays is when I grab one (a Ticonderoga) to write my kid's name on their lunch bag.

[inkstainedruth]

That's a good question. I didn't even know companies like Blackwing existed until I found my way here.

My personal preference is for lead holders (Berol Turquoise or the Stadtler-Mars equivalent). Learned about Berol when I was a sophomore in college in one of my art/design classes because that's what the professor used (I think it was Graphic Delineation, aka taking a shape and projecting out to show the object from all dimensions (apparently actually called orthographic projections, athough we were taught it as "isometric projections", although from what I'm seeing in a quick search online, "orthographic" apparently is the correct term). To this day I hate and despise ruling pens, which we were supposed to be using (I was seriously PO'd when one guy in my class, who got an A, bragged about having used Rapidographs; I got a C and was happy to have passed....). Hated the class, wasn't enthralled with the professor, loved the Berol.... Go figure.

As to why? The initial cash outlay is low: You can buy a box of pencils for a buck or two, depending on where you get them. Lead holder is around $6-8 US, and a pack of leads runs around $13, and then a few bucks for a sharpener, the last time I bought some in an art store (although one time I lucked into a sharpener on clearance someplace for a buck).

OTOH, lead holders are way more cost effective in the long run, because my first pack of 12 leads lasted me something like a decade; plus you get a wide range of lead hardnesses (and I've seen them in other colors), and the sharpeners contain the lead dust (which, if you need to, can be used to make your own homemade tracing paper, with -- IIRC -- rubber cement thinner) and you don't end up with all those wasted wood shavings. Oh, and you can get the point a LOT sharper....

So, why pencils? No clue. I did buy pencils and cheap mechanical pencils in a dollar store last winter, for filling out forms for a sort of scavenger hunt I ran, but then only had a few people actually enter.... But they keep, and I may be running another one in March and definitely running one in June (which means I really need to get back to doing the research for that one... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mister5]

Oh gosh it's been 33 years since I last used a lead holder... I had to look it up to figure out what you were talking about. I had a Drafting class in high school and I think I had the same "wonderful" experience you seemed to have.

[dcwaites]

Why wooden pencils? Because you can't get a 6B mechanical pencil lead...

[Runnin_Ute]

For purposes like drawing, I prefer wood pencils because I find it easier to do shading using the wood pencil form factor than with a mechanical pencil (I have tried, but haven't used a lead holder like Ruth described either). Like anything else, proper tool for the job. Plus wood pencils are cheap.

[Studio97]

 

I have several lead holders. One is an Eagle dated 1893 and it still works. I have several retail pencil rack displays of high quality wood pencils because they write with ease and make a very dark line. I have a large variety. I use them for writing, sketching and finished art work. The Palomino Blackwing selection is good as well as the Hi-uni Mitsu-bishi and Tombow Mono100. I also have vintage pencils dating back to the early 1900s of jewel-like manufacturing quality.

I have a much bigger selection and variety in wood pencils over the lead holder version. I have removed lead from wood stubs and used the remainder in lead holders.

Then there is my stash and variety of color artist grade pencils......

I also use mechanical pencils in .5, .7 and .9 size if the lead is 2hb or softer. I have no use for hard H series pencils.

Edited October 23, 2017 by Studio97

[Mike-S]

Wooden pencils ? I love 'em. A wooden pencil can be sharpened to any shaped point with a penknife and not be restricted to what a pencil sharpener dictates. They smell good, especially when sharpened as above. They feel good in the hand. They enable me to write legibly. They're colourful. They make a lovely relaxing sound as they write on paper.They're cheap (sometimes). They're available in a huge range of grades.

I'm exhausted now, I'll go and relax with a bit of pencil writing.

 

Mike

Edited October 23, 2017 by Mike-S

[JakobS]

I think the people at Cal Cedar have done a great job with marketing the Blackwing series of pencils, but I do not find them different than many wooden pencils in their writing qualities. I do like the look of them though!

 

I like the feel of a wooden pencil far more than a mechanical or clutch pencil. They are far more comfortable to hold for longer periods of writing.

 

Different woods: cedar, poplar, beechwood for example all feel differently in the hand. Whereas cedar is often light and soft such in a General's Cedar Pointe, a Cda Swiss Wood has a nice heft and balance which allows for a different yet equally enjoyable writing experience. You also have natural finishes which have the feel of the wood against your hand, or glossy or matte finishes that allow for better gripping and feel while writing, compared to mostly plastic or metal in mechanical/clutch pencils.

 

Leads in wooden pencils have greater variety than in mechanical pencils. Sure you have mechanical leads that are made of nano particles versus conventional for less breakage, smoother writing etc. But, quality wooden pencils don't have to worry about breakage, and can move onto other aspects of their leads providing a smooth writing experience. The Cda Swiss wood for example has a lead that I haven't experienced in any other pencil except for a custom made one that specially requested the same lead. It has a smoothness about it that you would think use up the lead quickly, like a 2B or 3B, but has great point retention, that makes me wonder if my writing is having any effect on the lead at all. You also have something similar with the Aspara Extra Strong/Extra Dark Pencil, this lead is almost indestructible, great point retention, but a softness to it. Beyond this, you also have solid school pencils from Cda or Viking that provide zero hand fatigue and last me a whole research field season (3-4 months).

 

Sharpening! Yes, if you have a quality wooden pencil ( General Cedar Pointe or Musgrave Bugle 1816 are great cheap ones) and a quality pencil sharpener (Classroom Friendly Supplies), the ability to bring back a dulled and sorry pencil point is an enjoyable task. The Classroom Friendly is great at increasing the longevity of your pencils too, as it sharpens from the end of the dulled point. The first sharpening of a new pencil will be just as long as an new unsharpened pencil! This allows you to use all of the lead in the pencil versus losing it to sharpening, the sharpener also creates an incredibly long point, so you will need to sharpen less as well!

 

I have over fifty wooden pencils, probably at least thirty different models in a dozen or so different brands, and each provides a unique writing experience that I never noticed with mechanical pencils(tried a half dozen, and ~ 10 types of lead), and only slightly with clutch (Mitsubishi has softer/smoother leads than Cda!).

[Studio97]

JakobS

 

I have over fifty wooden pencils, probably at least thirty different models in a dozen or so different brands, and each provides a unique writing experience that I never noticed with mechanical pencils(tried a half dozen, and ~ 10 types of lead), and only slightly with clutch (Mitsubishi has softer/smoother leads than Cda!).

 

I must have over 500 and does not include color pencils. This is after i donated a large box full to elementary schools in the hurricanes. I really need help.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Studio97

[Mister5]

Thanks everyone! I've thought another idea why a wooden pencil may be preferred.

 

On mechanical pencils the eraser is sometimes rather small and a bit inconvenient to access (on my Lamy Scribble it's darn near impossible to remove the cap). On some wooden pencils the eraser is there (even if its not the best), and from what I've seen significantly larger than those on the mechanical pencils. Coming from the world of inks I'm used to just crossing out my trillion mistakes so I don't use the eraser, but I imagine most people do, and that is one huge benefit of a pencil over pen.

 

I have some higher end wooden pencils on the way and look forward to seeing how these perform compared to the Ticonderoga (which my kids use for homework) and my mechanical pencils.

[Zookie]

Since childhood, I've always used Ticonderoga pencils. I collect others as well, but find myself going back to them.

Maybe it's a nostalgia thing.

[Inflexion]

Wooden pencils smell good when they are freshly sharpened. They feel light and warm in the hand.

[Studio97]

.

 

I have some higher end wooden pencils on the way and look forward to seeing how these perform compared to the Ticonderoga (which my kids use for homework) and my mechanical pencils.

I think you are going to be plesantly surprised. Some lower cost pencils which i think are great include a black painted Staples #2, Staedtler Rally 2hb and Staedtler Norica. Old bowling scorer pencils, and film pencils are favorites too.

[Mech-for-i]

Well to me the mechanical pencil and the wooden pencil might have only 1 thing in common, their graphite and even this is debatable. Mechanical pencil is good for many thing but they do not allow the kind of work a wooden pencil allows, and vice versa

[bluebellrose]

Thanks everyone! I've thought another idea why a wooden pencil may be preferred.

 

On mechanical pencils the eraser is sometimes rather small and a bit inconvenient to access (on my Lamy Scribble it's darn near impossible to remove the cap). On some wooden pencils the eraser is there (even if its not the best), and from what I've seen significantly larger than those on the mechanical pencils. Coming from the world of inks I'm used to just crossing out my trillion mistakes so I don't use the eraser, but I imagine most people do, and that is one huge benefit of a pencil over pen.

 

I have some higher end wooden pencils on the way and look forward to seeing how these perform compared to the Ticonderoga (which my kids use for homework) and my mechanical pencils.

I on the other hand prefer the erasers on mechanical pencils. They work! On wooden pencils? Bleh they stop working if the pencil has been sitting gathering dust. My pentel side fx has a large eraser. Good protection of lead. It's a good on the go pencil.

[Wolverine1]

I use a Blackwing 602 pencil now and then. I like the ritual of sharpening the pencil and writing with it.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Wolverine1