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Most of us may blink at the price of a fountain pen now and then, then we pay anyway, becuase we want the best, or at least a really nice pen, we also often have cheap beaters as well, you know, it is nice, you like to use it, but if you lost it, well you could replace it, get something different, or not worry...

 

My question is how much you (we) would spend on a pencil, be it wooden, mechanical or a blend like the faber castell von graff models...

I have happily spent $30-40 NZd ($25 USD) on a pencil, am thinking about shelling out $85 on a Lamy 2000 .7 mm pencil soon, but am having a hard time justifying it, however if it was a Fopuntain pen I could spend the money no problem...

 

How do you guys and gals fare?

Lamy 2000-Lamy Vista-Visconti Van Gogh Maxi Tortoise Demonstrator-Pilot Vanishing Point Black Carbonesque-1947 Parker 51 Vacumatic Cedar Blue Double Jewel-Aurora Optima Black Chrome Cursive Italic-Waterman Hemisphere Metallic Blue-Sheaffer Targa-Conway Stewart CS475

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Fifteen cents is a fair price for my clasic yellow Dixon Ticonderoga #2. Starts up right away, never skips, and makes a statement wherever I go: "Hey, he's using a pencil!". :rolleyes:

Edited by Robert Hughes

The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it.

 

~ Bernard Shaw.

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About £3/US$6 is the most that I have ever spent on a pencil. I have tried to love them, but they just don't lay down the nice dark black line like even a Stabilo Bionic RB does let alone a nice FP with a decent black ink in it.

 

Pencils are for when you are worried about making a mistake. These days though Papermate make the Eraser max which is a BP that you can rub out, so for me I just think why not use one of those?

 

Edited for typos

Edited by AndyHayes

Skype: andyhayes

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I've never liked writing with pencils, be they the bog standard wooden jobies or fancy mechanical ones. They just don't have the tactile quality of a fountain pen and they never stay sharp. So, in answer to your question, if I have to have a pencil I'd pay as little as possible.

Bryan

 

"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes." Winston S. Churchill

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I know someone who loves using a pencil, and not the mechanical type. I seem to require some kind of charm from my pens, be they FP, RB or BP, and have paid more than seems reasonable for the latter two. I find them delightful to look at and use, what can I say? So if you enjoy using a pencil and love the idea of owning a really special one or two (or 200), then give it a go. You could always return it if you think it's not worth it. :thumbup:

 

 

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I do research in archives, so I have to like pencils. I've always favored a Dixon Ticonderoga 2.5. I have an Eversharp that came in a set with a rosewood Wahl, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. It seems very nice. I probably wouldn't have bought it without the pen, but I'm happy to have it nonetheless.

 

 

 

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I would spend around $3.95. My favorite pencil is a mechanical pencil from Pentel Sensa Grip in .3, .5,.7, and .9 mm. They are a drafting pencil that I originally bought to draw microscopic views in my Botany Lab, but give my handwriting a fountain pen look in pencil form. For wooden pencils I like Papermate's Mirado line, especially Black Warrior, and Woodtones. They cost about $2.29 per dozen or 19 cents each!

FP Ink Orphanage-Is an ink not working with your pens, not the color you're looking for, is never to see the light of day again?!! If this is you, and the ink is in fine condition otherwise, don't dump it down the sink, or throw it into the trash, send it to me (payment can be negotiated), and I will provide it a nice safe home with love, and a decent meal of paper! Please PM me!<span style='color: #000080'>For Sale:</span> TBA

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I love pencils! I like the Staedtler Lumograph (OK, I like them because they're cheap at my university bookstore) for wooden pencils, which I often sharpen with a knife and have in several grades, and for Staedtler Triplus .7mm for a mechanical pencil. I draw rather than write with them. I am a bit finicky with mechanical pencils, but don't seem to spend more than $4 to get one that behaves as well as I need.

 

I love colored pencils also, especially the water soluble kind where you can wash plain water over them and they dissolve (partly) to give a watercolor effect. I think the most I've paid is $30 CDN for a 12 color set of Derwent Inktense. I would buy more if I had the chance.

 

 

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I guess the most I've ever spent on a pencil was about $10-12, for a Pentel Kerry in green (which you can see post-refurbishing at my blog). At the time, I thought it was a little weird with such a long cap on it, but I guess that was before finding out that there was a whole short/long genre of writing instruments from Japan.

 

If I were to lose it, I'd buy another, although the price has gone up.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1118/726404937_328386ddc6_o.jpg

Brassing Adds Character: Available by clicking on my signature.

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i started off collecting pencils and i spent a fair few quid on some of them,heres a few pics of some of my better ones

sterling silver(except last 2 in 2nd pic)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/jwassuk/silver1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/jwassuk/silver2.jpg

rolled gold

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/jwassuk/rolled.jpg

9ct gold

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/jwassuk/gold1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/jwassuk/gold2.jpg

one of my favourites,14k tiffany

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/jwassuk/tiff2.jpg

bit of a noveltey

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/jwassuk/gun1.jpg

i think the most i've paid is £60 for the 9ct Yard-0-led(1942)and my best buy was definatley the Tiffany at £17.50(circa 1890-1910??)

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Well ... I do have a few pencils. But, the two I like best are the Montblanc Leonardo Sketch Pen, and the MB LeGrand. I also like my Caran d'Ache Ecridor Chevron. So, I guess it doesn't matter to me whether it's a FP, MP, or BP.

CFTPM

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I collect woodcased pencils as well as fountain pens and use pencils for marginal notes and first drafts.

 

My favourites are the Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602 and the Tombow Mono 100 2B or 3B. As both of these are no longer made, I have managed to accumulate a stash of each before the prices really took off.

 

These oldsters just do it for me in terms of lead quality and beauty of design and finish.

 

Of the current production pencils I probably like the California Republic 'Palomino' range the best.

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I do not like mechanical pencils. They are always dull. The thin leads of the modern pencils break when I try to sharpen them. When I use a pencil, I want a #2 cedar cased one.

 

This summer at a flea market, I met a couple who were selling nice, new cedar cased pencils really cheaply, like bundles of twenty for a dollar. It turns out, they buy these pencils and stash them in their dresser drawers to give their clothes a pleasant odor. When the cedar essence gives out, they take the pencils to the flea market and sell them. I didn't tell them they could sand the wood lightly and be back in business. I kept dark about it and bought lots of their pencils. :D

 

Paddler

 

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

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I've paid $10 for a pencil...and it was well worth it - a Jade Radite Sheaffer - does that count?

 

For a plain wood pencil I'd pay as much as $3.

Watermans Flex Club & Sheaffer Lifetime Society Member

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I love pencils. Specifically the woodcase pencil, but also mechanical pencils and leadholders.

 

 

 

I was on my own fountain pen exploration path for some years, and still am to some extent, but I've also reconnected with pencils - the ritual of sharpening, the nice cedar aroma, the cultural associations, and the incredible utility, even on very cold winter day.

 

 

 

About sharpness - mechanical pencils are available with leads in 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, 0.9mm, and 1.18mm diameters. Moving into the leadholder, clutch, and sketch pencil categories, 2.0mm, 2.5mm, 3.15mm, 3.8mm, and 5.6mm leads are available. The thinner leads should be able to satisfy those seeking sharp points, while the wider leads are quite useful for artistic purposes. For reference, a standard woodcase pencil uses a 2.0mm core. This huge diversity of choices is part of the appeal.

 

 

 

Something that many pencil fanciers lament is that most people have never had the opportunity to try a top-notch woodcase pencil. They are as different from the big box office supply store generic yellow pencil as a fine fountain pen is from a disposable ballpoint. A couple of examples are the Tombow Mono 100 and the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni. The finish, the quality of manufacture, the grip and balance, the sharpening and erasure capabilities, the fastness of the line, and ultimately the rich and smooth leads, are remarkable.

 

 

 

Though professional animators and drafters may want to keep these pencils for themselves, there is no reason the rest of us can't use a few for our own excellent writing and sketching experiences.

 

 

 

So how much would I spend? For top woodcase pencils, much more than most people. Which still puts them in the range of some generic disposable ballpoint and gel pens. I think these pencils are a bargain.

 

 

 

Mechanical pencils? I would love to own most of the Yard-O-Led range, since they have historically been conceived and executed as pencils. I'm less fond of pencils that are just look-a-likes of the matching pens. I have a Leonardo Sketch Pen (a 5.6mm leadholder), and the Bexley Multi-Max and Mini-Max. I picked up a black aluminum Porsche Design P'3120 last week. While not mechanical pencils, I also have the Graf von Faber-Castell perfect pencil in three silver/platinum variants, plus aluminum and plastic.

 

 

 

The pencil realm has received serious academic treatment. The Pencil, A History of of Design and Circumstance, by Henry Petroski, in print for almost twenty years, is a fascinating cultural and engineering history focused on the pencil.

 

 

 

My blog, pencil talk, is visited by a small cadre of people interested in pencils. I think many fountain pen devotees might also find pencils interesting. The history and tradition of pencils is fascinating - many of today's leading pencil manufacturers have been in existence for hundreds of years.

----------------------------

http://www.penciltalk.org

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Sakura Sumogrip 0.7mm and 0.9mm -- I have 3 of each because I used to use only pencil to do my homework before I gained a bit of confidence (or got used to using loads of scratch paper). I also have a staedtler lead holder that I am keen on. All of these were about $5 each. They rarely get used now, though.

 

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I quite like pencils especially to make up sets, I have them to match most of my Pelikans including a couple of vintage ones for my 400 and Tortoise M400.

 

I also have them for various Parkers including Duofolds, Vacs etc.

 

Can't say I use them that often, but still nice to have.

 

Andy

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I have been using a Rotring Pencil that comes in a pack of 3 ~ 2 x0.5 & 1 x0.7 inclusive HB leads from Lidl ~ The cost is £1.99

I buy these because they are the cheapest pencil leads I can get. If I need other lead grades (normally softer) I can buy these easily

Very Lightweight & comfortable pencil & in daily use for most note taking & sketching.

 

 

I am now considering a Lamy Scribble at £18 ~ the 3.15 lead version (most pencil sellers don't seem to stock the leads for these btw & if they do they only offer 4B)

 

This Scribble is a speciality pencil & as such is the only reason why I would spend this amount on a mechanical pencil. I would not see the reason to buy & certainly could not justify spending £18 for a 0.7 Scribble.

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