What is your favorite pencil?

[tspilker]

It is a really strange obsession I have developed in college, but I am completely compelled to seek out office supplies. First it was pens. I had to find the ultimate pen and I generally would classify them into seperate catagories. Reciept signing pens, note taking pens, general use.

Now I am on pencils after discovering the new sharpie pens (with click retracting!!)

I lost my favorite Pentel Graphgear 500 0.7mm after my Statics final on Wednesday and I am seeking a replacement (will definately get this pencil again, it was a dream.) The pencil didn't have the bending at the tip issues that most plastic pencils have which cause 10mm or so of lead to break at the grip point, and falling out.

I have had good luck with 0.7mm, and bad luck with 0.5mm. I am intrigued by 0.3mm or even 0.1mm and 0.9mm pencils for various reasons. (Doing free-body diagrams would be fantastic with a very fine pencil)

I felt that there must be some fellow pencil-lovers out there that can share any advice with me. It is hard to keep me without my graphgear (now I am slumming it again with my Twist-Erase 0.7mm) and a tri-eraser/clic eraser.

What do you carry daily?

 

[Lunarpancake]

well...you could have weirder obsessions. Also, I have 2 of those sharpie retractable pens and they both went dry I would stick with the good ole' capped sharpies.

 

[tspilker]

well...you could have weirder obsessions. Also, I have 2 of those sharpie retractable pens and they both went dry I would stick with the good ole' capped sharpies.

These aren't the regular sharpies, these are Sharpie pens. They dont bleed thru the paper, but they still have the awesome writing power of a standard extra-fine sharpie

 

[ChshreCat]

They have medications for your condition, you know.

 

[Bokonon]

I'm a big fan of #2, though sometimes I'll use a #2 1/2

 

[beergears]

I am with tspliker on this one.

Trained in traditional draftsmanship (former life), I know what he means about having a good working mechanical pencil that you cherish.

I am a pen freak as well: there are many pens with too much drag, even my signature comes lousy with them. Forget about taking good notes with a such a lousy pen!
I used to be fond of the "rolling ball" type.

 

[ruggierm1]

I have to go with a Dixon Ticonderoga Black #2. The best pencil on the market.

 

[tspilker]

I have to go with a Dixon Ticonderoga Black #2. The best pencil on the market.

As far as wood pencils go, there really is a nostalgia about using one, back to the days of grade school. I always loved when I was given Ticonderoga pencils for school. I would sometimes have to slum by with that sawdust/plastic "wood" pencil that writes terribly.

I got out of wooden pencils (though my roommate, also engineer, swears by them) because of the inconsistent point. You have to bear with the dullness of starting with something with a point capable of writing .1mm lines to something that eventually degrades to 2mm lines. I find myself worrying too much about the pencil's sharpness rather than what I am writing.

Drafting, working out math/eng problems requires a pencil that doesn't get in the way, and the right pencil can make all the difference IMO. (I always keep Bic cheapies in my bag as a last resort, but I hate using them)

 

[tspilker]

I am with tspliker on this one.

Trained in traditional draftsmanship (former life), I know what he means about having a good working mechanical pencil that you cherish.

I am a pen freak as well: there are many pens with too much drag, even my signature comes lousy with them. Forget about taking good notes with a such a lousy pen!
I used to be fond of the "rolling ball" type.

Rolling balls are nice. I had a Waterman RB pen that I loved but I ended up losing it.

I used to buy the crappy gel roller clicky pens and replace the gel inserts with Mont Blanc inserts (you just need to sand the end off) and you have a cheap, expensive pen!

Edit:
This indestructible told me about the mont blanc idea.
Indestructable

 

[motobrewer]

Draftmatic 0.3 mil by Alvin. Used for everything, school-wise. only pencil i used for 3 years, lol. also a mechanical engineer - maybe it's an engineer thing? or a brewer thing? or an engineer-brewer thing?

(Doing free-body diagrams would be fantastic with a very fine pencil)

it is.

 

[Mista_Sparkle]

Ive got a pentel .5mm quicker clicker that i found that i just love, the tip is a little bent, but its very comfortable and it doesnt break lead too much, even with the bent tip. Great for drafting and i love using it for exams for some reason.

 

[Doc Robinson]

 

[bull8042]

Tyler, you are definitely a freak. But your avatar is awesome. I love my Android based HTC Hero.

 

[tspilker]

Tyler, you are definitely a freak. But your avatar is awesome. I love my Android based HTC Hero.

The hero looks cool. I have had a G1 for about a year now, love it.

Cant wait for the Nexus One to drop (the HTC Dragon), though I will miss my physical keyboard.

 

[Dalarast]

I'm all about the zebra pencil and pen combo as seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BQA3TA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I get a great pencil and pen with that... it is perhaps the only pen and pencil I never lose... I lose a regular BIC on average of 5 a day.. and plain simple mechanical pencils I lose or break the led....

I think there is a condition for us... loving high quality writing tools

 

[RIBeer]

I'm still devastated by the loss of my favorite mechanical pencil. I had it for about 10 years, and wound up leaving it on a rock outcrop in the Black Hills, somewhere NW of Spearfish, SD while doing some mapping during me geology field camp. That was at least 10+ years ago, and I still miss it.

I think it's a scientific illness, not just engineering.

 

[tspilker]

I'm still devastated by the loss of my favorite mechanical pencil. I had it for about 10 years, and wound up leaving it on a rock outcrop in the Black Hills, somewhere NW of Spearfish, SD while doing some mapping during me geology field camp. That was at least 10+ years ago, and I still miss it.

I think it's a scientific illness, not just engineering.

Do you remember what kind of pencil it was?

I guess since we do so much work that requires writing, rewriting and such, subconsciously we make it important to choose wisely our writing utensils. Or its just something else to geek over.

 

[GregR]

I'm a fan of the pentel quicker clicker myself. I've had the same one for about 2 years now.

 

[mordantly]

i have the pentels in .05 .07 .09 and .1 mm all are good, im not skillful enough to really tax them.

 

[Chudz]

Okay, when I was in third grade they had a vending machine where you could put a nickel in and get a new pencil. The pencils had the different football teams on them, so there was a degree of collectivism there. It was really something ... back then. Now, I could probably pass on such a thing.

 

[jds]

I like writing implements too.
I'm a big fan of the Ticonderoga and other good wood pencils. A good sharpener makes a big difference. I also like the Koh-I-Noor Rapidomatic drafting pencils, but they always seem to land on the tip and get destroyed when dropped.

For pens, I really like fountain pens. price does not always equal writing ability of them, though. I have a couple of "daily use" pens that I bought for about $25 each, and I also have a Namiki (now Pilot) Vanishing Point fountain pen. It has huge cool factor, since it's a fountain pen that works like a ballpoint.

You'd think I'd have better handwriting...

 

[mordantly]

Vanishing Point fountain pen. It has huge cool factor, since it's a fountain pen that works like a ballpoint

does it bleed in your pocket?

 

[jds]

does it bleed in your pocket?

Not if I remember to retract the point and keep it reasonably clean. The clip's on the nib end, so it goes in your pocket nib up. Since the point retracts into the sealed tip, it's pretty non-leaky when retracted. It does take more maintenance than my other fountain pens, so I tend to not use it as much. I do like it a lot, though.

I think the ink has something to do with that too. I use Noodler's polar black in all my fountain pens. It doesn't seem as "leaky" to me as some other inks.

 

[mordantly]

now i want to get one again. havent had one in 5 coons ages.

 

[Brewsmith]

For my real job, I love the Pentel E-Sharp 0.5mm



I work for a geotechnical engineering company, and of all the mechanical pencils we've been through, these I find the best. Even lead feed, not too small in my hand, comfortable grip and a big eraser.

For music I love the #1 pencils. They write nice and dark and are very readable for hand-written parts.

 

[no1likesme]

I have never owned a mechanical pencil as I only use a pencil to take exams. I do own a cross fountain pen that I love.

I have had it for about four years with no leaking problems so far.

 

[SnickASaurusRex]

I also like the Koh-I-Noor Rapidomatic drafting pencils. I have a terrible time with a pencil that has a tapered tip, unless it is a wooden pencil.

 

[Coastarine]

The pentel p205. Been using it since high school.

 

[StunnedMonkey]

I have daughters so whenever I'm looking for a pen all I can find are ones like these:

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I've been using one just like this

And I totally understand where you're coming from, OP. I've never considered using a really fine pencil for FBD's but I should. I've been sticking with the cheap bic .5mm for the last two months of the semester, mostly because I have a ton of spare graphite for it right now, and I havent completely eaten though the eraser. I was gripping it so hard during my Advanced Calculus final that the clip on the top just snapped off... pretty crazy.

I had some nice pencils obtained from my internship over the summer, but my roommate borrowed two and broke them *shakes fist angerly* and then I lost the other ones. The .5mm is def a go to for me, .7mm makes too wide of a writing path.

 

[jpc]

I like writing implements too.
I'm a big fan of the Ticonderoga and other good wood pencils. A good sharpener makes a big difference. I also like the Koh-I-Noor Rapidomatic drafting pencils, but they always seem to land on the tip and get destroyed when dropped.

YES!!!! Those things are farking AWESOME!!!

I, like the OP, once had an office supply fetish. As an engineer (well, student, back when it was in its full, gripping phase), I loved the fact that I could make small, intricate sketches with the 0.3mm pencil for my Engineering Mechanics classes. I couldn't make it across campus without stopping into the bookstore at least twice a week, just to see if there was anything new (well, that, and my GF worked there). I started off with the Pentel ones, but once I found the Koh-I-Noor, I was in love!!!

Then a funny thing happened. I decided not to go Mechanical, but instead pursued a degree in Microelectronic Engineering. The biggest issue was that the "lab" wasn't a lab, but a cleanroom. Due to the dust issues, pencils were verboten. Ouch!!! I had to learn how to use a pen...

A few years back, when searching through my stuff packed away since college (15 years or so), I found my trusted Koh-I-Noor. I think I asked my GF to leave the room to give us a few moments together. Seriously.

 

[motobrewer]

these are identical to the Draftmatic pencils by Alvin. Identical.

 

[BlackDogBrewing]

My favorite mechanical pencil has been the Pentel P205 0.5mm for over 20 years now. I took my SATs, NTEs and Praxis exams with them, and did well (coincidence I know)

 

[uglygoat]

i like the wooden old school ones. i always ended up with three thousand broken lead bits on those mechanical contraptions, making it too frustrating to write with. i'm guessing i push too hard.

 

[FullDraw]

I've been using a Staedtler 925 05. It's my second of the same, the first one grew feet. It is slimmer than most others. I won't hesitate to get another.

I only wish it had a retractable tip. I had a pencil years back that had a fully retractable tip. Can't find it anywhere, and I've spent time looking. Can't remember the name of that one at all. So if you know, please...

 

[Brew-Happy]

This has been my pencil of choice for years. Had to retire my old one because it kept cracking the lead. Durable for field work and handy at the desk.

Pen of choice now: Pentel RSVP Fine tip. Great on pretty much any surface and low cost, so losing them isn't as painful.

 

[Homercidal]

I have to go with a Dixon Ticonderoga Black #2. The best pencil on the market.

+1 I always search these out for just about all writing. I hate the ones that aren't real wood. For whatever reason, the writing feels wrong and looks worse.

 

[tspilker]

I went out and bought an Alvin Draf/Tec-Retrac to replace my Pentel that I lost.

It has the same slim tipped end, but is retractable so I stop getting poked in the leg by a sharp pencil tip.

The art supply store in town actually has a decent supply of drafting pencils, so I bought a 0.9mm and a 0.3mm too.

I love geeking out over my office supplies

 

[Lmuggs]

I used to love my Shaker from Pilot: