QOTD #80: pencils and sharpener?

A Pentel .5mm mechanical drafting pencil is my writing implement of choice.

I had to buy one for a drafting class in college, found it excelled for subscripts and exponents in math class, and just started using it for everything.

 

I use a pencil quite frequently. Between scan trons at work (evaluations) and for class (multiple choice tests) they get used often. My favorite is one is a promotional pencil from my college of business. It's my lucky pencil.

This bad boy is in my office suite. I use him more often than the electric one.

 

I used to use one for accident scene sketches, so pretty much every day at work when I was west of Denver. Since I am out, I never use one. I have 4 pens in my pocket right now. If you put then down, they disappear off your desk.

 

I haven't used a pencil in years. However I see it in my future soon. Pre school coming up.

 

I very rarely use a pencil. My wife uses them all the time and has several sharpeners, at least two at home and a few at work. Years ago she bought for me a fancy mechanical pencil--I forget the make & model, but it is a really nice one--which she eventually started using because I rarely used it.

 

As a musician, I’ll be using pencils to mark bowings and fingerings into my parts for as long as I’m still playing. I take notes at work with a pencil sometimes as well, despite an annoying colleague telling me recently that he felt using pencils was “childish” (he doesn’t even type using the home keys, but I digress).

I liked mechanical pencils in high school, particularly the transparent side-click Pentels, but the smaller lead punches through parts printed on cheap paper too easily, especially when marking parts on a folding music stand. Bigger, softer lead, while harder to erase, goes on smooth and is easier to see.

The stricter conductors of my youth instilled a fear of being underprepared early on, so I’ve been carrying around multiple pencils in my violin case for years. Here are some of my favorites:

I’ve had that yellow one above since at least high school; I think I acquired it from someone in my section but can’t remember who, when, or where. The two blue ones are leftover from freshman orientation in college.

These are marketed to musicians with a ring magnet to attach to a metal music stand. Their lead isn’t great, so I’ll sometimes ditch these pencils and put the magnet on a different (better) pencil. They’re super convenient when the magnets aren’t stuck to my tuning fork inside my case.

Staedtler 3b, softer, enjoyable to use. I like this one enough to avoid using it much, as I’ve had it for a while now and would rather burn through cheap #2s first.

A 3b from Derwent, purchased as a sketching pencil for an art class I took 12 years ago. Also pleasing to use, now on light duty like the Staedtler so it’ll last longer.

I bought this beefy 6b—the softest lead they had—at an art store in Savannah two months ago. Despite being too thicc for both my stand magnets and eraser tops, I can’t get enough of it. Marks bowings like butter.


This holder will give longer life to the stubby little pencil nubs I refuse to get rid of.

Trusty Staedtler single barrel manual sharpener. I’m gonna need a double with a wider option now, thanks to big Bertha.

 

I wonder just how many pencils we would come up with if we went through every current & retired book bag & purse used by my wife. I'm conservatively guessing at least 150.

 

Really good question. I counted 8 in just one coffee cup.! I think I won't go any further out of fear of being labeled a pencil hoarder.

 

A related story...

The school where my wife works does Advent Angels, a version of Secret Santa. My wife drew Fred's name and a list of inexpensive things he could use (all of the teachers wrote one), & one of the items was a box of #2 pencils.

She bought him a box, and found out through her students he puts blue tape on his pencils so he gets them back when he loans them to students.

One of her class projects was putting blue tape on all of the new pencils.


I just realized
putting this story in writing
pretty much killed
what little humor it contained.

 

A musician colleague and teacher friend of mine got customized pencils made that say “Stolen from Mrs. Bogart,” presumably to be returned promptly by her students after borrowing them.

 

Anyone remember the Don't Do Drugs pencils,
the ones that could be sharpened down to read
Do Drugs?