What Pencil Are You Using Today?

[ParramattaPaul]

Derwent Precision 0.7mm again.

[51ISH]

Staedtler Mars Technico 780c 2mm Clutch pencil. I've got quite a few 0.5mm and 0.7mm  mechanical pencils, but I'm just too 'heavy handed' with them 🙁  Oh, I used a 'Chinagraph' pencil today too if anyone remembers them, does that count?  🙂

[PPPR]

1 hour ago, 51ISH said:

<snip>

Oh, I used a 'Chinagraph' pencil today too if anyone remembers them, does that count?  🙂

Of course, it's a pencil. Honestly, I had to look that one up because it's a term for a china marker I was unfamiliar with. ;0)

[51ISH]

13 minutes ago, PPPR said:

Of course, it's a pencil. Honestly, I had to look that one up because it's a term for a china marker I was unfamiliar with. ;0)

I'm not surprised you had to look it up - I first used one in the '70s to write the price of something on a plastic price ticket when I was working in a supermarket!. (Chinagraph pencils are used to write on smooth, shiny, high gloss surfaces) It's just great in this technology age they are still available today.

[Zookie]

Mitsubishi Unistar 2B

[51ISH]

On 2/12/2023 at 10:35 PM, PPPR said:

Of course, it's a pencil. Honestly, I had to look that one up because it's a term for a china marker I was unfamiliar with. ;0)

My apologies, it seems the word 'chinagraph' is a UK only term, elsewhere it's know as a china marker or a grease pencil 👍 Chinagraph pencils were great as it was easy to remove. Strangely, I never used one for over 20 years until I started SCUBA diving and needed to be able to write on a plastic 'slate' underwater. Lots of folks use a normal box pencil, but it's difficult to remove to get a 'clean slate' 😄  from plastic IMO. Funny some of the things in life you never forget. 🙂

[Doug C]

Legendary pencil company 

[Ink Stained Wretch]

1 hour ago, 51ISH said:

My apologies, it seems the word 'chinagraph' is a UK only term, elsewhere it's know as a china marker or a grease pencil 👍

 

Ah! I was first introduced to those when I was a kid. My aunt used to work at a certain stock exchange and they used those china markers on the floor to write on these thick, yellow pads that were probably something like 5"x8" and the pages were glued at the short end. It was cheap paper and a fun pencil to play with. I wish I had some of those thick, yellow pads now. I do have some china markers though.

[51ISH]

I used a 'freebie' wooden pencil (I 'borrowed' from a Conference) at work yesterday 😈

 

But there is really only one pencil I use regularly at home ....Staedtler Mars Technico 780c 2mm Clutch pencil.

[51ISH]

4 minutes ago, Ink Stained Wretch said:

 

Ah! I was first introduced to those when I was a kid. My aunt used to work at a certain stock exchange and they used those china markers on the floor to write on these thick, yellow pads that were probably something like 5"x8" and the pages were glued at the short end. It was cheap paper and a fun pencil to play with. I wish I had some of those thick, yellow pads now. I do have some china markers though.

 

If you wanted a 'bold' line you could read from a distance and use on any surface it was the 'go to' pencil back in the day. If it was on a shiny surface it was also very easy to erase with nothing more than a dry cloth. I used it to put prices on fresh bacon, cheese and cooked meats etc in a display counter in a supermarket.

[Zookie]

Tombow Homo-Graph Mono 4B

[ParramattaPaul]

5 hours ago, 51ISH said:

My apologies, it seems the word 'chinagraph' is a UK only term, elsewhere it's know as a china marker or a grease pencil 👍 Chinagraph pencils were great as it was easy to remove. Strangely, I never used one for over 20 years until I started SCUBA diving and needed to be able to write on a plastic 'slate' underwater. Lots of folks use a normal box pencil, but it's difficult to remove to get a 'clean slate' 😄  from plastic IMO. Funny some of the things in life you never forget. 🙂

We used them back in the day to write grid co-ordinates on our map plastic overlays.

[51ISH]

52 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

We used them back in the day to write grid co-ordinates on our map plastic overlays.

Yes, I would think they would be ideal for that....no 'White board markers' back then...markers were 'Permanent' by design! I love it when something from way back when works just as good if not better than anything available today....I have no idea if a white board marker is waterproof....but I know for a fact a chinagraph pencil is...🙂 Which may become important if you are miles from anywhere and is raining heavily...don't ask me how I know....Cader Idris, Wales.  Oct 1978  🤣🤣🤣

[ParramattaPaul]

18 minutes ago, 51ISH said:

Yes, I would think they would be ideal for that....no 'White board markers' back then...markers were 'Permanent' by design! I love it when something from way back when works just as good if not better than anything available today....I have no idea if a white board marker is waterproof....but I know for a fact a chinagraph pencil is...🙂 Which may become important if you are miles from anywhere and is raining heavily...don't ask me how I know....Cader Idris, Wales.  Oct 1978  🤣🤣🤣

'... miles from anywhere and is raining heavily ...' and cold.  Been there more times than I could count and on three continents too.

[51ISH]

8 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

'... miles from anywhere and is raining heavily ...' and cold.  Been there more times than I could count and on three continents too.

 

Have to say it was an 'Outward Bound' course organised by my employers that I really wanted to do...I'd never camped or hiked in my life...we were 'on our own' as a 'new team of various levels' in a team of I think 5 maybe 6. One of the girls on our team got sick on the first day and me and another guy had to split her pack between us....so I was carrying pushing 60LB for the whole 'expedition' which I know don't sound that bad it does when everything is soaking wet and i weighted in at around 130LBs at 5'5" 🤣🤣🤣  I think that put me off camping for life...as we also had a night when we had to build our own Bivi...and the rain bounced off the floor that night....🤣

[ParramattaPaul]

13 minutes ago, 51ISH said:

 

Have to say it was an 'Outward Bound' course organised by my employers that I really wanted to do...I'd never camped or hiked in my life...we were 'on our own' as a 'new team of various levels' in a team of I think 5 maybe 6. One of the girls on our team got sick on the first day and me and another guy had to split her pack between us....so I was carrying pushing 60LB for the whole 'expedition' which I know don't sound that bad it does when everything is soaking wet and i weighted in at around 130LBs at 5'5" 🤣🤣🤣  I think that put me off camping for life...as we also had a night when we had to build our own Bivi...and the rain bounced off the floor that night....🤣

Ah, most of my 'outdoor experiences' were organised and paid for by the government and involved, um shall we say, playing Hide and Seek and Chasings with other similarly employed individuals some of whom were not friendly.  However, I also did an Outward Bound Course.  It was a course they were developing involving canoeing in the Florida Everglades in the USA for which a number of others and I were selected to test and evaluate the final plan.  We had two go down on the course.  One student with an injured shoulder, and an instructor with pneumonia.  That left my canoe partner and me towing them and their canoe for two days.  It was good to 'go bush' and practice old skills again.

[51ISH]

5 hours ago, ParramattaPaul said:

Ah, most of my 'outdoor experiences' were organised and paid for by the government and involved, um shall we say, playing Hide and Seek and Chasings with other similarly employed individuals some of whom were not friendly.  However, I also did an Outward Bound Course.  It was a course they were developing involving canoeing in the Florida Everglades in the USA for which a number of others and I were selected to test and evaluate the final plan.  We had two go down on the course.  One student with an injured shoulder, and an instructor with pneumonia.  That left my canoe partner and me towing them and their canoe for two days.  It was good to 'go bush' and practice old skills again.

🤣🤣🤣 ....Organised and paid for by the Government and involved playing Hide  Seek.. 🤣🤣🤣

 

Your 'Outward Bound' course sounds very similar in concept and content to ours. (We probably borrowed the idea from the States.)  It was usually used for new young potential managers to make them aware of what was possible outside of their comfort zone, taking charge, and working as a team to achieve a goal. We did abseiling, canoeing, rock climbing, building a raft and using it to get from A-B on the river, building our own bivouac out of natural materials, and spending the night in it, map reading, orienteering, as well as the 3 day expedition getting from A-B. while carrying everything you need with you. I seem to remember we also had classroom stuff to complete after Dinner. We had two young women in our group that both went down with S&D and one guy that was just 'fragile' physically and mentally, but thankfully nothing as serious as your two casualties. Have to say it was probably the best course I ever attended in my career, and certainly the one I remember the most, having never done anything similar before or since.

[ParramattaPaul]

7 hours ago, 51ISH said:

🤣🤣🤣 ....Organised and paid for by the Government and involved playing Hide  Seek.. 🤣🤣🤣

 

Your 'Outward Bound' course sounds very similar in concept and content to ours. (We probably borrowed the idea from the States.)  It was usually used for new young potential managers to make them aware of what was possible outside of their comfort zone, taking charge, and working as a team to achieve a goal. We did abseiling, canoeing, rock climbing, building a raft and using it to get from A-B on the river, building our own bivouac out of natural materials, and spending the night in it, map reading, orienteering, as well as the 3 day expedition getting from A-B. while carrying everything you need with you. I seem to remember we also had classroom stuff to complete after Dinner. We had two young women in our group that both went down with S&D and one guy that was just 'fragile' physically and mentally, but thankfully nothing as serious as your two casualties. Have to say it was probably the best course I ever attended in my career, and certainly the one I remember the most, having never done anything similar before or since.

Outward Bound, as we were told at the beginning of our course, has its origin in Britain during the earliest days of the Battle of the Atlantic to teach a survival mindset and skills to Merchant Navy crews who were suffering great losses.  The concept has gone global and expanded to include programmes such as the ones you and I had. The courses still retain many aspects of the original programme. Surprisingly, those aspects that teach teamwork, self-reliance, etc. are what make the courses so relevant today.

 

The course that I was brought over for was was being developed with the assistance of ex-service organizations, hence my participation. 

 

 

 

[51ISH]

Wow, thanks for the information, I never knew that. I rode passed the training centre 'by accident' only last year and noticed it was not only still there, but had indeed been expanded and developed.  I assume it is still doing similar courses and possibly other stuff as well. It was quite heartening to be honest, to see that companies still invest in such training.

[spiritwane]

Rotring 500 .5mm with 2B Ain STEINs.