Any Good Wooden Pencils

[them700project]

I have a pretty good collection of Mechanicals. But for wood I like the Palomino Blackwings and the rhodia

http://www.amazon.com/Palomino-Blackwing-602-12-Count/dp/B006YYPIUI/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1413487521&sr=1-1&keywords=palomino+blackwing+602

http://www.amazon.com/Rhodia-Boutique-Orange-Linden-Pencil/dp/B00769GSTU/ref=sr_1_5?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1413487595&sr=1-5&keywords=rhodia+pencil

[Garageboy]

I have 2 boxes of Palomino pencils, one Blackwing, the other is Golden Bear. Of the two I like the Golden Bears better.

They smell good. I don't know what it is about them but they smell like a sharpened pencil should. It is one of those distinct smells that had etched itself into my memory since my earliest school days. Golden Bear pencils have that smell in spades.

Golden bears are made by Musgrave in the USA- love them

 

Remind me of the 90's Berol/Eagle Mirados of my childhood (there's a piece of Berol Mirado stuck in my hand from when my sister stabbed me with one...)

 

There's also the General Semi Hex

 

If you go into the world of Japanese pencils, Tombow/Mitsubishi make beautiful wooden pencils

[them700project]

Whatever you decide make sure you listen to this man

[Cryptos]

I was about to run off to my Grandfather's tomb to rob him of his leather strop when I suddenly thought... hang on a minute...

 

 

Actually, my father was an artist and he always sharpened his pencils using a knife. And so do I.

 

A truly excellent film, should be compulsory for all schools.

[ink-syringe]

I am a pencil person (job requires it).

 

Tombow Mono 100 & Mitsubishi Hi-Uni are excellent pencils. I have boxes of them and am always happy to sharpen one up and get to it but my pencil of choice is the Palomino Graded Graphite pencils, the orange ones with no eraser. HB, B & 2B are all good. I like the Blackwings okay but I really like the orange graded ones best. They are the same as the blue but the blue only come in a couple grades and the orange go the whole scale. They first said "California REPUBLIC" on them, then they removed that. Now they come with a black top.

 

Just as Japanese nibs tend toward one grade finer, Japanese Pencils (all three above are Japanese) tend to a grade or two softer/darker. A Faber HB is not the same as a Hi-Uni HB. The Palominos tend to be the softest of the lot. But they are EXCELLENT real tight grain cedar wood pencils. I like the Mitsubishi and Tombow almost as much. They are also ubiquitous here so I used those for a long time till the Palominos showed up. They are made in Japan of American cedar. The Palomino folks used to just supply cedar blanks to other manufacturers. Now they have their own line.

 

 

http://www.pencilrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_2580.jpg

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vafvI2HEWgs/TxoRCtWn7OI/AAAAAAAAAKg/cxXQQQNS_e8/s1600/IMG_2213.JPG

 

 

 

http://www.pencilrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_2607.jpg

Edited October 18, 2014 by ink-syringe

[Inkydinkydog]

Field Notes pencils are also excellent: paint-freecasings, delightful cedar smell, and they don't wear down as fast as my beloved Blackwings.

 

http://fieldnotesbrand.com/2009/09/28/field-notes-pencils-back-in-stock/

[Tadeusz]

Whatever you decide make sure you listen to this man

 

That video was absolutely hilarious!!

 

I liked how David Rees quoted Chapter 11 of his book at the very end. (Look it up, ch. 11 of "How to Sharpen a Pencil", entitled "Mechanical Pencils")

[foamy]

As mentioned early in the thread: Dixon-Ticonderoga HB (No.2). Really, it's all you need to know. They're pretty much magic.

 

I've used almost any and every brand and style of pencil during the course of my career. The D-T HB is the Katz PJ's. Just buy a box and keep a few sharp and handy. You'll be happy.

Edited October 21, 2014 by foamy

[B_Type13X2]

I prefer the Dixon Tri-Conderoga for the shape and ease of use I always have 20 of these minimum in my desk because they are nice to sketch and to design things with.

[Richard L]

Many years ago my favorite pencil was the Berol Black Warrior. After Berol was bought out by Sanford, it was replaced by the Mirado Black Warrior, which was definitely inferior: Tthe graphite lacked the uniform consistency of the Berol. Now I just use Dixon Ticonderoga. I actually enjoy sharpening wood pencils with a pocket knife or my old fashioned Staedtler sharpener. I never really liked using a mechanical pencil.

[aderoy]

I was pleasantly surprised by Lee Valley pencils which are made in Great Britain. Nice green finish with cedar wood.

 

Box of 12 in grades 4B, 2B, B, HB, H, and 2H.

 

Have gone through a box of the 2B's and ordered more 2B and 2H. Find the 2H works well in agenda which does not have paper that fountain or gel pens like.

[FOUR X FOUR]

Ticonderoga, Staedtler and orange and Black Rhodia

[A2JC4life]

I love the Palomino Blackwings, but as a stay-at-home-mom, my budget doesn't. Mine is another "vote" for the Dixon Ticonderoga (which also come in black, btw, if you want something that looks a little classier than a yellow "school" pencil), and I also like the PaperMate Mirado. Both lay down a dark enough line for my taste (I hate hard pencils I get hand cramps from shoving down on trying to get some depth!), but the leads aren't centered quite as well as in some other pencils, so I've found I need to keep turning them around in the sharpener to not have unsharpened edges.