I have finally let go of the temptation to find THE perfect pencil, opting instead to embrace variety and its attendant surprises.
I was sick to death of gel pens when I re-discovered the humble pencil, and have been so content I could not imagine picking up pen ever again. That is, until I got sick to death of graphite gray all day, every day, and longed for the kinds of color one can not find in writing pencils. And so, I have re-discovered my fountain pen, with its rainbow of ink options. But instead of worrying, as I normally would, over this constant changing of preferred writing tools, I finally see that the tool one project calls for might not work for another project, and that I have to have a variety of implements that are all good in their own way.

By ashley on 10.11.05 12:00 pm

I’ve also had this same feeling about fountain pens but not pencils. I’ve had expensive ones that were balky and were outperformed by pens costing only 1/10th their value.

I appreciate two things about pencils compared to FPs: 91) there is less performance variation between pencils compared to FPs (even the pencils I don’t like as much write decently well, something I can’t always say about FPs; (2) pencils on the whole (yes, even the relatively expensive ones such as the Grip 2001) are inexpensive and give me the opporutnity to try a wide variety. This is something that I can’t always say about FPs.

By frank c. on 10.11.05 1:24 pm

I’ll make the third person to say I love both pencils as well as fountain pens. About a year ago I was really hung up on finding the perfect fountain pen but I’ve realized, much the same as Ashley and Frank have, that there’s a certain beauty to be had in the variety. I think that even if I did find “the perfect” pen or pencil I’d use it all the time and then become tired of it. Such is my consumer mindset I guess.

But regarding the rainforest wood, I can totally understand how this has cut you to the quick, as it were. It’s good to see that quality in another person.

By Ben on 10.11.05 1:31 pm

Ben, I couldn’t agree more. I like having the variety with both FPs and pencils, although it can lead to stress (”with all these pencils/FPs, which one do I use?”).

By frank c. on 10.11.05 7:47 pm

On their (german) webpage Faber-Castell states, that they only use pine wood, grown on their own plantations in the south of Brasil. The rainforest is in the north of Brasil and you hardly find conifers there.
I prefer pencils made from cedar , but I don’t think that pine wood is bad, or gained by destroying the rainforest.

By Bastian on 10.12.05 3:27 am

Frank: I’m well acquainted with that stress. :)

By Ben on 10.12.05 8:51 pm

Bastian,
You’re right, Faber-Castell’s “rainforest” wood does not destroy any rainforest. The wood from Brazil comes from forests that Faber-Castell planted themselves, and the even have the FSC seal of approval. Faber-Castell always has their eye on the environment.

By Pencil Revolution on 10.13.05 3:17 pm