Comrade Ted wrote in last month about a question for which I’m certain he can find lots of advice from our community members:

Hello!  I have enjoyed your website and wonder If I might ask you an opinion on a question I have been looking to answer.

I am looking to find the ideal testing pencil. While this may sound fairly dull, I have taken a great interest in discovering this dream pencil. You see, I am preparing to take the LSAT. Only wooden pencils may be used, and time is a crucial make-or-break factor on the test. When you’re only given 1.29 minutes to answer every question, suddenly the effectiveness of the eraser you are using and the degree to which you work to fill in a bubble come into effect substantially. I am trained in art, however, so I can appreciate the finer qualities in a well-made pencil. Here is what I’m looking for. I’m hoping the experts out there can help point me in the direction of something I have not tried yet (something exotic perhaps?).

I need to find two different pencils, but one requirement stands the same for both.  Both need to have a really fantastic eraser. I mean top notch. If I could find a pencil with a Mars eraser attached to it, I would be a pretty happy camper.  But alas, I have not found such. The best erasing pencils I have found as of yet are the Staedtler Tradition and, a close second, the Faber-Castell 9000.

The last two features are where the two pencils need to differ.  Feature 1 is a need for a long lasting point, firm enough to make small narrow marks but soft enough still to fill in the bubble of a Scantron pretty fast.  Feature 2 is sort of the opposite. I need just enough lead to make a few small marks, but it needs to be as soft as I can get away with to do so, so as to fill in Scantron bubbles as fast and effectively as possible.

I have come across several which have worked pretty well, but I wonder if anyone has any other suggestions.  Here is what I have already tried:

Staedtler Tradition – (far too lightly colored lead and too hard, but great eraser)

Staedtler Norica – (lead quality is pretty good, but maybe a bit softer and not as crumbly would be preferred; sadly, the eraser on this is not the same high-quality as the one used on the Tradition)

Faber-Castel 9000 B and HB, with eraser attached – (good eraser, but a bit too hard even in the B variety; I wish they made it in a 2B)

Rhodia – (good eraser;  but the lead just does not last long enough; it’s either too soft or just crumbles a bit too much — not sure which)
Palomino HB, with eraser – (the lead is great to write with but perhaps just a bit too soft for my purposes; it wears a little too quickly; but more importantly is that the eraser is not effective enough)

Musgrave HB – (good lead, however the eraser cannot handle the leads richness)

Musgrave Test Scoring 100 – (perhaps the closest I have come to the second variety I described; good eraser and good lead quality; would love something like this only with slightly harder lead and perhaps with an eraser like the one on the Staedtler)

I’m very curious about many of the Japanese pencils I have been reading about but wonder if any are offered with an eraser (I realize this is not preferred when the pencil is of high quality most of the time).  Any advice/info would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks very much!

Please leave any and all aid you might be able to offer Ted as he advances in the law school application process!