From the same fountain of awesomeness that brought you Moleskinerie, we are happy to spread the word about Notebookism.
We all share a pleasant affliction - the urge to create on paper.
The smell of smooth creamy paper sends our hearts aflutter. The delicate tinkling of nib against inkwell accelerates our pulse rate. We stare endlessly at the first blank page.
Welcome to Notebookism. This is the place to indulge yourself with kindred spirits.
[Image, Notebookism.]
At Navy Pier in Chicago, there is a bronze statue of Oak Park native Bob Newhart. What is special is that he is holding a pencil:)
[Images, J.G. Used with my own not-so-kind permission.]
We have been remiss to not have mentioned our friend Armand’s divine source of all things paper, including Moleskine notebooks and Palomino pencils: Paperitif — Written and Stirred.
At Paperitif, you can find fantastic gift sets ranging from gardening to travel and fly-fishing:
Paperitif.com is a new company based in Lake Villa, Illinois, USA offering distinctive gift sets featuring the best materials for writers, graphic artists, journal keepers, musicians and other professionals and hobbyists. At Paperitif, we believe that its “always better on paper” and invite you to rediscover the joys of text; the handwritten kind, that is. Yes, we’ve got the materials! Just add personality.
Stop on over, and enjoy Armand’s wonderful photos and the opportunity to treat yourself or a lucky recipient to a beautiful gift.
[Images, A.F. Used with very kind permission.]
Dave sent us this post about his experience with Staedtler’s great customer service:
It’s fair to say that my emails to customer services at various pencil companies have produced a fairly consistent response. That is, deafening silence, no response whatsoever. But there is one exception to that rule, namely Staedtler. Both German HQ and their Australian subsidiary have promptly replied to my enquiries. Staedtler Australia even airmailed me their CD “Facts about Pencils” in response to a simple enquiry, and the covering note was personally signed by the CEO, so they obviously take customer relations very seriously.
It looks to me like their CD “Facts about Pencils” is aimed at children around the 8 to 10 year old age bracket. It opens with the question “Have you ever wondered where your pencil comes from?” accompanied by the raucous sounds of the Australian bush and a friendly cartoon kangaroo and koala bear. Then 5 short movies take you through the pencil manufacturing process:
Where Do Pencils Come From?
The ‘Unleaded Pencil’
Shaping the Pencil
Painting the Pencil
Labelling & Packaging the Pencil
There is also a “Student Workbook – Teachers Aid” section, and two bonus movies obviously from Staedtler Germany. One movie is about erasers, the other pencils - who would have guessed how erasers were so important in teenage love?
It was good to watch the movies to see all the automated machinery producing pencils by the zillion - pencil leads and erasers just being continuously squeezed out and chopped to length. I was particularly interested to see the painting process and how they get the pin-striping and other effects. The German movie mentions that Staedtler’s two manufacturing plants in Germany produce 1.7 million pencils per day.
Many thanks to Dave!
[Image, D.P. and Staedtler. Used with permission.]
Doug at the Grand Pooba of pencil sites, The Pencil Pages, posted a great story a few months ago retelling a tour he took of Sanford’s pencil factory in Lewisburg, Tennessee (United States), and I set it to post in the future, but after the Blogger-to-Wordpress switch, the post disappeared. Many apologies for the long delay, but Doug’s pages are well worth the wait.
Please check out the great photos and details of pencil manufacturing from Doug here.
[Photos, D.M. Used very extra kind permission.]
Don from Pencil Things sent us this great cartoon a few weeks ago. It’s a piece by Rube Goldberg, co-founder and president of the National Cartoonists Society and unquestionably one of the most famous cartoonists in history.
Read more about Rube here.
View the conceptual blueprints, so to speak, of this exquisite contraption (and how it works!) here.
[Image, Rube Goldberg.]
Professor Henry Petroski (pencil hero and pencil author) mailed us copy of a wonderful article he wrote for American Scientist for the March/April 2000 issue (Volume 88) entitled, “Why ‘The Pencil’?” in which he describes the onset of the pencil fascination that we all familiar with here at Pencil Revolution. While not available online, local and university libraries will likely have the archives of the journal, where Comrades can delight in this courageous piece. Subscribers of the publication can access the archives online, and both backissues and downloadable PDF versions can be purchased if the library comes up empty.
What’s more, Mad Tora sent us two links from The New York Times. The first is an article about Professor Petroski’s latest book, Success Through Failure: The Paradox of Design. The article describes the theme of the text, asserting with Professor Petroski that, “The analysis of engineering’s failures offers some good lessons.”
Read the article here.
And you can read the introduction to the book here.
Another, for the Sudoku fans in the Revolution, also from The New York Times. It seems that the explosion of popularity of the game has sent pencil sales in England skyrocketing 700 percent!
Read the article here.
And learn more about Sudoku here.
Finally, Comrade Steve alerted us about a nice piece our friends at Moleskinerie posted last week about the myth of Space Pens and the legend that the Russians used pencils instead. Read on!
Shane from Utah sent in some great photos of a very beautiful pencil extender:
Here is my favorite pencil extender. The main advantage to this extender is that it is hollow its entire length, unlike most extenders which have a solid handle attached to a clutch. Because of this extender’s design, you can also use it as a protector or holder for even a full-length pencil without adding any significant length to the protected pencil. I carry a fully protected pencil in my pocket and use it down to the nub.
I cannibalized the pocket clip from a Pentel mechanical pencil to trick out one of the extenders and help it ride my shirt pocket more safely. The clip also prevents rolling on the desk.
I bought these beauties at the Kinokuniya Japanese book store in San Francisco, and I’ve seen them at the Kinokuniya in Seattle. They were $4.15 for the pair. I have not been able to find how to order these online, but physical store locations are linked at http://www.kinokuniya.com/. Maybe PencilThings or another supplier can get a stock of these and make them accessible online to our comrades everywhere? Looks like the manufacturer is Kutsuwa.
Visit Shane’s new blog Scrawler Tap!
[Text and images, S.T. Used with kind permission.]
It’s the time of year when many of use are working in our gardens or, in my case, admiring others’ gardens. Did you know that our fearless wooden hero is a tool not only for science, writing and art, but also for gardening? Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul has written a wonderful page on what pencils can do for gardening.
Did you know that a No. 2 pencil can do extraordinary things, especially for gardeners who are looking for the right tool to do the right job? It’s true. Pick up a pencil and roll it in your fingers. Think potential here. Like paper clips, Q-Tips, and toothpicks, pencils have more than one life. And for gardeners, it’s a dream come true.
While pencils can’t pull weeds or help you lose weight, there are many ways they can make your life easier. This practical and fun tribute explains how a pencil is a gardener’s best friend.
Pencils help in handling seeds and transplanting seedlings, and they even work best for tagging plants, since graphite will not fade in the sun like even Sharpie ink does:
The next season, I went back to basics and used–you got it–a No. 2 pencil. I’m happy to report that every name survived the rain, sun and snow (I left some out over the winter). The best thing about labeling with a pencil is that you can change a name by simply erasing it. With permanent ink pens, you have to bring out the thinners and solvents. The pencil scores again.
Read the rest of this fantastic page here, and please don’t hesitate to share your own pencil gardening photos and stories.
[Images and text, M.O. Used with very very kind permission.]
Comrade Stephen has a nice post over at Paper and Pencil about some very beautifly Italian pencils made by Nava Design:
Sometimes writing instruments present us with choices between form and function: something that writes well, but doesn’t meet our aesthetic standards. I don’t think this is a major issue for pen users - high price points can be realized for fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint pens, which means that pen manufacturers are able to attract significant design resources and talent. But for the woodcase pencil, who apart from Faber-Castell seriously invests in design?
The answer is Nava. They are an Italian brand known for leather journals and briefcases. I recently discovered that they make pencils - and what pencils they are!
[Images and text, S.L. Used with kind permission.]
Spitzen oder nichtspitzen: das its hier die Frage.
“To sharpen, or not to sharpen: that is the question.”
(William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Act III, Scene i.)
I have never been able to adopt a clear principle of action regarding exactly when to sharpen my pencils. Do I sharpen when the sharpness of the point is gone? That seems a little extreme, since it would require that I constantly sharpen (or use sandpaper pads), given that most of what I use pencils for amounts to long stints of writing. Do I wear the lead down to the wood? This seems extreme at the other end, since I would wind up writing in large, Kindergarten letters half-way through what is thereby considered a point. While large letters are not undesirable per se, they don’t fit in my notebooks.
So it would seem that the proper time to sharpen my pencils would be somewhere in between. But where? I do turn the pencil so that I use the points that several flattened plains have made at their intersections (see figure). This enables me to keep the letters fine without resorting to the blade just yet. But at a certain point (!), I give up and cut the wood and graphite with a sharpener.
The thing is, I’m almost never consistent on where this is, on when I finally sharpen the pencil and decide how much graphite is going to get shredded without having fulfilled its purpose of making a mark.
It varies by how hard and how dark the pencil I am using is. Darker leads can be used while dull, since I can still read what I write with them. A lighter German pencil is something I really prefer to keep sharp. It varies by how expensive the pencil is and how precious it is to me (i.e., how many of them I have in my stash). Palominos and Castell 9000s get very close to the wood before I dare to sharpen them, but I don’t mind cutting up a Mirado that is only marginally dull.
What I’m writing on matters, too. I have found that thinner Moleskine paper likes a sharp point, while Rhodia pads and Moleskine sketch books don’t seem to mind a smoother and duller point. Working out logic problems on my bathroom mirror (how Goodwill Hunting is that?!) is futile with too sharp of a point on my china markers. Cheap notebook paper causes any non-sharp pencil to smear everywhere, if the lead is anything softer than an HB.
This is not to mention situational factors. Do I have a meeting to attend where I don’t feel like pulling out a sharpener, or can’t? If so, I will sharpen my pencil before I leave, no matter how much lead is left. Am I putting the pencil into my pocket? I will leave a little dullness. Is it going into the cup, and is it cedar? If so, I will leave it dull so that I can sharpen it and enjoy the aroma the next time I use it.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
How about you? When do you know that it’s time to sharpen your pencils?
[Images, J.G.]
While we are predominantly a peaceful Revolution, it does come to mind that defensive means of protecting our graphite and cedar might be desirable at some point. With this in mind, Olivia sent us this cool link to the instructions for making a blow gun using ferruled pencil erasers.
Please, however, heed the warning from Instructables:
This IS a weapon and it IS dangerous. The blowgun should never be pointed at another person, and be careful where you shoot it. I’ve had the darts ricochet back towards me several feet on occasion. Also, be careful of pricking your fingers, eyes, etc. while making the darts. Thanks.
Indeed, to quote Jean Shepherd, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Please be careful, and maintain such a piece of equipment only in the wake of Inkish Tyranny! But please please please don’t shoot anyone in the bum and tell them we said to it. Or any other part of their anatomy. Or at any animals.
[Image, Instructables.]
This is the first post about what we will call “Revolutionary Reading,” i.e., books that have some bearing on pencils and the Revolution. All Revolutions need their pamphlets, chapbooks and other volumes, even if such poetry or prose is not necessarily akin to some sort of doctrine.
It is only appropriate that the first such post be on Professor Henry Petroski’s The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance. This book is widely available in trade paperback, and the current edition is actually a very well-designed book itself, with a durable cover with very nice graphics. The height is actually longer relavtive to the width than more books, and this gives it a pleasing grip and span.
The Pencil is a book about engineering told through the sustained example of the pencil. What you get is the story of the pencil, from its origins in England in the sixteenth century to the pencil industry of the late twentieth century and everything in between. Professor Petroski covers graphite discoveries, the production of pencil “leads,” wood, erasers — and there is even an entire chapter devoted to my personal gadget, the pencil sharpener.
The text is extremely engaging, even though we non-engineers might be tempted to be wary of reading a book about engineering. In my own field (philosophy), I can certainly spot a boring book. But take my word for it: this is an exciting book for anyone who uses, likes or admires pencils. Far from being boring, it reads like an epic novel, with the protagonist and hero being the pencil, with other heroes that help the pencil along the way.
While it seems that pencils are simple objects at first glance, Professor Petroski shows that they are anything but simple, as he details the technological advances and engineering geniuses who have brought us our wooden warrior. Do you know why, for instance, Incense Cedar is the preferred wood for making quality pencils? Do you know what people used for erasers prior to rubber ones? Or just how long it took for sharpeners (as we know them) to appear on the scene? If you give The Pencil a good read, you will know all this and more.
Certainly, having some understanding of what forces, minds and inventions have brought us pencils affords us a much greater appreciation for the humble tool that many us take for granted. If you are intersted in learning more about our graphite champion and/or in reading an enlightening and entertaining book, then The Pencil is for you.
[Photos, J.G.]
Dennis wrote in recently with this question:
My problem is with sharpeners:
Tri-Conderoga pencils, KUM large sharpener:
When I try to sharpen the pencils, I get gouges, repeatedly broken leads, and spirals on the lead that’s left.
What is the magic?
To be sure, sharpening by blade requires a good bit of skill. But even without a straight blade, there is a certain trick or magic to getting a perfect point on pencils, with a manual or a crank sharpener. It is often the case when I am in a hurry to put a point on a pencil that I get the effect that the pencil would have if the lead were not centered, even on a pencil which is perfectly centered in the wooden case. For instance, using the same KUM Longpoint sharpener, I murdered the point on a Dixon but then got a perfect result the next time with the same sharpener.
So, Comrades:
What is the magic?
[Photo, J.G.]
This message is from Don at Pencil Things:
Support for the Pencil of the Month™ Club is strong. So, we’re going to do it!
We’ve ordered mailing supplies and penciled in a workable flowchart. Of course, we’re having a lot of fun obtaining and evaluating pencils, and that’s well under way. PencilThings.com will start taking subscriptions today, and send the initial packet out the first week of May.
KUM is wishing us well by generously contributing their new-for-2006 pearl-effect Ellipse Container Pencil Sharpener (magnesium inner sharpener) to go to the first 150 subscribers. That’s a very nice gesture of support, isn’t it?
We have a few good ideas, and you have many more. It’s your involvement which will really make this venture interesting. For example, there’s a direct link between the comment by “Bill” and KUM’s contribution of sharpeners.
Thank you to all who commented on Pencil Revolution and by private email. And to Pencil Revolution go kudos for giving us all a pencil forum, and to Woodchuck go special thanks for sharing generations of pencil experience.
Please send Pencil of the Month™ Club suggestions and comments to PencilClubATpencilthingsDOTcom.
Myriad thanks to Don for putting together what is certainly going to be an adventure of world-wide proportions! By the by, I have one of the ellipse sharpeners that KUM makes for Prismacolor, and they are really great sharpeners, even for jeans pockets.
One and all are invited to sign up officially for the most exclusive of pencil clubs here.
Don at Pencil Things has a great idea that he would love to get some feedback on. We’ll let Don explain it:
Isn’t it interesting to try out new pencils?! I actually most enjoy browsing for new brands, models, hardnesses, and colors at local stores, rather than online. You get to touch them and write with some of them. But I’ve exhausted the selection in Santa Fe. And I usually don’t want to risk buying a 6-pack online of the same pencil to try and/or pay the disproportionate shipping charge for a few pencils.
What about you? Do you think it would be fun to have a “Pencil of the Month” club? I’ve researched it, and it appears we at PencilThings.com can gather together enough pencil variations to have a monthly mailing for at least a year. We’d send out 3 to 4 high-quality different and interesting pencils each month — graphite and colored. About $24/year subscription should cover the cost of the pencils, protective envelopes, labels and postage.
What do you think of the idea?
If any Comrades have suggestions or would be interested, please leave a comment or two or three! Many thanks in advance! This is not necessarily a sign up list per se, but a way to get a good idea of the interest, since I imagine there will be considerable effort required for this project from Pencil Things.
UPDATE:
Comrades can sign up for the Pencil of the Month Club at Pencil Things (follow link).
This is a link that Nick from Blanketfort sent us months ago that I somehow lost and didn’t get posted: a cool website devoted to the art of pencil spinning!
“Fake Reverse 2 & 1/2: Twist the pencil by curling the index finger in while pushing with the thumb. Also use the middle finger to push and balance the pencil. Keep the index finger curled and tucked down out of the way so the pencil can pass over it. This trick is called the Fake Reverse, since the pencil rotates over, rather than around the thumb.”
Another one I lost is from Dave in New Zealand on pencil spinning: Pentricks.
“The articles section provide you with reading to improve your knowledge about Pen Spinning. It also helps answer commonly asked questions. In Pen Spinning, it’s not enough to just practice tricks day and night and hope you’ll get better. If you want to be a good pen spinner, it’s also necessary to understand the tricks you’re doing, as well as other principles that are applicable to Pen Spinning. This section will help you acquire this knowledge.”
Many thanks to Nick and Dave. Sorry I lost the links for so long; perhaps it was an unconscious effort on the part of my complete lack of the necessarily dexterity for adeptly twirling a pencil. If anyone has photos of pencil spinning, I promise not to lose them and to instead post them straight away if you send them in:)
We are not divisive enough here at Pencil Revolution to hate pens. Ink users will not be guillotined, French Revolution style. Rather than putting pencils over pens, I personally seek instead for the more realistic and peaceful telos of obtaining for pencils equal status with their inky counterparts. Along with my private stockpile of pencils (for when the Revolution really comes), I do have a lot of pens, with a particular affection for Fisher Space Pens.
This is a great photo by Jennifer Guillory of This Is Your Brain On Lithium (see photos here) that depicts graphite and ink in the same Moleskine notebook. A testiment of what is possible.
[Image J.Guillory. Used with permission.]
PencilThings.Com is a new online store that has just about anything pencil-related that one is likely to ever need. They are currently the only US dealer that sells the entire line of KUM sharpeners, from the elusive Long-Point sharpener to the wonderful wedge and blades for everything KUM.
Don Bell, the man behind Pencil Things, was gracious enough to answer some questions about himself, his new business and our favorite writing and drawing tool:
PR: Can you say a little about yourself?
DB: After college and Coast Guard service, I owned a Schwinn bicycle franchise for 5 years. During the subsequent 25, years my oil & gas company explored for and produced reserves in the US Southwest. During the height of the Internet boom, I started two high-tech firms. One failed, and the other continues to be my principle business. My wife and I are celebrating 38 years of marriage in April, and doting on our 8-month old grandson. We live and work in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
PR: What is it about pencils that you like so much?
DB: I’m rebelling! As a serial entrepreneur in high-tech industries, I’ve owned nearly every bleeding-edge electronic tool (and gadget) made. I still have a lot, and I use them daily. But most rankle me because of their complexity and multi-tasking capabilities. I like a tool whose use is obvious and focused. It’s OK if the results obtained from using the instrument are complex (e.g., books, drawings, calculations, etc.), but I want the tool to be simple-in-use. With a pencil I make a mark, I can erase it, and that’s about it! My left-brain requires excellent pencils, and my right-brain seeks elegant and varied pencils. They’re out there to be found and experienced, and that’s the fun of it.
PR: What made you want to become such a comprehensive source of pencil gear?
DB: A boutique store like ours prospers by being a place where one finds what one wants, and then browses around for other interesting items. I study Pencil Revolution’s “want list/wish list” comments and product evaluations. If somebody wants a pencil-related item, I search for a manufacturer already producing it. If successful, it’s reasonable to assume a market exists — greater in size than one person — because a company has invested its resources to manufacture and distribute the item. Well, your readers and other pencil-users express a wide variety of “wants and wishes” and that’s what drives us to become a “comprehensive source” of pencil things.
PR: What goodies have you in store for the world at Pencil Things?
DB: We’ll continue developing the KUM line of sharpeners, by importing many more items. Coming from KUM during the next several months are: a 2-hole magnesium wedge sharpener for left handed users; single and 2-hole magnesium sharpeners with black soft grip pads on the sides; palm-grip sharpeners especially designed for those who have difficulty gripping a sharpener with their fingers; a 2-hole KUM 9-volt battery-powered sharpener; and a pencil box set containing a sharpener, eraser, metric ruler, pencil grip and pencil.
We will begin small-quantity custom personalization of California Republic pencils in April. Artist Ian Nicholas’ hand painted and decorated pencil boxes should come in April, too.
Meanwhile, we’re posting on our home page new items on order and their estimated dates of arrival.
Many thanks to Don for his gigantic contribution to the world of pencils and for his time in answering my questions! If there’s something you’ve been looking for unsuccessfully, chances are that it’s either already stocked or on the way from Pencil Things! By the way, my ordering experience with Pencil Things was very very pleasant: I ordered very late at night, had my order shipped the next day, and it arrived quickly and packed very nicely. A treat!
Our Comrade at Ninth Wave Designs writes about her quest for the perfect pencil, a hybrid of several great pencils around presently:
“I have been piecing together the perfect pencil in my mind lately, exhuming the parts from the assortment of good pencils I regularly use to create the ultimate writing tool. In order to create the perfect all-around pencil I first need to harvest a few parts. My goal here is a pencil that would be highly functional for day-to-day use, comfortable for writing for longer periods of time, and not too specialized (i.e., it doesn’t also have to be the best sketching pencil)…
….I don’t expect I will ever find a pencil that possesses all the qualities I have stitched together here, but it is fun to dream of the perfect pencil. In reality what is perfect would vary from person to person and job to job, so it would be impossible to accomplish this for everyone. Until my Frankenpencil is given life by a pencil manufacturer (It’s alive, it’s aliiiiiive!), I will just have to be happy with the variety of pencils I have on hand.”
Read the rest of the post here.
[Images and text, N.W.D. Used with kind permission.]
