By my alter-ego, who is a [semi-] normal person who does more than just admire pencils.
Drawn on a pizza box with a Faber-Castell GRIP 2001 (HB) in the dark while watching “Globe Trekker.” I swear I can usually write/draw at least a little better. But damn it, drawings on pizza boxes are funny, and I had to share.
See a larger image and complete story here.
[Image, J.G. Used with my own permission.]
We are very happy to feature some wonderful work from artist Michael McClure, but I will let him speak for himself:
I think it’s just amazing what you can create with pencil. I’ve always loved the medium. Pencils are like a trusted friend that will never let you down. You don’t need a power source of any kind (other than your hand I suppose) and they work in any temperature. There’s just something very raw and ‘right brained’ about them and I can’t quite put my finger on it. My most recent project is much the same as I’ve done in the past but this time I’m using just a hint of coloured pencil when the work is complete. I only wish I had more time to explore the medium further - maybe something for retirement.
The image of the Derwent collection shows the pencils I used to create the artwork on my site. All the artwork I’ve done have been done with this same set of pencils - and look how little used they appear. Just imagine how many future works of art might be contained in these pencils. Sometimes I can hear them calling me from the art shelf - pencils by nature have something to say.
You can check out more great work at Michael’s website, with the pencil work located here.
[Text and images, M.M. Used with very kind permission.]
Professor Henry Petroski is the author of the monumental The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance and Vesic Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University. He was kind enough to submit to a short email interview about pencils, which we post here for the benefit of all Comrades the world over:
PR: Do you use pencils frequently? If so, what do you usually use them for?
HP: I use pencils all the time. I do not feel full dressed if I do not have a pencil in my pocket. I use pencils for writing notes and reminders to myself, for underlining and making annotations in books, for editing manuscripts, and for virtually all writing that does not explicitly require a pen.
PR: What is your favorite pencil, or some of your favorite models, types or manufacturers?
HP: The pencil I carry with me is a Pentel, Model P205, using 0.5 mm lead. This mechanical pencil has a well-balanced feel, not unlike that of a good-size wood-cased pencil. Because it does not have to be sharpened and carries a good supply of lead in its barrel, I am always ready to write, no matter where I find myself. I like the thinness of the lead and the fact that I do not need a sharpener. When working at my desk, I usually have a variety of soft-lead wood-cased pencils handy. I have no particular favorite—any quality pencil will do. But I do not like to write with inferior pencils—those with scratchy lead or poor quality finishes.
PR: Given its rich history – of which you are certainly the expert – what do you think the future of the pencil will be?
HP: The future of the pencil will be much like its past. It will remain a basic writing implement. I am always encouraged when I check into a nice hotel and find a high-quality pencil rather than a cheap ball-point pen placed beside a notepad. I have also attended many meetings where pencils rather than pens have been provided.
PR: Do you have any words of wisdom for budding pencil enthusiasts?
HP: Look carefully at the pencils you encounter. The best made ones are examples of quality manufacturing that approaches fine craftsmanship. Just because something is mass produced does not mean that it does not have high aesthetic values.
Many thanks go out to Professor Petroski, and we renew the urge for anyone who loves the pencil to check out his very fine volume on our favorite implement of expression.
Best-selling author Trevor Romain writes about what the world would be like if children did not use pencils in school on his blog:
I read yesterday that some schools are going to stop teaching cursive writing and instead kids will be taught how to write using a computer keyboard.
I am truly saddened.
I am saddened because this action is certain to spell the death of the #2 pencil.
The loss of the good old #2 will be tragic.
I mean, let’s face it, that ageless yellow friend with the useless pink eraser on the top is the one common thread that ties the world of creative expression together….
The #2 is amazing. It does not have an instruction manual. It doesn’t need a warranty. It can draw in any language. It can be chewed and stomped and it will still work. It doesn’t need a battery. It floats. And it works just fine after getting wet.
Without the #2 how can children send quickly scribbled notes to each other in the classroom? They would be reduced to sending instant text messages that can never be kept in a scrapbook.
[Image and text, T.R. Used with very 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.]
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.]
Woodchuck recently wrote about pencil certification on Timberlines, and it would be very good to get some feedback on that post on the topic of pencil certification:
Later this week I’m attending the Annual Meeting of the U.S. Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA). Participants include finished product manufacturers and marketers with operations in the US as well as component suppliers. I used to look forward to this event each year as an important chance to get together with key customers, other businesses and friends in the pencil and writing instrument industry. Coming from a family business background I can remember attending one of the former Pencil Makers Association meetings with my parents when I was still in High School and later after college before I had joined the family business…
….In the meantime I remain interested in consumer feedback on this particular issue. Do you place any more value on such third party certification programs, industry sponsored or not? Do you view a PMA, EN71 (European standard) or ACMI certified product as safer than one without one of these certifications? Does it bear any relevance in your purchase decision at all?”
Please check out the rest of Woodchuck’s post, and please leave a comment or two there about what pencil certification means to you: “Do Industry Associations Matter Anymore?”
This is probably running the risk of excessive auto-promotion, but….well….so be it.
Pencil Revolution creator/editor John will be on CBC* Radio’s “Freestyle” this Monday (tomorrow) for a very short interview about pencils and the Revolution. Comrades outside of Canada can listen online during the program, which airs from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (-5 hours GMT). Comrades outside of Canada can still tune in online here. I believe the show is on Radio One.
[*Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, for non Canucks:^)]
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.]
(Part ii of the work of artist David Powers.)
[Images, D.P. — All rights reserved. Used here with kind permission.]
Sharpening a pencil can be the best or the worst part of pencilship, depending largely on one’s preferred method of pointing the pencil. Raven writes in about sharpening by straight blade:
“In the midst of this long discussion of pencil sharpeners, let us not forget the humble pocket knife. I was taught to sharpen pencils with a knife as a small girl, and I’ve never looked back. True, you have to keep the knife sharp, and figure out what to do with the shavings, and make other arrangements when you fly — but look at the advantages: 1. You probably already have one, or can pick one up from your local hardware store. No hunting around on the net for the perfect instrument or the perfect supplier. 2. Some manual skill is required, but the skill is easily learned. 3. It’s completely silent. 4. It impresses the heck out of people when you quietly and in an off-hand manner begin sharpening your pencil with a knife. I have not explored the potential for deflecting a boring or toxic conversation, but give me time….”
Is anyone else a fan of the blade?
[Image, J.G.]
A recent article on Parent Center is about how to raise a child who loves to write. Of course, pencils are featured:
Experiment with writing tools
Let her try all different types of writing implements — crayons, chalk, pens, pencils, paints. Keep in mind that she may have an easier time using “fat” crayons or pens than skinny pencils. Even dough and modeling clay are writing tools — you can roll them out and form rope letters (this helps develop her motor skills as well). Keep these supplies in a drawer she can reach easily.Experiment with surfaces
For starters, white paper is a must. Big pads of newsprint are inexpensive, and children love having a big surface to fill in. But don’t forget about chalkboards, sidewalks, and dry erase boards. If you’re concerned about the mess, set up a kid-size table outside or in a section of your kitchen or playroom where the splatter won’t matter. And buy water-soluble markers and erasable pens for easy cleanup.
This bears reposting, since we such a young site, with so few readers when we posted it as our second post. And we could all use some peace after the holidays — and especially after the Stabby pencil holder from a few days ago;)
At iSerenity. Sounds and images to bring that pencilicious peaceful state of mind that we all seek.
Thanks to Michael for the link!
[Image, iSerenity.]
Our friend Woodchuck writes about wonderful things in store for us in 2006:
“On the underground communications front I have just published today my new Pencil World Squidoo lens. This new site highlights some of my more industry focused Timberlines posts along with some key reviews and posts I like best from Pencil Revolution. Also the lens features additional resources on using pencils creatively in a bit different way than simple links from Timbelines blog. So in effect it’s a good place for a quick and easier look at a lot of key Revolutionary activities and resources and can serve as a companion site to the Pencil World Creativity Store.
Finally and most importantly for you Palomino riders I will very soon be adding the option to pick and choose the graphite grades, colors and aquarelle color pencils you want most in your own configurable packs on Pencil World. Some courageous comrades even received a sample pack as part of a Christmas thank you mailer. Rumor has it that KUM pencil sharpeners may be part of some upcoming promotions and a special new alliance is in the works to expand new points of distribution for various parts of the California Republic line to supplement what’s available through the Pencil World store.”
Check out the rest of the post here.
[Text, Timberlines. Image, J.G.]
Our Comrade Loudstyle writes about his new-found love for pencils:
“I have always used pencils (who hasn’t?) but the reviews on Pencil Revolution alerted me to their finer details. I realized I had a couple decent pencils around the house and I tried out some others to see what all the fuss was about. I soon became pretty well addicted…
….Keith Haring Doubles from Acme Writing Tools. I received a nice metal tin containing a dozen of these fine pencils for Christmas several years ago. They feature the colorful and energetic artwork of Keith Haring. For the longest time I shied away from using them often because they looked too nice to sharpen away. I finally got over that silliness and now use them regularly.”
Read about the rest of some favorite pencils at Loudstyle.
[Image and text, Loudstyle. Used with kind permission.]
Happy Holidays to all of our Comrades and People of the Revolution! Thanks for reading and participating and making this blog all it is!
A good friend and colleague of mine gave me permission to quote from an email she sent me about pencils, Thoreau and a Mars Lumograph 100 that I left in her mailbox. I’ve been thinking about environmental issues and how they relate to throw-away (non-refillable) pens, etc. And the issue of quality versus value pencils comes up often in our little community, so I thought I’d post this:
“I know I’ve teased you about the extent of your fascination with pencils, but I understand where it comes from. These are the tools of our trade, if we’re doing philosophy correctly. We might need the laptops to do academic philosophy, but to really think and explore the meaning of life, we need quiet time to ourselves, away from the hum of electronics; time alone in nature, with a means of recording our thoughts as they come to us. Most pens are disposable, and their use reflects our attitudes toward the environment, others, and ourselves. Pencils are finicky, and they need care. If we don’t sharpen them, they won’t write, and if we don’t use caution, they will break. Using pencils — in a strange way — cultivates stewardship.
Also, it’s encouraged me to take note of the quality of the things that I usually take for granted. There is a demonstrable difference, and we should aim for quality. And all too often, the quality gets disregarded, especially as we search for good deals. I’ve almost gotten to the point of doing searches for quality chalk for my classes, since there are some years that the school’s chalk simply doesn’t work. What’s kept me in check is the fact that I know I’m nowhere near organized enough to keep it on me. I’d have a crate of the good stuff in my office and nothing on me when I got to class.
And I get the same looks from my family that you’ve gotten over the pencils. When my aunt and I get to talking about spices and various brands of olive oil, it’s as if we’re speaking Outer Mongolian. One of my uncle’s called me a pseudo-intellectual snob because I knew what Earl Grey tasted like.”
[Text, Tanya J., used with permission. Image, J.G.]
We do not make a habit of politically-charged posts, but we certainly will not shy away when politics involved pencils and pencil gear:
“A student at Waterloo Primary School in Ashton under Lyne dismantled a pencil sharpener and used the blade as a weapon, slashing another student across the neck. The school’s response? Nothing short of unbelievable.
The attacker was suspended for two days and is now back in school.
Police, who were notified two days later, have spoken to the young attacker and his parents.
Headteacher David Willis has now banned all pencil sharpeners.
They have banned pencil sharpeners. Banned pencil sharpeners. One more time - they banned pencil sharpeners.
The problem here was not the pencil sharpener. It was the wannabe Jack the Ripper who manipulated an ordinary tool to craft a weapon. Would the absence of a pencil sharpener have prevented this kid from his meticulously planned assault? Do they think that a kid who figures out how to use a pencil sharpener as a weapon will have any difficulty in using another tool in a similar fashion?”
Read the rest of the article here.
[Image, J.G.]
For a long time I lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in Central California. It’s damp up there, cold, and gray most of the year. My house was heated by a environmentally-correct woodstove. In the mountains, because of the weather, after a while, you get a little book-ish. Down the highway about 10 miles or so, in the city of Santa Cruz, well, there was an art supply store called Palace Arts. This store carried Blackfeet Indian Pencils. Now I grant you that I have always been a pencil freak. It’s just now, with your wonderful site, I can come out of the closet about it. I have always loved pencils. Some of my favorites have been, over time, the Venus Goddess, the old yellow Mongol #1, Black Warrior #1, and the Tombow Mono B. The Blackwing, of course, cannot be mentioned in the same sentence with any other pencil. It is the high chieftain of all pencils. Somewhere, however, between the Blackwing and the Tombow Mono B, there is a place for the Blackfeet Indian #2. A person who understood me really well once gave me a gross of Mongol #1 pencils for Christmas one year. I was happy for months.
The Blackfeet Indian is almost impossible to buy now, but I remember a time when I could go to Palace Arts in Santa Cruz and buy them by the dozen. They are beautiful: simple hardwood, lots of grain, very simply varnished. The eraser worked like a Pink Pearl, and although you could get them with a gold ferrule, my favorite version is the one with the black ferrule. It looked so minimally beautiful, matching the simple black print on the pencil body. The gold ferrule, to my eye, was a little too flashy, a little too Hollywood. I loved the black. The lead was magnificent. It was never gritty. The line was an impressive black. It did not smear. It held a point pretty well, and what’s even more impressive, I never had a Blackfeet Indian pencil turn into one of those nightmare pencils that break when you sharpen them, and the lead never fell out of the wood after sharpening, either. The lead in these pencils also would last. I bear down when I write and I can use up a Faber Castell Grip 2001 in a couple days. Not so with the Blackfeet Indian pencil. The weight of this pencil was also wonderful, not too heavy, not too light. Some newer pencils, well it feels like the wood is really dried out to the point of where the pencil lends no weight to the writing job. You have to bear down to get a line, some. The Blackfeet, well, it is equal to the task of writing.
I am an internet ranter. When it became clear to me that it was going to be hard to get more Blackfeet pencils through stores, I began to beg them from my pals on the net. A dear friend in Minnesota found that she had a whole box of them, and she sent them to me. She doesn’t use pencils. I have given single pencils from my stash as special gifts to dear friends. Some of them upon receiving these pencils, look at me a little strangely. But I always smile at them and say: there is a poem, or a story, or a drawing, in that pencil, waiting to come out for you. Then the odd look melts into a grin, usually. I only have about a half dozen of these pencils left. I have been looking for suitable substitutes. Consequently I have an embarrassing number of pencils in my house, of which only the General Cedar #2 and the Pacific Music Papers “Magic Writer” come anywhere near the Blackfeet Indian Pencil. The General #2 is a little gritty for my taste, although the aesthetics of the pencil itself are magnificent. The “Magic Writer” has a good lead, except it wears down too fast. Ideally, my pencil would LOOK like the General Cedar, and behave like the Tombow Mono B or 2B. Right now I am writing with a Staedtler 4B lead in a red Koh-i-Noor Lead holder. It’s a little thick for me, but at least the line is black. I bought some TriConderoga pencils, and while I like those, I am not in love.
Based on what I read on your site, I bought some Palominos and some Forest Choice. I am hoping that one of these will be my new Blackfeet Indian Pencil.
What I want to know is this: why is it that when people make something that actually works, like the Blackwing and the Blackfeet pencil, that automatically it just goes away? For example: for a while, I could get the Noris ErgoSoft HB at Office Depot. Now this pencil is both elegant and functional. It doesn’t sharpen away into a nub in two days. The pencil is also beautiful to behold – it has a real Art Deco paint job. Everything works on this pencil, and it’s 3 bucks a half dozen — Okay, so a little expensive. But Office Depot won’t carry this pencil anymore. Nope. You want to buy a pencil at Office Depot you have to settle for a school pencil. Now I’m not in love with the Dixon Ticonderoga #2, but I love the #1. I’m willing to deal with the yellow paint for the sake of the lead. Can you find a #1 at Office Depot or Staples? No. At Office Depot or Staples, I can buy all the cheap Pentech atrocities I want. But no Noris, No Ticonderoga #1. For Dixon #1, I have to go to a store across town. For Noris Ergosoft, I have to buy online – General Cedar and Black Warrior #1 I can only get on line, too. To get Mitsubishi or Tombow pencils (and Japanese woodcase pencils are EXCELLENT) I have to drive downtown to Kinokuniya bookstore in Los Angeles. I can get the Faber-Castell GRIP 2001 in stores, but not the excellent Faber-Castell 9000 (and it is, to my way of thinking, a much better pencil).
Sometimes all of this drives me to use a Pentel .9 mechanical pencil, but that does not make my soul happy. I write for a living. I want REAL pencils.
Thank you, I feel better now.
(Many thanks to Humdog for a great contribution!)
[Text, Humdog, used with very kind permission. Image, J.G.]
