Greetings from the Offices of Pencil Revolution, after a year and a half’s time. Apologies that comments have not been moderated since the summer of 2006. There are still several thousand of combined spam and comments to be trudged through, one of these days. There was a lot of dust when we checked in — and many comments that lead us to suspect that there are some things that need to be clarified.

We never sold anything or made pencils. We certainly wish we could take credit for crafting things like Palominos, Forest Choice and Dixons. There were a lot of requests for information about California Republic (Palomino) products and many nice comments about the same. We would direct you to Woodchuck for all praises , which he deserves for making such a wonderful pencil, and also for questions, which he will be able to answer.

We never took money from anyone and never made any money on the site. Pencils sales and shops probably spiked a bit (who knows?) as a result of the Revolution, but we never accepted money for this. No one was paid for reviews. If we were, comments about these reviews which might have been negative would never have been allowed, which they were.

Anyway, the contact link was taken down because, frankly, I could not keep up with writing back to folks, answering questions, researching problems, etc. It became a full-time job, which I could not handle with a cross-country move and a doctoral dissertation to write beginning in 2006. I am very sorry to lessen contributions from talented people, but the multiple hours a day that running this site required just became impossible to maintain as something fun on the side.

If you enjoyed the photography (etc.) on the site, you can find more at Pragmatik.

If you are still seeking new pencil adventures, Notebookism does, from time to time, post pencil related articles and always has something interesting to read.

We will continue to host the site for the foreseeable future. However, it would be cruel to suggest that normal posting will resume any time soon. Perhaps one day…

Yours in the spirit of Revolution,

Your Editor.

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.]

One of the implicit goals of Pencil Revolution was to change the way that people think about pencils and to win the humble pencil back its place with gel pens, fountain pens and computers. This goal became explicit over time, and was coupled with the project of creating enough buzz that pencil manufacturers would take notice and [re]introduce quality pencils like the old days.

We think it might be boasting a bit — but might also still be true, nonetheless — to claim that we have had some success. But perhaps the popularity of pencils like the Palomino that you heard about here first and the increasing availablity of gear like KUM sharpeners and Don’s Pencil Things attest to a least a moderate degree of change in people’s perception of the pencil.

But, someone asked, “Is the Revolution over?”

Is a revolution over when it has achieved its goals? Maybe it shouldn’t be, since there is always more to accomplish and always accomplishments to defend. But posting will nonetheless lose much of its frequency (as it has this summer), due to a major [physical] relocation of our editor and some other reasons. But we’re still here.

Infinite thanks to all Comrades who keep the fighting the good fight, in the studios, coffeeshops, pencil-blogs and trenches. Pencil Revolution never would have lasted this long without you.

Jeremy from Loud Style has caught the pencil blog even more than the last time we checked in.

My little collection has grown quite a bit in the past six months. Since my last blog post about pencils is the most visited page on this site (after the homepage of course), I decided to write about them again.

My favorite pencils are often the natural, unpainted variety of incense cedar pencils. A nice coat of varnish is fine — completely bare is even better. The details and my opinions of the pencils pictured are below.

Read on about natural pencils such as the Blackfeet Indian, Musgrave, Forest Choice, Mongol and more!

Once again, comments will go unmoderated, and email will be on hold until I return home late Tuesday night from my trip. Apologies for tardiness (again).

[Image and text, L.S. Used with permission.]

From Comrade Ashley:

Here attached are some photos of a new use for short, stubby pencils. Office Depot sells thin, plastic Mead brand index card cases. They hold 50 cards. I’ve discovered that they can also hold a small pencil — the ones I don’t use because they’ve gotten too short, but are still functional. Moreover, a few index cards can be secured to the outside of the case with a rubber band, a la expensive Levenger index card holders!

Vive la Revolucion!

Many thanks to Ashley, a truly dedicated Revolutionary:)

[Text and image, A.M.  Used with 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.]

We are happy to be able to post some work from artist Graham McArthur from Australia, along with an essay on pencils:

For as long as I can remember I have loved to write and draw and for as long as I can remeber the pencil has always remained my first choice for both writing and drawing.

There is nothing like a good pencil, and I can’t think of a more versatile, immediate or interesting medium. Being so universally familar and easy to use makes the pencil the most immediately accesible tool for most people. Used mainly as a linear writing or drawing instrument, the graphite pencil is very much at ease creating tone and textural effects as well as implied colour. It is these properties in particular that interest me the most. The availability and range of pencils seen today makes the medium more attractive than ever before providing unlimited potential for an open mind and inventive imagination.There is great joy to be had in spending endles hours gently persuading the pencil to leave its silky grey tones on delicious paper. The implied colour of graphite can be enhanced with a restrained use of a single coloured pencil creating a sense of mystery and inviting the imagination of the viewer to create more implied colours in the mind’s eye.

As a semi-retired illustrator my work these days is just for fun and self indulgence. I no longer try to please the client or the unknown viewer. I still like to paint and to experiment with a variety of media. However, without the restraints placed on me by the brief, I find that I am being drawn more and more to the simple but incredibly and wonderfully expressive nature of the most versitile medium of them all. Long live the pencil.

Many thanks to Graham, whose blog — featuring lots of great artwork — you can check out at Eidolon.

[Image and text, G.M. Used with kind permission.]

We received this message, which we quote here with permission:

I’m an executive producer and run a London based production company called Academy Films.

I am presently in Toronto about to shoot a Nokia TV commercial w/c 29th May.  We need a pen spinner to spin a Nokia mobile phone in the advert, and I have found you on the internet.  Do you think you might be interested?  The shoot takes place in Toronto and the pen spinner would be required from around the 29th May to the 2nd June.  We would pay for return business class flights to Toronto, accommodation and some spending money.  We would also pay a fee for appearing in the commercial.

Please let me know if you are interested or might know of others that might be.

Thank you very much.

Kind regards,

Sally Campbell

You can reach Ms. Campbell by email (don’t forget to change the symbols): sally.campbellATacademyfilmsDOTcom.

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.]

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.]

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!

[Images, NYT and Wikipedia.]

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.]

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.]

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!

Read on.

[Images and text, S.L. Used with kind permission.]

I am catching the night train to Memphis, Tennessee, so the Offices of the Revolution will be closed until Monday. Please forgive any delayed returning of dispatches and some comments that might not get published until after the weekend.

We’ll be back this coming week with a short interview from Pencil Hero Henry Petroski and other goodies.

Have a great weekend.

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.

Read on.

[Image and text, T.R. Used with very kind permission.]

Happy Easter to all Comrades and other Sentient Entities of the Revolution!

While not necessarily Easter in theme, the work of artist Juel Grant takes the form of drawing in pencil on eggshell; and we usually associate decorating eggs with the Easter holiday — at least where I’m from. Please check out Juel’s spectacular and revolutionary artwork — and very nicely designed website.

My greatest sense of purpose and fullfillment is realized when engaged in the meditative conversation of drawing.

I draw with pencil on eggshell. Of the many surfaces with which I’ve experimented, nothing awakens and stirs the senses as this one does. It has never ceased to challenge and inspire the best of my abilities. The shape; timeless, transcendent, continuious,… the embodiment of life.

As I draw the surface expands, grows more vast. I hold in my hand a globe who’s landscape I roam in solitary bliss. I love that place, what it asks of me, what I become in it’s presence.

Here is the page featureing drawings on eggshell.

Thanks to Carol for the link!

[Images and text, J. Grant. Used with very kind permission.]

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.]