Pencils! Pick Five.

First of all, thank you to everyone who has participated so far in my giveaway here.  I'd like to remind all readers that a winner will not be chosen until Tuesday, so you have until 11:59 p.m. on Monday to enter. 

Second, for some reason pencils have been calling my name this past week or so.  I've still been using my fountain pens for certain things, but the giant cup of pencils that sits crammed-full on my desk has been bothering me for a while, urging me to sharpen them up and use them.  So I have.  I'm not a pencil purist, meaning that I don't use them exclusively by any means, but I do love me some graphite. 

My pen and pencil cup runneth over.

Here are five of my current favorites:

  1. Palomino "Classic" Eraser-tipped HB.  If I was stranded on a desert island and could have one writing implement, I would choose this pencil.  To me, it has the perfect combination of smoothness, darkness, and point retention.  If I had one criticism, it's that the ferrule and eraser tend to loosen up, and eventually fall off, as the pencil is used, but that could just be a bad batch.  Oh, and the cedar smells great when you sharpen this pencil.  Theoretically, I know there's not much difference between this and Palomino's Blackwing 602, but I just like this pencil.  A lot.  (As of October 1, 2016, It looks like the Palomino HB is out of stock. I've been unable to find a source of them anywhere. Hopefully they aren't being discontinued.)

  2. Palomino Blackwing 602.  A close second.  The point retention in this pencil is second to none, but I sometimes wish it was just a hair darker (but not as dark/soft as the original Palomino Blackwing or the Blackwing Pearl).  The gunmetal finish on this pencil is gorgeous. 

  3. Dixon Ticonderoga #2 HB (Chinese Version).  (Formerly) an American classic.  This is still a decent quality pencil, the lead is smooth and very dark, and you can't beat the price.  I docked this pencil some points because the QC is not what it used to be.  Several of the pencils in the 30 pack I purchased were warped.  Not to the point of being unusable, but still...when I spend $4.00 on a pack of 30, I want my money's worth.  Oh, wait.  In terms of smoothness and darkness, you can't really beat the combination of price and easy availability. (Don't order these online - Go to your nearest big-box store and pick up a pack that says "Made in China." The "Made in Mexico" versions aren't as good.)

  4. Faber Castell American.  There are better pencils, but I love these because they were, to me, the classic yellow #2 that I used growing up.  I bought a half gross on Ebay for next to nothing, so I can use them freely.  These pencils aren't as dark as any of those listed above, which doesn't put them at the top of my list, but they are dark enough and the point retention is excellent.  They write more like a modern German HB pencil.  They are also made of real cedar and the lacquer and ferrule have a quality you don't see much anymore in a budget pencil, other than Musgrave.

  5. Field Notes Pencil.  A great pencil in concept, but I've had some performance issues with the graphite core breaking as the pencil get's shorter.  If you don't use a long-point sharpener, the problem isn't as pronounced, but what's the fun in that?  Otherwise, the unfinished raw cedar smells amazing, the graphite is acceptably smooth and dark, and the green eraser is offbeat enough to be interesting and works well.  I really want to like this pencil, but I'm going to use a few more before I make a bigger purchase.

From left:  Field Notes Pencil, Palomino Blackwing 602 (with replacement pink eraser), Classic Palomino HB, Dixon Ticonderoga, vintage Faber Castell American.

This is a pretty accurate depiction of the darkness of the lead.  In terms of darkness alone, I would rank them:  (1) Chinese Ticonderoga; (2) Palomino Blackwing 602; (3) Palomino HB; (4) Field Notes; (5) Faber Castell American.  In terms of smoothness, the rankings would be similar, thought the Palomino pencils would both trump the Chinese Ticonderoga, with the Blackwing 602 taking the prize.

By far, these are not the only pencils I use, simply those that I have been using recently.  I'll be trying to get more woodcase pencil reviews up, since I know there's demand out there for more pencil-related content.

Pencil Week: Musgrave Pencils

One of the last remaining pencil companies that manufactures in the United States is the Musgrave Pencil Company, which resides just twenty-five miles or so down the road from me in Shelbyville, Tennessee, the “Pencil City.”  Musgrave advertises itself as having been “Manufacturing Since 1916,” which also seems to be when they developed their website, www.pencils.net, often described as “adorably outdated.”  (UPDATE 9/13/18: Musgrave reached out and recently informed me that they have launched a new website! This one looks sharp!)

I purchased my Musgraves from Pencils, Etc., an Amazon seller located in the Shelbyville area that I assume to be Musgrave or someone affiliated with them.  I’ve never seen either of these pencils for sale anywhere else.  Pencils, Etc. sells their goods for $16 / 3 dozen, which is a respectable price, and comparable to General’s Semi-Hex pencils purchased directly from the manufacturer.  I bought two lots:  Musgrave’s “909 Ceres #2”, and some plain, unmarked black round #2 pencils.  The pencils came packaged in plastic bags, in typical “bulk lot” fashion.  I eagerly tore them open and sharpened up a few.  They sharpened well, for non-cedar pencils (probably basswood), and both are well worth the money I spent on them.  They both have the same pink eraser that works well, and that I would compare to a Pink Pearl.

Top: The Musgrave Ceres 909, their standard #2 pencil, proudly marked as made in "Pencil City," USA.

Bottom: Basic Black #2 pencil.

Nothing fancy about this packaging, but it gets the job done.

The 909 Ceres:

The 909 Ceres appears to be Musgrave’s basic yellow #2 pencil, and if that’s what you’re looking for it’s an excellent option.  The core is quality, and sharpens to a nice point.  I would compare this pencil to the new, Musgrave-manufactured Palomino Golden Bears.  The pencils have the same sharp ridges as the new Golden Bears, and are not rounded for comfort as are most modern hexagonal pencils.  Some people don’t mind this, but I’ve found that it makes it difficult for me to write with these pencils for long periods of time. 

Point retention on the Ceres is excellent.  The lead is dark, but as I’ll note below, I prefer the softer, even darker lead of the unmarked rounded pencil.

909 Ceres writing sample on Clairefontaine Seyes-ruled paper.

The “Basic Black” Rounded Pencil

For lack of a better term, I’ll dub these pencils the “Basic Black” model.  When I purchased these a month or so ago, Pencils, Etc. offered these in multiple colors (and you can probably find an even broader selection if you reached out to Musgrave directly).  I’m a sucker for round pencils, and always have been.  I find them far more comfortable than their hexagonal brethren, even if you have to worry about them rolling off the desk.  What really kills it for me, though, is the core.  It’s labeled as a #2 pencil, but it’s ever-so slightly softer and darker than the Ceres, while maintaining most of the point-retention properties. 

As you can see here, the core of the Basic Black Musgrave pencil (bottom) is just a hair darker than the 909 Ceres, and it's also smoother.

Basic Black Musgrave writing sample.

The comfort combined with the dark core makes this pencil a nearly perfect daily writer for me.  In the first picture, you can see the difference between the Ceres (shown up top), and the Basic Black.  Sorry Ceres, but I’ve found myself reaching for the Basic Black whenever I need to do more writing than jotting a few quick notes.  I’m glad I have three dozen!  Once Musgrave gets their store up and running, I’ll consider buying more and maintaining a stash of these.