If you, like me, have a whole mess of mismatched B-grade pencils, this tutorial will show you step-by-step, how to cover them up to create a matching set of pencils. Perfect for the jar on your desk or in your kitchen.
Link Love: Pencil Week
In honor of my self-appointed Pencil Week, this week’s Link Love is all pencil related.
- Gepetto Pencil Sharpener (via Dave’s Mechanical Pencils)
- Pencil Case (okay, you could pens in it too) (via Rhodia Drive)
- Pencil Photography by Lisa Cargile (via Pencil Revolution)
- I Steal Pencils from Ikea Flickr Group (via Pencil Revolution)
Favorite Pencil Blogs:
- Blackwing Pages
- Dave’s Mechanical Pencils
- Fred’s Pencils
- Leadholder
- Leadhead Pencils
- Pencil Revolution
- Pencil Talk
- Timberlines
- Woodclinched
The Royal We “These Machines Kill Fascists” Pencil Roll
Inside this natural canvas roll is a message to political action or social change.
Unroll it and it reveals a hand silkscreen printed message “These Machines Kill Fascists” and ten brand new pencils emblazoned with their own individual message in black foil on a classic yellow-orange pencil: “This machine kills Fascists”. Curious where the expression originated? Its a nod to Woody Guthrie who scrawled the expression on his guitar.
This set is currently on sale through The Royal We for $11 for the whole set. Clearly, the pencil is a little bit more mightier than the pen.
Lefty Sharpener
I grew up using right-handed sharpeners because I didn’t know there were any other kind. I got used to holding a pencil in my left hand, sharpener in my right and twisting the pencil away from me. A left-handed sharpener allows me to sharpen towards myself. I never seemed to get a consistent point twisting away so I was hoping that the Lefty sharpeners would give me a proper angle to sharpen my pencils without too much wood left on one side or the other.
I received a new Lefty 2-hole magnesium-alloy pencil sharpener for Christmas. I already owned the larger Lefty sharpener with shavings holder but I was wanting something smaller and more portable. This smaller sharpener has no container to trap shavings but does include extra blades under the red plastic cover and openings to sharpen standard pencils as well as larger jumbo or art pencils. It sharpens with a nice even point though a little shorter than what I would prefer. I did not get uneven sharpening. Its well-constructed, sturdy and aesthetically pleasing. If you are having trouble with right handed sharpeners, either model of the Lefty sharpener would be a good alternative and both use good German blades.
However, for me, its taking a good deal of mental re-learning to twist towards myself after years of muscle-memory twisting away. Is it too late to teach this old dog new tricks?
(you may also want to read my previous review of the Lefty Sharpener)
Paper Mate 07 Earth Write Mechanical Pencil Review
The body of the Paper Mate Earth Write mechanical pencil is made from compostable corn-based plastics that will biodegrade within a year in soil or a compost pile. I bought it about a year ago but realized I hadn’t reviewed it or even mentioned it. Partly, I waited to see if anything untoward would happen to the pencil casing left in my office over time and partly because I can be forgetful when it comes to what office supplies I have.
The set came with one mechanical pencil body and a separate tube that stored refill leads and extra eraser caps. To be honest, I was more intrigued with this spare tube than the environmental aspects of this particular tool. Both the pencil and the extra tube are a soft cream color with light sage green accents. I liked the less garish colors and we all know if you make it green, I’ll buy it.
The photo above shows the pencil lead completely retracted and the clear plastic cover over the eraser so that it doesn’t pick up lint or gunge in the bottom of your bag. The sage colored grip is slightly rubbery to make for a comfortable grip.
Each end of the spare tube untwists from a center piece to access the leads from one end and the erasers from the other. I found this to be the most ingenious thing I’d found in a big box office supply shop.
The overall performance of this pencil is quite good. The lead is dark (HB hardness I beileve) and smudges a little but would be good for sketching and shading. If you prefer a different lead grade, that’s easy to change. The eraser that comes with the pencil is perfectly adequate. The point retracts into the pencil when not in use so it will not be damaged or stab the unsuspecting.
I love mechanical pencils for the on-the-go writing. I always have a mechanical pencil in my car because I don’t have to worry about the pencil not working in severe climates. This pencil, because of its environmental biodegradability, is not a pencil I’d leave in my car but rather keep it in a pocket, bag or just on my desk at work. The other advantage of a mechanical pencil is that you can fill it with whatever type of lead you prefer — harder lead, softer lead, colored lead — as long as it matches the diameter of the pencil mechanism.
If you happen upon this Paper Mate Earth Write mechanical pencil with lead and eraser holder I would recommend picking it up if only for the travel-friendly leadholder. I searched extensively for an online retailer with the set but came up empty handed. If anyone finds a vendor selling the mechanical pencil with lead/eraser holder, let me know and I’ll update this post. Thanks!
Pencil Week is Finally HERE!
My love of office supplies started with the humble pencil and those early days of grade school. Nothing filled me with as much excitement as buying a new pack of yellow Ticonderoga pencils and a packet of those arrowhead eraser caps. Since those days, I’ve broadened my horizons — I collect vintage pencils, American-Made, I do pencil tourism and search for pencils specifically created for unique uses.
I’ve been collecting all sorts of great pencils to review and products and ideas to share with you throughout this week. If you’re a pencil lover, hopefully, you’ll find something this week you just have to have and for those who are less pencil-savvy, maybe this week will ignite your love for pencils.
So, I hope you’all enjoy my week of pencil love. I have a feeling that the pencil love will trickle into the whole year.
Review: Zebra V-301 Fountain Pen
While I was out of town last week, I happened into a local drugstore chain and just had to walk down the office supplies aisle. What can I say? A week without this blog and all you wonderful readers and I was going through a bit of withdrawal. So, I was thrilled to find this Zebra V-301 refillable fountain pen. It cost less than $4 and came with two refill cartridges. It is a standard length, approxiamately 5.25″ long capped, 4.5″ from nib to barrel end and a little more than 5.75″ long with the cap posted. It weighs 16gms with the cartridge loaded.
The chart above was included to give you some weight comparisons.
Zebra lists the barrel as steel with hard plastic ridges at the grip area. The cap snaps on very tightly and will also snap to the end of the barrel to post with a click. Hopefully, over time, the cap will not be quite so hard to click on and off. Its a bit stiff.
The nib is a simple steel nib that I’d describe it as half-hooded.
I placed the nib next to my standard-sized TWSBI Diamond 540 for comparison. Can you see how much of the nib is covered? It would allow someone with a very low grip to hold the pen very close to the nib but this half-hooded look probably provides a bit of durability for the nib as well.
Shown above is the pen with the cap posted on the end. All in all, for $4, its not a bad looking pen. I am hoping that over time the printed text on the barrel will rub off making the pen even more aesthetically appealing. What is it with some pen companies putting huge logos on their pens?
For the writing test, I transcribed the information that was included on the back of the blister pack. It writes like a medium nib though it is not labelled as such. I would compare its writing performance to the Muji fountain pen though I have continued to use it over the course of the week and it is writing more smoothly each time.
After my less than pleasant comments about the Pilot Varsity, which is a fountain pen at a similar price point, I am pleasantly surprised. Is it as silky to use a Kaweco Sport or as write-right-now as the TWSBIs? No. For the price point though, its pretty nice.
Its refillable, though it does take Zebra proprietary cartridges ($2.10 for two) but the cartridges could be refilled using the syringe method. If someone asked me for an under-$5 fountain pen, I’d probably recommend this pen though I’m always inclined to talk them into spending closer to $20-$25 for a better pen. It was a lovely surprise to find among the Bic Stix and 3×5 lined notecards at CVS.