pencil talk

Okay, maybe the same amount of conversation. But in some cases, less subjective. I’ve acquired a few tools to assist in describing some of the physical properties of pencils – a ruler, micrometer, and scale. (Well, I already owned the ruler.)

A special treat today – we are taking a look at “flat cedar” pencils. This is a historic pencil variety, no longer manufactured. They were made for waistcoat pockets, according to Henry Petroski’s The Pencil. And they are indeed very portable, even if you don’t have a waistcoat pocket. I’ve had for some while an [...]

This is a great story about ordering promotional pencils. It’s full of photos and has step by step instructions on how to create and format the needed artwork. These particular pencils were commissioned for the Firefox web browser. Full story here My only issue might be the pencil quality. Has anyone ordered novelty pencils with [...]

It’s almost two years ago that I wrote about the Blackfeet Indian Pencil. It remains one of the most popular posts at pencil talk. While a lucky few were able to buy this pencil at retail, it never broke into mainstream distribution channels. The picture above shows some hand made ceramics that were sold along [...]