The Great Debate III: The shape of pencils

The Great Debate III: The shape of pencils

Following our previous polls, on pencil pre-sharpening and the question of eraser attachment, this weekend we will consider the shape of pencils.

Today, the majority of branded pencils from all parts of the world are sold in a hexagonal shape. Yet round and triangular pencils carry on with many adherents.

What do you prefer? Feel free to leave a comment as well as vote in this poll.

{democracy:3}

Vintage Pencil Quiz

Pencil Talk Vintage Pencil Quiz

Yesterday’s quiz on modern pencils was fun, so let’s try a vintage version.

Many of these brands carry on, although not necessarily under the same ownership. Others are sadly gone.

[UPDATE]

Michael and others demonstrated a great knowledge of yesteryear’s pencils.

The pencils are (left to right):

1. Eberhard Faber Microtomic
2. IBM Electrographic
3. Eagle Black Warrior
4. A. W. Faber Castell 9000
5. Eberhard Faber Mongol
6. Blackfeet Indian
7. Venus Super Velvet
8. Eagle Turquoise
9. L & C Hardmuth Mephisto
10. Staedtler Mars

Pencil Talk Quiz

Pencil Quiz

Pencil Talk Quiz

Just for fun, can anyone name the ten pencils shown in the photo?

They’re all modern pencils.

[UPDATE]

Well, James, Kent and scruss know their pencils!

The pencils are (left to right):

1. Tombow Mono 100
2. Kita-Boshi Hit 9900
3. California Republic Prospector
4. Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth 1500
5. Derwent Graphic
6. Staedtler Mars Lumograph
7. General Kimberley
8. Mitsubishi Hi-Uni
9. Pentel Black Polymer 999
10. Faber-Castell 9000

Pencil Talk Quiz

Results (The Great Debate II: pencils with or without an eraser?)

Thank you to all who voted and/or commented.

By a wide margin (30 to 9), this corner of pencildom has voted for pencils without erasers.

Comments indicated a wide variety of views. scruss finds that a ferrule and eraser ruin a pencil’s balance, while Matt took the opposite view.

People here certainly use pencils! burmeseboyz noted that the ferrule/eraser interfere with pencil extenders, while Kent educated us with some cultural history.

Though few in number, votes came from at least four continents!

Combining the results with those of the first poll, pencil aficionados want their pencils sold unsharpened, with no eraser. I’d say this is reflected to some extent in the way the very top tier of pencils tend to be sold (e.g. Tombow), but not by the overall marketplace. This may be appropriate, since I doubt that those who frequent sites like this are typical pencil consumers.

Thanks again to all participants.

The Great Debate II: pencils with or without an eraser?

The Great Debate: pencils with or without an eraser?

Following our first poll on pre-sharpened pencils, we consider the question of pencils being sold with attached erasers.

The manufacturer lineup is a bit different than on the sharpened/unsharpened question. American manufacturers tend to be the ones generally offering pencils with erasers. But exceptions abound – the photo shows the famous Faber-Castell 9000 in both traditional and eraser attached versions. Japanese manufacturers do make at least novelty pencils with erasers.

There are some potential problems with attached erasers. The eraser isn’t always the type one would like. The photo shows a white vinyl eraser, but most pencils come with a Pink Pearl style eraser. What if you don’t like the style or type of eraser that comes with your pencil? You are stuck.

The eraser on a pencil tip is also fairly small, and can easily be used up if one does a lot of erasing. The remaining bit of ferrule and eraser stub doesn’t look so appealing, nor is it useful.

The eraser can also harden over time. The erasers on many older pencils are dried up, even though the pencil is still otherwise in great condition. Some ferrules can also rust over time.

Note: The Kita-Boshi Wood Note pencil and Graf von Faber-Castell Perfect Pencil are both exceptions. They were designed to allow eraser replacement:

The Great Debate: pencils with or without an eraser?

As well, consider the manufacturer’s dilemma – a first rate pencil (the core of the business) could be diminished in the marketplace by a second rate eraser.

On the plus side, the attached eraser can be an immense convenience. One single object to hold and use is the ideal.

It is also what some may consider to be an intrinsic part of the pencil experience. It just “feels right” for many.

This mode of usage continues in modern touch screen devices. I attended a lecture where the speaker had a touch sensitive tablet, and wrote on it with a stylus. The tablet screen was projected onto a large cinema-style screen so that the audience could observe. To edit a diagram, the speaker turned the stylus upside down and “erased” previous markings. The well known interface of pencil erasing was carried on in a paper-less, pencil-less format.

So what do you prefer, and more importantly, why? Feel free to leave a comment as well as vote in this poll.

{democracy:2}