This past month was the first time I had seen the Dixon Tri-Conderoga for sale in Canada. I was quite happy to find a package of six with an accompanying sharpener at a local store.
The package had NAFTA-friendly trilingual (English, French, Spanish) labelling, and revealed that the pencils were made in Mexico. The two-hole sharpener has a crown emblem on the German made blades, while the plastic body hails from China.
In a triangular shape, the diameter is midway between it’s three sided cousins, the Ergosoft and the Jumbo Grip.
The pencil surface is rubbery, like the Ergosoft. It comes unsharpened, and has gold stamping on one side. There is a distinctive Ticoderoga style ferrule, with a black eraser.
Since it requires a less common large hole sharpener, the included sharpener is an appreciated addition.
In one’s hand, it is indeed grippy. I did find the large stamping to be a drawback, and that side of the pencil side is noticeably rougher and less pleasant to hold. The larger size may require some adjustment, and didn’t feel quite right to me.
On paper, the HB lead, which appears to be a normal diameter core, seemed just a bit scratchier and lighter than an Ergosoft or a regular Ticonderoga pencil in HB.
It is a unique contribution, and the first Mexican pencil that I’m aware of owning. It gets points for design and appearance, and choosing a mid-size diameter creates an excellent new offering.
Despite these pluses, the lead quality makes it not quite as good as the Ergosoft as an actual pencil.
Let’s hope Dixon will upgrade the lead core to be (at minimum) equal to that of their regular diameter pencils.