Comments

Why the pencil? — 8 Comments

  1. Thank you both! I think I may have posted this on the pencilthings blog back in the day. When I get a chance, I’m going to write a bit more about a book in which a pencil is the title character!

  2. Nice piece! Good to read all the reasons I now know for a long time.
    Pencils might not do everything and for my work I often need a computer, but my black goatskin, swen-bound, gilded notebook and a good pencil are always with me!

    BTW there is also the Faber-Castell Perfect Pencil to have it all in one: eraser, sharpener, point protector, they are nice and come in plastic (not expensive) Aluminum (nice!) and a variety of more precious metals (darn expensive) but they all do the same: pack everything in a pencil that yo need on the road.
    I’m sorry, I’m just a hopeless lost pencil addict. I’ve got several Perfect pencils, a load of Mitshu-Bishi Hi-Uni pencils and ton’s of others that are not in the picture for use in any future foreseable….

  3. Lovely essay! Although I must take exception to your denunciation of “scratchiness.” My personal senses find satisfaction in a certain amount of friction ‘twixt writing instrument and substrate.

  4. Nice essay which I shall use as evidence in defence of my pencil addiction 🙂
    You forgot to mention the keyboard gremlin – you know that little guy who moves all the keys around while you’re not looknig XD

  5. I guess baring my teeth and beating my chest with my left hand while making stabbing motions with my right (pencil) hand would be considered slightly “threatening”.

    Actually, my “pensalute” is not tooo dissimilar from what was previously mentioned. I generally hold the pencil/pen with the butt facing me in standard writing grip, then kinda flick the pencil to vertical position, butt of the pencil about brow height. It’s typically accompanied with a little nod/tilt of the head. Granted, I do that as a standard wave with a pencil/pen, not as a camaraderie thing, but it works for me.

    Nice post. I find that justifying a writing utensil/notebook aside from a computer or pda is quite easy. I think it’s a bit more interesting really to do romantic/utilitarian virtues of pens vs pencils and various hybrids thereof. Agreeable rhetoric is that they all have a place, but I find pitting them against each other can yield interesting thoughts. 🙂

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