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Mechanical Pencil or Wooden Pencil?

N

Noah Abrams

Golden Member
Yes there are some ancient species like myself who still do handwriting, and use pencil too.

So that obligatory disclaimer aside, which is your preference?
 
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I have several hundred mechanical pencils from cheapies to high end drafting pencils. I prefer the reasonably priced Alpha Gel Shakers to the more expensive mechanical pencils or fancy wooden pencils like the Palomino Blackwings. I like mine in 0.5 mm with 4B lead for smoothness. If only Alpha would make non-crappy erasers for the Alpha, it would be near perfect.
 
madoka said:
I have several hundred mechanical pencils from cheapies to high end drafting pencils. I prefer the reasonably priced Alpha Gel Shakers to the more expensive mechanical pencils or fancy wooden pencils like the Palomino Blackwings. I like mine in 0.5 mm with 4B lead for smoothness. If only Alpha would make non-crappy erasers for the Alpha, it would be near perfect.
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I don't understand any of the other words, but 0.5mm is where it's at. I've tried 0.3 but that's just too needly and 0.7 is like using a paintbrush.
 
Not So Mild said:
I always thought mechanical pencils went obsolete 15 years ago. But to answer your question, use pens instead.
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Not at all. Any art or drafting store has loads of them, plus they offer huge conveniences over wooden pencils.

I love a good mechanical pencil. I have a fascination with writing instruments in general, and could probably go on forever about them. I believe I've asked for "a nice pen" for Christmas every year for the past decade, and I always carry one with me. In school, an entire pocket of my backpack was full of various pens and mech pencils. The first thing I do when I get a new one is completely disassemble it to learn its mechanisms for operating.

I used to despise mech pencils with the itty bitty erasers, but have grown to appreciate them for correcting very minor errors in a pinch. I think trying to use them in school to erase a whole sentence traumatized me.

Over the years, I've settled on my favorite mechanical pencil being the Pentel Twist-Erase, that I picked up in college. It was a .5, and I recently found a .7, and .9 at a drafting store. For pens, it's the Pentel R.S.V.P. A very cheap ball--point pen. I've never been a huge fan of gel inks. By the way, for quality Pentel > Pentech.

I also use a wooden carpenter's pencil from time to time around the house.
 
I like both. Mechanicals are more precise, but I like the feel of wood, and hand sharpening them with a knife. I use 2H woodies 99% of the time anymore.
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I use a mechanical pencil for laying out my cuts etc in the wood shop and a carpenters pencil for the coarse layouts
 
Mechanical pencils over wooden, or regular, pencils. I have a steel barreled pencil that I bought when I started taking grad classes, maybe this one, and I like it a lot. I use an ink pen at work but I don't like the fact I can't erase when it comes to school work so I went the pencil route instead.
 
i really dont like mechanical pencils, i break the tip constantly.

also, i'd rather use a fountain pen, but if it needs be, i would go wood pencil.

1. fountain pen
2. soft tip
3. ball point
4. wood pencil
5. mechanical
 
Bubbleawsome said:
Ticonderoga pencils with a Staedtler sharpener or get out of my face.
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While it is a good sharpener, I had three of those Staedtler sharpeners have the lid break off and spill lead dust inside my backpack. I've found some other ones that I've become more fond of.
 
I almost forgot how much of a pain it was to have to have a pencil sharpener on hand. Another reason why pens are my daily driver. I will say that using wooden pencils have their uses (in the shop for instance), but mechanical pencils should have never happened.
 
madoka said:
While it is a good sharpener, I had three of those Staedtler sharpeners have the lid break off and spill lead dust inside my backpack. I've found some other ones that I've become more fond of.
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What's your favorite? The lid on mine hasn't broke but if it does I'd need a good replacement.
 
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