Fetish: 5 Lust-Worthy Wooden Pencils

Hard to explain the attraction to pencils.  I think it's because these pencils fulfill both the "drawing/doodling" and "extraordinarily satisfying from a tactile point of view" food groups.  A surprisingly large number of people also lust after pencils, as you'll soon see.

1.  Uni-ball Hi-Uni Pencils: 12/$28, the priciest of the lot.  I bought a box of 2Bs for drawing.  The line is ink-black, silky-smooth.  It's like buttah.   The finish is blood-red, deeply lacquered.  The make on these pencils has to be seen and felt to be believed.  True pencil lust.  Pictures here from www.PencilTalk.org.  For a truly obsessive review of the Hi-Uni, see this great post.  If you read that and you don't want one as a result, something is wrong.

2.  Blackwing 602:  This legendary pencil, manufactured no more, has developed a cult status and was favored by the likes of Steven Sondheim, Thomas Wolfe, Archibald MacLeish, and John Steinbeck - the only pencil I know of with its own Wikipedia entry, for chrissake.  This great blog post by Joseph Finder (www.pencils.com) details Finder's attempts to secure a genuine Blackwing 602, and what he has to settle for along the way.  The original Blackwing 602, which as of this writing is going for as high as $40 on eBay for a single pencil, has been replaced by a version put out by Palomino, at 12/$19.95.   Someday I'll get some of these...but meanwhile, a girl can dream.

For more workaday use (homework, grocery lists, dog chew toys, etc.), the two following brands are excellent:

3.  Mirado Black Warrior by Paper Mate, #2 Medium Soft:  12/$3.34.  These elegant pencils are widely available in stores, in marked contrast to the two brands above.  The round black barrel, gold ferrule (clampy thing that holds on the eraser), and gold lettering definitely lend this pencil a touch of class. Oh, and that eraser on the end is a genuine Pink Pearl, which is cool to know.  They write extremely smoothly, but the line is not terribly dark.  If you prefer a darker line, you may want to try the Dixon Ticonderogas (below).

4.  Dixon Ticonderoga: currently 12/$2.08.  The classic, iconic American pencil.  These pencils can't be beat for the combination of price, line quality, darkness of line, and sharpenability.  I have noticed a slight dropoff in quality since they are now made in Mexico rather than the US, but it's still an excellent pencil for the price.  ALSO - If you're really lucky, you'll find a special line of Dixon "Triconderoga" Pencils - these feature a triangular cross-section, matte black finish, black erasers, and the same high-quality line, and at 12/$5.79, they won't break the bank.

This fifth pencil falls in between high-end Maserati pencils and the cheap-but-good types:

5.  General Pencil's Layout Pencil:  This Jersey City-based company has been making pencils in America since 1861.  Haven't tried these yet, but am very intrigued by their Layout Pencil, which bills itself as producing an extra-black line while retaining a sharp point.  At 12/$4.99 at Blick, these might have to come to our house for a test-draw or -write.

There you have it; my pencil-pushing roundup.  One blogger points out the appeal of pencils from an Amazon reviewer's comment:  "Chances are, you can't afford a Rolls-Royce automobile, a Patek Philippe watch or a mansion in the Hamptons. But for less than a quarter apiece, you can write with the best wooden pencil in the world: the Black Warrior. Who says rich people have all the fun?"

Indeed.  Mechanical pencils, you're next!