Why the pencil?

To write is to put clues about your mind, heart, and soul on paper or similar medium, to share yourself with the present and future through the unique combination of words and handwriting.

The act of writing is a sensual experience; the smoothness of the pen or pencil's glide across the page and the appearance of letters that form words that form sentences can be intensely satisfying, while any scratchiness of graphite, point, or nib offends the senses.

Writing is a form of magic that connects our brains and hands in a way that typing cannot equal. When we type, at least part of our brain is unconsciously distracted by the mechanics of the action. "Where's the backspace key?" "How do I get an umlaut?" "How do I magnify the page view?" Using the combination of hardware and software disrupts the flow of thoughts in a way that a pencil doesn't. It may need sharpened once in a while, but we can rotate it to obtain the best point without giving it a thought.

There is also the question of where to write. You can take a notebook computer almost anywhere if you don't mind carrying the weight, straining to see the screen in the glare of daylight, wondering how long the battery will last, and worrying that it may rain. It's easier—and lighter—to pack a pencil, eraser, sharpener, and small notebook. (You can even find a waterproof version if you don't want to be deterred by the rain.) Whether you find your intellectual and creative inspiration at a library, cafe, park, forest glen, or beach, the pencil is always ready to channel your thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

Like the computer with its "Delete" key, the pencil is forgiving. A good pencil writes darkly without smudging, and a good eraser allows you to tweak your words as much as you like without making a mess. When your pencil point no longer suits you, you can sharpen it to your own personal taste.

Just as you can choose "skins" for your computer applications to customize their look and feel, you can choose pencils whose appearance appeals to your taste and makes a statement about you. They can be round, hexagonal, or triangular, or flat in the case of carpenter pencils. They can be thin, regular, or large, especially for children. Pencils can come in virtually any color or pattern conceivable, including natural wood. Some are adorned with cartoon characters, while others sport animal patterns—striped like snakes, spotted like leopards, or dotted with the "eyes" of a peacock's tail. Others are painted a signature color, such as Rhodia orange, while some, like the Faber-Castell Grip 2001, are metallic. There is, of course, always yellow, the established standard if you don't want to stand out in the crowd.

The wood, eraser, and ferrule offer you other opportunities to show off your preferences and personality. The unusual black wood of the Rhodia and Ticonderoga Noir are sure to attract attention, while the distinctive painted brass ferrule of the Mongol indicates simple elegance. Erasers can sport interesting colors as well. The Rhodia and Ticonderoga Noir feature black erasers, while the Helix Oxford and Musgrave Natural are topped with white. Of course, many art and European pencils dispense with the ferrule and eraser, an option you may prefer for its clean lines and style.

The Faber-Castell Grip 2001 comes with its own grip in the form of raised dots along the sides of the triangular barrel. For other pencils, you can go without a grip, or you can choose one that suits your fingers—triangular, round, edged, or ergonomic like the Stetro. Some are hard and solid, while others are a soft gel. Some grips even double as an eraser.

Erasers come in a variety of sizes, shapes, materials, and colors. Those designed for children (and the young at heart) tend to be playfully colored and/or patterned, for example, Papermate's Expressions line, while pink and white seem to be the standard for adults. Materials include pumice, vinyl, and plastic, among others. Practical shapes include rectangles, squares, and triangles, but there are novelty erasers that emulate everything from food to sea life. Some are designed to be collected as much as used. Yikes, a line of pencils and erasers designed in the 1990s for schoolchildren, is remembered nostalgically by young adults for their cool appearance that separated them from ordinary pencils and erasers. Some teachers even banned Yikes as a classroom distraction!

For the writer or artist, society's observers of life as it happens, nothing compares to capturing the moment with jotted notes or a quick sketch. Whether for writing or drawing, completing a crossword or sudoku puzzle, or marking up papers or carpenter's wood, the pencil is not only a useful tool, but a statement about who you are and your tastes. If you see someone on the bus working the New York Times crossword with a generic office supply store pencil, you can guess that this is a utilitarian person willing to use what comes to hand. If, however, you spot someone wielding a Palomino, Tombow, or Faber-Castell, then you've seen an individual willing to search for a quality tool of the trade, the low-tech equivalent of the best, fastest computer processor.

Jeep lovers have the "Jeep wave," given to anyone passing by in a Jeep as an acknowledgment of camaraderie and shared interest. Perhaps pencil aficionados need a nonthreatening equivalent when we see someone who takes pencils as seriously as we do. What might that be?

Comments

[Andy]

Abraham, that's awesome. I wish I could get my coworkers to do that. Unfortunately, I am the only one around here who has any sort of interest in pencils other than as just a tool.

[abraham]

Our equivalent of a "pencil wave," among my writing friends here in Maine is to (safely) hold a pencil up like a drawn sword, as though we are all valiant knights together (En Garde!). We do this from across streets or (spacious) rooms. There are also some of us here who simply hand pencils to people at random- especially in coffeehouses. I suppose it's our amalgamated form of "evangelism," and "yankee swaps," always in good fun!

[slywy]

I had a funny thought; in old movies, when the lady put a cigarette to her lips, the interested gentleman would instantly appear with a lighter to demonstrate his gallantry and start a conversation. I suppose when the lady flips her pencil to erase, the interested gentleman could instantly appear with a classy Faber-Castell dust-free eraser. Or if she broke her point, he could pull out a Kum brass bullet. Oh, the possibilities.

[Barrel Of A Pencil]

Perhaps discreetly gesturing to the latest Tombow tucked behind one's ear cub-reporter style? (Apologies for neglecting to include this with my first comment) :>)))

[Barrel Of A Pencil]

Why the pencil? Because penciliana is cool.

Lately, I've gone round the bend over all things pencil. Erasers, sharpeners, wood-cased pencils, mechanical pencils, decent paper to write and sketch on, storage containers, etc. I've begun to haunt the office big-boxes, art-supply stores, and the dollar discount chains in search of penciliana, and have assembled a formidable favorites list of on-line links to purveyors of fine pencils and pencil-related accessories and information (of which your blog is a primo specimen). I frequent antique malls and household sales looking for Blackwing 602's and any other quality pencil consumable which might slake, however momentarily, my thirst for all-things-pencils. In an inversion of a common Depression-era scene, it won't be long before I'm hanging out on street corners begging passersby, "Buddy, can you spare a...pencil?" with a sign strung from my neck reading "Dimes One Pencil Each". I'm only half-kidding of course.

If the lawyers only knew the true meaning of what they term the "discovery phase". Ah, the satisfaction of finding buried treasure in some unlikely hole-in-the-wall. The eight-pack of half-pint sleeved vinyl erasers which read "ERASERS/extra soft & clean/home office school", no further information available except the ubiquitous Made In China, for a dollar at the eight-bits store, and the equally stellar carded three-pack of sleeved jumbo white vinyl erasers for the same low, low price. Zebra stainless steel 301's two for a buck in blister packaging. The bare-bones but exceptional Helix skeleton sharpeners, no bigger than a flag stamp three for three dollars at the local Officemax. The handy-dandy Faber Perfect Pencil cum extender cum point protector cum sharpener for ten mini-mini-dollars (plus shipping) purchased off the web (it may or may not be perfect, but it is self-contained and exhibits a high degree of self-reliance). The wow factor of an aluminum UFO, the engineering excellence of a KUM two-step long point sharpener, Petroski's relentless analysis, I could go on and on.

I used to pride myself in being able to (painstakingly) complete the Sunday puzzle in the Times in pen. No longer. The palpable sense of engagement of doing the puzzle with a good 6B or 8B and competent eraser can never be matched by the sterile and tedious meticulousness the pen demands. The dark, dark line of a Faber-Castell 9000 or Ebony Design Jet Black Extra Smooth on newsprint, despite the appearance of enduring invulnerability to the contrary, vanishes almost on contact with a 12 cent vinyl eraser. You won't know how unutterably pleasing that is until you've done it yourself.

If pencils aren't a philosophy or way of life for most of us, who can deny the simple pleasure they afford?