Save a tree, write with a newspaper

I went to school to be a journalist, with every intention of writing for a newspaper. It wasn't until after college, when I worked part time as a copy editor at my hometown paper, that I realized maybe I didn't want to work at one after all.

I know there are those who will disagree with me, but newspapers are a dying industry. Well, dying is a harsh word. I'll say declining. It's tough to work there, and plus newspapers are wasteful. Look at all that paper they produce, just to be kept for a day or two.

A while ago, Don from Pencil Things turned me on to pencils made from discarded newspaper broadsheets. Apparently these are manufactured from a single broadsheet which has been cut and rolled up over a glue-covered piece of graphite. It's then dried in a hot over for several hours. Pretty awesome if you ask me, and environmentally friendly. Granted, pencils are so small and compact there is hardly any wood used up anyway, but I like to do my part for a sustainable future.

The first pencil I tried was a O'BON "Protect Wildlife" recycled newspaper pencil. (Product Page) It's pretty stylish with a bright green barrel and a little picture of a turtle at the end (which is, I am assuming, where the "wildlife" part comes in. While sharpening it, I noticed that it felt drastically different than conventional wood-clinched pencils. In fact, it was almost easier to sharpen! The shavings came off in one piece and didn't crumble, leaving a dusty mess on your blade. I think we can thank the dozens of layers of newsprint for that.

You may notice that the barrel says "2B" on it, so recalling your amazing respository of scribomechanical knowledge, you'll know that this means it is somewhat softer lead than a regular HB pencil. Still well within the boundaries of normal writing pencils, however.

I was impressed. I initially thought that maybe since it wasn't made of the finest California incensed cedar like, oh, a California Republic Palomino, the writing experience might be somewhat diminished. But I was wrong. It was nice. The newspaper gave it a slightly heavier feeling in my hand, which I liked. The white-as-a-ghost point is speckled with ink, and every now and then, you can make out a bit of a character. You can't see it in the picture above, but I see the ascender on an "a" near the edge of the paint and the point.

Although it is very attractive, it is lacking a ferrule and an eraser, which is always a drawback, at least for me. And it felt a little too light and whippy (because of said lack of eraser). Still, very usable and very cool. And, at $1.90 for two pencils, you don't have to break your bank to save your environment

I also checked out the other O'BON, a slightly garish clown-like one with an unfinished back. It wrote almost identically to the Wildlife pencil, but without the panache. It felt like an afterthought, sort as if a regular pencil company said, "Oh, let's make this one out of newspaper," and this was the prototype.

The last pencil in this series is the TreeSmart HB. (Product Page) It defnitely looks the way a pencil should look, should your pencil be made out of newspaper. The unglossed barrel is tipped by a brass ferrule and a good-quality rubber eraser. What's more, you can make out the characters on the outside of the barrel! My pencil was made from Chinese newspapers (as I believe all of them are), and if I had the ability to read Chinese, I could have probably made out the words!

The writing quality is a different story. It wasn't bad,  but it definitely wasn't as good as the O'BONs. the lead wrote as if it were much harder than the mid-line HB it was. The line was definitely gray and not black, and you had to press harder to make it strong. Again, it's better than your house brand big-box-mart pencils, but not like a Palomino or even a Ticonderoga.

You can't beat the price, though. At $4.10 a dozen, you are getting a definitely awesome deal.

IN A NUTSHELL:

If the novelty of a recycled newspaper pencil is what you're looking for, get a TreeSmart. If you are looking for a regular, good-quality pencil but want to lessen your ecological footprint while doing it, get the O'BON. It doesn't have a metal ferrule and a rubber eraser, so it is more biodegradable.

I wonder if Al Gore uses one of these...

-Andy Welfle

Comments

[john]

Thanks for the great write up about O'BON. This is really appreciated and drives us to try even harder to produce a great pencil. We are proud of them, but still room for some improvement. We have only had them in the US for several months, but the response has been fantastic. We are on a roll.
It is complimentary comments like yours that give us a real surge to be better. Thanks.

Heh, you beat me to writing about the O'Bons. I like the fruit flavors they've got pictured on their blog as well.