Pencil Things

...A few of my favorite things

Despite the myriad of pencils I try out, there are few that I use every day for writing at work, home, and so on. Some of them are too specialized, and some of them (like the Blackwing) are too expensive to risk losing. So I keep those in my awesome Frank Sinatra cigar box full of pencils, and just keep a choice few around to use. Here's a quick list of my reliable ol' standbys:

• On my desk California Republic Palominos with eraser
(Product Page)

Actually, everyone in my office uses these because I bought them all a box for Christmas.

They are smooth, dark, and feel great in your hand with their heavily-lacquered barrel. And the bright colors of the orange and blue make them easy to spot on a cluttered desk.

These are where I keep around to update my to-do list, write in my calendar, and take my various and assorted notes at work.

• In my pocket: A Zebra #2 mechanical pencil

GASP -- I know, I am a traitor! Here I am, using this blog as a mouthpiece to profess my love of woodcased pencils, how the writing process is so pure, so sensual, blah blah bah. And then I go and tell you that a (shudder) mechanical pencil is one of favorite writing instruments.

Well, this little guy is a lot different than your standard mechanical. First of all, look at it! It looks like a woodcased pencil. Sort of.n You press on the eraser to advance the lead.

Secondly, the size is perfect. Unlike a standard 7" long pencil, this comes in at just under 5 inches, making it perfect to slip into your pocket. You can put it in your shirt pocket without it peeking out the top, you can put it in your pants pocket without it poking you in the thigh, and ladies, you can put it in your purse without it blocking everything from naturally shifting as you move. And it won't poke holes in the lining.

Yes, sometimes for the sake of convenience, we have to make sacrifices and compromises. In order to be mobile, I will use a mechanical pencil so I can retract the graphite tip. This is the perfect pencil for the job.

I'm afraid Pencil Things doesn't carry it, but you can buy a dozen of them at Office Depot for less than five dollars.

• For my meetings and tasks: A Moleskine Planner + Notebook

As you probably already know, I am somewhat obsessed with office supplies. I spend way more time reading and writing about them than is normal. Going hand-in-hand with that obsession is an obsession for personal organization and time management. Because of that, I love 43 Folders. It's a site dedicated to the GTD (Get It Done) mentality and tricks people use to stay organized. In December, I posted a plea on the forums to find what I consider to be the perfect weekly planner. I won't repost the whole thing here, but here's a snippet:

For most of my adult life (well, high school and beyond), I have been on the search for the perfect weekly planner. For a while, I was convinced that I found it in the mid-sized Gallery Leather weekly planner, but as I switched jobs, and realized that I need to keep an active to-do list for myself, I've realized that it doesn't do for me what I want it to.

See, I've tried and tried and TRIED to computerize my planner and to-do list. I have a Mac at home and at work, and I love them! I even love Apple's software (especially the Leopard OS X upgrade) iCal and the Mail app. But I have found that as I start out updating it diligently, I just fall out of the habit of using it if it is on the computer. I also love the Google Calendar interface, but I run into the same thing. I just need paper.

Here's where I need your help -- below is a list of requirements. Do you use a planner fitting these criteria? Are you looking for the same thing I am?

Link

And then I go on and on with my — dare I say it? — anal retentive requirements.

It was a hit, apparently, with 60 comments written back to me, most of them telling me that I pretty much described the Moleskine Planner + Notebook, a weekly planner on the left page and a blank lined page on the right to put my to-dos. So I went out and bought one, and they were right — it is perfect. Well, almost. Unlike most Moleskine notebooks, the cover isn't rigid. It is nice and soft, but fairly pliable, so I pretty much have to write with it on a hard surface.

I do use it everyday, since in my job I am often bombarded with meetings. I keep my to-do list on the blank page, along with shopping lists and what-have-you. It's a great tool.

I got it at Barnes and Noble for about $20, which would be considered to be a lot in some people's perspective, but I totally think it was worth it. You can probably find it online if you do a Google search for "Moleskine Planner + Notebook".

I hope that you were able to take away some inspiration for some valuable scribomechanical tools in my array of ever-burgeoning supply of office products.

Tell me, what are some pencil things you use every day? Use the comments to share!

—Andy Welfle

A Very Pencil Things Christmas

If you're like me, holiday shopping doesn't come until you can see the whites of Father Christmas's eyes. When December 20 rolls around, I look at my planner and realize, "Holy #%*&," Christmas is in less than a week!"

If you want a little bit of advance warning, however, have I got the blog post for you! In the spirit of a list-lovin' American capitalist, I am presenting, from cheapest to most expensive, the TOP FIVE PENCILTHINGS.COM GIFTS.

5. The California Republic Graphite Sample Pack    -    $2.25

For a mere two Washingtons and a, um, Washington coin, you can purchase the following top-quality pencils:
 
Palomino. Orange. #2 HB.
Golden Bear w/eraser. Blue. #2 HB.
Prospector w/eraser. Green. #2 HB.
Forest Choice w/eraser. Natural. #2 HB.

This is perfect for when you want to introduce a quality pencil to a plain ol' Office Depot-brand pencil user. This very sampler pack was what I ordered when I first discovered Pencil Things and my love for woodclinched pencils.

4. Pencil of the Month Subscription    -    $6.00 to $9.00 per month

An extremely innovative idea, Don has had nothing but positive responses to this. See this post and this post to get an idea of what your giftee would get each month. And trust me -- pay the extra three bucks to get the limited edition pencil, too. The sheer history behind the vintage pencil picks are worth it.

3. A Rhodia Notepad or two    -    Price varies: from $2.00 to $10.00

As I pointed out in my review of Rhodia notepads, when you use it, you know you've reached "notepad nirvana." Think that's an overstatement? Go ahead and buy the 3" x 8.25" notepad ($3.00) for yourself. It's perfect for grocery lists and on-the-go note-taking. I've personally converted two newspaper reporters to this product. And its only three bucks. Do what the Europeans do and get the graph paper for portraite or landscape writing.

2. California Republic Palomino 12-count with gift box    -    $16.95

Two of my close coworkers and my best friend all have a birthday two days apart from each other. This year, I bought all of them one of these little babies. Uninitiated as they are to quality scribomechanica, each of them told me what a fine gift these pencils made. And how cool is the wooden box it comes in?
Take your pick from a variety of colors, styles and hardness. Personally, I bought the HB orange barrels with erasers, but that's the way I roll. What sort of pencil would your giftee like?

...And finally, the number one gift for someone very special in your life...

1. A Zimmbro Handmade Wooden Clutch Pencil    -    $125.00

Now, I haven't had the pleasure of using one of these beauties yet, but believe me, I can't wait. Gaping at the price? Well, think about this: You can't find this anywhere else. Don from PencilThings commissioned these EXCLUSIVELY for this website. Only two craftsman produce these, a mechanical engineer specializing in prototype design, and a world-renowned pen turner and inventor. These just happen to be brothers. With a variety of exotic hardwoods to choose from (Bubinda, Tiger Maple, Bloodwood, Cocobolo and Red Flame Box Elder), you feel like you're in a Harry Potter novel getting a customized wand made at Ollivanders. (Sorry, geeky moment.)

Read the product page for more information, or email Don. He can explain it much better than I.

I hope I planted some ideas in your head if inspiration for the perfect gift has not yet struck, and have a happy holiday!

-Andy Welfle

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

A realist's review of the legendary Blackwing 602

I'm sure those pencil enthusiasts out there know what I'm talking about. It is the Holy Grail of Pencils. What the DeLorean is to cars, is what the Faber Castell Blackwing 602 is to pencils. It's the hard-to-find, insanely-expensive, out-of-production pencil.

And many people out there give it a perfect 10 rating.

A popular review of the Blackwing, which has captured the attention of such sites as Boing Boing (here and here) is pencilpages.com's review, "The Blackwing 602 - Final Chapter."

An excerpt:

"What is so special about this pencil that its devotees will accept no substitute and make them willing to spend $250.00 for a box of them? It has a sleek and unique design, and if you've ever used one, you know it is a very smooth-writing and easy to use pencil. Its famous slogan "Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed" is no exaggeration. It is also the last of a line of pencils featuring a distinctive rectangular ferrule with a unique, replaceable eraser. I am no artist, but I know that professionals rely on quality and consistency in the tools they use, and the Blackwing was one that could be relied upon.

The Blackwing was originally manufactured by Eberhard Faber. When Faber-Castell USA (F-C) bought Eberhard Faber (EF) in the 1980s, the pencil continued production with the E-F name, but some were also produced with the F-C name on them. Either way, the pencils were made with the same 4B lead formula. During the 1990s, the company was bought by Sanford Corp., one of the world's leading manufacturers of writing instruments of all kinds. Sanford is also the owner of the Paper*Mate and Berol brand names, as well as many others.

The Blackwing continued in production until 1998 and has not been made since. It was originally reported that production ceased because the machine used to make the unusual ferrule broke down and the company did not want to fix it. This is not the entire story. In June 2004 I met with personnel at the factory where the Blackwing was last made and got the real scoop."

Click the link to read the rest of the story.

I took the financial plunge. I got on eBay, scoured around, got aggressive with my bidding, and scored a Blackwing. I will admit, it is a nice pencil. Maybe the nicest I've used before. But it certainly isn't worth $25.

First, the graphite. The slogan "Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed" is true enough. It feels like there is a high amount of wax in the lead to make it just glide across a piece of paper, but the line is dark and significant, which is usually indicative of a harder, rougher element. I was impressed.

Understandably, the eraser is old, as the pencil I bought couldn't be any newer than 10 years. The commodity of being able to take the rectangular eraser out and turning it over, though, improved the performance -- I just used the side that hasn't hardened with exposure to air. The shape is innovative, and gives a good wide angle with which to erase effectively.

One thing I like about it is the extreme glossiness of the paint coating the barrel. Even jostled around in my aforementioned various pencil boxes, the patina never got dinged, scratched, or otherwise blemish the Blackwing. It looks good, a bit like a shark with its not-quite-gray, not-quite-brown coat.

A positive review all around. I am impressed with the performance of the Blackwing. I might pay $5, or even $10 per pencil, but $35-$40 per actual pencil? I think not. Recently, eBay had a lot of 144 Blackwings, and that sold for about $1400. I almost bid on it, thinking that I could then make a fortune by splitting up the lot and selling individual pencils. But I stopped myself -- I love pencils, don't get me wrong -- because I couldn't bring myself to make a major (for me) investment in this particular writing instrument.

One of my joys of pencils is the fact that they're cheap. Even top-quality products like California Republic's various pencils aren't any more than a couple bucks apiece -- and that's at the higher end. If I go out and splurge on a couple unique pencils for my collection, my wife isn't going to get mad. I'm not collecting antique fountain pens, after all.

I think that maybe the Blackwing's hype is super-inflating the price. Its extremely high quality performance has been expressed by writers and artists alike, and sites like BoingBoing and other lesser meme-spreaders caught on. That's certainly how I heard about it. Like Tickle-Me-Elmo and, most recently, the iPhone, the Blackwing is legendary in the world of scribomechanica enthusiasts.

My recommendation is that if you are serious about your pencils, and you want one, just go ahead and buy one. It's worth the experience, and in the bigger scheme of things, it isn't too much. But don't use it often, and treasure it. For your daily writing, use something else, something cheaper. Break out the Blackwing when you want to start a conversation.

-Andy Welfle

---------------------------------

EDIT: Welcome BoingBoing readers! Feel free to look around and contact me if you know of any products you want to be reviewed.

Pencil holders reviewed

There is just something about a wooden pencil. Sure, they don't have a retractable tip or a cap. If you try to put it in your shirt pocket, it falls out easily because there is no clip to hold it there. Even if it stays in, you sometimes end up stabbing yourself with the tip or dirtying your shirt because of the exposed graphite.

Let's face it -- wood case pencils aren't portable. But that doesn't stop us from using them. It brings us closer to nature, closer to the fundamentals of the mechanics of writing. Graphite and wood combined in one tube.

But this post isn't about the pencil. It's about a solution to your portability problems.

When I go to work, I like to take a selection of pencils with me. Sometimes I feel like using my Helix Oxford. Sometimes the Palomino is the best one. I am fickle, and want to have a selection there with me.

While I was at Office Depot one day, I looked around for the pencil boxes of my youth. It was a wooden or plastic affair, with a sliding door (much like what is on a garage). Unfortunately, I didn't find one, but I picked up something similar to what's on your left. It worked great! I put all my "good" pencils in there, along with an eraser and my KUM left-handed sharpener.

After some time, I found that because everything was all jumbled together, the lead got everything dirty. I had to wipe off my pencils before using them, lest I get graphite on my hands.

I spoke with Don, and he agreed to send me a selection of pencil boxes. Below is a review of these boxes.

Ian Nicholas Handmade Pencil Box
(Product Page)

This is one of the prettiest pencil boxes I have ever seen. Part of a series by artist Ian Nicholas, each box is handmade and has been intentionally "worn" to give it a look like it's been used and loved for many years. Sort of like a pair of new "vintage" jeans.

Size-wise, I find the box to be a little too small. I can't put brand-new pencils in the box; they won't fit. I have to wait until they've been sharpened five or six times before the length has been diminished to lay it in. There is a handy little compartment on the end for an eraser or something, but I'd just as well have it taken out so I can put a few unsharpened instruments in there.

But if you're someone who has just a few pencils in their repertoire, so to speak, this box would be perfect. It is attractive, it is quirkly, and it is bursting with personality. Unfortunately for me, it is bursting with pencils, because I have too many to put in it. But it's fun to just look at.

At $24 it's pretty steep for a mere pencil case, but then again you are getting something that was hand-made, not mass-produced. Pencil Things sells eight different styles, all with a different theme. The artist also has a different gift items. Check out his site here for more information.

Mummy Tin Pencil Box from the British Museum

(See Product Page)

What the Ian Nicholas box has in quirkiness, this box has in coolness. I guess I've always been fascinated by ancient Egypt, and this tin sarcophagus-shaped box bears all sorts of hieroglyphics, bright pictures, and a bears a little bit of history of the mummies on display at the British Museum.

As a pencil box, it works pretty well, too. The tin casing is durable, and capable of quite a beating. It is tall enough to accept unsharpened pencils, too, which is a plus for me.

I do have to complain about the fact that since it isn't rectangular in shape, there is all sorts of wasted room, especially in the "shoulders." I realize, of course, that it's not supposed to be rectangular, that you would lose the effect of the mummy shape. But first and foremost, it is a pencil box.

I think that I prefer this over the handmade box. It feels a little more substantial, made out of metal, and it is taller to accept the longer pencils. And at $10.99, the price isn't bad. Remember, you're getting a dose of HISTORY with your pencil box, son.

Pencil Things sells an assortment of four designs with different mummy themes. For other cool British Museum gift-shoppy things, check out their site.

I'm still looking for my ideal mode of transportation for my pencils. At home, I keep my collection in a Frank Sinatra cigar box, which is awesome, but isn't good for stuffing in my messenger bag and taking to work with me. I still think back to the days with the thin plastic boxes with the sliding door, and I still look in the school supply sections for new incarnations of it that aren't TOO blatantly child-like. After all, I have a reputation to uphold. I can't be dumping all my fine quality pencils in a cheesy case.

-Andy Welfle

Notebook review: Rhodia notepad

(See Product Page)

I first discovered this wonderful little orange notebook back in 2003 when I was watching one of my favorite shows, Good Eats. The host, Alton Brown, was writing a grocery list on a Rhodia notepad. It didn't process with me, until a year later when I attended college at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. There is a WONDERFUL store there called T.I.S. that sells textbooks, college apparel, and office supplies. Yes, a plethora of pens, pencils, and paper.

One shelf had a shoddy little orange display. Though it was in disrepair, the orange-ness and the stylized European look lended itself to hipness and -- what immediately attracts me to almost any consumer product -- a cult following. That episode of Good Eats sprung into my mind, and I realized: if my hero Alton Brown has one, by gum -- I need one too.

Fallacious though my reasoning was, it was one of the best purchases I ever made. Yeah, it is cool looking. (Aesthetics count for a lot, just read some of my pencil reviews.) The bright orange and the crisp black  go so well together, you don't even think of a Halloween theme. Immediately upon opening the cover, you know you've reached notepad nirvana. The satin-finished paper is think, luscious, and smooth. If writing on a standard notepad is like driving down the street, writing on Rhodia paper is like cruising in your hovercraft across the English Channel. Take a look at the paper:

Isn't that nice? (The image is not mine.)

Notice that both pictures feature graph paper in their notebooks. Chill out, man, that's the way the Europeans do it. I personally like it. That way, you can write with the notebook turned portrait or landscape. For your American purists out there, they do come in lined versions.

Pencil Things sells the spiral versions, above, as well as the staple bound version, left. Whichever is better is for your to decide -- I like them both equally.

I can tell you what my favorite size is -- the 3" x 8.25". It is extremely long and skinny and fits in the palm of your hand very well. Perfect for making lists and, if you are a reporter, taking notes on the go. I spent some time working for a newspaper and this was my best friend.

Unfortunately, yes -- Rhodia is expensive. An 8.5"x11" pad with 80 sheets will cost you about $9, as opposed to less than a dollar you might spend on a Mead notebook from Target. But it is worth it. Trust me.

Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5 points.


-For more on Rhodia notepads, check out one of my favorite blogs, Rhodia Drive. They announce, review, and organize new Rhodia products.

-Andy Welfle

 

Review: California Republic Golden Bear Blue

(See Product Page)

I've tried and tried to give the Golden Bear a chance. It's made by California Republic, so I know that it comes from good people. But try as I might, I cannot give it a good review.

First, I'd like to point out its best feature, and to many people, that counts for a lot: it's a darn good looking pencil. Take a look:

That blue is just gorgeous, isn't it? Combined with the bright orange eraser and the brass ferrule with a blue metallic stripe in the middle, it looks like a superhero.

Sigh. Unfortunately, it doesn't act like one. I started out with just one, and then I asked Don to send me another one to make sure it wasn't a fluke. The second one wasn't much better. The wood won't sharpen for anything. I tried several small KUM sharpeners, a generic hand-held sharpener that came with a set of Ticonderogas, a wall-mounted Boston-like sharpener, and even one of those plug-in electric sharpeners. Every time, the wood catches, splinters, and weakens its hold on the lead point.

I know California Republic doesn't have this problem with their other products. The Prospector and the Palomino, two of my favorite pencils of all time, sharpen smoothly, and never splinters. I tried taking pictures of the Golden Bear's point side by side with the Palomino's point, but I can't get a picture in focus. Trust me; they look the same.

I pressed my fingernail against the exposed wood on the point, and realized that the Golden Bear's wood is harder. I can easily make an indentation into the Palomino's wood, while it takes a harder push to indent the Golden Bear's.

So, does that make the wood harder and more brittle? I think so.

Conversely, with as hard as the wood was, the lead was soft. Too soft. I had a hard time keeping a point, even when I wrote softly. The trade-off wasn't even that great -- I didn't have a darker line when comparing it to a Palomino with a bit firmer lead. (Keep in mind that these pencils are all HB -- I'm sure that varies significantly if I switch to a harder lead.)

I can give it props for it's orange eraser, though. Sometimes when erasers are bright colors, they tend to more rubbery and less... eraser-y. This one, however, erases cleanly and without an excess of residue left on the page.

On one hand, I bemoan my opinion of the Golden Bear. It is made by a fine pencil company, after all, and it seems like they would know what they are doing. On the other hand, I feel like I put it through a fair trial (as fair as any other pencil I've reviewed). So maybe it deserves its rating.

A superhero it is not. Maybe a super model -- it is very attractive without too much else going for it.

Overall rating: 1.5 out of 5 points

-Andy Welfle

Review: Helix Oxford Premium Grade

Helix Oxford Premium Grade HB
(Click here for product page)

Being an anglophile, I appreciate all things British. I love loose-leaf tea, Doctor Who, Crispix crackers, not pronouncing the letter "H," among others. So when I read that Pencil Things introduced a UK pencil not found in the US, I jumped.

And for the most part, I like it. Let's talk about the aesthetics first, since that is what initially attracts buyers. I don't dig the pink wood. The navy veneer and the white eraser look good, but the red-hued wood just doesn't go. It doesn't even smell good, like the incensed cedar so many fine pencils use.

One positive thing about the wood, though, is that it sharpened really smoothly. Although my sharpener was bought from Target, it was like cutting butter with a knife.

Kudos to the graphite, though -- it stayed sharp and although it initially left a fine dust on the paper after pressing the newly sharpened point to the paper, it held its sharpness like a champ.

As the product description says, the eraser lacks the pumice-like quality of the pink variety, and I think  that may be a step in the right direction. It erases clean and smoothly, and doesn't leave grit in its wake. (Plus, I think it looks nicer.)

Speaking of erasers, I think it is brilliant that the eraser is removable and replaceable. Just give it a firm tug and it pops right out. Although I don't make too many mistakes when writing (being a pen user before I was converted to graphite), my handwriting is atrocious, and I often have to erase and write more legibly. I always run out of eraser before running out of pencil.

I also wonder if any British people out there can explain this to me -- There is a large barcode imprinted on the side of the barrel. Why is that? I own a pen bought at an office supply store in England with the same thing on it. Can't you put it on a sticker, so as to peel the unsightly barcode off after purchase?

UPDATE: I conducted a writing test comparing the Oxford to California Republic's Golden Bear HB, a pencil with a similar price point. (A detailed review of this product forthcoming) The test is conducted on regular white office paper (and will be moved to the high-quality Rhodia paper in anticipation of a new notebook!) and measures darkness and shading, smearability, and erasing ability. It is similar to this test conducted to find a replacement for the legendary and sometimes mythical Blackwing 602 by FaberCastell. I don't have a scanner or camera suitable enough to show you the differences in performance, but as soon as I can get access to one, I will post the comparisons for your review, dear readers.

In any case, the Oxford ran circles around the Golden Bear. Although the Bear's orange eraser is much better looking than the white eraser of the Oxford, it didn't perform nearly as well. It calls to mind the rubbery grade school erasers that are shaped like little happy faces, that if you used it more than once, it deformed. The Oxford's lead didn't leave a grainy pattern on the paper when used lightly as did the Golden Bear. However, it did smear more -- the trade off for a darker smoother line. The Golden Bear's pencil line was left intact when I took my finger to it, and the Oxford gave way.

 

Here's my point breakdown:

Performance: Four out of five points
Aesthetics: Two out of five points

TOTAL: 3 out of 5 points

-By Andy Welfle