31–40 of 117 posts
During some tests, some teachers just couldn't believe that HB and #2 were the same thing, so that's about the only time I wrote with painted wood.
These days the general-purpose pencils I occasionally use are no "color" at all:
https://www.leadfast.org/blog/2017/8/11/generals-cedar-point...
Almost all the pencils in my childhood were red. The manufacturer was Berol. Of course, my schools didn't necessarily buy the highest quality pencils for the children, and they probably all came from the same supplier. The high-quality ones, which a relative who was a draughtsman used, were dark green [1] [1] https://www.ebay.ie/itm/12-x-Berol-Venus-H-Fine-Quality-Writ...
These are virtually unknown in the US, but they are fantastic. The best part is the synthetic material they use for casing instead of wood. It is a joy to sharpen (the reviewer mentions a synthetic smell to go with it, but I never recalled there being any).
[1]http://www.penciltalk.org/2006/03/conte-evolution-wood-free-...
Almost all the pencils in my childhood were red. The manufacturer was Berol. Of course, my schools didn't necessarily buy the highest quality pencils for the children, and they probably all came from the same supplier. The high-quality ones, which a relative who was a draughtsman used, were dark green [1] [1] https://www.ebay.ie/itm/12-x-Berol-Venus-H-Fine-Quality-Writ...
Across the water in Scotland, the most common pencils in school were black and yellow striped -- the Staedtler Noris, back then made in Wales and stamped "Made in Great Britain". These were the ones the school provided and also the ones parents bought. Still a great pencil today, but no longer made in the UK. High-quality ones, used by a couple of artists and a draughtsman my parents knew, were blue: Staedtler Mars L…
I still can vividly recall the sense of awe whenever I entered the storage room in which the school kept all consumables - box upon box of pencils, erasers, rulers, notebooks...
Somewhat of a writing fetishist to this day - I have a box of Lumographs in the office for field notes, whereas meeting notes and such are mostly done with a fountain pen.
Almost all the pencils in my childhood were red. The manufacturer was Berol. Of course, my schools didn't necessarily buy the highest quality pencils for the children, and they probably all came from the same supplier. The high-quality ones, which a relative who was a draughtsman used, were dark green [1] [1] https://www.ebay.ie/itm/12-x-Berol-Venus-H-Fine-Quality-Writ...
Almost all the pencils in my childhood were red. The manufacturer was Berol. Of course, my schools didn't necessarily buy the highest quality pencils for the children, and they probably all came from the same supplier. The high-quality ones, which a relative who was a draughtsman used, were dark green [1] [1] https://www.ebay.ie/itm/12-x-Berol-Venus-H-Fine-Quality-Writ...
My childhood pencils are green: Evolution 650 France HB/no2 Conté (Bic) pencils[1] These are virtually unknown in the US, but they are fantastic. The best part is the synthetic material they use for casing instead of wood. It is a joy to sharpen (the reviewer mentions a synthetic smell to go with it, but I never recalled there being any). [1] http://www.penciltalk.org/2006/03/conte-evolution-wood-free-...
https://cwpencils.com/collections/nataraj/products/621-hb-pe...
My pencils have been plastic and steel as far back as I can remember, with 0.5 mm HB rods in the good ones, and 0.7mm HB in the disposables. During some tests, some teachers just couldn't believe that HB and #2 were the same thing, so that's about the only time I wrote with painted wood.
