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The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

392 points by apokryptein 2y ago

tocs3 2y ago
We need more histories like this. History taught in school often seems so abstract and distant. Without the million little stories about the people that do things the political histories are little meaningless.
- Mistletoe 2y ago
  I really feel like this with regard to monarchs. Most of them seem like homicidal inbred mentally ill people. Why are we studying and deifying them? Henry VIII? One of the absolute worst human beings to ever exist. Put him in the bin with Pol Pot. Most of real history was a simple peasant working hard and making quiet decisions while avoiding being trampled by a king.
  - krisoft 2y ago
    Kinda hard to understand the whole deal about the Church of England without Henry VIII though. I don't think anyone is deifying him. At least not in modern discourse. But that is not the only reason to study someone.
bayindirh 2y ago
In the age of digital data storage and keyboards, these writing tools do not get the attention and celebration they deserve. There are tools so unique that really changes how you think and how you write. Some of these tools are so timeless and they are irreplaceable. When you acquire one of these tools, and appreciate all the craftsmanship and engineering went into these things, and notice how all blends and becomes invisible, you realize that that simple thing is not that simple in the end. I'm very grateful that the great papers, pens and all these supplies are still made, albeit in smaller varieties and numbers since the demand is lower than before. But, nothing replaces a silent thinking session on a good paper with good set of writing utensils. No notifications, no indirections, nothing. Just directly projecting your thoughts to a medium which has no batteries, encryption, etc. Very personal, and much more productive.
- luqtas 2y ago
  one literally can raise the same points about a running text-editor and a keyboard with 'Silent Mode/Do Not Disturb' activated, except the timeless argument as we don't have even 200 years of electronic computers... have you ever tried to be productive by sharing letters in a mailling list when brainstorming ideas? /s and don't come up with research comparing the 2 with biases like participants not even knowing how to touch-type or that variable not even being mentioned
  - WalterBright 2y ago
    Taking notes with a keyboard does not work for me.
  - bayindirh 2y ago
    OK. I'll come with another research, the one I'm doing on myself for more than 30 years. See, I'm both typing and writing for more than 30 years, and I started doing both almost the same time, so there's no inherent bias there. Here's what I found. - I can type around 75 WPM in a good day, yet writing on paper always brings out clearer ideas. - I write my blog posts in iA writer, fullscreen and in DnD mode, yet drilling some ideas on paper is still necessary for reflection. - I have encrypted diary on my personal computer, yet I always prefer to carry a good notebook with a good pen, and find that I can write more sincerely and drill into myself better during reflection sessions. - I can design programs in my head, brainstorm with mind maps, or draw architecture diagrams with relatively high speeds, yet designing on paper always results in better architectures, less bugs, and better performance. - I can skirmish in real time like an old IRC person (because I am), or fire salvos of posts with different amount of flame included (because I lived through newsgroups), yet I prefer elaborating ideas on paper or in silence before writing them, because seeing what I want to say, and scribbling them with a good pen always brings different perspectives. What I found by working on myself is ironically parallel to the research you denounce. Writing is different than typing and is a deeper experience with more connection to self. Having a small notebook around boosts my productivity 5x, while reducing planning overhead and mental load incurred by it to almost zero, and this is while I have a tool which I plan my next three weeks with great detail. So, maybe you should try writing, and while you're at it, you can even find a pen friend which spends a couple of hours to write you a nice and sincere letter, and you'll do the same and understand why some of us like writing and everything related to that. Who knows?
hed 2y ago
Fascinating article. Seeing the "uni" and wondering if that was in fact the beginning of what we know as uni-ball was neat. And since the authors' shop is local to me I'm going to have to go see what they've got!
- bayindirh 2y ago
  If they also sell mechanical pencils, get a Zebra Drafix and Pentel PG-5, and maybe a Pentel Smash (aka Q1000) and/or Pentel 120 A3-DX. You'll not be disappointed. :)
GuB-42 2y ago
In general, I find Japan to be unmatched when it comes to stationery. Pens, pencils, notebooks, etc... Everything is just better: the simple stuff, like what you can find in "konbini" and "100 yen shops", entire floors in department stores like "Hands", and all the way up to luxury. As you might expect, Japanese brands of stationery are popular worldwide. So it is not surprising that Japan had a golden age of pencils, and that you can still buy the products today and that they are still the best.
- bayindirh 2y ago
  They are very good at higher end paper, pencils and erasers. Their gel and roller pens are mostly unmatched. OTOH, while they're top tier in fountain pens, Germans really equal with them. Lamy, Faber Castell, Diplomat, Kaweco and of course Montblanc make great pens. Pilot & Sailor are not behind them, though. Mitsubishi Pencil bought Lamy so things will get interesting. Inks are the same. Germans and Japanese are head to head. OTOH, except Leuchttrum and Rhodia, I can't find many fountain pen first papers from Europe. Funnily, when it comes to fountain pens, there's another interesting contender. China. While they copy most of the stuff, their domestic brands make great pens and ink. Also, a company in my country started making a paper which rivals Yu-Sari and Tomoe River. I write letters with it, and it's great.
  - nadir_ishiguro 2y ago
    I'm from Germany and personally prefer Japanese fountain pens, but also value our local brands. I took for granted that I could go into any small stationary store and buy a LAMY or Pelikan any time I wanted as a child. "Also, a company in my country started making a paper which rivals Yu-Sari and Tomoe River. I write letters with it, and it's great." Is that available internationally?
    - bayindirh 2y ago
      I keep a stable of inked pens. The set is half Japanese, half German all the time. I find Lamy superior for leak resistance and ruggedness, and they're repairable if you manage to damage them also, their tipping is one of the best and fastest polishing/adapting ones if not the best. Japanese ones tend to stay at my desk at home, since they're more delicate writing instruments (except Pilot Metropolitan.That's a tank), but I enjoy them all the same, regardless of their price points and materials. BTW, if you have not tried Montblanc's Royal Blue give it a chance. That one is "different". Also Scrikss's blue black ink is nice. The notebook using this paper is called Meteksan Prestige [0]. I don't know if they're exported or not. [0]: https://www.sarikalem.com/en/meteksan-prestij-bloknot-17x24-cm-300-sayfa https://www.sarikalem.com/en/meteksan-prestij-bloknot-17x24-...
ics 2y ago
This article reminded me of another great website which sadly has been offline for several years now. Thankfully it seems to be pretty well archived. Leadholder - The Drafting Pencil Museum: https://web.archive.org/web/20170617140127/http://leadholder.com/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20170617140127/http://leadholder... Example: https://web.archive.org/web/20160629142925/http://leadholder.com/lh-draft-cda-fixpencil.html https://web.archive.org/web/20160629142925/http://leadholder...
- gwern 2y ago
  One interesting thing about your archive is that I notice the site got hacked and used to distribute spam. The line " A special shout to our limo service San Diego for that one! " is a spammer insertion in https://web.archive.org/web/20170430095756/http://www.leadholder.com:80/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170430095756/http://www.leadho... which makes no sense, and indeed, if you jump back over the gap of a few months to https://web.archive.org/web/20170121041802/http://www.leadholder.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170121041802/http://www.leadho... , it was the much more logical in context " For collectors it doesn’t take long to fill out your collection of them with..." preface. I wonder if it went offline because they couldn't deal with the security and maintenance?
  - ics 2y ago
    Interesting, I hadn't noticed that! While responding to your comment I searched again and found a clue that they lived in Ann Arbor, MI, which then surfaced an obituary for Dennis B. Smith who certainly sounds like the author. https://www.familylifefh.com/obituaries/Dennis-Smith-62/#!/Obituary https://www.familylifefh.com/obituaries/Dennis-Smith-62/#!/O... I wish I had found them sooner to express thanks. If it's possible to reach their family I'd still like to revive the site another way; for a drafting junkie it really was one of the best things on the web.
andrewla 2y ago
The problem with most modern pencils that I've found is that the leads are ever-so-slightly off-center, so a sharpened pencil will often have a piece of wood very near the tip. From the pictures (I've never used one myself) in this article, these pencils are made to an excellent standard and the sharpened pencils look amazing. I'm far from a wood pencil connoisseur; I generally prefer mechanical pencils (specifically Pentel Sharp; the P205 is a beast), but in buying pencils for my kids I've found this to be a consistently annoying issue.
- sleepybrett 2y ago
  I finally ran out of my 'retro' blackwings and picked up a box of their revival. They are expensive ($2.50 a pencil in packs of 12) but the quality so far has been very consistent. Not sure I'd give them to my kids as likely as they would be to lose or destroy them, but you might consider them for yourself. For mechanicals I have a Rotring 600 and a Staedtler Mars Technico that is a billion years old.
  - otherme123 2y ago
    Expensive pencils are one of those things that totally worth it. I use Faber-Castell pencil, eraser and sharpener, and while they are maybe double or triple the price of a cheap one, they last way longer than that because they do their job. I have sharpened a cheap pencil more than 3 cm at once because either the lead or the wood keep breaking.
    - FatChauncy 2y ago
      I found a cheap plastic Faber-Castell sharpener in the drawer yesterday. No idea where it came from, but it was razor sharp and the perfect angle for my double-ended Mitsubishi 772 red/blue. I’ll definitely be ordering more of those, and will check out their other offerings too.
- wantless 2y ago
  I have used the "Mitsu-Bishi" 9800s (the green painted pencil with gold lettering in this article) for years: all sharpen to perfection. I like HBs, but love the 2Bs, which write as smooth as butter. This is the low tier pencil offering at about 50 cents (US) each. I will never try high-end Unis; I can't afford to habituate myself to luxury with the volume I write.
FatChauncy 2y ago
I really like Japanese eraser-tipped office pencils. I was cleaning out a drawer the other day and was excited to find half a box of Mitsubishi 9850, a favorite of mine. They run about $8 a dozen, but I felt like I had stumbled on a treasure trove. Smooth writing, nice paint, well-centered leads, and a nice eraser on a ferrule that doesn't loosen up. A good woodcased pencil is a joy to write with.
blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
It’s interesting seeing all the innovative writing products in Japan - feels like a totally different culture. I have to say though, in the age of phones and laptops, it’s hard to make time to write things physically. It also just seems more painful (like for the hands). Still, I appreciate the design and thought that goes into Japanese pencils and pens.
- JadeNB 2y ago
  > It also just seems more painful (like for the hands). If you're anything like me, that's the experience of writing with cheap pens and pencils, but finding the right grip for you can make writing a totally different experience. I don't write huge amounts on paper any more these days, so maybe my hand would start cramping up if I wrote voluminously, but I can easily take hours worth of notes without any trouble when using nice pens.
- WillAdams 2y ago
  Have you tried a good-quality, light-weight fountain pen?
  - blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
    I tried a plastic body light one a long time back but haven’t returned to it. I think in part because I found the roller ball point pens to be smoother writing and less ‘scratchy’. But maybe I am not using it properly or didn’t get the right model.
    - capnahab 2y ago
      I have found the Pilot Kakuno (about ¥1000, so inexpensive) - just IMO, - pilot ink is very easy flowing, the nibs are great for my writing style, pull off cap not screw, so much easier and readier to use, easy to clean. I work in the UK health service which is not a good place for stationery lovers.
    - dbtc 2y ago
      A well-tuned fountain pen should write with only the weight of the pen, and then it can take time to learn to relax the hand and shoulder. I can type for longer without pain than I can write with a ballpoint or a pencil, but a fountain pen exceeds them both.
fallinditch 2y ago
See also: In a world full of touchscreens, why do Japanese people love stationery? (blog post) https://hatsukoi.co.uk/blog/113-in-a-world-full-of-touchscreens-why-do-japanese-people-love-stationery.html https://hatsukoi.co.uk/blog/113-in-a-world-full-of-touchscre...
julienchastang 2y ago
You know what is great about that blog post? The pictures. There is something so pleasing about those shallow depth of field macros of carefully laid out pencils and other stationary. (I found some of those items on Amazon, BTW.)
- jay_kyburz 2y ago
  I found this web side for those in Australia https://pencilly.com.au/product/pencil-bundle-ultimate-gift-set/ https://pencilly.com.au/product/pencil-bundle-ultimate-gift-...
- julienchastang 2y ago
  [I missed the HN edit window so I am replying to my own comment.] Note that you can get the stationary items from stlartsupply.com. No need to go to Amazon.
linguae 2y ago
I love Japanese stationery. I prefer my Mitsubishi Hi-Uni pencils to even my Blackwings, which are also great pencils. I also love Kokuyo Campus notebooks, which I first started using 15 years ago when I was a research intern at Fujitsu Labs in Kawasaki, Japan. Every time I travel to Japan, I stock up on stationery. On a related note, I wish there were software companies that put as much attention to their software as companies like Mitsubishi and Kokuyo put into their stationery. There was some well-crafted software in the past; I have fond memories of ClarisWorks, and I also enjoyed using The Omni Group’s software, particularly OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle. I also love the classic Mac OS and Jobs-era Mac OS X. Unfortunately, most software these days do not “spark joy” for me. In fact, I often have to deal with software that gets in my way, that nags me instead of gets out of my way. It’s unfortunate that the economics of software makes it difficult to create Omni Group’s-style companies. “Enshittification” seems to be the end result of successful large software companies. Also, it’s hard for smaller proprietary software companies to compete against free, whether it’s free-as-in-beer or FOSS. I love FOSS, but it’s hard for developers to make a living writing FOSS unless they have strategies for monetizing the software, which sometimes leads to compromises that threaten to “enshittify” the software. I’d love to find a solution to this problem. I’d love to see more craftsmanship in software, but the economic incentives make pursuing such craftsmanship hard.
- makeitdouble 2y ago
  > I wish there were software companies that put as much attention to their software as companies like Mitsubishi and Kokuyo put into their stationery. Mitsubishi refined its process by selling the same basic product for half a century. The software equivalent would be closer to the 'cat' command than Omni. We could go with curl or vi, or Notepad if we give more credit to Mitsubishi pencils on keeping up with modern materials. You'll note that Mitsubishi Pencils isn't producing a highly crafted extremely precise and delightful to use 3D mouse. They stuck to pens and pencils and the day pencil demand will die the company will also die.
- nextos 2y ago
  Omni Group, Panic, and Cultured Code produced and still maintain great software. But I also feel that Mac software stopped sparking joy around the mid 2010s.
wrp 2y ago
I have preferred Japanese stationery for decades, and while its overall quality is still the highest, I think its zenith is past. There is still innovation in areas, but most product lines are not as extensive as 20 years ago and some production has moved overseas with a slight decline in quality. Probably the decline is due to the shift to screen-based communication. Japanese companies could produce better (i.e. more expensive) products because their domestic market supported it. With the younger generation glued to their smartphones, there is much less use of traditional stationery products. I have a few drawers full of discontinued items that I've collected from eBay sales of old stock.
fallinghawks 2y ago
My most treasured tools when I used to draw were Pentel 0.3 sliding sleeve pencils, model PS523. The sleeve let me put a lot of pressure on a very fine lead without breaking. And of course the lead was wonderful to use, very smooth. B was the softest lead available in that diameter, so it was hard to get a really dark black, hence the need for pressure. I've bought a number of mechanical pencils since the model was discontinued and have been only disappointed. Few enough have the sliding sleeve, and on the few that do, the sleeve does not move at all smoothly. There may never be another pencil like it. For ink drawing I have a set of Sakura Pigma Micron pens in different widths, also a lovely tool, and for general writing, Uniball micros are my pen of choice. I think it's more than coincidence that all these are Japanese.
- MrMcCall 2y ago
  I guess that the nature of their writing system has either driven both their artistic expressiveness and excellence of their writing accessories, or vice versa, but, regardless, their craftsmanship is outstanding and admirable. I, too, was a Uniball micro man until I switched to pencils and have been a Pentel Twist-Erase III man for a long time, indeed, with 2B lead instead of America's #2 standard. So smooth, and such a great eraser! [I also must make my usual recommendation for NHKOnline's videos, where they have many, many shows about traditional Japanese crafts. Our family's favorite is now called "Design Stories", where it used to be "Design Talks Plus". They interview famous Japanese designers of all kinds, including a couple of Manga and many graphic design folks, as well as some stationery shops and Washi paper producers, plus architects and potters. I've only seen a few less than excellent episodes, but they're all good in the least.]
- WithinReason 2y ago
  Here is an article from the same blog about mechanical pencils: https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden-tech-in-japanese-mechanical-pencils https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden... Seem like the Uni Kuru Toga Dive is the peak mechanical pencil.
  - fallinghawks 2y ago
MrMcCall 2y ago
I know this post is about old-school wooden pencils, but, as a dedicated pencil pusher, I've got to tip my hat to my favorite pencil for the past, at least, 12 years: the Pentel Twist-Erase III mechanical pencils, in 0.5 and 0.7 (they also have a 0.9, but I don't use those). The key to these outstanding pencils is the perfectly fat eraser that is over an inch long. Its formulation is excellent (neither too hard nor too soft) so it erases superbly and lasts quite a time, and it has refills in packs of three that can sometimes be found in Office DepotMax. I must also suggest a lead softness/hardness of 2B, instead of the normal "Number 2 pencil lead" that is standard for test taking here in America. It glides onto the paper more smoothly and yet erases easily and mostly completely.
yapyap 2y ago
Tombow HOMO that’s definitely, a name choice
buildsjets 2y ago
There is an FAA accepted test of paint film hardness that requires special calibrated pencils, available ONLY from Mitsubishi pencil company, in packages of 17 for $224. Each pencil comes with an individual certificate of calibration shows that it meet's it's specified hardness level. The test is ASTM D 3363, "Standard Test Method for Film Hardness by Pencil Test" https://www.gardco.com/Products/Hardness-Testers/Scratch-Hardness/UNi-JPIA-Pencil-for-Hardness-Testing/c/p-62837?variant=11709 https://www.gardco.com/Products/Hardness-Testers/Scratch-Har...
- mrweasel 2y ago
  17 to a pack seems like an odd number. Was it originally 18 and then they removed one to keep the price down.
  - nedt 2y ago
    In Japan numbers have meaning. Haiku have a 5-7-5 pattern - which gives you 17 as a sum. And saying the number 17 in Japanese sounds like youth and vitality. Might not be so odd after all.
    - dbtc 2y ago
      Well, it will always be odd ;)
      - hartzell 2y ago
        Biggest smile I've had all day... Thank you!
  - zck 2y ago
    This pack contains one pencil of each hardness 9H through 6B. There are 17 hardnesses in that range.
WalterBright 2y ago
I've tried all kinds of pens, and my favorite by a wide margin are the TUL ones. It glides smoothly over the paper, doesn't groove it, no blotchy lines, no dried up ink in the pen problems. I use a pencil in the car because it always works. Pencil writing doesn't scan very well, so I don't use it for notes. TUL writing scans delightfully.
thr0waway001 2y ago
Those HOMOs are superior.
jerieljan 2y ago
> Masaki had the idea to register a three-diamond trademark, along with the "Mitsubishi" name, which means 'three diamonds.' (It may surprise you to learn that this was ten years before the much better-known Mitsubishi Group of heavy industry companies registered its name and identical mark. Mitsubishi Pencil has no connection to the numerous other Mitsubishi companies in Japan; it is and has always been a manufacturer of writing and drawing supplies.) Well, I learned something new today. I always thought the pencils were part of the group but apparently they're not. Seeing the iconic three diamond mark along with the name always made me think the pencils were related to the cars.
- mauvehaus 2y ago
  Upon learning of a third Asahi branded thing, I once made the observation that Asahi must make everything. There's Asahi Pentax cameras, Asahi beer, and now this forgotten other thing. At which point someone kindly informed me that Asahi means rising sun, and seeing it in a company name is roughly equivalent to seeing "federal" or "national" in a US company name.
  - xeonmc 2y ago
    Reminds me of Ferrari sparkling wine, for a few years they were the only Ferrari’s on the podium.
  - breggles 2y ago
    Asahi Linux?
  - picture 2y ago
    "Union" is another good example
  - lucretian 2y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Kasei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Kasei
- williamdclt 2y ago
  Nobody could blame you, Japan famously does have conglomerates making completely different products under the same brand. If Yamaha makes motorcycles and pianos, why wouldn't Mitsubishi make cars and pencils?
fitsumbelay 2y ago
I have a thing for writing instruments but truly love and miss using pencils ( the absence-fondness chain ... ) Very nice photos and deep dive. My kinda post
- fitsumbelay 2y ago
  also pairs well with the post about mitsubishi here https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2016/03/one-logo-three-companies-i.html https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2016/03/one-logo-three-comp...
deleted 2y ago
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Brajeshwar 2y ago
About 7-8 years ago, I fell in love with Japanese stationery, starting with a simple brand—Muji. I’m never going back. For pens, I’m with Lamy and Kaweco for now, but I’m eager to try a bunch of Japanese brands. Recently, I caved in and bought a few Midori MD notebooks.[1] Try them, mainly if you write with a fountain pen. The tactile feedback and the subtle scratchy sound become the music that fills the silent room past midnight. It gives you the warm, cozy feeling of never being alone with your thoughts. I’ve become an ardent follower of the videos from JetPens,[2] and their website is my regular. I’m investing more in Japanese stationery and have begun to write more, lot more. 1. https://brajeshwar.com/2024/midori/ https://brajeshwar.com/2024/midori/ 2. https://www.jetpens.com https://www.jetpens.com
- plagiarist 2y ago
  That notebook looks like it opens all the way flat. That's something which has been difficult to find in my experience.
  - Brajeshwar 2y ago
    And the video from Jetpens explains how Midori Notebook can lay flat. Check out just around the 1-min mark at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLbGJ-NCR0o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLbGJ-NCR0o
ggm 2y ago
There's nothing more sad than finding your fave writing implement has been discontinued. No matter what it uses to leave marks on the surface, when they don't want to make it, you're SOL. I have a particular weight of Pilot pen which is just super. The stocks in Australia are out there in corners of dying news agents, all the replacements have been "bigged up" with soft rubber grips and stuff. There have been days a yellow body BIC was all I wanted. But in truth they leaked badly. Never travel with an old school pen in a shirt you can't afford to replace. Who assesses the 4B/3B/2B/B/H/2H... scale? Is this on the Mohs scale? Does it end in 2000H which is a diamond scribe?
- dbtc 2y ago
  A quality fountain pen (or other refillable) with the potential to keep working for generations gets you out of that dependency. Though that's not the same as the raw simplicity of a wooden pencil.
vjust 2y ago
I have a bunch of these pencil brands Tombow, Mitsubishi. I usually buy them on ebay. Its an amazing experience to write with them... I usually use the H, HB to write, and its fascinating, how the premium ones H differs from an ordinary H. There is some paraphernalia that goes with it - sharpners, erasers. I had lost the writing habit..coding invariably takes you to the keyboard. Gradually I'm writing more, and it slows down, and that helps. Its a very analog experience, and is a form of digital detox. I am also learning to draw, hence the splurging on pencils in the first place. While I'm not an artist (yet!) - its a whole another world with an amazing spectrum of varieties of pencils.
- freilanzer 2y ago
  Next step: fountain pens.
  - getlawgdon 2y ago
    Don't do it. Want to buy some pens?
  - hartzell 2y ago
    Do it! Want to buy some pens?
- WaitWaitWha 2y ago
  I used to write code with pencil on grid paper as it was faster to re-write than in the systems themselves.
codexb 2y ago
Reminds me of this [relevant xkcd](https://xkcd.com/1095/ https://xkcd.com/1095/)
frostyel 2y ago
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thenthenthen 2y ago
In addition, I very much enjoyed going through the rabbit hole of Japanese mechanical pencils, here is a short overview of some of the interesting (engineering) features: https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden-tech-in-japanese-mechanical-pencils https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden...
kinnth 2y ago
I appreciate this isn't about Japanese pencils, but if anyone is ever visting the LAke District in the UK, I highly recommend going to the Derwent Pencil Museum. It's absolutely fascinating how pencils came to be, the number of steps to make them etc. I really appreciate old school manufacturing and pencils were the top tech around the turn of the century!
- froh 2y ago
  Yes, these museums are geeky fun :-) same goes for Faber Castell in Stein close to Nuremberg, Germany; there you can also get a tour in contemporary production. https://www.faber-castell.com/corporate/faber-castell-experience https://www.faber-castell.com/corporate/faber-castell-experi...
account-5 2y ago
I love pencils. I collect them, nearly every gift shop will have a £|$|€1 customised pencil. I buy one everywhere I go. I also get people to buy me a pencil if they want to get me a gift as they're cheap. I have 2 collections, places I've been and gift from places family/friends have been. I will leave them to my children when I die, they can use them or throw them out...
linsomniac 2y ago
On mechanical pencils, Adam Savage recently did a test of a bunch of mechanical pencils, particularly for shop use. I ended up getting a Pentel GraphGear 1000 in 0.3mm ($10), with retractable tip, which I keep in my notebook which I use for drawings/notes of projects I do around the house. Previously I was using a Pentel TwistErase III ($15 for 3), but I'm always paranoid about bending the point, the eraser is very nice though. https://youtu.be/hiNScN5ZR3c?si=7C_CZBk2OE9cA4Bg https://youtu.be/hiNScN5ZR3c?si=7C_CZBk2OE9cA4Bg
dzonga 2y ago
Uni makes some very good pens as well. 0.5mm ones
bilater 2y ago
I'm curious for ppl who grew up in the US: did you have to use pencils or fountain pens with ink in class (this was the norm for me)? At some point we all switched to ball point pens which was a lot more convenient but not as much fun.

392 points by apokryptein 2y ago

We need more histories like this. History taught in school often seems so abstract and distant. Without the million little stories about the people that do things the political histories are little meaningless.

Mistletoe 2y ago
I really feel like this with regard to monarchs. Most of them seem like homicidal inbred mentally ill people. Why are we studying and deifying them? Henry VIII? One of the absolute worst human beings to ever exist. Put him in the bin with Pol Pot. Most of real history was a simple peasant working hard and making quiet decisions while avoiding being trampled by a king.
- krisoft 2y ago
  Kinda hard to understand the whole deal about the Church of England without Henry VIII though. I don't think anyone is deifying him. At least not in modern discourse. But that is not the only reason to study someone.

bayindirh 2y ago

In the age of digital data storage and keyboards, these writing tools do not get the attention and celebration they deserve. There are tools so unique that really changes how you think and how you write. Some of these tools are so timeless and they are irreplaceable. When you acquire one of these tools, and appreciate all the craftsmanship and engineering went into these things, and notice how all blends and becomes invisible, you realize that that simple thing is not that simple in the end. I'm very grateful that the great papers, pens and all these supplies are still made, albeit in smaller varieties and numbers since the demand is lower than before. But, nothing replaces a silent thinking session on a good paper with good set of writing utensils. No notifications, no indirections, nothing. Just directly projecting your thoughts to a medium which has no batteries, encryption, etc. Very personal, and much more productive.

luqtas 2y ago
one literally can raise the same points about a running text-editor and a keyboard with 'Silent Mode/Do Not Disturb' activated, except the timeless argument as we don't have even 200 years of electronic computers... have you ever tried to be productive by sharing letters in a mailling list when brainstorming ideas? /s and don't come up with research comparing the 2 with biases like participants not even knowing how to touch-type or that variable not even being mentioned
- WalterBright 2y ago
  Taking notes with a keyboard does not work for me.
- bayindirh 2y ago
  OK. I'll come with another research, the one I'm doing on myself for more than 30 years. See, I'm both typing and writing for more than 30 years, and I started doing both almost the same time, so there's no inherent bias there. Here's what I found. - I can type around 75 WPM in a good day, yet writing on paper always brings out clearer ideas. - I write my blog posts in iA writer, fullscreen and in DnD mode, yet drilling some ideas on paper is still necessary for reflection. - I have encrypted diary on my personal computer, yet I always prefer to carry a good notebook with a good pen, and find that I can write more sincerely and drill into myself better during reflection sessions. - I can design programs in my head, brainstorm with mind maps, or draw architecture diagrams with relatively high speeds, yet designing on paper always results in better architectures, less bugs, and better performance. - I can skirmish in real time like an old IRC person (because I am), or fire salvos of posts with different amount of flame included (because I lived through newsgroups), yet I prefer elaborating ideas on paper or in silence before writing them, because seeing what I want to say, and scribbling them with a good pen always brings different perspectives. What I found by working on myself is ironically parallel to the research you denounce. Writing is different than typing and is a deeper experience with more connection to self. Having a small notebook around boosts my productivity 5x, while reducing planning overhead and mental load incurred by it to almost zero, and this is while I have a tool which I plan my next three weeks with great detail. So, maybe you should try writing, and while you're at it, you can even find a pen friend which spends a couple of hours to write you a nice and sincere letter, and you'll do the same and understand why some of us like writing and everything related to that. Who knows?

hed 2y ago

Fascinating article. Seeing the "uni" and wondering if that was in fact the beginning of what we know as uni-ball was neat. And since the authors' shop is local to me I'm going to have to go see what they've got!

bayindirh 2y ago
If they also sell mechanical pencils, get a Zebra Drafix and Pentel PG-5, and maybe a Pentel Smash (aka Q1000) and/or Pentel 120 A3-DX. You'll not be disappointed. :)

GuB-42 2y ago

In general, I find Japan to be unmatched when it comes to stationery. Pens, pencils, notebooks, etc... Everything is just better: the simple stuff, like what you can find in "konbini" and "100 yen shops", entire floors in department stores like "Hands", and all the way up to luxury. As you might expect, Japanese brands of stationery are popular worldwide. So it is not surprising that Japan had a golden age of pencils, and that you can still buy the products today and that they are still the best.

bayindirh 2y ago
They are very good at higher end paper, pencils and erasers. Their gel and roller pens are mostly unmatched. OTOH, while they're top tier in fountain pens, Germans really equal with them. Lamy, Faber Castell, Diplomat, Kaweco and of course Montblanc make great pens. Pilot & Sailor are not behind them, though. Mitsubishi Pencil bought Lamy so things will get interesting. Inks are the same. Germans and Japanese are head to head. OTOH, except Leuchttrum and Rhodia, I can't find many fountain pen first papers from Europe. Funnily, when it comes to fountain pens, there's another interesting contender. China. While they copy most of the stuff, their domestic brands make great pens and ink. Also, a company in my country started making a paper which rivals Yu-Sari and Tomoe River. I write letters with it, and it's great.
- nadir_ishiguro 2y ago
  I'm from Germany and personally prefer Japanese fountain pens, but also value our local brands. I took for granted that I could go into any small stationary store and buy a LAMY or Pelikan any time I wanted as a child. "Also, a company in my country started making a paper which rivals Yu-Sari and Tomoe River. I write letters with it, and it's great." Is that available internationally?
  - bayindirh 2y ago
    I keep a stable of inked pens. The set is half Japanese, half German all the time. I find Lamy superior for leak resistance and ruggedness, and they're repairable if you manage to damage them also, their tipping is one of the best and fastest polishing/adapting ones if not the best. Japanese ones tend to stay at my desk at home, since they're more delicate writing instruments (except Pilot Metropolitan.That's a tank), but I enjoy them all the same, regardless of their price points and materials. BTW, if you have not tried Montblanc's Royal Blue give it a chance. That one is "different". Also Scrikss's blue black ink is nice. The notebook using this paper is called Meteksan Prestige [0]. I don't know if they're exported or not. [0]: https://www.sarikalem.com/en/meteksan-prestij-bloknot-17x24-cm-300-sayfa https://www.sarikalem.com/en/meteksan-prestij-bloknot-17x24-...

ics 2y ago

This article reminded me of another great website which sadly has been offline for several years now. Thankfully it seems to be pretty well archived. Leadholder - The Drafting Pencil Museum: https://web.archive.org/web/20170617140127/http://leadholder.com/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20170617140127/http://leadholder... Example: https://web.archive.org/web/20160629142925/http://leadholder.com/lh-draft-cda-fixpencil.html https://web.archive.org/web/20160629142925/http://leadholder...

gwern 2y ago
One interesting thing about your archive is that I notice the site got hacked and used to distribute spam. The line " A special shout to our limo service San Diego for that one! " is a spammer insertion in https://web.archive.org/web/20170430095756/http://www.leadholder.com:80/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170430095756/http://www.leadho... which makes no sense, and indeed, if you jump back over the gap of a few months to https://web.archive.org/web/20170121041802/http://www.leadholder.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170121041802/http://www.leadho... , it was the much more logical in context " For collectors it doesn’t take long to fill out your collection of them with..." preface. I wonder if it went offline because they couldn't deal with the security and maintenance?
- ics 2y ago
  Interesting, I hadn't noticed that! While responding to your comment I searched again and found a clue that they lived in Ann Arbor, MI, which then surfaced an obituary for Dennis B. Smith who certainly sounds like the author. https://www.familylifefh.com/obituaries/Dennis-Smith-62/#!/Obituary https://www.familylifefh.com/obituaries/Dennis-Smith-62/#!/O... I wish I had found them sooner to express thanks. If it's possible to reach their family I'd still like to revive the site another way; for a drafting junkie it really was one of the best things on the web.

andrewla 2y ago

The problem with most modern pencils that I've found is that the leads are ever-so-slightly off-center, so a sharpened pencil will often have a piece of wood very near the tip. From the pictures (I've never used one myself) in this article, these pencils are made to an excellent standard and the sharpened pencils look amazing. I'm far from a wood pencil connoisseur; I generally prefer mechanical pencils (specifically Pentel Sharp; the P205 is a beast), but in buying pencils for my kids I've found this to be a consistently annoying issue.

sleepybrett 2y ago
I finally ran out of my 'retro' blackwings and picked up a box of their revival. They are expensive ($2.50 a pencil in packs of 12) but the quality so far has been very consistent. Not sure I'd give them to my kids as likely as they would be to lose or destroy them, but you might consider them for yourself. For mechanicals I have a Rotring 600 and a Staedtler Mars Technico that is a billion years old.
- otherme123 2y ago
  Expensive pencils are one of those things that totally worth it. I use Faber-Castell pencil, eraser and sharpener, and while they are maybe double or triple the price of a cheap one, they last way longer than that because they do their job. I have sharpened a cheap pencil more than 3 cm at once because either the lead or the wood keep breaking.
  - FatChauncy 2y ago
    I found a cheap plastic Faber-Castell sharpener in the drawer yesterday. No idea where it came from, but it was razor sharp and the perfect angle for my double-ended Mitsubishi 772 red/blue. I’ll definitely be ordering more of those, and will check out their other offerings too.
wantless 2y ago
I have used the "Mitsu-Bishi" 9800s (the green painted pencil with gold lettering in this article) for years: all sharpen to perfection. I like HBs, but love the 2Bs, which write as smooth as butter. This is the low tier pencil offering at about 50 cents (US) each. I will never try high-end Unis; I can't afford to habituate myself to luxury with the volume I write.

FatChauncy 2y ago

I really like Japanese eraser-tipped office pencils. I was cleaning out a drawer the other day and was excited to find half a box of Mitsubishi 9850, a favorite of mine. They run about $8 a dozen, but I felt like I had stumbled on a treasure trove. Smooth writing, nice paint, well-centered leads, and a nice eraser on a ferrule that doesn't loosen up. A good woodcased pencil is a joy to write with.

blackeyeblitzar 2y ago

It’s interesting seeing all the innovative writing products in Japan - feels like a totally different culture. I have to say though, in the age of phones and laptops, it’s hard to make time to write things physically. It also just seems more painful (like for the hands). Still, I appreciate the design and thought that goes into Japanese pencils and pens.

JadeNB 2y ago
> It also just seems more painful (like for the hands). If you're anything like me, that's the experience of writing with cheap pens and pencils, but finding the right grip for you can make writing a totally different experience. I don't write huge amounts on paper any more these days, so maybe my hand would start cramping up if I wrote voluminously, but I can easily take hours worth of notes without any trouble when using nice pens.
WillAdams 2y ago
Have you tried a good-quality, light-weight fountain pen?
- blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
  I tried a plastic body light one a long time back but haven’t returned to it. I think in part because I found the roller ball point pens to be smoother writing and less ‘scratchy’. But maybe I am not using it properly or didn’t get the right model.
  - capnahab 2y ago
    I have found the Pilot Kakuno (about ¥1000, so inexpensive) - just IMO, - pilot ink is very easy flowing, the nibs are great for my writing style, pull off cap not screw, so much easier and readier to use, easy to clean. I work in the UK health service which is not a good place for stationery lovers.
  - dbtc 2y ago
    A well-tuned fountain pen should write with only the weight of the pen, and then it can take time to learn to relax the hand and shoulder. I can type for longer without pain than I can write with a ballpoint or a pencil, but a fountain pen exceeds them both.

fallinditch 2y ago

See also: In a world full of touchscreens, why do Japanese people love stationery? (blog post) https://hatsukoi.co.uk/blog/113-in-a-world-full-of-touchscreens-why-do-japanese-people-love-stationery.html https://hatsukoi.co.uk/blog/113-in-a-world-full-of-touchscre...

julienchastang 2y ago

You know what is great about that blog post? The pictures. There is something so pleasing about those shallow depth of field macros of carefully laid out pencils and other stationary. (I found some of those items on Amazon, BTW.)

jay_kyburz 2y ago
I found this web side for those in Australia https://pencilly.com.au/product/pencil-bundle-ultimate-gift-set/ https://pencilly.com.au/product/pencil-bundle-ultimate-gift-...
julienchastang 2y ago
[I missed the HN edit window so I am replying to my own comment.] Note that you can get the stationary items from stlartsupply.com. No need to go to Amazon.

linguae 2y ago

I love Japanese stationery. I prefer my Mitsubishi Hi-Uni pencils to even my Blackwings, which are also great pencils. I also love Kokuyo Campus notebooks, which I first started using 15 years ago when I was a research intern at Fujitsu Labs in Kawasaki, Japan. Every time I travel to Japan, I stock up on stationery. On a related note, I wish there were software companies that put as much attention to their software as companies like Mitsubishi and Kokuyo put into their stationery. There was some well-crafted software in the past; I have fond memories of ClarisWorks, and I also enjoyed using The Omni Group’s software, particularly OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle. I also love the classic Mac OS and Jobs-era Mac OS X. Unfortunately, most software these days do not “spark joy” for me. In fact, I often have to deal with software that gets in my way, that nags me instead of gets out of my way. It’s unfortunate that the economics of software makes it difficult to create Omni Group’s-style companies. “Enshittification” seems to be the end result of successful large software companies. Also, it’s hard for smaller proprietary software companies to compete against free, whether it’s free-as-in-beer or FOSS. I love FOSS, but it’s hard for developers to make a living writing FOSS unless they have strategies for monetizing the software, which sometimes leads to compromises that threaten to “enshittify” the software. I’d love to find a solution to this problem. I’d love to see more craftsmanship in software, but the economic incentives make pursuing such craftsmanship hard.

makeitdouble 2y ago
> I wish there were software companies that put as much attention to their software as companies like Mitsubishi and Kokuyo put into their stationery. Mitsubishi refined its process by selling the same basic product for half a century. The software equivalent would be closer to the 'cat' command than Omni. We could go with curl or vi, or Notepad if we give more credit to Mitsubishi pencils on keeping up with modern materials. You'll note that Mitsubishi Pencils isn't producing a highly crafted extremely precise and delightful to use 3D mouse. They stuck to pens and pencils and the day pencil demand will die the company will also die.
nextos 2y ago
Omni Group, Panic, and Cultured Code produced and still maintain great software. But I also feel that Mac software stopped sparking joy around the mid 2010s.

wrp 2y ago

I have preferred Japanese stationery for decades, and while its overall quality is still the highest, I think its zenith is past. There is still innovation in areas, but most product lines are not as extensive as 20 years ago and some production has moved overseas with a slight decline in quality. Probably the decline is due to the shift to screen-based communication. Japanese companies could produce better (i.e. more expensive) products because their domestic market supported it. With the younger generation glued to their smartphones, there is much less use of traditional stationery products. I have a few drawers full of discontinued items that I've collected from eBay sales of old stock.

fallinghawks 2y ago

My most treasured tools when I used to draw were Pentel 0.3 sliding sleeve pencils, model PS523. The sleeve let me put a lot of pressure on a very fine lead without breaking. And of course the lead was wonderful to use, very smooth. B was the softest lead available in that diameter, so it was hard to get a really dark black, hence the need for pressure. I've bought a number of mechanical pencils since the model was discontinued and have been only disappointed. Few enough have the sliding sleeve, and on the few that do, the sleeve does not move at all smoothly. There may never be another pencil like it. For ink drawing I have a set of Sakura Pigma Micron pens in different widths, also a lovely tool, and for general writing, Uniball micros are my pen of choice. I think it's more than coincidence that all these are Japanese.

MrMcCall 2y ago
I guess that the nature of their writing system has either driven both their artistic expressiveness and excellence of their writing accessories, or vice versa, but, regardless, their craftsmanship is outstanding and admirable. I, too, was a Uniball micro man until I switched to pencils and have been a Pentel Twist-Erase III man for a long time, indeed, with 2B lead instead of America's #2 standard. So smooth, and such a great eraser! [I also must make my usual recommendation for NHKOnline's videos, where they have many, many shows about traditional Japanese crafts. Our family's favorite is now called "Design Stories", where it used to be "Design Talks Plus". They interview famous Japanese designers of all kinds, including a couple of Manga and many graphic design folks, as well as some stationery shops and Washi paper producers, plus architects and potters. I've only seen a few less than excellent episodes, but they're all good in the least.]
WithinReason 2y ago
Here is an article from the same blog about mechanical pencils: https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden-tech-in-japanese-mechanical-pencils https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden... Seem like the Uni Kuru Toga Dive is the peak mechanical pencil.
- fallinghawks 2y ago

MrMcCall 2y ago

I know this post is about old-school wooden pencils, but, as a dedicated pencil pusher, I've got to tip my hat to my favorite pencil for the past, at least, 12 years: the Pentel Twist-Erase III mechanical pencils, in 0.5 and 0.7 (they also have a 0.9, but I don't use those). The key to these outstanding pencils is the perfectly fat eraser that is over an inch long. Its formulation is excellent (neither too hard nor too soft) so it erases superbly and lasts quite a time, and it has refills in packs of three that can sometimes be found in Office DepotMax. I must also suggest a lead softness/hardness of 2B, instead of the normal "Number 2 pencil lead" that is standard for test taking here in America. It glides onto the paper more smoothly and yet erases easily and mostly completely.

yapyap 2y ago

Tombow HOMO that’s definitely, a name choice

buildsjets 2y ago

There is an FAA accepted test of paint film hardness that requires special calibrated pencils, available ONLY from Mitsubishi pencil company, in packages of 17 for $224. Each pencil comes with an individual certificate of calibration shows that it meet's it's specified hardness level. The test is ASTM D 3363, "Standard Test Method for Film Hardness by Pencil Test" https://www.gardco.com/Products/Hardness-Testers/Scratch-Hardness/UNi-JPIA-Pencil-for-Hardness-Testing/c/p-62837?variant=11709 https://www.gardco.com/Products/Hardness-Testers/Scratch-Har...

mrweasel 2y ago
17 to a pack seems like an odd number. Was it originally 18 and then they removed one to keep the price down.
- nedt 2y ago
  In Japan numbers have meaning. Haiku have a 5-7-5 pattern - which gives you 17 as a sum. And saying the number 17 in Japanese sounds like youth and vitality. Might not be so odd after all.
  - dbtc 2y ago
    Well, it will always be odd ;)
    - hartzell 2y ago
      Biggest smile I've had all day... Thank you!
- zck 2y ago
  This pack contains one pencil of each hardness 9H through 6B. There are 17 hardnesses in that range.

WalterBright 2y ago

I've tried all kinds of pens, and my favorite by a wide margin are the TUL ones. It glides smoothly over the paper, doesn't groove it, no blotchy lines, no dried up ink in the pen problems. I use a pencil in the car because it always works. Pencil writing doesn't scan very well, so I don't use it for notes. TUL writing scans delightfully.

thr0waway001 2y ago

Those HOMOs are superior.

jerieljan 2y ago

> Masaki had the idea to register a three-diamond trademark, along with the "Mitsubishi" name, which means 'three diamonds.' (It may surprise you to learn that this was ten years before the much better-known Mitsubishi Group of heavy industry companies registered its name and identical mark. Mitsubishi Pencil has no connection to the numerous other Mitsubishi companies in Japan; it is and has always been a manufacturer of writing and drawing supplies.) Well, I learned something new today. I always thought the pencils were part of the group but apparently they're not. Seeing the iconic three diamond mark along with the name always made me think the pencils were related to the cars.

mauvehaus 2y ago
Upon learning of a third Asahi branded thing, I once made the observation that Asahi must make everything. There's Asahi Pentax cameras, Asahi beer, and now this forgotten other thing. At which point someone kindly informed me that Asahi means rising sun, and seeing it in a company name is roughly equivalent to seeing "federal" or "national" in a US company name.
- xeonmc 2y ago
  Reminds me of Ferrari sparkling wine, for a few years they were the only Ferrari’s on the podium.
- breggles 2y ago
  Asahi Linux?
- picture 2y ago
  "Union" is another good example
- lucretian 2y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Kasei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Kasei
williamdclt 2y ago
Nobody could blame you, Japan famously does have conglomerates making completely different products under the same brand. If Yamaha makes motorcycles and pianos, why wouldn't Mitsubishi make cars and pencils?

fitsumbelay 2y ago

I have a thing for writing instruments but truly love and miss using pencils ( the absence-fondness chain ... ) Very nice photos and deep dive. My kinda post

fitsumbelay 2y ago
also pairs well with the post about mitsubishi here https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2016/03/one-logo-three-companies-i.html https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2016/03/one-logo-three-comp...

deleted 2y ago

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Brajeshwar 2y ago

About 7-8 years ago, I fell in love with Japanese stationery, starting with a simple brand—Muji. I’m never going back. For pens, I’m with Lamy and Kaweco for now, but I’m eager to try a bunch of Japanese brands. Recently, I caved in and bought a few Midori MD notebooks.[1] Try them, mainly if you write with a fountain pen. The tactile feedback and the subtle scratchy sound become the music that fills the silent room past midnight. It gives you the warm, cozy feeling of never being alone with your thoughts. I’ve become an ardent follower of the videos from JetPens,[2] and their website is my regular. I’m investing more in Japanese stationery and have begun to write more, lot more. 1. https://brajeshwar.com/2024/midori/ https://brajeshwar.com/2024/midori/ 2. https://www.jetpens.com https://www.jetpens.com

plagiarist 2y ago
That notebook looks like it opens all the way flat. That's something which has been difficult to find in my experience.
- Brajeshwar 2y ago
  And the video from Jetpens explains how Midori Notebook can lay flat. Check out just around the 1-min mark at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLbGJ-NCR0o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLbGJ-NCR0o

ggm 2y ago

There's nothing more sad than finding your fave writing implement has been discontinued. No matter what it uses to leave marks on the surface, when they don't want to make it, you're SOL. I have a particular weight of Pilot pen which is just super. The stocks in Australia are out there in corners of dying news agents, all the replacements have been "bigged up" with soft rubber grips and stuff. There have been days a yellow body BIC was all I wanted. But in truth they leaked badly. Never travel with an old school pen in a shirt you can't afford to replace. Who assesses the 4B/3B/2B/B/H/2H... scale? Is this on the Mohs scale? Does it end in 2000H which is a diamond scribe?

dbtc 2y ago
A quality fountain pen (or other refillable) with the potential to keep working for generations gets you out of that dependency. Though that's not the same as the raw simplicity of a wooden pencil.

vjust 2y ago

I have a bunch of these pencil brands Tombow, Mitsubishi. I usually buy them on ebay. Its an amazing experience to write with them... I usually use the H, HB to write, and its fascinating, how the premium ones H differs from an ordinary H. There is some paraphernalia that goes with it - sharpners, erasers. I had lost the writing habit..coding invariably takes you to the keyboard. Gradually I'm writing more, and it slows down, and that helps. Its a very analog experience, and is a form of digital detox. I am also learning to draw, hence the splurging on pencils in the first place. While I'm not an artist (yet!) - its a whole another world with an amazing spectrum of varieties of pencils.

freilanzer 2y ago
Next step: fountain pens.
- getlawgdon 2y ago
  Don't do it. Want to buy some pens?
- hartzell 2y ago
  Do it! Want to buy some pens?
WaitWaitWha 2y ago
I used to write code with pencil on grid paper as it was faster to re-write than in the systems themselves.

codexb 2y ago

Reminds me of this [relevant xkcd](https://xkcd.com/1095/ https://xkcd.com/1095/)

frostyel 2y ago

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thenthenthen 2y ago

In addition, I very much enjoyed going through the rabbit hole of Japanese mechanical pencils, here is a short overview of some of the interesting (engineering) features: https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden-tech-in-japanese-mechanical-pencils https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden...

kinnth 2y ago

I appreciate this isn't about Japanese pencils, but if anyone is ever visting the LAke District in the UK, I highly recommend going to the Derwent Pencil Museum. It's absolutely fascinating how pencils came to be, the number of steps to make them etc. I really appreciate old school manufacturing and pencils were the top tech around the turn of the century!

froh 2y ago
Yes, these museums are geeky fun :-) same goes for Faber Castell in Stein close to Nuremberg, Germany; there you can also get a tour in contemporary production. https://www.faber-castell.com/corporate/faber-castell-experience https://www.faber-castell.com/corporate/faber-castell-experi...

account-5 2y ago

I love pencils. I collect them, nearly every gift shop will have a £|$|€1 customised pencil. I buy one everywhere I go. I also get people to buy me a pencil if they want to get me a gift as they're cheap. I have 2 collections, places I've been and gift from places family/friends have been. I will leave them to my children when I die, they can use them or throw them out...

linsomniac 2y ago

On mechanical pencils, Adam Savage recently did a test of a bunch of mechanical pencils, particularly for shop use. I ended up getting a Pentel GraphGear 1000 in 0.3mm ($10), with retractable tip, which I keep in my notebook which I use for drawings/notes of projects I do around the house. Previously I was using a Pentel TwistErase III ($15 for 3), but I'm always paranoid about bending the point, the eraser is very nice though. https://youtu.be/hiNScN5ZR3c?si=7C_CZBk2OE9cA4Bg https://youtu.be/hiNScN5ZR3c?si=7C_CZBk2OE9cA4Bg

dzonga 2y ago

Uni makes some very good pens as well. 0.5mm ones

bilater 2y ago

I'm curious for ppl who grew up in the US: did you have to use pencils or fountain pens with ink in class (this was the norm for me)? At some point we all switched to ball point pens which was a lot more convenient but not as much fun.