Pencil me in

October 29, 2007 8:59 AM

Man, this guy really likes pencils.
posted by dersins (26 comments total)

It's a good, honest obsession. I approve.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:06 AM on October 29, 2007

Man, these folks really like pencil sharpeners.
posted by stbalbach at 9:07 AM on October 29, 2007

I trust him implicitly. (Except around my pencils, but all collectors are like that.)
posted by R. Mutt at 9:09 AM on October 29, 2007

Ah, the Dixon Ticonderoga. There's a modestly-named pencil.
posted by GuyZero at 9:11 AM on October 29, 2007

Also, these people used to really like pencils, but apparently stopped caring in the summer of 2006.
posted by dersins at 9:11 AM on October 29, 2007

This site is flat-out awesome. Also, all sites detailing collections of things should be so well-designed.
posted by koeselitz at 9:12 AM on October 29, 2007

Great logo type on so many of those pencils. Bookmarked!
posted by JBennett at 9:26 AM on October 29, 2007

With the help of the janitor he screwed onto the side of the desk a pencil sharpener- that highly satisfying, highly philosophical implement that goes ticonderoga-ticonderoga, feeding on the yellow finish and sweet wood, and ends up in a kind of soundlessly spinning ethereal void as we all must.

(pnin)
posted by jenkinsEar at 9:33 AM on October 29, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Holy shit. So great.
posted by cortex at 9:41 AM on October 29, 2007

JBennett, that's the first thing I noticed too.

I see that they're not sharpened. Is this the pencil collector's version of not opening the package? Would he weep uncontrollably if I advanced on one of his Presbiteros with a pencil sharpener?
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 9:42 AM on October 29, 2007

First thing I noticed was he's missing Ticonderoga.
posted by autodidact at 9:43 AM on October 29, 2007

And a second glance reveals it's a Dixon and someone above me in the thread already mentioned it.

/full of fail
posted by autodidact at 9:44 AM on October 29, 2007

What, no Sanford Mirado Black Warrior? And how about drawing pencils (at least the 2-B ones)? Staedtler Mars & Noris, Koh-I-Noor, Faber-Castell Wasserlack, Stabilo Micro...he has a great collection, but it's just a start.
posted by Nailati at 9:58 AM on October 29, 2007

So many pencils, but no California Republic Palomino? No Faber Blackwing? Those practically are the only two pencils I know by name. Odd.
posted by exogenous at 9:58 AM on October 29, 2007

Jinx!
posted by exogenous at 9:59 AM on October 29, 2007

I was hoping for more on the Thoreau pencil, including where to find one (apparently they still come up for sale from time to time).
posted by RogerB at 10:30 AM on October 29, 2007

on the subject of pencils
posted by Grod at 10:53 AM on October 29, 2007

(Previously)
posted by myrrh at 11:11 AM on October 29, 2007

"Previously" focuses on the pencil as drawing implement, while this post deals with the pencil as writing tool. Both are lovely.

I haven't sharpened a pencil with a knife since leaving art school 20 years ago...it's tricky, but you wind up with a wonderful, flexible, intricate line with character. A reminder of the fact that the word used to mean 'brush', back in the 16th century.

Pencils now are for marking papers: I'm weaning myself away from the crappy propelling pencil, and have just bought a box of proper wooden pencils and an electic pencil sharpener. The virtue of the propelling pencils that the point doesn't break off if you carry it about, but a properly sharpened wood pencil is *really* sharp.
posted by jrochest at 3:24 PM on October 29, 2007

72 pencils.
posted by Tube at 4:18 PM on October 29, 2007

well, no—the "Previously" contains the same link in the original post.
posted by felix grundy at 5:53 PM on October 29, 2007

Which is weird, because not only did I search by topic AND url, but the automatic "this link has been posted before" thingy didn't happen...
posted by dersins at 7:29 PM on October 29, 2007

If you like pencils, you may well like Dave's Mechanical Pencils (in fact, I'm sure you will).
posted by tellurian at 8:48 PM on October 29, 2007

You may also like this.
Possibly the most exciting thing in Cumbria.

This is not really to do with pencils per se.
posted by No Mutant Enemy at 2:22 AM on October 30, 2007

Site's down. Too bad -- as soon as I saw the link, I was looking forward to hearing the praises of the Dixon-Ticonderoga #2.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:35 AM on October 30, 2007

Thoreau's pencils - "Yet Thoreau was content to walk away from an invention without making personal profit of it." [adversaria]
posted by tellurian at 2:57 PM on November 4, 2007