ticonderoga pencils?

[twoxcell]

Are ticonderoga pencils worth the price? I just haven't been able to bring myself to buy them because they are so expensive. I generally just buy whatever wood pencils are cheap at back to school time like the walmart brand ones. My sister keeps telling me these type are the best and I was just wondering what you all thought. :)

[threedogfarm]

I have always heard that they were the best but the ones I have found have all been made in China (also, I don't like the Microban antibacterial treatment on them but that's just me).  We've been happy with "The Write Dudes".  I bought them at Walmart.  I like the way they write and sharpen and the fact that the eraser doesn't tear off with erasing.  

 

HOWEVER, I'm not sure they are that much cheaper than Ticonderoga pencils.  I just looked at my receipt:  I paid $3.77 for 20 pencils BUT they were a multi color pack:  blue, red, orange and yellow.  Well worth the price considering I no longer here, "That's MY pencil!" because now we all have our own color.

[zoobie]

Yep! Search here and you'll find several threads full of passionate supporters. I prefer Black Warriors and Lyra, but Ticonderogas are very nice. Walgreens had them for 99c a box a few weeks ago, but I buy a crate for $9ish at Costco that lasts years. :)

[dbmamaz]

after i got my first pack of ticonderoga, i was seriously tempted to go around the house throwing away all other pencils - no one wants to use anything else.  

[kitten18]

I prefer Papermate Mirado, either the yellow/gold or the Black Warriors.

[Mommy22alyns]

I don't like the yellow barrelled ones.  I had problems with sharpening and uneven leads.  I tried the noir ones and Black Warrior pencils and they're much better so far.

[StaceyE]

Only kind anyone in this house will use. Definitely worth the extra price, IMHO.

[Garga]

I looooooooove them.  Loooooooooove them!  

 

I prefer the yellow ones over the black ones. The yellow ones make a slightly darker line. They erase easily.  The lead does not break.

 

I recently bought a box of 4 red ones to use to correct papers. I hope I love them, too.  Haven't tried them yet. 

 

I used to scoff at spending more than a few cents on pencils, but they are worth the price. 

[PachiSusan]

USA gold wood pencils are hands down the Best pencils ever.

[twoxcell]

 

USA gold wood pencils are hands down the Best pencils ever.

I do like those ones too. I bought a couple packs last year on sale and they were really nice.

[mommyof3blessings]

I agree! We have Ticonderoga pencils, but I much prefer our USA Gold ones...now if they just made them with bigger erasers. My kids go thru the erasers faster than the pencils and I despise the cap erasers so much I just end up getting new pencils!

 

I do like those ones too. I bought a couple packs last year on sale and they were really nice.

[twoxcell]

 

I agree! We have Ticonderoga pencils, but I much prefer our USA Gold ones...now if they just made them with bigger erasers. My kids go thru the erasers faster than the pencils and I despise the cap erasers so much I just end up getting new pencils!

We use cap erasers because the ones on the pencils never work right.

[airforcefamily]

Ticonderogas have been my favorite for years but this year the regular ones seemed off. I bought them at walmart and the package said microban - some walmart products are actually lower quality versions of the same product sold at other stores so that might be the problem or it might be the new microban coating. The box of tri write (triangular barrel) Ticonderogas purchased this year from amazon do not say microban and feel the same as the older ones we have. I'm going to pick up another package of the regular ones from a non walmart store to see if that is the difference. Costco has a good price on them and great return policy if you happen to shop there.

 

I wanted to see what all the fuss about mirado black warriors was so I got a package of them this year. The kids like them but I don't really care for them. One didn't sharpen well and had to be sharpened way down to get a point. They are nice and lightweight.

 

Any other must try pencil brands?

[renmew]

Coming from a teacher's point of view, YES, those are the best pencils. They sharpen the easiest by far, even making far less noise in every electric sharpener I have owned. Like, kids could sharpen their own pencils and it would happen quickly. Off brand pencils would be crooked or not sharpen at all. Too much trouble.

 

But, I have found that since I bought the Carl Angel 5 pencil sharpener it doesn't matter what kind of pencils I use. They all work perfectly, well, except for those with very soft wood/lead. Those lose their tips too easily. 

[Murphy101]

I bought some for the first time this year and two week into the school year, they are the only ones any of my kids will use now. They sharpen smoothly and evenly and easily. No breaks. Write smoothly and darkly.

 

I think the only way I could do better is to just ditch pencils for charcoal sticks, but I don't want to deal with the smudges everywhere.

 

No problems with erasers so far, but I'm addicted to the rubbers artist use and the brown magic erasers. We've used them for years because they erase better and easier.

[weederberries]

I'm back to only buying Ticonderoga pencils.  After rewarding my children and celebrating this and that with cute pencils, I decided just to go back to the standby.  They sharpen beautifully with little waste, write well and stay sharp longer.   We have a wall mounted sharpener that doesn't sharpen anything straight except for Ticonderoga.  We also have an electric sharpener that does a beautiful job on them.  The erasers are sturdy and don't leave marks.  I also only buy Pink Pearl erasers for my kids and treat my self to the Magic Gum art erasers for when the pencil eraser wears down.  

 

My Target has them on sale this week and also has a Cartwheel electronic coupon good this week.  I purchase them year round at Costco for a good price.  I sharpen 30 or so at a time and keep them in a pencil drawer.  We don't argue over which pencil belongs to whom because they are all exactly the same. 

 

 

[Lizzie in Ma]

I love them, won't buy anything else.  I can not stand cheap supplies.

[Word Nerd]

My older DD won't use anything except the black ones. I almost never use pencils but don't notice any difference when I do.

[Dmmetler]

My DD loves the Ticonderoga beginners (fatter barrel)-they last forever, dark mark, and she can press down without them breaking. I buy them by the dozen when I'm doing Amazon orders-a single box is heading into it's 2nd school year.

[pitterpatter]

I wish I could say yes, but our second box of Tri-Writes was horrible. The lead broke instantly after every sharpen. Our favorite pencil last year ended up being a freebie from the Sanibel Shell Museum. Hah! Having said that, I still buy them. Perhaps the pre-mentioned box got dropped a time or two in a warehouse or jumbled too much during their stint with UPS. Still way better than generic. We don't use many pencils, though. I bought two boxes of Tri-Writes when we started school two years ago. We would still be using those had I not ended up trashing the second box. So, spending a couple of bucks on a box of good pencils isn't a big deal here. We'll have them until we're sick of looking at them. Bought a pack of the brightly colored ones on sale a couple of weeks ago at Target for $2. Those will last the year, I'm sure. 

[vonfirmath]

I heard that Ticonderoga has stopped making their pencils with microban -- so there is still stuff in the supply line but after that you should start seeing them again without the stuff

 

[songsparrow]

Ticonderoga was the only pencil that I would use for years - going back to my school days. I loved them! Then they started making them in China and treating them with Microban - boo!

 

Now we use the Write Dudes USA Gold pencils, and I'm equally happy with their quality, plus happy they're made in the USA and not chemically treated. I've gotten them at Target in the past, but this year got them from Amazon for $1.99 per dozen (as an "Add-On item" which was a good enough price for me since it saved me a trip to get them.

[twoxcell]

 

I wish I could say yes, but our second box of Tri-Writes was horrible. The lead broke instantly after every sharpen. Our favorite pencil last year ended up being a freebie from the Sanibel Shell Museum. Hah! Having said that, I still buy them. Perhaps the pre-mentioned box got dropped a time or two in a warehouse or jumbled too much during their stint with UPS. Still way better than generic. We don't use many pencils, though. I bought two boxes of Tri-Writes when we started school two years ago. We would still be using those had I not ended up trashing the second box. So, spending a couple of bucks on a box of good pencils isn't a big deal here. We'll have them until we're sick of looking at them. Bought a pack of the brightly colored ones on sale a couple of weeks ago at Target for $2. Those will last the year, I'm sure.

Why don't you use many pencils? We always run out of pencils no matter how many I buy in the summer. :)

[LLMom]

We love them as well.  I hate the cheap-o ones.  Just end up in the trash can.  Now if we could only find a good pencil sharpner.  We have gone through a ton of them, and they are all junk.  

[boscopup]

They were fine for us, but I hate wooden pencils in general. I switched to Pentel mechanical pencils, and I'm so much happier.

[lewelma]

They are so good that the 16 year old I tutor requested that I buy him some when I was visiting the US last month.

 

Ruth in NZ

[My3girls]

Yep, they are worth it. My dd11 turned me on to them. She borrowed one from someone at ps last year. I was skeptical, but she was right. Finally, a pencil where the lead doesn't just fall out after you sharpen them.

[Halcyon]

Yep. We love them and mirado black warrior. That's all we use in our house.

[texasmama]

I do hope that the Ticonderoga Microban is gone!  I was at Target yesterday and found ONE box of Ticonderogas without ,and the rest of the boxes had Microban marked.  I bought the one box.

[mrs.m]

I do hope that the Ticonderoga Microban is gone!  I was at Target yesterday and found ONE box of Ticonderogas without ,and the rest of the boxes had Microban marked.  I bought the one box.

 

I bought yellow ones this year at Office Max and they don't have Microban.

 

Also, I recently decided that there is not a difference between the Black and Yellow other than the color and cost. They don't even list it as being anything more than a black pencil. ;) I even looked at Ticonderoga's site and they don't state a difference. But I do like the way the black ones look.