pinkmint Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I feel kinda old but honestly, when I was a kid, I remember it being relatively easy to use and sharpen a pencil without constant breakage. It seems like pencil quality has gone way down. Has anyone else noticed this? (and yes I know pencils have graphite but everyone calls it lead). Do you have to go to the art supply store and buy German made fine art pencils to get decent ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Since I started using the yellow ticonderogas, I have never had the problem. Also had great quality with Smencils: http://smencils.com/smencils/ ETA: I know to throw away all the cute unbranded, novelty patterned pencils with baseballs, christmas themes, valentines themes etc because all of them break while sharpening. Edited January 4, 2016 by mathnerd 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Yup, the novelty pencils suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 we buy good old ticonderoga #2. all the "cheaper" brands are examples of you get what you pay for. breakage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 We have ticonderogas as well, but we use erasable pens more and more (frixions). Even the ticonderogas seem to break more for us lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meena Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I got tired of breaking and dull leads, so now I almost exclusively use good mechanical pencils with .9mm lead. My favorite is the yellow Pentel Sharp drafting pencil. http://www.staples.com/Pentel-Sharp-Mechanical-Pencils-9mm-Yellow/product_499681?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:499681&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=499681&KPID=499681&lsft=cid:PS-_-GooglePLAs-_-499681,kpid:499681&gclid=CM64g_LekMoCFUc9gQodxCgHuQMy only dislike is the tiny eraser. I also like the Twist Erase pencil but they can be hard to find in .9mm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Our ticonderogas break every dag on day. And they are well-sharpened, because when I first started kvetching about it I was informed that one must use a god pencil sharpener from the jump or they are useless. So we got nicer sharpeners and lo and behold! They still break every dang day. We do have better luck with Faber-Castell, but they are pricey and my kids don't like to use them because they don't have eraser tops. It just bugs them :shrug: It's a really annoying problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 We like black warrior. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 The ticonderogas ones are okay but my oldest has a habit of using his pencils as drum sticks and the table as a drum while doing math. Needless to say, I have to set aside a box for test taking else he would not have any decent pencils to bring to the exam hall. Faber-Castell is good but more expensive so we use that for Art instead of writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 The ticonderogas ones are okay but my oldest has a habit of using his pencils as drum sticks and the table as a drum while doing math. Needless to say, I have to set aside a box for test taking else he would not have any decent pencils to bring to the exam hall. Faber-Castell is good but more expensive so we use that for Art instead of writing. Stick these on the end of the good ones... http://www.amazon.com/The-Board-Dudes-Scribble-Drumstick/dp/B00LYJOMKA (They don't make much noise... but they were one of the "fun" things on our box day to start the school year this year and ds liked them.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (They don't make much noise... but they were one of the "fun" things on our box day to start the school year this year and ds liked them.) Unfortunately he likes the sound of drumbeats. I could always let him use wooden chopsticks to drum I guess but he would instinctively switch back to pencils. Same kid can sing opera correctly while doing math. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Another vote for Black Warriors. I just found a pack in the pocket of my passenger's seat. Happy to put them all in a cup on my desk! "ALL FOR MEEEE--BWAHAHAHAHAH" like that. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 http://www.amazon.com/Dixon-Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Holographic-13970/dp/B002ON02CC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451952009&sr=8-1&keywords=ticonderoga+pencils+noir I've never owned pencils better than these -no breakage, long-lasting, and they sharpen well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) These are nice: Cedar Pencils And these mechanicals: Twist Mechanical (though I prefer the 9 mm) Staedler Rally pencils are nice too, but the link is not cooperating. Edited January 5, 2016 by zoobie 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 You know what I did? I got a mechanical pencil .5mm because I like the fine line and got the softer lead refills because I can make a dark line without so much pressure. No breakage, dark line, and less tension in my hand and wrist. Win win win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioSamba Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 These are nice: Cedar Pencils And these mechanicals: Twist Mechanical (though I prefer the 9 mm) Staedler Rally pencils are nice too, but the link is not cooperating. I love the cedar pencils (made in the USA!), and so does my son. They feel special to him, so he takes better care of them. They have reduced pencil drama in our homeschool by at least 86%. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 These are nice: Cedar Pencils And these mechanicals: Twist Mechanical (though I prefer the 9 mm) Staedler Rally pencils are nice too, but the link is not cooperating. We only use the General's Cedar pencils. Definitely our favorite pencils we ever used. Black warriors are pretty good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkmint Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thank you ladies, this has been eye opening. I foolishly thought that cheap pencils would be ok, but have learned that this is one of those things where you get what you pay for. Even though it didn't used to be that way. It really seems like with more and more everyday items, the quality is going down the toilet... and yet if you have the money to spend, you can buy a decent version of any given item. But then with the cheap items, you end up plowing through them so fast because of the low quality that it would have been more cost effective to get the better one. I could probably go on a big rabbit trail about this but I won't for now. I searched "high quality pencils" on Amazon and the first result was those General cedar pencils. I didn't know about those. I think I'm going to try them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 http://www.amazon.com/Dixon-Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Holographic-13970/dp/B002ON02CC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451952009&sr=8-1&keywords=ticonderoga+pencils+noir I've never owned pencils better than these -no breakage, long-lasting, and they sharpen well. These are my younger son's favorite pencils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 We like Zebra mechanical pencils:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BLC7FG?keywords=zebra%20mechanical%20pencil%200.5&qid=1452014007&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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