PeterPan Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 I think it was Exercise Guru who mentioned these, but now I'm not sure. Anyways https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CRGP8B6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They're 1.3mm mechanical pencils, and they're SO fabulous for ds. No more broken leads!!! And they're cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exercise_guru Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Yes those pencils are the bomb. I learned about them from Kate Gladstone Her WebsiteShe is amazing and turned us onto italics handwriting. She has a very good book about how to solve common dysgraphia problems. She told me that those pencils by themselves would improve legibility in any child and yes they do! Also I saw the 11 pack at staples for 3 dollars. Wow. I still am trying to figure out how to keep track of the erasers as they fall off in my sons backpack. I might even try hot glue as we lose erasers long before we ever use them up. if you keep them in a jar on your counter the erasers will stay in but if you put them in a drawer, desk, or purse they will be long gone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 I like them, too. But DS14 won't use them now that he is older, unfortunately. I've found I can put the .9mm lead in a .7mm barrel to get a thinner pencil with a thicker lead. My kids refill their own pencils most of the time, and I'm not sure whether they always use the .9mm lead (because the pencil says .7mm on it, some of them insist they have to use .7mm lead). DS definitely prefers a mechanical pencil, but the lead tends to snap easily. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exercise_guru Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 I am consulting with Kate by skype and sent her some samples of my sons work. Her feeling is that there are few small things we can do to make his work less exhaustive and more fluid. I am circling back to working exclusively on handwriting legibility for all of December and I am paying for consultations because I have taken Getty and Dubay as far as I can on my own. Her passion is handwriting, she designed a line of raised paper and has spent her life teaching kids and adults with all kinds of writing limitations and challenges. I will update in january how it goes. Storygirl have you seen this one? Mechanical Pencils with 72 Pcs Lead Refills, 3 Pcs Erasers and a Pencil Pouch for Draft Drawing, Its a 2.0 mm but I think you can get HB#2 lead for that size. I am getting this set for my son for christmas for drawing. I am hoping that it will inspire him to draw more. I have my eye on this one as well because it is so well designed and might be easier on my son https://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Heavyweight-Mechanical-TPG-652/dp/B001SN8HQC/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1544025170&sr=1-4&keywords=ergonomic+mechanical+pencil Here is one that is .9mm maybe that would be a sweet spot where the lead wouldn't break but that it would produce smooth writing. Sakura Sumo Grip Mechanical Pencil, .9mm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 We love the 1.3mm ones! Even my 2 yo writes without breaking lead! The only down side for us is the lack of eraser refills. I contacted the company about it numerous times, and they refused to sell me any. I even offered to buy them in bulk, a few thousand at a time (I figured I could split it into lots and share with others who love these pencils), but they refused. They went on sale for $2 a while back, and I think I bought 15-20 packs, so we have a LOT of these pencils now and love them. Oddly enough, my 7 yo prefers normal non-mechanical pencils. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 On 12/5/2018 at 10:59 AM, exercise_guru said: I am consulting with Kate by skype and sent her some samples of my sons work. Her feeling is that there are few small things we can do to make his work less exhaustive and more fluid. I am circling back to working exclusively on handwriting legibility for all of December and I am paying for consultations because I have taken Getty and Dubay as far as I can on my own. Her passion is handwriting, she designed a line of raised paper and has spent her life teaching kids and adults with all kinds of writing limitations and challenges. I will update in january how it goes. Storygirl have you seen this one? Mechanical Pencils with 72 Pcs Lead Refills, 3 Pcs Erasers and a Pencil Pouch for Draft Drawing, Its a 2.0 mm but I think you can get HB#2 lead for that size. I am getting this set for my son for christmas for drawing. I am hoping that it will inspire him to draw more. I have my eye on this one as well because it is so well designed and might be easier on my son https://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Heavyweight-Mechanical-TPG-652/dp/B001SN8HQC/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1544025170&sr=1-4&keywords=ergonomic+mechanical+pencil Here is one that is .9mm maybe that would be a sweet spot where the lead wouldn't break but that it would produce smooth writing. Sakura Sumo Grip Mechanical Pencil, .9mm Awesome!! Thanks!! I'm going to consider these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exercise_guru Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 On 12/7/2018 at 1:49 PM, 4KookieKids said: We love the 1.3mm ones! Even my 2 yo writes without breaking lead! The only down side for us is the lack of eraser refills. I contacted the company about it numerous times, and they refused to sell me any. I even offered to buy them in bulk, a few thousand at a time (I figured I could split it into lots and share with others who love these pencils), but they refused. They went on sale for $2 a while back, and I think I bought 15-20 packs, so we have a LOT of these pencils now and love them. Oddly enough, my 7 yo prefers normal non-mechanical pencils. Too funny I have contacted them as well and I also bought a ton of packs when they were 3 dollars. We never use up the erasers so I give a nickle if anyone finds one in their backpack and turns it back into the pencil jar. I have tried gluing them with super glue and white glue with no effect. This week I am going to try craft bond and if that doesn't work there is always E3000 ,locktite and gorilla glue I could try. You can still fill the lead if it is glued but yes those erasers are annoying. My goal is to find some glue that holds the eraser in. I bet if the craft glue works I could break the seal and change the eraser down the road if needed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted December 13, 2018 Author Share Posted December 13, 2018 (edited) I'm an eraser snob, so I use Pink Pearl erasers if I'm going to erase. Edited December 13, 2018 by PeterPan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 2 hours ago, PeterPan said: I'm an eraser snob, so I use Pink Pearl erasers if I'm going to erase. The issue with the erasers is not that I need a better eraser... It's that I hate only being able to fit one piece of lead in because any others will fall out without an eraser to keep them in.... 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted December 13, 2018 Author Share Posted December 13, 2018 33 minutes ago, 4KookieKids said: The issue with the erasers is not that I need a better eraser... It's that I hate only being able to fit one piece of lead in because any others will fall out without an eraser to keep them in.... 🙂 Do those little erase caps fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 On 12/13/2018 at 1:39 PM, PeterPan said: Do those little erase caps fit? They do not, because of the triangular shape of the pencils. The eraser caps that we have purchased just fall off, because they're not snug enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 I wonder if it would help to stuff cotton in? Or tape over the end? I know what you mean by the lead falling out. We use Ticonderoga pencils right now. My kids are fine right now, but my oldest used to always break the lead in mechanical pencils, he would press too hard. He used to only be able to write with dull smudgy pencils that would not break on him, and he would be afraid to sharpen them, and let them get really dull and smudgy. He has gotten better though, and my other kids don’t press too hard, or really have the same kind of problems with pencils. I have always preferred mechanical pencils for myself, though, they are not as scratchy to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 18 minutes ago, Lecka said: I wonder if it would help to stuff cotton in? Or tape over the end? I know what you mean by the lead falling out. We use Ticonderoga pencils right now. My kids are fine right now, but my oldest used to always break the lead in mechanical pencils, he would press too hard. He used to only be able to write with dull smudgy pencils that would not break on him, and he would be afraid to sharpen them, and let them get really dull and smudgy. He has gotten better though, and my other kids don’t press too hard, or really have the same kind of problems with pencils. I have always preferred mechanical pencils for myself, though, they are not as scratchy to me. I shouldn't complain too much, because the lead is thick enough that you can really only fit one extra into the barrel for a total of two. 🙂 I think my kids would just pick off tape or something like that. But hopefully, it becomes less of an issue as my kids get bigger! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Everything with writing has gotten to be less of an issue here! Unfortunately not until age 9ish which is a long time! He can even type decently now (my 13-year-old) and that seemed hopeless when he was younger. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 (edited) It’s not that he is a great typer, but he CAN type. It goes a long way! And his handwriting is mostly legible now, too. It really used to get to the point of looking like scribbles. But he is doing well now with a combination of writing and typing. Edited December 15, 2018 by Lecka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exercise_guru Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Just a heads up they are discontinuing these pencils and closing them out at staples ( $3 a pack) the new ones look like this. find. Papermate Handwriting triangular pencils They look kidish and say "handwriting on them" I fear they ruined a good thing. My son likes the old ones so I bought as many packs as I could 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 13 hours ago, exercise_guru said: Just a heads up they are discontinuing these pencils and closing them out at staples ( $3 a pack) the new ones look like this. find. Papermate Handwriting triangular pencils They look kidish and say "handwriting on them" I fear they ruined a good thing. My son likes the old ones so I bought as many packs as I could Oh that's awful! Just awful! *I* like writing with these (seriously - I was just glowing to my dd's violin teacher this afternoon when dd pulled one out because I love that the lead never breaks and the teacher was like WHAT! THAT'S AMAZING! I BREAK SO MUCH LEAD!! We had a real moment there... lol). But I'm not sure even *I* would really enjoy using these new ones that looks so ridiculous. 😞 I'm glad we bought 20 packs last year when the price dipped (to add to the 5 packs we already had previously...) I believe we have close to 200 of them, but maybe I should go buy more anyway!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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