Misc: Pencil Bug: The Naturals

As I mentioned late last year, I developed a minor obsession with pencils after being awakened by the Pencil Revolution website. I draw in my sketch book a couple days each week and I use pencils at work almost exclusively. My little collection has grown quite a bit in the past six months. Since my last blog post about pencils is the most visited page on this site (after the homepage of course), I decided to write about them again.

My favorite pencils are often the natural, unpainted variety of incense cedar pencils. A nice coat of varnish is fine - completely bare is even better. The details and my opinions of the pencils pictured are below. A larger photo is available on Flickr.

a) Blackfeet Indian #2: My expectations on this one were really high given all that folks have written about them. It is a very nice pencil but the writing quality didn't blow me away.

• Ferrule: black
• Eraser: pink
• Print: black
• Finish: clear varnish
• Availability: eBay, may be hard to find

b) Musgrave HB Natural Finish: A dark and smooth line comparable to the Forest Choice - maybe smoother. This is one I picked up recently that I'm very happy with. The white eraser makes this one stand out.

• Ferrule: Light gold with a maroon stripe
• Eraser: white
• Print: gold and black
• Finish: clear varnish
• Availability: Pencil Things

c) Forest Choice #2: A very dark and smooth line - these are a little softer than some number two pencils but very nice.

• Ferrule: green
• Eraser: pink
• Print: green
• Finish: no varnish - very smooth
• Availability: Pencil World Creativity Store

d) Mongol Trio Jumbo, triangular barrel: This pencil is too big for me to write with for extended periods, but my son loves it and it looks great.

• Ferrule: black with copper stripe
• Eraser: pink
• Print: black
• Finish: clear varnish
• Availability: Pencil Things

e) Mirado Woodtone #2 HB: Not as smooth or dark a line as some of the competition but it doesn't require sharpening as often either. This may be the same wood, lead, and performance as the popular Mirado Black Warrior.

• Ferrule: gold with red stripe
• Eraser: pink
• Print: gold
• Finish: tinted varnish
• Availability: office supply stores

f) USA General's Cedar Pointe 333 # 2 HB: The lead produces a nice balance of darkness and hardness. I like the look and feel of this pencil a lot. The writing can feel a tad grittier than some of the softer number two pencils but this is still one of my favorites.

• Ferrule: black
• Eraser: black
• Print: black
• Finish: no varnish
• Availability: Dick Blick

g) Dixon Ticonderoga Woodgrain #2 Soft: A good line but the point goes blunt a little too quickly. I prefer a #2.5 for Dixon pencils but I've only seen them in yellow. Also, the varnish of this one is a little too golden for a cedar pencil.

• Ferrule: green with yellow stripes
• Eraser: pink
• Print: green
• Finish: tinted varnish
• Availability: office supply stores