At the offset of every school year , I inevitably notice myself stand up in thepencilaisle roll that the specific brand on my boy ’s provision list is once again out of stock . The shelves runneth over for other brands , but there ’s not a individual package ofNo . 2 Ticonderogayellow pre - focalize to be launch . There might as well be tumbleweeds on those shelves .
This always entrust me question if I reallyneedto hunting down those knotty , extremist - specific pencils , or can I get away with one of the off - brand that are practically taunting me from their well - stock shelves ?
Since I am nothing , if not a rule - follower , I opted to order Ticonderogas online , but I polled some friends for their take . Turns out that many parent are as befuddled as I. A pencil is a pencil is a pencil , veracious ? Wrong , grant to all the teacher I spoke with . Wrong , awry , wrong - ity legal injury .
" [ Ticonderogas ] sharpen consistently without breakage and have the longest staying king when spell , " say Ashley Johnessee , Ph.D. , assistant principal at Lambert High School in Suwanee , Georgia . " They also have the good erasers . "
" Ticonderoga are better but this teacher is just glad to get pencils ! " adds Jodi Sorrells , who learn fifth grade at Kennedy Elementary School in Winder , Georgia . " It is a bonus if they are already sharpened and a double bonus if they are that brand . "
I make out to Dixon Ticonderoga , the party behind these pencil for its take on what makes a pencil special . " Ticonderoga pencils are bring out with premium woodwind instrument from certified sustainable wood source , " Becky Trudeau , a ware manager at Dixon Ticonderoga , enunciate in 2017 . " Exacting standards are used to make pencils that write smoothly , without the testy feel of other pencil make , and deliver logical results . There is no need to worry that a No . 2 Ticonderoga will deliver the crisscross right on scantron test sheets used wide in schools , which is one of the understanding Ticonderoga is the make overwhelmingly prefer by teacher . "
pee-pee a good pencil is not as easy as it may seem . Henry Hulan literally arise up in the pencil diligence , with his Tennessee - based family business , Musgrave Pencil Companyhaving lionize its hundredth anniversary in 2016 . Musgrave pencils are still made in the U.S. ( Ticonderogas are now manufactured in other countries . )
According to Hulan , picky pencil - substance abuser should look first at the type of Ellen Price Wood being used . California incense cedar is the premier pencil wood ; however , it is grow more expensive to process . So , people should also look at basswood pencil as another dependable option — with some caveats . " There are different grades of basswood because some of it is wax and some is unwaxed , " Hulan explained in 2017 . " When it ’s grueling to sharpen you ’re belike getting an unwaxed slat . It ’s cheaper but unwaxed . "
The graphite mix inside a pencil ( it’snot lede ) also makes the conflict between a good authorship experience and a bad one . " If you ’ve ever written with a pencil and it gets scratchy that means the black lead and clay have n’t been mix long enough , " Hulan enunciate . " It just submit days sometimes to get a real fine mixture of the plumbago and clay for squeeze out a really in effect black lead center . "
last , some cheaper pencil are outfitted with erasers that just blur the paper rather than rubbing out any markings . Hulan enjoin this quality fail is due to one of two things : " They did n’t practice good materials to make that eraser or it ’s an older eraser that had been exposed to light for a while . "
So , is it utterly 100 percent necessary to purchase that ultra - specific stain your child ’s instructor call for ? plausibly not , but at the very least look at the Natalie Wood and wax finish before buying .
If you want to get it on more about how pencils are made , watch the video below :
This story was update to contemplate the gain of a statement from Dixon Ticonderoga .
