The American made Dixon Ticonderoga Medium 2 5/10 pencil

I recently acquired a half gross of Dixon Ticonderogas in a medium grade, the 2 5/10. These came in a case of six one-dozen boxes. The case made it extra interesting for me, and so I was willing to go a little further with cost. Ended up costing me 41 dollars, which isn’t bad, considering the cost of good pencils nowadays. The American made Dixons are extra special for me, anyway.

The medium is a harder grade than the more common Soft-No. 2. The harder grade is more appropriate for writing, where the hardness translates into longer sessions in between sharpening. I compared the pencil to all my No. 3s, which are my idea of a writing pencil, and the Dixon medium was softer than any of them. It was very similar in performance to the Ben Franklin 500 Medium.

The overall quality of the medium was consistent with other Dixons – a good pencil, not in the same league as my Berol or Blaisdell made Ben Franklins or Black Warriors. The paint job on the Ticonderogas consists of fewer layers, the grain sometimes breaks through the paint, there’s less luster. Still, a good pencil, just shy of greatness. Everything has a cost. Oh, what might have been.

Finally, I looked at my post for the Dixon and noticed that it was, in fact the Medium that was such a favorite of Roald Dahl.

From Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl by Donald Sturrock

The American made Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2

The American made Dixon Ticonderoga pencil was a good general purpose pencil. I say was, because like so many  once-U.S. made pencils– it’s no longer made. Modern (2014) Dixons are made in China or Mexico. I own these but won’t be reviewing them here. Suffice to say, they are not the same — and Dixon knows it, which is I’m sure a reason why the foreign made pencils have a different design and don’t even have the country of origin stamped on them.

Here are some key attributes of the American-made Dixon Ticonderoga:

• classic look
• beautiful yellow color
• well crimped ferrule
• excellent eraser — even old pencils retain a soft eraser
• sharpen well
• write well
• sturdy construction

Growing up, my father used Dixon Ticonderogas at his carpentry shop. These pencils were a constant over the many years that I visited his work, and of course they were in the car and in our house. My father sharpened them with a pocket knife against the palm of his hand, blade pressing into his tough skin. I never tried this trick. If I sharpened a Ticonderoga with a knife, usually a utility knife, I would twist the knife into the wood and swipe the blade away from me. I’m pretty good at making a point this way.

Sharpening with a knife is a good test  to see how well a pencil is constructed. Inferior pencils can’t handle the pressure of being whittled — the lead will crack or crumble. The Dixon had a good graphite core — strong, not brittle and the wood bonded well enough to the lead that even in a rough environment where a pencil would be dropped, tossed, and in one’s back pocket, it remained a reliable tool. On the other hand, a cheap pencil–not well bonded to the wood and of inferior lead chemistry, would shatter easily. A quality pencil is indispensable for many occupations.

As a homeowner with wood working tools, I continued to use Dixon Ticonderogas, but have since gathered them all up from my tool boxes. They now occupy a place on my desk, next to my more expensive art pencils. I’ve replenished the Dixons with New Old Stock (NOS) from eBay. I now have about 60 American made Dixons, which I will continue to treasure, and I’ll buy more if I feel the need. They were never the world’s best pencil — in spite of the claim on the box — but they were inexpensive, iconic, and well made.

Here are some sections on Roald Dahl’s love for the Dixon Ticonderogas — rooted, I believe, in the needful utility of a quality tool — from Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl By Donald Sturrock:

More on Dixon Ticonderogas:

The American made Dixon Ticonderoga Medium 2 5/10