On Buying Pencils (Online)

What I recommend:

Given what you know about pencils —and you should develop that knowledge – look for a variety of pencils, search using specific terms, or use general terms, and item numbers. You never know how someone has chosen to identify their pencils for sale.

Search by brands, and by color, and buy in lots, make offers, and explore pencils in your general area of interest. Develop a general area of interest. I generally only do American pencils. I don’t go looking for German Staedtlers or Japanese Hi-Unis or German Faber-Castells, although I own them and respect their quality. I don’t go looking for artist pencils, although I’m an artist – I know all true artist pencils are going to be good. But I’m good there. Trust me, I don’t need anymore. No matter how broad your specialty, specialize.

Know what you’re bidding on – There’s no getting around it. Unless you grew up around a variety of pencils and you just know your pencils (lucky you), you will have to pay to become familiar with the products out there. You will get burned. That’s okay. Learning costs money.

You have to know the history of pencils. Pick up a book, or two or three. Pick up Petroski’s Pencil book and refer to it when you have a question about what you’re looking at online. Understand that markings on a pencil change over time. The brand by itself is not enough. Brands change hands, manufacturing companies change hands,  factories and countries of manufacture change, quality changes (sometimes it gets better, sometimes worse). Again, be ready to eat some bad purchases. Look at the pictures, read the descriptions. And don’t buy from sellers with a history of poor reviews.

Here’s a formula that I wish I would always use when buying pencils. It can probably be improved upon.

I’ll define some terms:

General use – I’m a user of pencils so I consider how much use I can make of a pencil, even knowing that I will never use more than a fraction of what I have. My general use art pencils range between 2Bs and a 2H. For writing, I can use anything between a 2 and a 3. A number 1 is too soft for writing for me.

Special use – these are your specialty pencils. These are special use because they may not be pencils that you use on a regular basis. For me, these are 3Bs. I’ll use them when I want to get a very raw line and anything between between a 3H and a 5H.

Very limited use – How many yellow pencils can you use. How much are you willing to spend on pencils that you won’t use very much? Maybe you can change these to special use by switching the paper. I didn’t have much use for my Berol made Eagle yellow ochre Verithins until I needed to draw, a lot, on rolls of black paper; I didn’t have much use for my Venus yellows until I started using them alongside other colors. I’ll play around with a 6H.

No use – Don’t count these when making a purchase. I really don’t need a white pencil ( I think). I don’t need pencils with plastic leads for writing on film– these are the filmograph pencils. I can count with two hands how often I’ve used 9Hs, 8Bs, etc.

Use Total Cost: Seller price + taxes + shipping

Use a per pencil cost calculation: Total Cost/count of pencils

In general, I heed the per pencil cost, to keep me grounded. I don’t want to regret my purchases. I’ll pay more for sealed, boxed, or cased (boxes inside of boxes) — cellophane is so awesome — or what is otherwise in new-in-box quality. It’s amazing to me that quality pencils have survived 60, 70 years in exceptional condition. Condition matters. I don’t mind dusty pencils – a good wiping restores them. But a pencil can be damaged. The wood can be split. Poor storage or just normal oxidation can wreck a pencil’s ferule. I hate pencils with used erasers. I don’t mind a few sharpened pencils. I was going to sharpen them anyway. I don’t like them all sharpened, unless they’re sharpened by the manufacturer. I know that Dixon ferules are susceptible to splitting from age and oxidation – the metal is so thin. I don’t hold that against them.

If a pencil has general use appeal – for example, if it’s a pencil that can be used in everyday writing or drawing – then it’s a straight bulk price sliding scale.

The sliding scale:

Sometimes you just want to have a particular pencil, so you’re willing to pay a higher per dollar amount. For me, that’s a dollar a pencil for special situations – like, I really want this Vermilion Green old timey Colorbrite – fine, I’ll pay 15 bucks total for a dozen. You should pay less on a per pencil basis if buying in bulk, though. So, if you’re willing to pay a dollar a pencil per dozen, maybe you should be willing to pay no more than 50 cents per pencil at volumes of 3 dozen; 25 cents at 6 dozen; 15 cents at 10 dozen, 10 cents at 15 dozen. Now, I’ve purchased in bulk single color, single make pencils, because I just had to have them — this is the case with the Venus Postal Reds for which I paid 70 cents per pencil for six dozen. But in general, if what you’re getting is a whole bunch of the same or very similar (all reds) then you should price the pencils down if more doesn’t mean better for you . Consider the quantity and lower what you’re willing to spend for the same type of pencil in bulk. Am I willing to pay 30 cents for all reds at quantities of 200? This is actually something that I’m contemplating and so far I’m saying no. Twenty cents? Sure. Put me down for that.

Venus Col-Erase Carmine Red

The Venus Col-Erase is another one of those no longer made pencils from yesteryear (as in half a century ago or something) . The Col-Erase brand continues on, but it has nothing on the original Venus from decades ago. Not even the Faber Castell Col-Erase pencils, which I’ve discussed before, can compare.

[Pictures coming later]

What sets the Venus Col-Erase apart is the absolutely lubricated lead. Seriously, these things glide on the paper and they wear down very slowly, and maintain a point. They were popular with animators and designers/architects, and I can imagine that the lot that I bought came from draftsman — who else would have the myriad of reds, blues, and yellows. There were many brands in there:

• General’s Quality — nice name. 😐 Good pencil.
• General’s Color-Tex — now, that’s better. Good pencil.
• Eberhard Faber Colorbrite (these were amazing — super  saturated reds)
• Superflex — a little lite colored
• Eagle Verithin — Good pencil.
• Ruwe Woodhue — Not good. The lightest of all of them.
• Venus Unique (which seem very much like the Col-Erase and they erase, too, and use the same part number for the Carmine Red — they are too much the same. I don’t know what’s going on here)
• Dixon Thinex — Good

But what did this connoiseur have the most of? Col-Erase Carmine Reds. Above all else. It’s like the world is trying to tell me something. Previously, I had purchased dozens of yellow Venus Col-Erase pencils, but I could never use them on anything. The yellow doesn’t stand out well enough on the white paper I tend to use for drawing. I had a project to draw and make black life-size cutouts a few years back and these pencils didn’t apply very well, didn’t make a good mark. It happens. The Verithin yellow ochres were excellent though. Anyway…

Having so many reds, makes me want to start marking up some kind of text, crossing out words and…do people still mark up paper with colored pencils?

Here’s a piece from the Pencil Neck Geek (opens in a new tab). The writer refers to how popular these were with artists and emphasizes the differences between Venus and later companies/brands/whatever that inherited the Col-Erase name.

The Venus Col-Erase (and the Venus Unique) are very special pencils. Strong, very lubed, and go on in layers so you can develop intensities.

To finish it off, here’s advertising fragments from old ads (found using Google Book search, but only in clips):

[…] And the right pencil to be wrong with is the Venus col-erase. If you or your secretary makes a mistake you simply rub it out and re-do it correctly. You don’t have to start all over again. The Venus col-erase’s smooth break- resistant lead erases…

Finally! Color lead that Venus’ remarkable new lead formula gives you colors that are smoother, sharper, more brilliant yet erase without a trace. Quick. Clean. Complete. And Col-Erase pencils have all the strength of black lead pencils.

See how beautifully our color pencils erase? As you can see, you can’t see. And if you think this blank page is just an empty promise, we’d like to send you a VENUS Col-Erase*test kit. Then you’ll be able to not see for yourself. Gentlemen: …

This is the new Col-erase pencil from Venus -the first ever coloured pencil whose mark can be erased as cleanly as a black lead pencil. Venus have made this possible by producing an entirely new coloured lead formula which offers the …

THE VENUS PEN and Pencil Corporation is introducing to business and industry, color … color lead formulation are called Venus “ColErase” and are being enthusiastically received by engineering and law firms, …

And you think I was overselling it.

Skilcraft 1.1 mm Mechanical Pencil

I picked up the Skilcraft 1.1 mm Mechanical Pencil to use with some old (very old) IBM Electrographic leads. The mechanical pencil is designed to take 4 inch leads — most (all?) 1.1mm lead out there is stubby stuff, anywhere from 1-3 inches in length. Don’t recommend getting into the 1.1 mm lead space if you can at all help it. Not enough choices in the ecosystem.

I bought the Skilcraft mechanical pencils in a pack of 12 for about $24. You may end up spending more. At 2-3 bucks a piece, they’re a good deal. A great price for a well functioning mechanical pencil. The alternatives started at about $11 per pencil. I have no problem spending a few dollars on a quality pencil, but none of the other pencils I surveyed looked capaable of handling 4 inch leads and no way I wanted to snap my leads.

The Skilcraft pencils are made of a sturdy black plastic and use a knocker at the top to advance the lead — typical functionality. I’ve been using them for several weeks and they work fine.

The pencil can take 6 total leads, one in the mechanism and 5 more in the chamber. If you have 1.1 mm leads, this is the pencil to get. There’s an Autopoint and a Rite in the Rain …but both of those are stubby, not full-sized pencils. Cost wise, the Skilcrafts have those other ones beat.

IBM Electrographic Pencil Leads

I bought this box of leads on eBay and then spent many weeks locating and then considering lead holders. The size of the leads is 1.1 mm, which is a, now, no longer well supported lead. If you go to an office supply store, you’ll find the more common .5, .7, and .9 mm leads. 1.1 mm leads dropped from the mainstream at some point.

The reason I bought the leads was that I wanted to try out the IBM Electrographic lead, but could never find a decent, well-priced, well-cared for pencil collection on eBay.  The Electrographic is one of the fondly remembered and admired pencil from yesterday.

A few more words on lead holders. A couple of companies sell 1.1 mm lead holders, like Rite in the Rain , but these are stubby pencils meant to be carried in a pocket. The leads these guys come with are 3 inches long. The Electrographic leads are 4 inches. I didn’t want to risk having to snap off an inch to make the leads I got fit an $11 pencil. I eventually found a modern box of 12 Skilcraft mechanical pencils for 24 dollars, online. I filled up all 12 mechanical pencils with the Electrographic leads and stashed away the original leads (doubt I’ll ever use them).

The leads are very soft and very dark and very smooth. In terms of darkness, it’s as dark as a 7B Mars Lumograph, a German art pencil, but it’s much, much smoother than that. The Lumograph is unbearably squeaky at 7B.  Unfortunately, I can’t readily see my set of Hi-uni pencils to compare the smoothness of a dark one of those with the Electrographic. It’s also a very smudgy pencil (smudgier than the Lumograph, which is formulated not to smudge as much). Can it be used for art? Sure and I should try that on a finished piece. I’ve done some quick drawings but that’s about it in terms of art. I’ve primarily used these for writing notes on notecards. I’ve developed a practice of taking notes for work and these leads stand out very well. Would I use them for writing long form, like for my story writing on notebooks? No. Too smudgy.

Advice, if you need a super dark and smooth pencil line, get these leads on eBay when they turn up. In general, you’ll get a better deal on eBay for old leads, like the 2mm leads that artists use, than what you’ll find anywhere else. Grab what other people overlook!

General’s Pencil Company’s Cedar Pointe Pencil

I’m not a fan of the Kimberly artist pencil made by General’s. Those are not properly graded — the hardness scale is not well maintained, so I just don’t use them.

I did, however, decide to try out the Cedar Pointe pencil. It’s a general purpose pencil – No. 2/HB — cased in cedar, with a black furule and black eraser. There’s no coating on the pencil. It’s just the wood, which is it’s main selling point. Each pencil is unique, since there’s no paint to cover up the wood or imperfections in cutting, of which there were none in any of the pencils I handled — the shaft is uniformly well cut and the edges are semi-hex (rounded at the corners). The cedar picks up dirt, water, and oils from your hands and whatever it comes in contact with. The pencils are easily nicked — that paint does make a difference, after all. As you handle the pencil, the wood will become darker and pick up character. I’ll repeat: the lack of paint is a feature. Cedar’s a nice wood, and there’s nothing wrong with getting in touch with natural materials.

As far as No. 2s are concerned, there’s no universal standard for hardness, and this is one of the darkest HBs I’ve ever used, but in spite of that retains a point remarkably well and they sharpen nicely. The graphite has an interesting scratch that you can hear very distinctly. The eraser does its job and lasts long. In every respect, an excellent pencil and made in America!

The Blaisdell Ben Franklin 500 – Medium Hard – # 3

Recently I acquired some Blaisdell-made Ben Franklin 500s in a No. 3 grade, medium hard. This pencil is one of those quality yellow pencils of yesteryear. No such thing, anymore, if I even need to tell you. In the green stamping of the number 3, it’s near kin to the Dixon Ticonderoga. I have another blog post that features the Ben Franklin 500 made by Berol.The Blaisdell Ben Franklin 500 is the predecessor to the Berol.

The paint job is excellent on the Blaisdell Ben Franklins. One of the things that surprises me about pencil paint jobs is how it maintains its luster over numerous decades. So long as they’re in a box, an old pencil will look as good , if not better, than a contemporary pencil. Better because they don’t make them like they used to.

The Blaisdell Ben Franklin sharpens well, writes nicely — clearly there was a tradition of quality that carried on from company to company. The newer Berol made pencil is actually a nicer pencil, though, which surprises me. Going strictly on the trusty principle of “everything was better in the past”, I struggled to understand why the newer pencils were beating out the older ones. I guess, some things do improve with time.

The paint job on the Berol-made pencil is superior. The layers of paint are thicker (probably with more coats), glossier, and smoother. The die pressing of some lettering onto the Berol is actually covered over by a later coat of paint.  Another feature: the ferule is not attached through what’s called prick punching –the dozen or so little punctures that grip the eraser and wood as on the Blaisdell. I’ve always regarded this technique as a cost-saving call. On the Berol, the ferule is clamped (squeezed) onto the shaft so there’s no punctures to detract from the trademark white band design. The edges of the Berol’s body are smoother, too; rounder, more semi-hex as opposed to hex, which make for a more comfortable long-term writing experience. A pencil is a simple tool and every decision, subtle as it may be, is meaningful.

Oh well, this has turned into a further appreciation of the Berol Ben Franklin. I couldn’t help it. Berol and Blaisdell, both, were good pencil manufacturers. Berol edged out Blaisdell with improvements to an already good pencil.

1950s Eberhard Faber Mongol 482 No. 1 pencil

The 1950s Eberhard Faber Mongol 482 No. 1 pencil is a soft, large core, general purpose pencil.

General purpose pencils are pencils without a usage niche. In contrast, art pencils are graded for hardness across a broad range; writing pencils are long lasting and smudge resistant — the Ben Franklin 500 and Black Warrior, which I’ve reviewed here, are examples of writing pencils.

Back to the Mongol.

The 1950s Mongol is a handsome pencil that lays down a rich, dark line. I can imagine scribbling on a slip of paper, in a sooty steel factory floor, some instructions about quantity and purchase orders.

The Mongol has all the features of a solid pencil.

• Consistent, uniform lead
• Dark, rich lines
• Sharpens well
• A good paint job
• Designed to withstand lead breakage through binders– a lost art

The pencil is quaintly overloaded with information.

• The name of the pencil
• A decorative star
• The company name (spelled out)
• Country of origin
• The model number
• The numeric hardness
• The descriptive hardness

In addition, the Woodclinched/Complastic Lead method is die stamped (cut) into the paint

I find all the information interesting, like the outline of a manual, which you’ll have noticed don’t exist much anymore.

Eagle Verithin No. 2745 – Carmine Red with Eraser

The Eagle Verithin No 2745 – Carmine Red with Eraser is an old, no longer manufactured hard colored pencil that was made in the U.S.  I suspect mine came from some time around the late 1970s and early 1980s, based on the box design. In spite of having a hard core (lead), the pencil is not brittle. You can sharpen it to a long point and it won’t crumble under reasonable pressure. The 2745 is the eraser capped version of the old Verithin 745, which instead has a small metal cap — I think the eraser makes it more beautiful, personally.

I’ve used the 2745, now, for drawing and for correcting printed documents. It’s similar in appearance to the Eagle Black Warrior. Both are premium pencils, with the exact same brass ferule with painted band. The 2745 has a dark burgundy paint job, alluding to the red inside but not trying to duplicate it — it’s there for looks. When I throw together a bunch of pencils, the 2745 stands out. Contrast this to the Verithin of today, which has been stripped down to the basics — the paint job more closely matches what gets laid down on paper and there’s less ostensive design — there’s just letters, not even a metal cap. Hey, every penny counts and finishing-touches cost money.

I use the 2745 for both pre-drawing (which will later be finished with graphite) and for finished drawings where all I use is the red. This is an excellent hard colored pencil and I hope I have enough to last me for a while. I don’t know if I’ll ever catch another 2745 auction. Thankfully, the old 745 is common on eBay and if I ever need some, I can get them for cheap.

Pencils, what’s so special?

Pencils have both a utilitarian and fanciful appeal. The utility of a pencil is obvious.

Can it write well?

The fanciful justification can be personal or it can be a shared infatuation.

A pencil can be well made, from good graphite and wood, and a soft eraser that actually erases. A pencil’s materials could be appealing but maybe not function as well; for example, the pencil could be made from a beautiful wood that doesn’t work as well as tried and true cedar. Maybe you just like the color or the name. The pencil could conjure up memories of your past, remembrances from your childhood or some other bygone epoch; there can be the legendary connection to famous writers — a marketer’s goldmine to be exploited. A pencil can be just good product design or maybe the package itself carries the day. A pencil’s a connection to a people (Germans and Japanese) that still have high regard for this tool; a connection to an American past where quality manufacturing was the standard.

As a collector or connoisseur, there are different things to latch onto, a rich variety that would take a lifetime to appreciate.

At the moment, I have a thing for solid brass.

Guide to buying pencils on eBay

eBay’s the place for picking up vintage pencils.  Here’s some pencil specific things to consider before bidding:

• Condition matters; pencils are easily scuffed and nicked outside their packaging; look for NOS (New Old Stock); if accurate, these pencils haven’t been out much from their packaging; If you get a plastic sealed package, all the better — the erasers may even be soft enough to use. Be wary if you see pencils out of their box, spread out, in people’s hands, rolled up in someone’s fist. We all know what pencils look like.
• Do some research on the pencils — make sure you know what you’re getting. Do you really want dozens of hard-grade pencils?
• Pencils may have a long run — consider the approximate time period during which your pencil was made; why should the ‘same’  pencil from the 90s be valued as highly as one from the 40s? I’m looking at you, Blackwings. In a long span of time, the same brand may be used on entirely different products, made in different countries, even.
• Look for mislabeled auctions; fellow collectors may be missing out on your find
• Buy in bulk, bring cash; small-time buyers may be willing to compete with you on the cheaper auctions, but get into the hundreds and they’ll fold; you just have to figure out what to do with all those pencils
• Specialize. Some more obscure pencil brands may go unnoticed but may have something interesting to offer.
• Pencil pricing varies depending on who’s buying; a few avid collectors can outspend penny pinchers
  • So, learn what’s desirable (for whatever reason), figure out if you’re interested, and pick it up next time around
  • Don’t get carried away with what others are willing to pay. Others may have more money to spend, may be more committed than you, or have other plans for those pencils. Have a budget.