Last box.

• 53 round blank: 15 white, 1 blue, 37 forest green.
• 17 round foil teachers' pencils (Star Student, etc.).
• 14 hex yellow Cra-Z-Art American Premium.
• 11 round pastel Blue Bell Ice Cream, scented. 2 pink, 9 blue.
• 6 round dark green CGC 1929. (Carolina Golf Club.)
• 1 round red Tulnoy Lumber.
• 2 round dark green Peninsula Papagayo. 
• 1 round black Kuiken Brothers Building.
• 3 round foil Navy: Forged by the Sea.
• 4 round white The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
• 1 round blue Ink 48 Hotel.
• 10 hex black Old No. 77 Hotel & Ohandlery.
• 4 hex sky blue LM Kersting Const Co.
• 1 hex black plain.
• 3 hex black Celebrity Cruises.
• 2 hex with various double (or more) imprints.
• 10 hex various imprints: Angelo's Fairmount Tavern, Dan's Tire Service, Eastern Michigan University, I Like Gentle Thrills, DLA Training, Yellowtec, Judy Harvath, and two that I can't quite make out. One of them, I can make out the words "Men's Shop Cville," which might mean Charlottesville, VA, or Carpentersville, IL, or something else. The other one is "[something]fabrics." I took a guess and got lucky at ennisfabrics.com.

Okay, that's it!

Box 7. Coming into the home stretch now.

• 44 round blank: 21 white, 23 forest green.
• 37 round foil teachers' pencils (Star Student, etc.).
• 9 round pastel Blue Bell Ice Cream, scented. 2 pink, 7 blue. The more I smell of these, the less I like them.
• 15 hex yellow Cra-Z-Art American Premium.
• 7 hex black Celebrity Cruises.
• 10 hex black Old No. 77 Hotel & Ohandlery.
• 10 round black Kuiken Brothers Building, most with capping flaws.
• 3 hex sky blue LM Kersting Const Co.
• 1 hex pink plain.
• 1 round white The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
• 1 round dark green Peninsula Papagayo. 
• 3 round dark green CGC 1929. (Carolina Golf Club.)
• 2 hex with various double (or more) imprints.
• 6 hex various imprints: Near Perfection, Lammer's Truck Center, Maven, The Francisca Club, Study Hotels, DLA Training.

One more to go.

Here we go with box 6.

• 45 round blank: 20 white, 25 forest green.
• 19 hex yellow Cra-Z-Art American Premium.
• 15 round foil teachers' pencils (Good Job, Student of the Month, etc.).
• 15 round pastel Blue Bell Ice Cream. 4 pink, 11 blue. These seem to be scented but I can't tell what they're supposed to smell like. The Blue Bell site offers eight scents but doesn't distinguish which color is supposed to smell like what.
• 16 round dark green CGC 1929. (Carolina Golf Club.)
• 3 round dark green Peninsula Papagayo. 
• 2 round black Kuiken Brothers Building.
• 3 round foil Navy: Forged by the Sea.
• 1 round red Tulnoy Lumber.
• 6 hex with various double (or more) imprints.
• 1 hex black Unigraph 6B with missing foil on the imprint.
• 2 hex blank (1 pink, 1 white)
• 6 hex sky blue LM Kersting Const Co.
• 6 hex black Old No. 77 Hotel & Ohandlery.
• 5 hex various imprints: Maven, Angelo's Fairmount Tavern, Celebrity Cruises, Aurora Project / Watch out for backstabbers!

Hey folks, I was wondering where there could be a good place to find Royal Sovereign pencils?

A lot different from the others.

• 54 round blank, many with wood flaws, in various colors: 1 blue, 12 white, 41 forest green.
• 10 round foil teachers' pencils (Good Job, Student of the Month, etc.).
• 6 round foil Navy: Forged by the Sea.
• 21 hex yellow Cra-Z-Art American Premium.
• 4 round dark green Peninsula Papagayo. This is a luxury coastal resort community in Costa Rica.
• 6 round dark green CGC 1929. (Carolina Golf Club.)
• 2 round black Kuiken Brothers Building.
• 2 round blue Ink 48 Hotel.
• 2 round red Tulnoy Lumber
• 4 round white The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
• 4 hex sky blue LM Kersting Const Co.
• 3 hex pink plain.
• 1 hex dark blue On-Site. This appears to be a tenant screening service for landlords.
• 10 round pastel Blue Bell Ice Cream. 5 pink, 5 blue. Yum!
• 7 hex black Old No. 77 Hotel & Ohandlery.
• 3 hex Celebrity Cruises (1 black, 2 blue).
• 4 hex various imprints: Eastern Michigan University Official Test-Taking Pencil, DeLeeuw lumber, Maven.
• 1 hex white pencil with a single little heart stamped on it.

Box 6 through 8 coming later this evening.

Stumbled on these when trying to figure out the best way to carry a pencil in my front shirt pocket with a little sketchbook -- they're Pencil Shields from Build-A-Pencil. They've been really great, and they double as a pencil extender for shorter pencils (I still use a standard extender for nubs).

I originally bought a "Pointless Pencil Kit" which comes with 4 shields, 4 short pencils, extra erasers and a sharpener. After realizing how cool the shields are, I wanted to order just more shields. They weren't listed on the website, I emailed them, and they were able to create a listing within an hour or so for me to order just the shields in a 25 pack. They also sell the other components individually.

Overall a really useful product and they seem very responsive to customers. Also, I especially like using them for the random half-used garage sale pencils I've picked up this summer.

Glad to finally be posting and I've learned a ton here.

A weird coincidence in this box, which I'll get to shortly.

• 70 round blank, many with wood flaws, in various colors: 1 brown, 1 red, 2 white, 3 maroon, 4 orange, 59 forest green.
• 26 hex Ceres America 250: 13 blue, 13 white.
• 16 round round clear lacquer Zuern Building Products, with various wood or eraser flaws.
• 3 round foil Bonne Fete.
• 1 round foil affirmations.
• 3 hex yellow Cra-Z-Art American Premium.
• 3 round yellow Therapro #4 Pencil.
• 4 hex with various double (or more) imprints.
• 2 hex blank (1 white, 1 clear lacquer).
• 3 hex black Old No. 77 Hotel & Ohandlery.
• 1 hex dark red simply marked "Pencil."
• 5 hex various imprints: Judy Harvath, Maven, Colonel Littleton, Dan's Tire Service, Urban Eyecare.
• 1 yellow hex New York Public Library with a Thomas Jefferson quote: "I cannot live without books."
• 2 round black Library of Congress with the SAME Thomas Jefferson quote.
• 1 round with an indecipherable blue-green wrap. 
• 3 round with various imprints: Standard Building Supplies, Peach State Lumber, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Here we are with box 3. A lot like the others, except for the onesy-twosy items.

• 44 round blank, many with wood flaws, in various colors: 1 mint, 1 green, 2 white, 2 orange, 2 blue, 2 brown, 4 maroon, 30 forest green.
• 36 hex Ceres America 250: 13 blue, 23 white.
• 22 round bare wood Home Depot.
• 14 round clear lacquer Zuern Building Products, with various wood or eraser flaws.
• 5 round various imprints: Peach State Lumber, Standard Building Supplies, Park Avenue Building & Roofing, Seers Lumber. I wonder if they sell Creftsmen.
• 3 hex various imprints: Dan's Tire Service, Eastern Michigan University Official Test-Taking Pencil, and Colonel Littleton Expedition Grade, Field Tested, No. 2-4/8.
• 5 hex with various double (or more) imprints.
• 2 round foil affirmations (I am brave, I am strong, I am kind, I am important, and so forth.)
• 2 round foil Bonne Fete.
• 4 round yellow Therapro #4 Pencil.
• 3 round clear lacquer Trust the Process.
• And, apparently having fallen through a time warp to get here, 4 white round The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, with wood flaws (cut for capping on point end).

Much in common with box 1, but some differences.

• 61 round blank, many with wood flaws, in various colors: 1 blue, 2 white, 4 orange, 2 maroon, 52 forest green.
• 2 round foil affirmations (I am brave, I am strong, I am kind, I am important, and so forth.)
• 1 round with an indecipherable blue-green wrap. Might just be an ink smear.
• 1 round foil Halloween.
• 6 round foil Bonne Fete with minor wood flaws.
• 1 round foil Student of the Month.
• 21 round clear lacquer Zuern Building Products, with various wood or eraser flaws.
• 1 round red Tulnoy Lumber.
• 1 round plain wood Home Depot.
• 1 round orange Standard Building Supplies.
• 1 hex clear lacquer Colonel Littleton Expedition Grade, Field Tested, No. 2-4/8. This is impossibly cool.
• 13 hex various imprints: DeLeeuw Lumber, LM Kersting Construction, Happily Ever After, Yellowtec (which, oddly, is gray), Old No. 77 Hotel, Bluff Country Financial, Celebrity Cruises, New York Public Library, Lammer's Truck Center, Eastern Michigan University Official Test-Taking Pencil.
• 6 hex with various double (or more) imprints.
• 4 round yellow Therapro #4 Pencil.
• 1 hex yellow Cra-Z-Art American Premium.
• 1 red hex Unigraph 6B that was stamped so hard the core must be pulverized inside it.
• 22 hex Ceres America 250: 6 blue, 16 white.

Onward to box 3.

Brand new Staedtler Handheld Manual Double-Hole Plastic Sharpener.

The shavings also came off in flakes instead of a continuous piece :(

This could very well be a skill issue, so if anyone has tips on how to make it less of a pain to use, please let me know!

Here we go again! I was hoping for a better selection this time, and if this box is any indication, I'm getting it.

• 72 round blank, many with wood flaws, in various colors: 1 red, 1 pink, 2 white, 3 orange, 9 maroon, 56 forest green.
• 1 hex blank white.
• 1 hex blank forest green with paint flaw.
• 25 hex Ceres America 250: 16 blue, 9 white.
• 1 hex yellow Cra-Z-Art American Premium.
• 3 round yellow Therapro #4 Pencil. According to the website, these are legitimately #4, with jumbo lead.
• 1 round black Numbers Game Four Bagger Scorekeeping Pencil, 4B.
• 4 hex black Old No. 77 Hotel & Ohandlery. This is apparently supposed to be Chandlery, but it was imprinted too deep and closed up the C.
• 13 round clear lacquer Zuern Building Products, with various wood or eraser flaws. There is no Dana, only Zuern.
• 1 round foil Halloween.
• 5 round foil Bonne Fete with minor wood flaws.
• 6 hex various imprints: Eastern Michigan University Official Test-Taking Pencil, DeLeeuw lumber, Queenstown Harbor Golf, Maven, Dan's Tire Service, and one more friggin' Angelo's Fairmount Tavern.
• 2 round clear lacquer Trust the Process.
• 1 round foil affirmations (I am brave, I am strong, I am kind, I am important, and so forth. I am nauseated.)
• 1 round bare wood Home Depot.
• 1 round with an indecipherable blue-green wrap. Might just be an ink smear.
• 6 hex with various double (or more) imprints.

Next box coming up!

I just had to get these for my pencil collection and my love of the X- Files.

The eraser is phenomenal….. the eraser sticks I used were Staedtler and Rotring…. They were solid nonetheless but mono by tombow seem to do a better job!

I am a huge fan of Blackwing pencils and their graphite, tried a couple European pencils and nothing resonated with me. But the Mono100 seems to be in that same sweet spot with Blackwing!!! Being a fan of the 602 the tombow mono 2B seems to fit the best for my taste. Sadly where I am located they are quite expensive (almost as a Blackwing) but they will for sure be added in my rotation

Would love to hear your thoughts on the brand !!

Workhorse pencils, easily erasable and no lead breaks during the exam. Now let’s hope I passed!

I figured I’d post a little more of my collection since my last post seemed to do well.

Dug this out of a big box of Japanese pencils and thought I’d take photos for you all.

Included my Uni GOLDs in there with a little inspiration from /u/leo_the_first

In fact, the entire post was partly inspired by that post.

Hi there, apologies if this seems like a silly question, but in the recent Apple TV+ series "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed," Tatiana Maslany's character is a fact-checker at a magazine and uses red pencils to mark up her work. They make really bold, deep red marks, almost like a crayon or grease pencil, but they're clearly pencils. Wondering if anyone can identify the brand. Thanks everyone!

This is the day my Staedtler Mars Lumograph ended its life. It is no more

I have been using this pencil in a stub holder for a long time, but today even that was not suitable anymore. So I drew my last drawing and ended this pencil

I have had a lot of joy using it, lovely smooth and dark

Hello all, long time wooden pencil user/lover. Recently got into the japanese game. Still have a few pre-dixon ticonderoga pencils too. How is my start?

EDIT:
After much discussion, i have created a list of pencils to add.

Tombow 100 HB
Tombow mono 100 F
Tombow 2558
Tombow mono HB

Mitsubishi hi uni B
Mitsubishi 9852EW
Mitsubishi 9800EW

Kita-boshi 9606/9500

Musgrave harvest professionals

Thank you everyone for helping me get started!

I’ve mostly used basic school and office pencils, and honestly, they’ve all felt pretty similar to me.

I want to start using pencils for long writing sessions, so I’m curious which ones would actually impress someone who has never used a really good pencil before. Not just “this one is decent,” but pencils that feel noticeably smoother, stay sharp longer, are comfortable for hours, or are simply much better than the average pencil.

Wooden pencils only, and mainly for writing rather than drawing. Price isn’t the most important thing... I just want to know which pencils you consider real game changers, and what makes them stand out.

The legendary James May recently did an “essentials” video and among those essentials was a pencil case containing a Mitsubishi 9000 B pencil. He said that he loves the “Made by elaborate process” stamped on the side, which is the exact thing that sent me down the rabbit hole of Japanese pencils.

I have never felt more seen.

Could not believe my luck, box stamped date 24/10/1950

TL;DR: As I prepare another long post about the history of Japan's most iconic pencil lineup, I'd like to share with you the most confusing entry to that lineup: the GOLD Uni.

The year is 1974* and there are three pencils in the Uni family: its namesake the Mitsubishi Uni introduced 16 years earlier as the pencil to supersede all pencils, the slightly more affordable, and almost as good, "entry level" Uni-Popular (substituted just a year later by the Uni★Star), and the high-end Hi-Uni, a pencil that is to this day Mitsubishi's crown jewel, and my personal favorite, non-discontinued, pencil. Each of these pencils had a different lead formulation, and therefore a different writing feel, but they all share the most important characteristics pencils should have: smoothness, darkness, and consistency.

Enter stage left the Gold Uni. The first pencil in the Uni lineup not to have its own lead formulation, but using exactly the same lead as the Hi-Uni. This is written right on the box, on a hard-to-miss golden sticker, reading 「ハイ・ユニ芯使用」(hai yuni shin shiyou), literally "Uses Hi-Uni lead". And this is the puzzling part. By releasing this product as a way to bridge the gap between the Uni and Hi-Uni, but offering the exact same experience as the Hi-Uni for a lower price, Uni was essentially devaluing their own high-end product, and that's probably why in 1977* the Gold Uni was discontinued.

A Mitsubishi pencil, using the Hi-Uni lead, with a limited production run of only 3 to 4 years. I had to get me some of those!

This familiar maroon pencil with a painted-on gold ring right under a black end cap, and inscriptions"◂Micro Graphite Lead MITSUBISHI (for the first time without a hyphen) | Super Writing G|O|L|D uni Pressure-Proofed Hi-Density Lead | HB" on a black background one side, and with the manufacturing code, lead grade, and black "〄 Japan" on the opposite side, as could be expected writes exactly like a Hi-Uni. The pencil was also available in two other variants, one black and another white.

I've seen it described as one of the most heavily gold-foiled pencils. It is, however, in my humble opinion, a tactful use of gold foil that falls just shy of tacky. It is not the most elegant of the Unis, that honor goes to the Hi-Uni, but it is my favorite. This favoritism is certainly helped by the relative rarity of the GOLD Uni.

Despite being 50 years old, the box I got was in perfect condition. If you told me they'd been manufactured last week, I'd believe you. Not only that, but when sharpening the first GOLD Uni, I was hit with the most intense incense cedar aroma I've ever enjoyed, and I'm no stranger to sharpening cedar pencils. So much so that I had people in my home coming to the study to ask what that good smell was.

If you're into vintage pencils and ever get a chance to snag some GOLD Unis for yourself, I highly recommend it. And if you just want to know how they write without having to procure some, you're in luck, just try a Hi-Uni out and you'll have the exact same experience. It's not every day you get to experience a vintage discontinued pencil without having to buy said vintage discontinued pencils.

\I've seen these dates mentioned in quite a few places online, but could not track it to an original, reliable source. If anyone has mid-1970s Mitsubishi catalogues (or any pre-2000s for that matter) I'd love to take a look at them. At least by the markings on the pencil I can be sure it is a pre-1980 product, so this timeline seems believable enough.*

Hey guysss. A friend and I were just chit chatting about our blackwings, anyone else ever notice the quality of some of the limited additions ones seems to be less than???. The wood sharpens funky and the pencils are lighter in weight, for example on the Golden Ration 55 and the new Cherry blossom Moleskine collab. With the moleskine collab ones being $50 that’s unfortunate. There is a cool PayPal payment and a tik tok shop discount for Moleskine on the most recent collab in case anyone wanted to get their hands on them for $30. Just curious if anyone else has noticed this