Originally posted by AstroDave If you like these pictures, for much, much more about the pencil, read The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, by Henry Petroski
Indeed, I am looking at a copy on my bookshelf. When they were teen-agers, our now-adult children were amused that I would read such a geeky book. Even today, they take great glee in remarking about 'Dad's pencil book' whenever an opportunity arises. When I sent them a link to this thread - hoping to provoke another poke - the son replied "Yeeeehaw, let's go" while the daughter said "Really, it's a must see," in her endearing sarcastic style.
As a near-retired engineer, I am no stranger to pencils. I recall trying to complete a test survey in my first-year surveying course, in the rain. Luckily, my pencil worked well against the damp paper of my field book. Nowadays, in my study at home, I am on the third pencil from a 12-pencil set I found in a junk shop - Koh-I-Noor 1500 HB's made by L&C Hardtmuth, Inc., of Bloomsbury, NJ, long closed I imagine.
In my workshop, Lee Valley HBs and 2H's are my instruments of choice; they're pointed by an old schoolhouse-style hand cranked sharpener. And at work, I use a Pilot Vanishing Point mechanical pencil - the finest mechanical I've ever used. They're not made anymore, and used ones on eBay are fetching upwards of $100!
- Craig