Are pre-sharpened pencils a workshop hack, or is something that only a hack would consider?
Pre-sharpened pencils aren’t that expensive. Amazon has the pack of 144 Staedtler pencils shown above for around $15.
There are various other bulk packs, multi-packs of 12 to 30 count boxes, and lots of other packaging options.
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While the price per pencil isn’t as good, you can get an 18-count box for as low as $4.
I like the idea of Staedtler’s classroom box-style approach. Not only does it come with pre-sharpened pencils, there are so many that you’ll never have to keep track of where you put them down. Just grab a new one, and eventually you’ll have a pencil on every workbench or machine surface.
Dull or broken tip? Toss the pencil in a tray or $2 pencil box and then sharpen a bunch when they start to pile up.
Prepping a dozen pencils isn’t that bad if you have a good pencil sharpener. But if you’ve got a full gross of them, pre-sharpened will save a lot of time.
On one hand, it feels lazy. But on the other, I’d rather spend a little more than sharpen dozens of pencils.
What are your thoughts on a bottomless supply of pre-sharpened pencils for the workshop?
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Personally, I stick to brand name pencils. A long time ago I tried some super cheap ones from the office supply store, and they kept snapping on me.
Always look at the price per pencil. “Amazon Basics” brand pencils seem to sell very well, and they’re $12.91 for 150 right now. That comes out to 8.6 cents each. They also have 180 Ticonderoga pencils in (6) 30-count boxes for $15.10. That’s less than 8.4 cents each. The Staedtler shown above are around 10.6 cents each.
Shopping for school suppliers a few years ago is how I learned you can buy pre-sharpened pencils in the first place. If I recall correctly I spent maybe $1 more to get 6x 12-packs of pre-sharpened pencils rather than buying 72 of the same pencils but unsharpened.
Sometimes specialty pencils are pre-sharpened, other times they’re not, it depends on the brand and style. On that note, have you ever tried switching to a drawing pencil, such as Staedtler’s in 2B hardness, for marking up wood? Art stores will sell them individually so that you don’t have to buy a 12-pack.
As for sharpeners, I love my Mitsubishi. I also have a decent Carl pencil sharpener that I bought for the kids to use so that they’d leave my Mitsubishi alone, before the price came down.
Scott K
Besides snapping easily, cheap pencils also tend to have terrible erasers. I like Ticonderoga for everyday use. If I were into drafting or sketching I could see wanting something more premium.
Peter
Staedtler is considered cheap?
Scott K
No, I’d consider that more premium.
Stuart mentioned trying out cheaper pencils and having them break easily – I’ve found their erasers to be more frustrating.
Jerry
I personally prefer mechanical pencils. Don’t have to sharpen them at all, and most all of them have a pocket clip so you can easily carry it with you. Cheap enough in bulk you can have a bunch of them scattered around your work area as well.
I generally use the 0.7MM ones, the 0.5MM are a bit delicate for shop work. They also make a 0.9MM that are advertised as being ‘extra strong’. I have never used those, mainly because I had good luck with the 0.7MM which are cheaper and easier to find.
Can get a 40 count pack of Bic ‘extra smooth’ 0.7MM for $10, I actually prefer the extra smooth leads, they have a better ‘feel’ when marking lines.
https://www.amazon.com/BIC-Mechanical-Pencil-40-Count-MPCE40-BLK/dp/B08MQRQTKJ/
MM
I agree. I prefer mechanical pencils too. I have a couple of nice ones I sometimes use for drawing, .3 and .5mm, and I also keep .7mm Bic disposables around too.
I do like wooden pencils for some purposes but I don’t go through them very quickly. I’ve been using the same No. 2-1/2 “Royal Sovereign Sovrex” for several years now. It doesn’t have an eraser. It’s bright red so it’s easily found on my very cluttered workbench. I have no idea where it came from. I’d estimate it has 80% of its life remaining, so I don’t think I’ll need to buy wood pencils anytime soon.
NoahG
When my shop need pencils I order a couple gross count cases of seconds from Musgrave Pencil in Tennessee. An unbeatable deal.
https://musgravepencil.com/products/144-seconds-hex-and-round
Peter
Nice, I enjoyed reading the company’s history.
NoahG
They make hard lead carpenters pencils too! They last for ages.
https://musgravepencil.com/products/998-carpenter-pencil
Jack D
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! Round pencils pencils always roll off when you least expect it, and the measurements of a carpenter’s pencil are always a consistent 1/2 x 1/4, useful for so many reasons.
I see Musgrave also makes a scribing pencil, which I’ll have to try out. Between my teacher wife, my artist daughter, and myself, I’ll have a full cart there in no time! Thanks for the info–you made my day!
Matt_T
Buying in bulk and scattering them around makes sense. The same works for Sharpies 😉
Not sure about fetching a fresh one every time they get dull though. Seems easier/quicker to just sharpen it with a knife.
Stuart
It seems I buy a box of Sharpies every Prime Day. Last time it was $7 for 12. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFHD?tag=toolguyd-20
And the chunky ones with chisel tips – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFGP?tag=toolguyd-20
I prefer Milwaukee Inkzall, but Sharpies are still indispensable, when I can find them.
Can’t find one? I grab the one from the kitchen, where my wife puts it back every time, and then later replace it with a fresh one from the box. I always know where to find it, and no one gets mad that the Sharpie keeps disappearing.
JoeM
Though I am curious if you know of the red carpenter’s pencils coming in this packaging factor, or not? It seems like, for what the ToolGuyd community typically does, marking up projects of every type, bulk packs of the Pica brand Pencils (that come with multiple colours of refills) and Markers, as well as something like the Lee Valley Carpenter’s Pencil and Sharpener kits, may be worth mentioning here.
As to the Mitsubishi Pencil Sharpener, honestly, I am rather fond of the X-Acto Schoolroom sharpener myself. It’s not a competition, I think your Mitsubishi could probably beat it and steal its lunch money. Stylistically alone, it’s beautiful. Only real leg up the X-Acto has, is that it does have that rotating dial for sizes of pencils on the front, it’s not stuck to just one size. Then again, how many of us even use multiple sizes of pencils?
Stuart
The X-Acto is popular (https://www.amazon.com/X-ACTO-Ranger-1031-Manual-Sharpener/dp/B00006IEDY/?tag=toolguyd-20 ), but as you point out the different hole sizes aren’t really necessary today. The Mitsubishi isn’t much more expensive.
The Pica long-reach pencil is nice. https://www.amazon.com/Pica-Dry-Longlife-Automatic-Pencil-3030/dp/B002X7Y90U/?tag=toolguyd-20 . I’ve seen the color leads, haven’t tried them yet.
I bought colored pencil lead refills around 22 years ago or so. Never used them.
Nathan
Wasteful it feels. Who uses a wood pencil in their workshop? If I did I’d consider it. But not like that I don’t think
I keep a mechanical and I keep a sharpie. And I tend to have either in a pocket of sorts.
Otherwise I guess it works out.
Stuart
I prefer mechanical pencils for certain deliberate tasks, and wood pencils for others. Wasteful? Wood pencils are easily recognizable, you can drop them without fear, and you can gauge their immediate usability at a glance.
Nathan
Wasteful to go through so many was where i was going with that
Stuart
Why? You don’t use them once and then throw them out. Don’t want 144? Buy a smaller pack. Wood is a renewable resource. Quite durable too.
Vards Uzvards
Wood is renewable, true. But what you’re going to do with old/broken pencils, throw them into a compost pile?! It’s still a wasteful approach, to buy a 100+ box of pencils for one-person use.
Stuart
What are you going to do with a mechanical pencil when you drop and break the guide tube? Or the disposable plastic kind? Or the plastic containers that refill lead comes in?
As I’ve pointed out multiple times, you can buy a smaller pack of pencils. I like the idea of the classroom style box. You can similar with any quantity of pencils.
What do you do with a box of old pencils? Sharpen them and place them back in the “ready to use” tray.
You don’t have to use 12 at a time either. 4 at a time, or as needed, where they’re needed. Using one at a time means always hunting down that one pencil until eventually there are several floating around anyway.
Lose your one mechanical pencil, and then what do you do?
Things are only wasteful when they go to waste.
Clay
1. Both your sharpener links seem to go to the same place for me.
2. Do you have a portable sharpener you recommend to keep with you, like in a toolbox or toolbelt pouch?
3. Never get pencils at Dollar Tree. Trust me.
Stuart
Sorry, fixed it!
There are a lot of good ones, stick to the brands you can find at art stores. They’re usually cheap enough it’s worth trying different ones over time. https://toolguyd.com/workshop-pencil-sharpener/
The Kutsuwa Tgaal is good, but can be hard to find. https://www.amazon.com/Kutsuwa-Adjustable-Pencil-Sharpener-RS017PK/dp/B07DFH4ZKC?tag=toolguyd-20
The differences between portable and benchtop sharpeners are greater than between the many portable models.
Shawn
I buy misprint carpenter pencil boxes and sharpen them myself.
Wayne R.
Two blocks from here is a middle school. Our dog takes me past there and I’m frequently picking up the trash & stuff those kids lose. I’ve got a whole coffee cup full of wooden pencils as a result. (I’m hooked on mechanical pencils though.)
The idea of a shop buying a gross of sharpened pencils to scatter about makes me think someone needs some Adderol.
Stuart
Chewed up pencils from the local schoolyard are better than getting a box of pre-sharpened pencils so there’s always one at the ready?
Wayne R.
A mechanical pencil (with lots of leads) in my pocket is best.
And surprisingly, very few issues with the kid’s pencils.
Nathan
I have an old berol sharpener I’ve had since I was 8. Lol
MattW.
I do the opposite of what your talking about pica in my pocket all the time. I dont loose them one in 5 years? Turns out when you spend 13 or more on a pencil you dont loose them. Also on my desks I have blackwings with brass tip covers. When a wood pencil is soo much you pay attention where you placed it.
Stuart
They’re not mutually exclusive. I introduced a cousin to plastic pencil covers, and it blew his mind. No more holes in pockets.
conrad
today I learned what a gross amount of pencils is.
John
I like pre-sharpened pencils and agree it’s worth it to stick with name brands.
BTW I picked up a handheld Staedtler sharpener recently and it’s great, though the plastic hinge on the flip top (dust cover?) is soooo thin I’m sure it will break off at some point, though that shouldn’t affect its performance:
STAEDTLER Pencil Sharpener with 2… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005D5ZOH6
Stuart
The older version only had one hole and no top flap/lid. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E6C08E?tag=toolguyd-20
Breaking that piece off this model would be messy, but not the end of the world.
There’s also the Prismacolor https://www.amazon.com/Prismacolor-VE99016-Premier-Pencil-Sharpener/dp/B004ZDL0K2/?tag=toolguyd-20
Some 2-hole sharpeners are for different size/thickness pencils, and others (like the Prismacolor) are for customizing the tip shape. It looks like the Staedtler can do both, with the wider hole meant for both larger pencils and for a stubby graphite point angle.
Tad
I like the thick primary school pencils for the shop.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UXK3QM
I want to like carpenters pencils, but I am too lazy to sharpen them. The thick pencils go into an electric sharpener that migrated to the shop once the kids started turning in all their homework on the computer.
And yes there are about 20 of them scattered around the shop and all batch sharpened when I need a mindless task to think for a minute.
Dustin
My wife bought me a pencil dispenser for xmas last year, it is similar to a straw dispenser like a fast food place might have I bought a couple hundred pencils with no erasers because I knew the erasers would dry up and become hard and unusable and I would rather have no erasers than keep getting tricked by a dry rotted one.
Derek
I should buy one of these before next school year. The kids need so many for school. I get the unsharpened ones as they’re $1 cheaper and spend a couple of minutes with our electric sharpener.
I typically use mechanical pencils to mark my lines but wood pencils to label parts. Burn through a lot of pencils sanding. Thankfully a $3 electric pencil sharpener from Habitat for Humanity lives in my shop.
Once I got a shop apron, I stopped losing pencils, sharpies, tape measures and squares.
Jack D
While standard hex pencils don’t have much of a place in my workshop, I appreciate this sort of post. If my kids were younger, this would be a perfect Christmas idea! And electric sharpeners still work well on art pencils!
Nathan
I prefer hand crank after my daughter managed to eat an entire pencil in an electric the wife brought home. She just let it ride to the end and I had to extract the eraser with some needle nose
Brandon
I’m a fan of the 2mm mechanical pencils sold at Daiso. All the benefits of mechanical pencils, but unlike the normal sizes the lead pretty much never breaks. Sometimes I wish they had an eraser in the head instead of a sharpener, but if I’m marking up wood for cutting its not that big of a deal.
Stuart
2mm pencils are great! This Staedtler’s been my favorite – , and it’s also available in dark blue .
I’ve used some with built-in sharpening caps, but you really need a separate lead pointer.
I’ve had the Staedtler one for decades – and a Mitsubishi sharpener for less, but prefer its smaller and more portable-friendly size at times.