Ticonderoga Laddie: The Fat Pencil Review

Upon my return from my trip I had two packages waiting for me.  One contained these:

A fresh dozen of Ticonderoga Laddie mini-jumbo pencils with erasers, plus my lone eraserless version.

The Laddie is Dixon's "mini-jumbo" pencil.  It's slightly larger than the typical no. 2, with a thicker graphite core, but not nearly as big as the "My First Pencil" Ticonderogas.  I haven't tried those out yet, but I think I'd probably find them too wide, as my handwriting can be on the small size. 

I love the Laddie.  It sits very comfortably in the hand, and Ticonderoga markets this product not only to school-age kids learning cursive, but to "those who like a slightly larger pencil."  I'm not sure this would replace the other pencils I use on a daily basis, but yesterday at work it was the only pencil I used. 

The core is extremely dark, sharpens to a nice point in my Carl CC-2000, and maintains that point, due to the thickness of the graphite.  Of course, given how wide the core is, if you're one of those people who insists on having a super-sharp pencil point all the time, you may find yourself sharpening frequently.  I didn't mind so much, as I made sure to rotate the pencil from time to time to maintain the point.  It's somewhat unusual how smooth and dark these pencils are, given that they are made in Dixon's Mexico factory.  My past experience with Mexican-made Ticonderogas have been mixed.  The graphite typically is not as smooth and dark as the Chinese-made version.  These pencils, however, are excellent.

Ticonderoga Laddie writing sample. 

Martin, one of the readers here, originally sent me a Laddie in a pencil trade.  They come in two varieties:  with eraser, and without.  I enjoyed the eraserless version so much that I couldn't help but order a dozen with erasers included.  The erasers are larger versions of the normal Ticonderoga eraser, and do a nice job.  I have no complaints there.

My only knock on the Laddie is that they are somewhat difficult to find.  Stores don't carry them, at least around me, and I had a heck of a time finding them on Amazon with Prime shipping included, but eventually I did. (Update - As of my last check, only the Laddie Tri-Write is Prime-eligible as a stand-alone item. You can still find good deals on the standard Laddie as an add-on item.)  I hope Dixon is not going to quit making them, because if they are, I'm going to have to buy myself a gross. 

A picture from one of my earlier "pencil comparison" reviews, which I think accurately demonstrates the size of the Laddie compared with a regular No. 2. 

My Favorite Budget Pencil (This Week)...

And no, it's not the Chinese manufactured Dixon Ticonderogas, although those are nice, because the "warping" issue knocked them out of the top slot.  I've either purchased or been sent so many pencils over the past year or so that I haven't yet gotten around to testing all of them out.  This week, however, I sharpened up two Palomino Golden Bears, and I'm quite impressed. 

Two Palomino Golden Bears after at least a week of fairly heavy use.  Check out how much pencil's still left!

The Golden Bear is Cal-Cedar's mid-range pencil.  Setting aside Blackwing range, the "classic" Palomino is the more expensive offering (at $12.95 per dozen); the Golden Bear clocks in at a bargain $2.95 per dozen (or $30.09 for a gross!), and the "budget" Prospector sells for $1.95 or $2.25 per dozen, depending on whether or not you want them in green or unfinished.

I have not yet tried the Prospector, but the Golden Bears are quality.  They easily hold up to any office supply store pencil, and compare favorably to your standard Dixon Ticonderoga or General's Semi-Hex.  The graphite core is dark and fairly smooth (just a touch grittier than the Palomino, which is to be expected at this price point), and the wood is still genuine incense cedar.  My favorite things about these pencils is the point retention.  They don't dull easily, and the cedar is such good quality that they seemingly last forever.        

A quick writing sample.  The Golden Bear is roughly the same on the "darkness" scale as the original Palomino, perhaps a touch lighter.

To my understanding, these pencils are manufactured by Musgrave in Shelbyville, Tennessee (close to home), and have the telltale Musgrave "sharp edges."  To those of you who have not used a Musgrave pencil, the hexagonal edges are not "rounded" like most pencils, and therefore can cause some problems for those who grip the pencil either too tightly or in a way which causes the pencil to dig into their fingers.  I've not had this problem, however, and I like my Musgraves.

The Golden Bears are either blue or orange (the signature Palomino colors) and are fitted with the opposite color eraser on a brass ferrule with an orange stripe.  The erasers are excellent. 

Pencils! Five More.

First, a reminder to enter our giveaway, which closes tonight at midnight.  Link Here. 

Second, here are five more well-used woodcase pencils that I found myself enjoying this weekend on my pencil tear. 

Today's lineup, from left:  General's Cedar Pointe #2; Staedtler Wopex; Dixon Ticonderoga Laddie; Dixon Oriole 2.5F; and General's Semi-Hex #2.

  1. Dixon Ticonderoga Laddie.  I received this in a trade.  Currently I only have the eraserless version.  I really need to get some more of these pencils.  The wood case and the core are both slightly thicker than the typical Dixon #2, but just slightly.  The pencil sits comfortably in the hand, and works well for longer writing sessions.  The graphite is similar to General's Layout Pencil, if you've used that.

  2. Staedtler Wopex.  I never in a million years thought that I would like this pencil as much as I do.  The Wopex is an extruded (recycled) wood pencil that has a plasticky feel to it, and is HEAVY, making it your perfect pencil-fighting companion against people who don't know what they're doing and may not catch on until you've broken a half gross of their cheap Office Depot #2s.  The Wopex has much lighter graphite than a typical "woodcase" pencil, but it has one advantage--it doesn't smear.  I've read somewhere that the wopex graphite is "complastic," meaning that it's formulated like mechanical pencil lead, so there's very little ghosting and smearing if you want to use this pencil to write in your pocket notebooks on both sides of the page, as I do.  Hand sharpen, because crank or automatic sharpeners don't auto-stop with the Wopex and will eat your pencil in one sitting.

  3. General's Semi-Hex #2.  A great, classic yellow #2 pencil that's still made in the USA, and is fairly inexpensive to boot.  I only wish they sold them by the gross.  My one complaint is that the eraser is small, somewhat hard, and leaves something to be desired.  I have a couple #1's as well, but as of now the #2 strikes a great balance between darkness and point retention.  Sharpen one of these babies up with a long-point sharpener and you can write for a long time. 

  4. General's Cedar Pointe [Sic] #2.  Weird spelling is theirs, not mine.  An excellent #2 with graphite similar to the Semi-Hex that you can find at most Hobby Lobby stores.  Unvarnished cedar pencil smells great and develops a patina as you use it.  The black eraser on this pencil is much better than the Semi-Hex eraser, IMHO.  Again, I wish General's sold these by the gross.

  5. Dixon Oriole #2.5(F) (USA version):  I picked up three dozen of these pencils about 10 years ago at my law school bookstore because I needed them for exams.  I still have them today, and the quality of these things pretty much knocks any big-box store pencil out of the park.  The lettering doesn't rub off, the eraser and ferrule are quality, and the graphite is dark for a 2.5 pencil.  Knowing that these were Dixon's second-line pencil, after the Ticonderoga, pains me because I can only guess what I was missing when I failed to pick up the USA-made Ticonderoga when it was in circulation.

Sharpened up!

Another round of writing samples.

I'm not sure how long my pencil craze will last.  I tend to shift between obsessions on a weekly/bi-weekly basis, so stay tuned.  Also, I trade pencils semi-regularly, so if you have anything unusual you think I might like, drop me a line and I will be happy to send you some from my collection/hoard in return.

Pencils! Pick Five.

First of all, thank you to everyone who has participated so far in my giveaway here.  I'd like to remind all readers that a winner will not be chosen until Tuesday, so you have until 11:59 p.m. on Monday to enter. 

Second, for some reason pencils have been calling my name this past week or so.  I've still been using my fountain pens for certain things, but the giant cup of pencils that sits crammed-full on my desk has been bothering me for a while, urging me to sharpen them up and use them.  So I have.  I'm not a pencil purist, meaning that I don't use them exclusively by any means, but I do love me some graphite. 

My pen and pencil cup runneth over.

Here are five of my current favorites:

  1. Palomino "Classic" Eraser-tipped HB.  If I was stranded on a desert island and could have one writing implement, I would choose this pencil.  To me, it has the perfect combination of smoothness, darkness, and point retention.  If I had one criticism, it's that the ferrule and eraser tend to loosen up, and eventually fall off, as the pencil is used, but that could just be a bad batch.  Oh, and the cedar smells great when you sharpen this pencil.  Theoretically, I know there's not much difference between this and Palomino's Blackwing 602, but I just like this pencil.  A lot.  (As of October 1, 2016, It looks like the Palomino HB is out of stock. I've been unable to find a source of them anywhere. Hopefully they aren't being discontinued.)

  2. Palomino Blackwing 602.  A close second.  The point retention in this pencil is second to none, but I sometimes wish it was just a hair darker (but not as dark/soft as the original Palomino Blackwing or the Blackwing Pearl).  The gunmetal finish on this pencil is gorgeous. 

  3. Dixon Ticonderoga #2 HB (Chinese Version).  (Formerly) an American classic.  This is still a decent quality pencil, the lead is smooth and very dark, and you can't beat the price.  I docked this pencil some points because the QC is not what it used to be.  Several of the pencils in the 30 pack I purchased were warped.  Not to the point of being unusable, but still...when I spend $4.00 on a pack of 30, I want my money's worth.  Oh, wait.  In terms of smoothness and darkness, you can't really beat the combination of price and easy availability. (Don't order these online - Go to your nearest big-box store and pick up a pack that says "Made in China." The "Made in Mexico" versions aren't as good.)

  4. Faber Castell American.  There are better pencils, but I love these because they were, to me, the classic yellow #2 that I used growing up.  I bought a half gross on Ebay for next to nothing, so I can use them freely.  These pencils aren't as dark as any of those listed above, which doesn't put them at the top of my list, but they are dark enough and the point retention is excellent.  They write more like a modern German HB pencil.  They are also made of real cedar and the lacquer and ferrule have a quality you don't see much anymore in a budget pencil, other than Musgrave.

  5. Field Notes Pencil.  A great pencil in concept, but I've had some performance issues with the graphite core breaking as the pencil get's shorter.  If you don't use a long-point sharpener, the problem isn't as pronounced, but what's the fun in that?  Otherwise, the unfinished raw cedar smells amazing, the graphite is acceptably smooth and dark, and the green eraser is offbeat enough to be interesting and works well.  I really want to like this pencil, but I'm going to use a few more before I make a bigger purchase.

From left:  Field Notes Pencil, Palomino Blackwing 602 (with replacement pink eraser), Classic Palomino HB, Dixon Ticonderoga, vintage Faber Castell American.

This is a pretty accurate depiction of the darkness of the lead.  In terms of darkness alone, I would rank them:  (1) Chinese Ticonderoga; (2) Palomino Blackwing 602; (3) Palomino HB; (4) Field Notes; (5) Faber Castell American.  In terms of smoothness, the rankings would be similar, thought the Palomino pencils would both trump the Chinese Ticonderoga, with the Blackwing 602 taking the prize.

By far, these are not the only pencils I use, simply those that I have been using recently.  I'll be trying to get more woodcase pencil reviews up, since I know there's demand out there for more pencil-related content.

Pencil Week: Musgrave Pencils

One of the last remaining pencil companies that manufactures in the United States is the Musgrave Pencil Company, which resides just twenty-five miles or so down the road from me in Shelbyville, Tennessee, the “Pencil City.”  Musgrave advertises itself as having been “Manufacturing Since 1916,” which also seems to be when they developed their website, www.pencils.net, often described as “adorably outdated.”  (UPDATE 9/13/18: Musgrave reached out and recently informed me that they have launched a new website! This one looks sharp!)

I purchased my Musgraves from Pencils, Etc., an Amazon seller located in the Shelbyville area that I assume to be Musgrave or someone affiliated with them.  I’ve never seen either of these pencils for sale anywhere else.  Pencils, Etc. sells their goods for $16 / 3 dozen, which is a respectable price, and comparable to General’s Semi-Hex pencils purchased directly from the manufacturer.  I bought two lots:  Musgrave’s “909 Ceres #2”, and some plain, unmarked black round #2 pencils.  The pencils came packaged in plastic bags, in typical “bulk lot” fashion.  I eagerly tore them open and sharpened up a few.  They sharpened well, for non-cedar pencils (probably basswood), and both are well worth the money I spent on them.  They both have the same pink eraser that works well, and that I would compare to a Pink Pearl.

Top: The Musgrave Ceres 909, their standard #2 pencil, proudly marked as made in "Pencil City," USA.

Bottom: Basic Black #2 pencil.

Nothing fancy about this packaging, but it gets the job done.

The 909 Ceres:

The 909 Ceres appears to be Musgrave’s basic yellow #2 pencil, and if that’s what you’re looking for it’s an excellent option.  The core is quality, and sharpens to a nice point.  I would compare this pencil to the new, Musgrave-manufactured Palomino Golden Bears.  The pencils have the same sharp ridges as the new Golden Bears, and are not rounded for comfort as are most modern hexagonal pencils.  Some people don’t mind this, but I’ve found that it makes it difficult for me to write with these pencils for long periods of time. 

Point retention on the Ceres is excellent.  The lead is dark, but as I’ll note below, I prefer the softer, even darker lead of the unmarked rounded pencil.

909 Ceres writing sample on Clairefontaine Seyes-ruled paper.

The “Basic Black” Rounded Pencil

For lack of a better term, I’ll dub these pencils the “Basic Black” model.  When I purchased these a month or so ago, Pencils, Etc. offered these in multiple colors (and you can probably find an even broader selection if you reached out to Musgrave directly).  I’m a sucker for round pencils, and always have been.  I find them far more comfortable than their hexagonal brethren, even if you have to worry about them rolling off the desk.  What really kills it for me, though, is the core.  It’s labeled as a #2 pencil, but it’s ever-so slightly softer and darker than the Ceres, while maintaining most of the point-retention properties. 

As you can see here, the core of the Basic Black Musgrave pencil (bottom) is just a hair darker than the 909 Ceres, and it's also smoother.

Basic Black Musgrave writing sample.

The comfort combined with the dark core makes this pencil a nearly perfect daily writer for me.  In the first picture, you can see the difference between the Ceres (shown up top), and the Basic Black.  Sorry Ceres, but I’ve found myself reaching for the Basic Black whenever I need to do more writing than jotting a few quick notes.  I’m glad I have three dozen!  Once Musgrave gets their store up and running, I’ll consider buying more and maintaining a stash of these.