I like to write with a pencil.

I like the way a pencil feels warm between your finger tips and resting in the crook of your thumb. When I write with a pencil, I feel resistance. Pencils push back a little. They let you know that you are not alone in your writing or sketching. They are right there with you.

In contrast, ball point pens feel slippery to me, like walking on wet ice. My writing is naturally sloppy so a pencil slows me down enough to keep the letters a little more legible. I also think pencils smell good and I enjoy sharpening them to a fine point.

There is a lot to like about a pencil.

Stationary Shops

I find it hard to walk by stores that sell writing tools without going in to have a quick look around. Even though the feature displays of high end fountain pens are beautiful, I immediately gravitate towards the pencils. And sharpeners. And erasers with all their different materials and colours and stickinesses. White polymer is my favourite. It cleans up my messes the best and it has a chewy texture that I like, softer than the raspy pink ones.

Today I found myself in the Junction area of Toronto where I was surprised to find 3 well stocked stationary and art supply stores within 2 blocks. They all had a great selection of writing tools and very little overlap between them.

In the last shop I visited, I found a pencil that I had to bring home. It’s this one:

There wasn’t a price on it so I brought it up to the cash register to see. I found out that it cost around 2 dollars. TWO DOLLARS!! This is a Tombow brand pencil, made in Japan by a small factory. The barrel is cedar, the graphite core is the highest quality, and it is finished with more than a few coats of rich black lacquer. There is even a cute silver dragonfly embossed onto the barrel (Tombow means dragonfly in Japanese). This pencil is a skillfully made tool and it is a pleasure to write with. It makes rich, dark and consistent lines without excessive pressure. It is perfect. And it costs 2 dollars!

Think about what else you can buy for 2 dollars…

Nothing…you can’t buy anything for 2 dollars. Not even a bag of chips. Not even at the “dollar” store.

I left the stationary shop with my brand new shiny black-lacquered Japanese-made super-high quality cedar-barrelled premium graphite-stuffed cute dragonfly-embossed pencil feeling pretty good about myself. I knew that I got an amazing deal.

What can you do with a 2 dollar premium-grade pencil?

• draw a picture of your cat.
• write down something that you know you will forget (make a memory out of paper, as an elementary school teacher once told me).
• write a poem about something that took your breath away.
• write a love letter to a person you have been thinking about non-stop to the point that the rest of your life has ground to a complete halt.
• take out a pad of paper and write a message to the person sitting next to you on the subway…you KNOW that they are reading over your shoulder. Make them smile.
• leave a note to your partner (or your parents!) before you leave the house telling them how important they are to you.
• write a paper letter to someone. Nothing in the digital world can touch the intimacy of pencil (or ink) on paper. Instant gratification in nearly every aspect of our lives has all but erased the joy of discovery, the excitement of anticipation. Imagine the thrill and surprise of finding a handwritten letter addressed to you in your mailbox.
• make a list of things that you want to do…things that will make your life richer.
• make of list of things you never want to do…this kind of list is also surprisingly helpful.
• you could write a long letter to someone explaining why you have to leave them. A pencil can break somebody’s heart too.
• the list goes on and on

That seems like a lot of joy, a lot of potential, a lot of power for 2 dollars…

Yes, of course, you can do a lot of these things on your computer or phone BUT…they will soon get lost and forgotten among all the other junk on there.

A warning I found on the Tombow Pencil website:

I think this is a direct translation from Japanese:

In elementary school I seem to remember more than one kid that got stabbed in the hand with a pencil by a pissed off classmate. Maybe it was just my school… maybe Tombow knows something about this too. Anyways…boys will be boys etc…

Tombow Pencil Company Limited seems to recognize the power of their product…. here is a link to their website if you want to check out their super-pencils.

A scientific case for pencil use

I recently read a study that looked at dementia in very old people. Specifically it looked for commonalities among very very old people who have managed to maintain perfect brain function even though they are well on their way to 100 years of age. Across all cultures, across all socio-economic backgrounds, looking at everything from education to physical fitness to diet, there was only one thing that all of these sharp minded ancient people had in common: Every single one of them wrote by hand, everyday. Diaries, letters, notes…whatever. Pencil or pen on paper. Thoughts and ideas…flow through complex muscle movements in the arms and hands coordinated with vision to make written language on paper. Powerful.

Happy writing!

If you would like to visit the shop where I got this pencil, check them out here: Articulations.

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