Thursday, August 25, 2011

What brand of pencils do you use????

Ok... I am really upset about pencils this year.  The other art I work with and I dont get it.  Every year we try a new brand of pencils out.  And Every year it is the same story... You get your brand new pencil and you are going to sharpen it. and the lead break right off. 

So what brand of pencils do you use.. that dont break the min. you sharpen them????

15 comments:

Erin K said...

Papermate. So far pretty good. Although I do get the occasional odd pencil that never sharpens right.

Unknown said...

I was having a terrible time sharpening pencils for the kids today and was thinking the same thing you were! They are all so cheap and defective. I don't know if it's the wood or the lead but they won't sharpen evenly and they break too often.Frustrating......

Jodi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phyl said...

Ticonderoga sharpen pretty well. I've had those awful pencils by School Specialty and they are absolutely useless when it comes to sharpening. A waste of money!

ArtTeacherLeigha said...

I thought the same thing about my pencils. But it might be the sharpener too. I found when I sharpened a lot in a hurry, they would break more because of the shaking of the sharpener. I found that the Hunt Boston sharpener that looks like a brown wooden box (older, but I think they still make them) works way better than then ones where you can change the size of the pencil when doing a lot of pencils at once. Hope that helps!

Natalie said...

The BEST pencils EVER are Ticonderoga "BEGINNERS" pencils! They are big, make a nice dark line, and stay sharpened for WEEKS! I never use anything else and the kids won't take them because everyone knows those are the art pencils!

Jacinda said...

Ticonderoga have worked the best for me. However, I agree with the comment regarding the sharpener. So true! And they really don't make good sharpeners anymore. I just bought the Point sharpener that Office Depot is pushing and so far so good.

Paintedpaper said...

The ones brought in by students! I have students bring in 3 pre-sharpened pencils. Then they go in a box and are ready to go when needed :)
I barely sharpen pencils. I save my other money for paint and paper.

Nancie Kay said...

I use Ticonderoga 'Laddie' HB2 pencils. These are considered 'primary' pencils - no eraser attached. They erase easily and are less likely to walk out the door since there's no eraser.
I did get bad batches the last 2 years - lead was broken inside the wood casing so every time they were sharpened, the new point would break off. Maybe 3 out of every box of a dozen which is alot. This year, there doesn't seem to be as much of a problem with breakage.
I use the large Xacto sharpener w/10 yr. warranty which means it will last about 3-4 years under my conditions.

khankamer said...

Ticonderoga sharpen the best. As long as they are pure wood they do ok.

Mr. R said...

Thank you all so much for your imput.. i am going to get a list together of all this pencils and give them a try some time in the future.. i will post later when i have a great answer of what one i like best... or what works best... thanks again...

Jennifer Matott (Sigmagirl) said...

Faber Castell are AWESOME for art pencils (they are so well bonded!) but are pricey so I only order them and use them when we are shading. I use Ticonderoga pencils for the everyday use. They are awesome!

dmasse said...

ticonderoga laddies are the way to go. i love ow the bigger width pencils feel in your hand.

Camille Goralski said...

I get pencils provided by my school district that are usually dedicated for the kinders to learn to write -- they're called "Big Bear" pencils and they stay sharpened and last for a pretty long time. I have 865 students and probably only need to do sharpening once every week. They don't have erasers which is a relief as well - the erasers always die first! They are made my "General"

Cheryl Hancock said...

I agree - that the fatter- grip colour pencils are better- those suitable for younger students just last so much longer although you dont get as big a colour choice.

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