The graphite mix inside a pencil (it's not lead) also makes the difference between a good writing experience and a bad one. "When it's hard to sharpen you're probably getting an unwaxed slat. "There are different grades of basswood because some of it is waxed and some is unwaxed," Hulan explained in 2017. So, people should also look at basswood pencils as another good option - with some caveats. California incense cedar is the premier pencil wood however, it is growing more expensive to process. (Ticonderogas are now manufactured in other countries.)Īccording to Hulan, picky pencil-users should look first at the type of wood being used. Musgrave pencils are still made in the U.S. Henry Hulan literally grew up in the pencil industry, with his Tennessee-based family business, Musgrave Pencil Company having celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Making a good pencil is not as easy as it may seem. 2 Ticonderoga will deliver the marks correctly on scantron test sheets used widely in schools, which is one of the reasons Ticonderoga is the brand overwhelmingly preferred by teachers." "Exacting standards are used to produce pencils that write smoothly, without the scratchy feel of other pencil brands, and deliver consistent results. "Ticonderoga pencils are produced with premium wood from certified sustainable wood sources," Becky Trudeau, a product manager at Dixon Ticonderoga, said in 2017. I reached out to Dixon Ticonderoga, the company behind these pencils for its take on what makes a pencil special. "It is a bonus if they are already sharpened and a double bonus if they are that brand." "Ticonderogas are better but this teacher is just happy to get pencils!" adds Jodi Sorrells, who teaches fifth grade at Kennedy Elementary School in Winder, Georgia. " sharpen consistently without breakage and have the longest staying power when writing," says Ashley Johnessee, Ph.D., assistant principal at Lambert High School in Suwanee, Georgia. A pencil is a pencil is a pencil, right? Wrong, according to all the teachers I spoke with. Turns out that many parents are as befuddled as I. This is the green & yellow part that holds the eraser.Since I am nothing, if not a rule-follower, I opted to order Ticonderogas online, but I polled some friends for their take. Step 11- The ferrule is glued onto the end. Step 10- Ticonderoga’s name is imprinted on the pencil with green foil. Step 9- The newly painted pencil is sanded on one end. Step 8- The pencils are put through a painting process that adds many coats of special Ticonderoga yellow lacquer. Step 7- The pencils are cut apart out of the ten pencil slat block. Step 6- Both sides of the slat are shaped with cutting knives so that it looks like a row of ten pencils.īelow you see Steps 7-12 (with Step 7 being the top pencil and working it’s way down to the bottom pencil, Step 12). Step 5- The sandwich slats are trimmed on both ends to make the exact length of a pencil. Step 4- You can see below on the bottom of the pencil block that a second grooved slat is placed creating a “pencil sandwich”. Step 3- Glue is placed into each grove and the sticks of graphite are placed into this. Step 2- A machine cuts grooves into the slats so that the pencils can hold the graphite writing core (aka lead even though there is no lead in it). Pencils can be made from different types of wood, however Ticonderogas are made from California Incense-Cedar. Step 1- Wood is cut into “pencil blocks” as I’ve shown below and then into “pencil slats”. I’ve taken photos from each step in the process and am using the guide to help me explain to you how it is made! They sent a great illustrated guide so that I understood what each step was. When I opened it up I realized that they had materials from every step in the pencil making process! It was something I had never seen before so I wanted to share it with you guys! I would bet that you have all heard of Dixon Ticonderoga and are at least familiar with their pencils! They sent me a great little package in the mail the other week and the most intriguing part of it was this cool “How We Make a Ticonderoga Pencil” box!
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