The Dixon Ticonderoga Black Pencil

A few weeks back, before my internship and real life took over my free time, I posted my thoughts regarding the Palomino Blackwing Pencil.  It was intended to be a one shot posting regarding what was a over-hyped  though above average pencil that had garnered it's own cult of personality and followers around it.  I had expected it to have a cursory, but low amount of page visits and views, and have it fall by the wayside as far as interest went.

Well, it turns out, you people are incredible passionate about your writing instruments, and loved it.  As of right now, it's become one of this blog's more popular postings.  Who knew that people have such opinions and curiosity over their writing instruments?  With that, I though I'd review another pencil that had attracted my attention, also because it claimed to be the world's best pencil.  I'll explain more in a bit.

Having been in the field for my teaching certification, I've always found that at least one student will need a pencil to do their work.  I have no qualms with lending out a pencil, and 90% of the time, students will return it.  However, it's those 10% of the time that make me hesitant on lending out an expensive pencil.  As such, I looked into acquiring a pencil that was both elegant, wrote well, and yet was inexpensive enough that in the instance that I did lose it, I wouldn't be too upset on it being gone.  As such, it was when I was at a Office Depot that I stumbled upon this instrument.

The Ticonderoga Pencil is perhaps one of the more available pencils out there in the market place, and can be had at any office supply store or big box store that may be near you.  It proudly proclaims itself, as part of it's marketing slogan, as "The World's Best Pencil."  And it's that slogan right there that caught my attention.  This proclamation is similar to the reputation given to the Blackwing, which has the overly inflated reputation as being the World's Best Pencil.  Unlike the Blackwing, this reputation for the Ticonderoga is solely given by the company itself, Dixon.  That's kind of odd, as reputations are earned, not marketed, but if who knows, perhaps this pencil might be able to back up it's bluster.  Maybe it's the Floyd Mayweather of Pencils, a lot of bluster, but with plenty of bite to back it up.

Onto the pencil itself.  The pencil I received was a Ticonderoga Black, which is, like the Blackwing, a very aesthetically pleasing pencil.  It's capped off by a metallic green bracket at the end, which holds a black eraser.  However, if you want to go old school, the Ticonderoga is also available in the classic yellow with a pink eraser at the end.  It proudly bears it's name in silver inlay along the shaft of the pencil, and overall gives you the impression that you are indeed about to embark on a luxurious  but fantastic voyage of penmanship fun.  It's made from cedar, and that cedar itself is non-rainforest harvested, making this an ecologically friendly pencil, if you're into that, as well as being coated with a antimicrobial substance called Microban, which inhibits the growth of bacteria on a pencil.  This actually isn't a bad idea, as pencils get passed around among students more than coasters at a bar.  This thing has more features than a old Chevorlet Chevette, and is probably available at the same price as one too.

But the important question is, how does the "World's Best Pencil perform?"  Well, it all depends from your perspective.  It works fairly well, with that familiar, slightly satisfying scratchy sound and feel that usually comes from the use of Number 2 Pencils.  However, it does produce a nice, dark line that can be, with pressure, made lighter or darker.  It does have some good use when writing, and is actually isn't bad for sketching, as I found out during my conference period, when my mentor instructor was in a meeting and I had nothing else better to do.  So all in all, it's useful for multiple purposes, kind of like duct tape, or Michael Young, back when he was in a super utility role for the Rangers.

As compared to the other claimant for World's Best Pencil, though, it does fall a bit short.  The Blackwing does offer a bit of a smoother, more pleasant drawing experience, and the Blackwing does produce a darker line than the Ticonderoga.  Plus, the Blackwing never proclaimed itself as the world's best pencil.  It was given that title by a zealous public, which gives it slightly more of a claim to that title than the Dixon, which gave it to itself.    While the Ticonderoga is a very good pencil, it's not the greatest pencil I've ever used, nor one that I'll go out of my way to purchase.   However, for the price, between $3 and $5 dollars american, . and the writing quality, which while not a religious experience, is still very good, you can't beat it.  Is this something that I wouldn't mind using?  Not at all, as I do use it every day.  But is it a preferred weapon of choice for creative/artistic/writing purposes?  Not really, as there are a few other pencils that I prefer and will elaborate on next time.