Monday, September 2, 2013

Brand Name Pencils

Bob Truby loves pencils so much that he has made a comprehensive website called Brand Name Pencils, where you can search all the known brands or types, including the El Dorado, which I mentioned on a previous post 

He's got a Most Wanted page of rare pencils that he's looking for and willing to buy from you. Maybe there's gold in the back of your art supply drawer. 
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Thanks, Paulo

7 comments:

Making A Mark said...

Interesting - I've come across a few pencil geek sites before now but this looks like a good one. What's the name for a true pencil spotter?

One thing to note is he's actually including "vintage" pencils which are no longer manufactured - but there's no way of knowing this from the site. He's also not got all the most recently produced pencils. I've got a couple of pencils I look out for to test this and the vintage was present and the new one was not.

I'm wondering whether it maybe works better for graphite pencils?

For those interested in coloured pencils only (for fine artists), I've got a brand analysis and links to further information on my website Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

Steve said...

Interesting to consider how many of these pencils may owe a debt to Henry David Thoreau. According to an article posted by the University of Houston's College of Engineering:

"Henry David Thoreau worked on the problem of making a better pencil out of inferior graphite.
He solved the problem by using clay as the binder. With clay he created a superior, smear-free pencil whose hardness was controllable. He made the Thoreau company into America's leading pencil maker."

And finally, for those who for some reason want to go completely over the top with this aspect of life, they can have their favorite wooden pencil sharpened for $35 by the artisanal pencil sharpener, David Rees.

http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/index.html

It's doubtful Henry would have availed himself of this service.

Keith Parker said...

My mom runs a flea market shop, and we have one of the first ever mechanical pencils. It's over a hundred years old and looks really cool.

erc said...

Hello James and fellow sketchers,
Does anyone here still use the Ritmo charcoal pencils?

K_tigress said...

I have a very large real wooden pencil intricately decorated with traditional stylized flowers of my parents culture. It hangs above some cabinets on a wall in my little studio. Its circumference is a bit less then my arm and you can actually write with it. I would ever dream of just using it up. But yeah tried to see if it works out of curiosity.

Anonymous said...

I've still yet to get over that 'artisanal pencil sharpening' guy and his service... I keep thinking "this is some kind of joke", but then it looks totally legit.

It hurts my brain trying to comprehend how this thing exists and why people would pay any kind of money to get a pencil sharpened.

dragonladych said...

I'm still looking for a way to buy my favourite crayons by th e piece. I see why it's impossible to find, it's not on his list.
I can only find complete boxes of them: http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/watercolor-pencils-and-sticks/koh-i-noor-mondeluz-watercolor-pencil-sets.htm

The light blue tones, I've looked and looked but no other brand has this particular colours. Typical you find your favourite tool and it's discontinued...