Pencils

A few times I’ve had other woodworkers spot my pencil roll and it got far more interest than I expected. Its a very cheap roll I bought by accident, thinking I was getting a far larger roll to stick some augers in. A miss-click on my part. It is in fact intended for pens and pencils, but it took me quite a while to actually consider putting pens and pencils in it. I’m quick that way.

The roll lives on my bench. I try to always put any pencil back in it when I’m done. I usually do. The advantage of the roll is that it is far bigger than a pencil. It’s less likely to get lost or misplaced. When I want a pencil, I reach for the roll. Sometimes I forget to put the pencil I want back in. That is why the roll has some random odd pencils that will do in a pinch.

So let’s dig in and see what I have in here and why.

From left to right. Permanent marker. Turned beech 0.7mm mechanical pencil. Coffee stirring sticks. Small foldable metal ruler. 0.3, 0.4 and 0.7 mm Graphgear 100 mechanical pencils. 5mm Fatboy pencil. 2 random cheap 0.7mm mechanical pencils. A standard pencil. Spare leads for the Fatboy in 3 colours. And lurking up the top my pencil sharpener. My absolute favourite pencil is not in the roll, but we will get to that later.

A few items I forgot to photograph individually. The permanent marker is used sometimes when lapping plane soles or irons. I’ll put a little on to see where I am hitting. The coffee stirring sticks get used when I am setting up planes, whenever the stash in here gets low, I grab a few more when I’m getting coffee. I find it much easier to see if both sides of an iron are cutting evenly by feel than by sight, so I grab one of these and run it along the bottom of the plane and feel if I’m getting an even cut. Why are they in the pencil roll? They fit, and it makes them quick to find.

This is how the roll looks when its sitting on one corner of my bench, filthy at this point, but it does its just. Quick to spot and find. Little chance of it rolling off the bench or getting covered.

Coppice Works turned mechanical pencil. Comfy in the hand and nice to look at. A gift from my lovely lady. Not as hardy as some of the other pencils, so it tends to get used to sketch or take notes. I rarely use it to mark wood.

12 inch folding steel ruler. If I want a pencil, there is a good chance I’m going to mark a line. If I’m not using a square, then I need a ruler. This one is nice, folds up compactly, and I just plain like it. It’s a vintage rule made by Chesterman and bought here on the patch.

Pentel Graphgear 100 mechanical pencils. 0.3mm, 0.5mm and 0.7mm. To be honest, the 0.5mm only gets used as a backup, I don’t have any real need for it. The 0.3mm is used to mark out fine joinery if accuracy really counts. That 0.3mm lead is delicate, and you need to be careful if you are not to snap it off constantly. The 0.7mm is pretty much my default marking pencil. The 0.7mm is tough enough that constant lead snapping is not such an issue. The Graphgear pencils are pretty tough. They have been used on rough wood, dropped, and generally abused, and they just keep going. You can see in the picture above, the 0.7mm has the led extended, and the tip of the holding mechanism is out. When you press the shirt clip, the entire holding mechanism retracts, which makes it less likely to be struck and damaged.

Two random cheap 0.7mm pencils. These are left overs for when I was hunting for good candidates to find springs for the chucks on egg beater drills. They get used when I need to stick a pencil somewhere it might get damaged, or if I’ve misplaced other pencils.

M+R pencil sharpener. Purchased because I’m a hopeless Chris Schwarz fanboy and he recommended them. Several years after purchase it is still going strong.

The two different sizes holes on this sharpener mean there are few pencils it will not do a good job on.

Pretty standard pencil. I have no idea what the lead even is. There are those who advocate for a normal pencil for joinery marking, as the tip can be far finer than even the 0.3mm mechanical. The advantage of the mechanical is you get a consistent thickness line. The standard pencil’s line widens as it wears. My sawing is not good enough that the extra thinness makes any difference. So I am happy with the mechanicals. The little divot on this pencil shows why I have it, it goes in my scriber.

Fatboy 5mm lead holder. Unlike a typical mechanical pencil this does not feed the lead out, you push to release the part that clucthes the lead at the top and gravity lets it fall out. I used to use it a lot until it was replaced by my favourite pencil. The lead is huge, so huge, its easy to read when you have marked. I use a large pencil for all face and edge marks, and for marking lines when breaking down stock. The shear thickness makes it so easy to see.

Spare leads for the 5mm pencil in 3 colours. In practice the line a 5mm lead makes is so easy to see I never bother with the red or white.

Sample line on walnut, clear as day.

Now my favourite pencil. This does not live in the roll. It has its own beautiful little box that lives beside the pencil roll. This is a hand made 5mm pencil from Ric Aricbald. This is the most precise hand made object I have ever held. Its flawless in every way. Not just in its geometry, but also it’s comfort and balance. This is my go too pencil for general marking.

You might wonder, how do you get it out of that tiny space in the box? There is a little undercut area on one side, press down and the pencil hops up to be withdrawn.

If you are thinking this entire piece is just a shallow excuse to show off my fancy pencil, I’m not going to say that accusation is baseless….

A nice little trick Ric taught me. Why bother using the pointed end of the 5mm lead if you want a big line? Just use the blunt end. The line at the top is with the blunt end, and its a lot fatter!

I mentioned my scriber earlier. I wrote an article a while back on the [original version of this tool](https://blog.vintagetoolpatch.com/2023/04/23/stool-scriber.html], inspired by the Tooley Park Fat Boy. I’ve been working on a prettier fancier version, because I like pretty things. Originally built for levelling stool legs, it’s turning out to be a generally useful pencil gauge.

You can see from the various divot marks on this pencil, when the brass thumb screw up top reaches the pencil, the tip really digs in and immobilises it.