Ticonderoga Days

There are other quality pencils 

I used to be a Ticonderoga #2 specialist. It was the only pencil I would write with. I first encountered Ticonderogas when I was a little kid. I didn't know there were pencils that existed that might even be better than the original Ticonderoga #2.

Until a couple of months ago, I had never heard of a a Jumbo Grip Faber–Castell or a Blackwing. I watched Dan Pink's Pinkcast where he raved about the Faber–Castell. He even directed the viewer to his favorite pencil site on the web, CW Pencil Enterprise. I later found out there is actually a small pencil boutique store in New York City that is the original CW Pencil. I searched around and, ironically, found Pencils.com. Between CW and Pencils, I discovered that a market for quality pencils exists.

As I began my quest for better pencils, I also happened upon a blog that raved about the Blackwing and highlighted what a great pencil it was. I decided I had to give a Blackwing a try but the only place I could find one in Michigan was in Grand Rapids. So one late summer afternoon, Lori and I journeyed to the Urban Center for Contemporary Arts downtown GR and I bought my first couple of Blackwings, plus a Blackwing Longpoint Sharpener.

Suddenly, the days of the Ticonderoga #2 were becoming limited. There's a whole other world of pencils out there that I didn't even know about. I've used some Ticonderogas, Blackwings Golden Bears, and even the Faber–Castell Jumbos. Right now, I'm partial to the Palomino Blackwings and their subscription service.