Time spent looking for pencils/pens.

[Sherry Lee]

Do you have your pencils/pens chained down?

Do you keep your pencil/pen behind each ear?

Do you wear an apron for your pencil/pen, hammer & ruler?

Do you wear cargo pants so you can have multitude of pencil/pen options clipped to each pocket?

Or do you spend half your day in search of your pencil/pen?

 

[Val]

No.
No.
No.
No.
Yes. When I used to work at M's, they made us wear aprons. Bright red ones. Hated the apron, but loved the pockets. I am Captain Kangaroo. Miss the pockets. Thinking of wearing a half-apron again just for the pockets. (I did, last week, finally break down and get one of those glassses-on-a-rope-around-your-neck things, maybe I need one for a pencil too!)

It seems no matter how many pencils/pens I put out in every room, on every counter, they disappear. Maybe they go to the same place as the little red glue bottle caps?

 

[RoboFramer]

Don't get me started!

I have a 12 X 6' workbench and - mainly to save walking around it all the time, I have put a set of things like pencils and pens at each side. Stanley knives, tape measures, erasers etc etc.

There is a waste bin under the morso arm and I'm sure that I must keep putting things on there and then knocking them in the bin, as some things have disappeared for ever!

 

[deaconsbench]

That's why sites such as www.SlickDeals.net were created! Currently, I believe there is a deal of 72 pens for $4.

Spare coffee cups, strategically placed, filled with pens & pencils. Some of us are getting to the age where remembering such things is too much of a time waster. Load up!
:kaffeetrinker_2:

 

[Kit]

I'm fussy about my pencils. They have to be sharp. Lethally sharp. There are cups of them scattered around at work. Most have become miniatures because I keep grinding them down in the sharpener.

Pencils at home are slightly different. These have to be old mechanical ones. 'Collectable pencils' is always my first stop on ebay. My favorite is a silver Rotring Old Style but I have a banana split dish full of silver, gold, and bakelite ones.

Don't touch my pencils and no, you can't borrow one.

Kit

 

[Paul N]

No
No
No
No
No.
But Thanks for asking....

 

[Handy]

Sometimes it seems that I spend my whole day trying to figure out what I did with the pencil I just had in my hand!!

They seem to migrate from the work area to the front counter, to the back office. I always forget to put it down when I have to go to the next spot. Help a customer? take it with me. use the CMC (in the office) take it with me.........

we use the clickable pencils though - they are always sharp!

 

[Bill Henry-]

No.
No.
No.
No.
No, don't have to. I just follow the black spreading stain on my shirt pocket.

 

[Rebecca]

Kit, tell me please what kind of pencils and/or sharpeners you use??? I too love sharp pencils (not the mechanical kind) and have been driven to sharpening them with a utility knife because no matter what kind of sharpener I use, the lead breaks under the wood and wiggles out. I've tried all kinds of pencils too, even expensive German ones.

I don't think it's my technique, because as a kid I was an ace pencil sharpener, but got out of practice with the advent of felt tips, so maybe it is....

Tell me oh Cap'n, how do you do it??

Rebecca

 

[Twin2]

No.
No.
No.
No.
Sometimes. I seem to lose my pencils and pens constantly, but I try to keep them in a holder nearby (a tin can that my son decorated for me one year for Mother's Day). I have to confess that when I'm sizing and cutting mats, my pencil can often be found in my mouth.

Rebecca, I also like razor sharp pencils. I just use an electric pencil sharpener that I purchased at Staples.

 

[Kit]

Rebecca - They're Mirado Black Warriors. That's the only kind of wooden pencil I like (told you I was fussy). They always sharpen up just right and it doesn't matter whether I'm using a fancy electric sharpener, a hand crank one, or a kitchen knife.

Kit

 

[Baer Charlton]

We buy pens by the 100, pencils by the 6box [72].

Electric sharpener where ever we need them, razorblades for other places.

Pencils dragged sideways across silk matboard scraps sharpens the points to scarey sharp.

 

[Puppyraiser]

What I don't understand is how a pencil disappears when I haven't taken a step! This is also true of paper trimmers, wire cutters... I swear I just set it down RIGHT THERE!

If I could have back the time spent looking for stuff, I would probably be 10 years younger...

 

[jframe]

I put velcro around the tops of a pencil and a pen and attached them to a another strip of velcro on the hardware box by the fitting table. The velcro makes them fairly uncomfortable to carry around in a pocket. They haven't walked off yet. Otherwise I carry a pen in the pocket of my Rockler apron.

 

[B. Newman]

One of my favorite quotes: "Time is not the factor, it's accessability."

That's true whether it's searching for pencils or clearing a place to work, or gathering tools for a particular job.

That's why I love tool caddies - everything's always close by.

 

[Richard Darling]

The best theory I've heard about the problem is that pens are actually hanger larvae. When they disappear they are maturing and migrating to the closet.

 

[Baer Charlton]

The best theory I've heard about the problem is that pens are actually hanger larvae. When they disappear they are maturing and migrating to the closet.

Oh Richard, PLEEEZE! This is a very serious discussion on the Grumble. Please refrain from making "Warped" type statements. Everyone knows that pens are Sharpie larva, PAPER CLIPS are hanger larva.

carry on.:smiley:

 

[Framar]

I was just talking about this theory yesterday with a customer!!!

Paperclips > Hangers > Bicycles!!!

Kit - where do you buy these fab pencils???

I have myself gotten hooked on mechanical pencils - I have .5, .7 and now .9 size ones. But I stick with my 6H turquoise drawing pencil for mat marking and even though I always have a bunch around my shop, and even though I am the only one there - I still lose them all the time!!!

Drives me crazy.

I love pencils!!!

I have a ceramic mug with pens for customers to write checks and sign CC receipts. I put those triangular rubber grips on them and it makes them very distinctive that few have ever walked out of the shop. One guy left a gold Parker ballpoint and called later all in a panic - I had tried writing with it - it was so sleek and slippery I couldn't hold onto it! Silly pen.

 

[jframe]

I One guy left a gold Parker ballpoint and called later all in a panic - I had tried writing with it - it was so sleek and slippery I couldn't hold onto it! Silly pen.

Same here, Mar. Never understood what was so fab about a heavy pen that kept slipping in my hand.

 

[smitten]

Behind the ear... and in the console of my car when I forget that they are there... must remember to leave them on my bench

 

[nancyg]

Ya gotta love a girl in a tool-belt

I use a canvas carpenters tool-belt that I got at Home Depot. My ruler, eraser, fractions calculator, and burnisher have their own little pockets.

Pencils, Prismacolor 2H & 4H, tend to jab me in the thigh if I put them in the apron, so they're behind my ear. I have only 3 active pencils, because if I have 10 pencils, I will lose 10 pencils.

smile away

 

[Kit]

Kit - where do you buy these fab pencils???
quote]

Office Max - hope you aren't disappointed, expecting something exotic.

I do my most creative writing with a pencil - thought it was because I like the feel of the lead across the paper. Then I read that typing and writing use different parts of the brain.

So don't expect anything creative here.

Kit

 

[Rick Granick]

Not alone!

I'm glad to see this thread generating so many responses. Sometimes I think I'm the only one with a fetish for writing instruments. As a kid I used to love it when school would start, because it would mean shopping for fresh new school supplies.
Nowadays at work I have pencils and pens available everywhere, so I can usually just grab one within arm's reach. Yeah, the pencils get stubby after awhile, but somehow rarely ever actually get thrown away. They just migrate from one location and use to another. Kind of like blades going from matcutting to paper trimming to frame scraping, etc. as they age/dull.
As to the pencils breaking in the sharpener, it's the same problem we have these days with mouldings: "snotwood". Used to be you could rely on the old Dixon Ticonderogas (#2-1/2 was my favorite), but even those have slipped in quality. The wood just can't hold up to the rigors of sharpening. I've actually had good luck with generic #2 pencils in packs of 10 or so from Meijer's. They come in nice colors too, some with color-coordinated erasers. They write very smoothly, but get dull fairly quickly. However, they do sharpen easily to a nice pointy finish. For mat marking, I usually use a mechanical pencil with .5 leads.
What about mat-marking aids? Must-haves for me are a tool called a Matline (which may be discontinued now), and a plastic guage for locating inklines on mats that I think came from Light Impressions. Also, I can't be without flexible plastic rulers made by C-Thru, preferrably in white. (The clear ones make it harder to see the markings.)
As for pens, I use all kinds, but my favorite for writing is a good old Parker Jotter ballpoint. Writes smoothly and lasts for ages. I've always carried a pen clipped in my back pocket next to my wallet, and found that even the chrome Jotter had a clip that was just too weak. So, years ago I converted a nice fat metal Rotring rollerball pen with an industrial strength clip (that goes all the way to the top of the cap) to take a Parker cartridge, resulting in my ideal pen.
I also collect all kinds of interesting pens, either beautiful or unusual (but not expensive). My wife got me a showcase box for them, which I customized by replacing its top with a Bella veneer moulding.

Write on!
Rick

 

[HarryGMCPF]

My store seems to have this bizarre gravitational pull that sucks all the pencils and pens to the end of the building that I am NOT in......

As for tapemeasures.... they go off to another dimension all together.

 

[Rick Bergeron - CPF]

Want a good pencil ?

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/woodworking/markmeasure/83u0410s2.jpg


Lee Valley pencils are made in the traditional way with traditional materials – incense-cedar bodies with refined graphite leads. Not only are these easy to write with, but the light, stiff cedar body keeps the lead in one piece. Have you noticed how often you find broken lead in most pencils? You won't in these. Even more important, the leads in ours are silky smooth and black, not some form of gritty gray. Since you may have forgotten the luxury of different lead hardnesses for different uses (a 2B writes like a Belgian chocolate tastes), we offer a six-pencil sample pack with one each of 4B, 2B, B, HB, H, and 2H. Otherwise, we sell them in boxes of twelve. Made in Great Britain.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32538&cat=1,42936,43509

 

[Val]

Tape measures are always in the room that I am not! I'm looking to buy pink ones...anyone know where? Maybe the guys will leave them alone! I did that once at home...painted pink flowers on my tools... screw drivers/hammers/saw, rake...never had to hunt them down again!

Rick, I just received my Lee Valley catalogues (tools, hardware, gardening) Love them!! I have many pages dog-eared for Christmas shopping...and left in a conspicuos place for Thoughtful Husband to see! Ha! Great stuff in there!! (so much better than clothes shopping...brrr)

 

[Gumbo Girl]

I'm glad to see this thread generating so many responses. Sometimes I think I'm the only one with a fetish for writing instruments.

No way, Rick. You have lots of company when it comes to this!

My husband knows when he drops me off at an office supply store he has at least a good hour to kill before I'm ready to leave. When visiting Artlite in Buckhead, well, I go alone now. It's a pen collector's dream. They sell new, but they also sell vintage, collector's pens, most of which I cannot afford!!

I use my Rotring mechanical pencil (.5 lead) for mat marking. I've had it since college and not lost it yet.

All those other pencils, I stick in my ponytail or use 'em like hairsticks and can put my hair in a bun with them. I have gone to the grocery store with pencils in my hair once or twice. My kids try and keep this from happening!

Pens- hah. We figured out a great way to keep them from walking off. My "snot" pens (papermate stick) have been transformed into flowers and they sit in a little pot. I took silk flower heads and floral taped them to the pen, it doesn't interfere with their use. They don't get put in anyone's pocket, especially the men!