When I moved, most if not all of my remaining pencils went bye, bye. The majority of them likely the previous time before that, since I’ve largely been paperless my adult life. In so much as I can without going unduly out of my way, I’ve mostly avoided paper when possible.
Part of this of course owes to computers becoming more prevalent, and part of it towards my teenage self having to compete with my mother’s business for available paper, lol.
Yet, there is always the eventually need to write something, sooner or later.
I’ll also admit that since eliminating cursive script from much of my writing, I actually don’t hate writing. I never hated writing itself. Rather, I hate being forced to deal with papers and forms, which take up lots of space and are a far bigger pain in the arse to search than digital files. The majority of my handwriting in the 21st century is defined by a stylus to a tablet screen. But sometimes one does need instruments to write on actual paper.
Some years ago, I picked up a cheap pair of Zebra F-301s and some Paper Mate SharpWriters. That was enough to ensure that I don’t have to go out and buy a damn pen or pencil for the few occasions a year I actually have to use paper.
What Zebra calls a cheap pen was always that cool space aged pen as far as my childhood self was concerned, and they are actually older than me 😅. They’re not great pens per-se, but the F-301s are plenty sufficient while the ink cartridge lasts. Pardoning my favorite pen from high school, (model unknown) they’ve fit the category of “You’ll do.” There’s also the advantage, that unlike a bushel of Bic/Biro Pens, they might not outlive me for the amount of use I require.
I’d also refill said favorite pen if I ever could figure out how to dismantle it and dig up a refill, but that’s a different problem. It’s just some silvery clad pen that you twist to open and retract that I was gifted around the time I started high school. Sadly though, the only obvious way to open it is the tip’s cowl, and short of squeezing it off with a pryers, it doesn’t twist, so I’ve never been able to open it. The matching mechanical that it came with also opened that way for refilling, although its cowl went missing eons ago.
Given that sharpening pencils was more a necessary evil than a preference growing up, I had figured the cheap-o mechanicals would be sufficient. If nothing else, they’re easier to store than a traditional pencil, since the lead retracts. That’s about the only good thing about them. Side confession: I’ve ordered a box of pencils, partly because I’d like to try sharpening them artist style and partly because I really hate those damned SharpWriters.
I’d say that the SharpWriters are to mechanical pencils what Bic pens are to the disposable pen. Except that feels like it would be insulting Marcel Bich. Say what you will about cheap pens, but I’d say László BÃró and Marcel Bich at least made a positive impact on the problem. In my live, I’ve used plenty of Paper Mates that I don’t hate, even some that I’ve liked, but the SharpWriters are trash in my experience. Literally, I’d rather use a traditional pencil.
But that brings me to the subject of what’s replacing these. For that, I’ll make a separate post, now that I’m done with the rambling 😆