I had the pleasure of joining the Erasable Podcast crew last week to discuss my recent fascination with wooden pencils. This led to a lot of great conversation around the stationery discovery process, like when I realized fountain pens would work for me and my writing style.
That discovery process went something like this:
- I have no use for fountain pens. They can’t write how I like to write.
- They are messy - who wants to deal with that?
- Wow, that ink color is neat. Look how fine that line is!
- I should buy one to try.
- That was ok, but not perfect for me. Let me research more.
- Japanese Extra Fine! And orange ink!
For wooden pencils, the process was shockingly similar:
- I have no use for wooden pencils. They can’t write how I like to write.
- They are messy - who wants to deal with that?
- Wow, that pencil barrel is cool. Look how sharp that point is!
- I should buy one to try.
- That was ok, but not perfect for me. Let me research more.
- I understand the hardness scale! And rarely have to sharpen!
This is why The Pen Addict exists in the first place. My journey to find the best micro-tip gel ink pen is what got this blog started all of those years ago, and the discovery process never ends. I’m always on the lookout for great pens, pencils, inks, and paper. And, I am willing to step outside of my traditional comfort zone to see what else is out there that could be better for me than what I have been using.
Sometimes it is a $200 fountain pen with a unique nib. Other times, like this one, it is a $1 pencil that fits me and my writing style perfectly.
The Uni Mitsubishi 9000 Pencil in 3H was a random cart add at JetPens at some point in time. I know I’ve had it for a while because it is no longer available in that grade. That’s too bad because LOOK AT MY HANDWRITING!
That’s how I know I’ve found a good one - when even I am impressed with my own handwriting. Luckily, and one of the reasons I have a newfound love for pencils, there are many choices that give me this kind of quality output. I find the 9000 to be one of the best.
My fawning over a $1 pencil begins with its paint job. The green on green coating with gold stamping is nearly perfect. The only visual flaw is the unfortunate presence of the bar code - something many individually sold pencils are plagued with. I can overlook it, and should sharpen past it soon enough. Or not, because I rarely have to sharpen a pencil this firm. That is a big item in the plus column for me.
The preponderance of random marketing quotes on pencils fascinates me, and the 9000 has one of the best: “Made by elaborate process.” Does this add to the performance of the pencil? Of course not. Does it make me giggle every time I say it out loud in my most serious “this is a $1 pencil” voice? Absolutely.
When I recommend fountain pens I am careful to differentiate what works best for me with what I think will work best for most people. For example, I buy Japanese EF nibs whenever I have the option. I recommend others start with F nibs if they don’t have any experience or baseline. With pencils, the same idea holds true. 3H works great for me. You may want to start with H or 2H lead grades to see if you even like writing with a pencil that feels like a nail. I do. You may not.
The Uni Mitsubishi 9000 3H pencil is a prime example of why I love doing what I do for a living. This is a journey - a lifelong discovery process if you will - and if I can get this amped up about a $1 pencil then I know I am in the right place. And I’m glad to share this journey with you.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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