Welcome back to another edition of Things We Love. This time around we’re turning our attention to something that might seem like an odd choice given how prevalent digital technologies are these days. As you an tell from the title of this post, we’re talking, of course, about pencils.

Yes, that’s right, pencils. An artifact created in a time before iPads, iPhones, computers and most any other form of technology designed to help you create, remember things or get things done. They’re still in use today and more popular than ever. There’s even a podcast dedicated to them.

The pencil is generally credited to people such as Nicolas-Jacques Conté, who figured out how to mix graphite to mold it into a strong core, Joseph Dixon, who developed methods to mass produce pencils in the classic hexagonal shape they are known for today and Hymen Lipman, who was the first to attach an eraser to one end. According to pencil collector and expert Caroline Weaver in her TED talk about this very subject (which you can watch in its entirety below), this is a major factor in what makes the pencil special. 

“. . . it’s that long history of collaboration that, to me, makes it a very perfect object.”

She makes a compelling case for the pencil during her talk and you should definitely watch the video. It’s pretty cool.

Now that we (and Ms. Weaver) have convinced you pencils are awesome, where do you go to get some for yourself? Well, we mostly go to these places:

Pencils.com

CW Pencil Enterprises

JetPens

Some of our favorites include the Blackwing 602, the General Pencil Test Scoring 580, the Musgrave Tennessee Red, the ForrestChoice #2 and, for you mechanical pencil fans, the Pentel P205 and Rotring 600.

These are just a few of our favorites and some of the places we go to get pencils. Many of these are also available at Amazon.

So, why not give the pencil a try? You just might love it as much as we do.

Do you ever use pencils or other analog tools in your daily life? If so, what are some of your favorites? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Image: Blackwing
Video: TED
Note: This post contains affiliate links.

We’re spreading the love here at The Flickcast. This time around it means the debut of another new series: Things We Love.

To kick us off, we’re turning to one of the things we love the most: Art Supplies. They’re always great to have on hand, especially if you’ve got kids, need activities at home during a global health crisis, or just want to create something beautiful.

Whatever the reason, art supplies are a must. They promote creativity, help you spend quality time with friends, family or on your own. And when you’re done you have a beautiful piece of art to hang on the wall or post to social media. Or both!

But what do you need? Well, it depends on what you want to create. There’s a wide variety of supplies for artists to express themselves in lots of different mediums.

For the purposes of this post, though, we’re going to focus on supplies for sketching, drawing, coloring and painting. Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list. It’s things we personally love and use.

You can always create in any way you want. But if you need help figuring out how to start or what you might need, we’ve got you covered. 

Ok, let’s get to it!

Pencils

Many great things start with a pencil. Sketch an outline, make some project notes, write a story or draw an entire picture. Whatever you want to create, sometimes all you need is a pencil.

Blackwing 602 – A beautiful pencil for writing, drawing or sketching.
Faber-Castell 9000 – A German brand offering a set with a variety of grades. These don’t break easily and sharpen well.
Staedtler Mars Lumograph – Like the Faber-Castell, these pencils have a place at the drawing tables of many artists around the world. We go back and forth on which is our favorite.
Caran d’Ache Graphite Line – Expensive? Yes. But these are the best drawing pencils you will even use. Although, the two above are no slouches either. 
Rotring RapidPro 600 – Mechanical pencils are great for sketching, layout and drawing too. This metal masterpiece is the top of the line and one we love.
Pentel P205 – We also use this mechanical pencil quite a bit. It’s great and a good value.