Measuring the Dixon Ticonderoga

Now I am ready to really start getting into the Dixon Ticonderoga. I want to know not only how well the Dixon looks and works but how well it is built and also how well is Dixon’s manufacturing process under control. Can I expect the same quality over and over again? Or did I have a fluke with my purchase? Could it have been better? Or could it have been worse? One way to see if a manufacturing process is under control is to measure the final product and see the ranges of measurements. Being small, physical, and simple, a pencil is an ideal object to measure. I will be using a set of generic digital calipers and a small digital scale.
I pulled ten pencils from the box of 24. These ten are actually pictured in the last post. No consideration was given to any one pencil. I just counted them off and set them aside.
First, let’s look at the weight. That’s easy.

Each of the Ticonderogas weighed in at 5 grams. In theory, all 10 should weight 50 grams. My scale gave a reading of 49 grams when I weighed all of them. Being only one gram off is excellent. This could be due to rounding when each individual pencil was weighed. Perhaps each pencil actually weighed 4.9 grams instead. Eventually that 0.1 gram from each pencil added up to the one missing gram. Excellent! So far, so good!

Now it is time to measure the pencils.

This actually takes some time but it goes quickly. First, we need some definitions of the measurements I took.
1) Pencil height – lay the pencil down on one of its hexagonal sides and measure the height. It’s almost like measuring the diameter but diameter implies something to do with a circle. This pencil is not circular by the strictest definition.
2) Ferrule diameter around the crimp – self explanatory.
3) Ferrule length – self explanatory.
4) Eraser diameter – self explanatory.
5) Eraser length – self explanatory.
6) Length of pencil from unsharpened bottom to “D” in the stamping of “Dixon”, specifically the left vertical edge of the letter “D”
7) Length of pencil from bottom of ferrule to “D” in the stamping of “Dixon, specifically the left vertical edge of the letter “D”

Here is a picture of a Dixon with all the measurements marked.

It’s probably pretty obvious that I am not a mechanical engineer by education or trade so you have to forgive me a bit for my crude markings. Now, here is a summary of the ranges of each measurement above.
1) 0.264″ to 0.269″ giving a range of 0.005″ and an average of 0.267″
2) 0.294″ to 0.299″ giving a range of 0.005″ and an average of 0.296″
3) 0.559″ to 0.568″ giving a range of 0.009″ and an average of 0.563″
4) 0.255″ to 0.262″ giving a range of 0.007″ and an average of 0.260″
5) 0.223″ to 0.265″ giving a range of 0.042″ and an average of 0.246″
6) 3.445″ to 3.526″ giving a range of 0.081″ and an average of 3.503″
7) 3.172″ to 3.222″ giving a range of 0.050″ and an average of 3.187″
Here is a PDF with all of my raw data.

Measurements of the Dixon Ticonderoga #2HB Pencil

I would like to stop here and dwell a little on what these measurements represent because I believe that they are really incredible. Frankly, I was very surprised at the consistency of the measurements. Look at the pencil height. There is a range of 0.005″ between the smallest and largest numbers. That is an extremely tight range and this includes the cutting and lacquering processes! Consider this: a sheet of paper is about 0.003″ to 0.005″ thick!

 A human hair is somewhere around 0.005″ thick as well. I’m a guy so mine is pretty thin. Ask a supermodel who treats their hair like original Biblical manuscripts and you’ll get a thicker value.

This tight range is something that is typically found in circuit boards and engines. I would never expect to see something like this in a pencil. Even the ferrule length and diameter only varied by 0.005″ and 0.009″. Consider that these ferrules are crimped at high speeds with everything in motion. The eraser diameter range of 0.007″ reflects a good molding process. The measurements and ranges of the stamping are also good considering that this is a high impact and high speed process.
 
Of course, these measurements are not definitive, are they? First, none of my instruments were calibrated and certified by any third party. I picked them up for cheap at outlets. At the very least, to be scientifically correct, I should have used three of each instrument to measure some constant and known value. But this brings up the second point. I only measured everything once! Ideally, I should have measured everything at least three times. This would have given me more confidence. But wait, there is more! I’m the only one doing the measurements. There should be a second person running everything in parallel to eliminate operator error in using the tools and making the measurements.
So it is possible to shoot some holes in my numbers.
That asides, I think these measurements, even at this amateur level, give a good indication that Dixon’s manufacturing process is stable and under control. Granted, there were some defects that slipped through as I saw in my first post but none of them were really show stoppers. Perhaps the warped pencil could be called into question but it would still be considered fully functional.

I thought it was important to lay down these thoughts as a basis moving forward. These same ideas can also be applied to other things besides pencils. It can be applied anything that is manufactured. I love to pick on cars so I have to mention them in relation to the above. Have you ever checked the gap on each side of the hood or trunk? That’s an easy one to check. Just use your pinky finger. That is a great test on a used car to see if it was wrecked some time in the past and went through a body shop. Same can be done with door frames and windows – in a car or in a house!

The Mirado Black Warrior : A Step in Some Direction

It’s time to move on to another pencil. Let me introduce the Newell Rubbermaid Sanford Papermate Mirado Black Warrior. Goodness, that is a long name for a pencil isn’t it? This pencil, like the Dixon Ticonderoga, certainly carries a reputation behind it and not all of it seems positive. A lot of people say that once the brand and product was acquired and integrated into the Newell Rubbermaid conglomerate that the quality went down hard and fast. I’m still new to pencil collecting so I can’t say which way the quality went. I don’t know what the Mirado Black Warrior was like before but I sure am going to find out what it is now.
I got a pack of 10 Black Warriors during my business trip to Phoenix AZ back in February. The pencils have been lying around in their packaging while I have been test driving the Ticonderoga.

Like the Ticonderogas, they were purchased at the nearby Walmart. At $1.77 (excluding local taxes), they come out to a whopping $0.18 per pencil when rounded up to the nearest cent. That’s almost a nickel more per pencil than the Ticonderoga. So what do I get for a nickel more? At first glance I seem to get American manufacturing and pre-sharpened tips. Couple that with a cool sounding name like Black Warrior, and you would think that you have the equivalent of a ninja samurai for a pencil. You’re ready for any task as long as you have your Black Warrior handy.
Actually, for those who don’t know (and this was news to me), the Black Warrior was actually a Confederate schooner. I’m not exactly a boat enthusiast. Honestly, I prefer to keep my feet planted on something solid. Civil war buffs may get a kick out of owning something that relates to American history but civil rights activists may object to something that could in some manner (however thinly) be related to the oppression of people. Unfortunately, I don’t know more about how the pencil got it’s name but it would be interesting to know.
While the Ticonderoga is claimed to be the world’s best pencil, the Black Warrior say it is the world’s smoothest – and Newell Rubbermaid guarantees it.

If you think this is just a marketing slogan then read this text that is located on the back of packaging.

It’s a broad and bold claim to make and I wonder how many people actually disagree with them on the statement who then go ahead and file a claim to get their money back. You’d probably pay more in return postage than the cost of the pencils themselves.
Take out the ten pencils and line them up. Each has a very nice and smooth coat of lacquer in a matte finish. The casing is round so the pencils roll very easily. In fact, you wouldn’t believe how hard it was to line them up for the shot below.

 I have to confess that I cheated a bit and put a pencil sharpener (not shown) in the bottom left hand corner to keep the pencils together. Only one pencil ended up being warped and only by a little bit.

Statistically speaking, this equates to a one in ten chance of having a warped pencil. In other words, 10% of Black Warriors around the world could be warped. Compare this to the one in twenty four chance of getting a warped Ticonderoga which would equate to an approximate 4.2% of all Ticonderogas being warped. That’s quite a jump. Obviously, for this statistic to have more meaning (and a better one) the sample size should be greater – like 100 or even more.

As mentioned earlier, each pencil is pre -sharpened so you should never see overflowing lacquer at the end like the Ticonderoga. You also won’t see if the leads are centered in the wood casing either. It is interesting to wonder what is cheaper: making a clean unsharpened pencil end or a sloppy unsharpened end and then sharpening it. Honestly, I can’t think that having the ends pre-sharpened is a deal maker or breaker for the consumer. I would think that many people who buy wooden pencils actually enjoy sharpening them. It enhances the ownership and builds a little attachment. Take a look at this detailed shot.

The ends are not sharpened by any sort of rotating blades. It looks like the pencils are fed through a hole with ever decreasing diameter. This process shaves away the wood to a decreasing point, exposing the lead, and shaving the lead to a decreasing point as well. All of the points end in a somewhat dull looking tip but this rather smart of Newell Rubbermaid. It helps keep the point in tact during shipment. Additionally, you can assured that none of the pencil material was wasted. Only the bare minimum amount of material was removed. Just look at those grooves!
The Black Warrior is only slightly shorter in overall length than the Ticonderoga. Specifically, it is 0.093″ shorter. Here is a shot of the end of both pencils when they are stood up side by side. I couldn’t effectively capture the whole length of pencil in the picture. That would be one long JPG!

 The lacquer finish is even duller than what is found on the Ticonderoga and it feels a bit rougher. That is not to say it feels course as sand. On some pencils it is possible to see the seam running up the length of the casing. This seems to indicate that the finish is very thin. Other pencils had rough surfaces and the thin lacquer did not cover it at all. Perhaps the roughness came from the wood being cut poorly or perhaps it came from some impact after the lacquer dried. Either way, it was present and easy to see.

 Continuing upward, we run into our first stamping and it boldly proclaims where the pencil was made.

One word: crunch! That looks like a painfully strong stamping. Unlike the Ticonderoga, this pencil is round so it cannot accommodate a head-on stamping unless the stamping is contoured. It should be a rolled stamping. Then again, maybe this a rolled stamping just done very poorly. Either way, it’s not very impressive and it looks ugly. Unfortunately, the other stampings aren’t any better.
We finally end our progression upward at the ferrule where more disappointment awaits us. If Dixon crimped their ferrules on a wet, freshly lacquered pencil then Newell Rubbermaid did the exact opposite. The ferrule must have been pressed onto the pencil after the lacquer had cured. Look at how the ferrule digs into the lacquer and gets underneath it. I wouldn’t think that a ferrule needs to double up as a burrowing squirrel.

It is interesting to note that the ferrule is in some ways very similar and very different to the Ticonderogas. A colored band appears in the center and there appears to be an all-around crimping if you could imagine the circumscribing grooves to come from a machine. However, the biggest different lies in the circular metal punchings above and below the band that also go around the pencil. There are six punches on each side of the red band to make a total of 12. None of the punches are equally spaced apart although they are consistently spaced between the top and bottom sets. If a set of two punches are too close together up above then you see the same down below.
The erasers seem shorter than what is found on the Ticonderogas and they are covered with some sort of white power. Perhaps this is talc. I don’t know. It does rub off easily onto your fingers.
Papermate’s website offers some detailed information on the Black Warrior but a lot of it seems like fluff. I can understand what it means for the casing to be made of incensed cedar, have a round shape, and contain ceramic waxed lead but what does “executive upscale styling” mean? So far I have seen nothing that would make me think this pencil graces the desks of CEOs and high level politicians. “Premium rubber eraser” can mean a lot of things too. I thought it was interesting that the Black Warrior shown on Papermate’s website does not match the appearance of the examples I bought at Walmart.

The sharpened end is nothing like the pre-sharpened end found on my Black Warriors. None of the stamping matches either. Where are the little hearts at the top of the pencil?
So how does it write? Well, I can’t exactly say that I am impressed. It does feel harder than the Ticonderoga and it also feels rougher. The perceived additional hardness is verified by the crumbling lead. Increased hardness almost always leads to something being more brittle.

 The roughness likens itself to the experience of running the tip of a screwdriver across a piece of wood. There is a lot of friction here that was not felt when using the Ticonderoga. Perhaps you could say that the lead feels like it has sand in it or larger clumps of clay. The impressions on the paper are ever so slightly darker than the Ticonderoga but not by much. You have to stare at it for a while. Compare the Black Warrior impressions on the left to the Ticonderoga impressions on the right.

 The Black Warrior sharpens well with the right sharpener. My Berol gives the pencil a good sharp tip and the wood has good adhesion to the lead. However, the Faber Castell results in a disaster. The tip crumbles and breaks. This is another sign of brittle lead. You can compare the sharpening of the Berol (right) to the Faber Castell (left).

 The eraser is a disaster. Compared to the soft latex free eraser on the Ticonderoga, the rubber eraser on the Black Warrior feels like it was carved out of stone. It is very abrasive, sensitive to lead staining, and leaves a lot of residue behind. Even worse, the erasure is incomplete and sometime it can be smudged. I drew a line with the Black Warrior and Ticonderoga and then used each of the pencil’s erasers to remove the impression. Compare the performance of the Black Warrior eraser (left) to the Ticonderoga (right).

I darkened three areas and the areas were to receive a single pass, a double pass, and a multiple pass of the eraser respectively. The Black Warrior eraser simply could not work through that quantity of lead on the paper. It got saturated and the eraser turned black after one single pass.

After that, the eraser slid on all subsequent passes. The lead simply lubricated the eraser and I’m running oil on oil here. No erasing is possible until the eraser is cleaned. Here are the three darkened areas in my notebook.

Now I had to go back to the Ticonderoga and repeat the experiment. What a delight to see the Ticonderoga tackle the task with ease.

Again, I don’t know how any of these features and performance examples can lead anyone to think that this pencil has “upscale executive styling”. My initial impressions leads me to believe that this is poorly crafted pencil. Someone at the factory either doesn’t know or doesn’t care to make a good pencil. It’s as if someone tried to make something like this!

Largs

Largs is situated on the Ayrshire coast, on the Firth of Clyde.  The name is derived from the Gaelic "learg" meaning "hillside", which - perhaps unimaginatively - describes the town, which slopes down from the east towards the shore and the horseshoe shaped Largs Bay.  This hillside and the bay provide vantages points from which one can look out over the Firth to Great Cumbrae Island, only a mile offshore.  Largs is famed as being a quiet seaside resort and the site of a battle which altered the course of Scottish history.


 

Battle of Largs monument

 

The Largs area has been inhabited for at least 5000 years.  In 1772 road builders constructing what became the A78 in the outskirts of Largs took some stones from a cairn and, much to their surprise, uncovered human remains.  These were later dated to around 3000 BC.  The tomb still sits where it was discovered, in what is now Douglas Park on Irvine Road.  In 1906 a Bronze Age grave was discovered nearby.  This is believed to have been built by the Beaker People who came to Scotland from the Rhine lands around 5000 years ago.  The stones of the cist were taken to Largs' old graveyard, where they can still be visited today.

Largs probably developed as a small fishing and trading settlement as an adjunct of Ayr: Scotland's most important west coast port until the 18th century and the region's capital.  Before the 13th century Largs would have existed as a small town (if it could have even been called a town) in a largely Scandinavian dominated zone, on the periphery of the kingdom.  In 1098, Kintyre and the Western Isles had been lost to Norway in a treaty between Edgar, King of Scots, and Magnus, King of Norway.  Largs would therefore have been vulnerable to Viking influence and Viking raids.

Successive Scottish kings tried to wrest the lands lost in 1098 back from the Norwegians, but with no success.  Alexander III, King of Scots, even offered to buy the lands from Haakon IV of Norway.  By 1263 it was clear that diplomacy had failed.  When Haakon caught wind of Scots' attacks on the Isle of Skye he launched the largest fleet which had ever left Norway, reportedly around two hundred ships filled with soldiers and led by the king himself.  En route to battle the blood thirsty war party conducted a terrifying series of raids throughout Loch Lomond.  The Viking fleet was anchored off Largs on the 30th of December when a furious storm struck, which ddvastated much of Haakon's magnificent fleet.  Alexander's troops, taking advantage of the Norwegians' disarray, attacked the army as they came ashore.   The Scots' onslaught proved too much for Haakon's soldiers and they were forced back onto their galleons, but not before their king had been wounded.  What remained of the fleet was harassed by ships from the Western Isles as they retreated north.  Haakon himself never reached Norway; he died of his wounds on the Island of Orkney before the year was out.

The Scottish victory was reaffirmed when, in 1266, Haakon's successor, Magnus IV, signed the treaty of Perth recognising the Western Isles and Kintyre as Scottish territory.  Excluding the northern isles, which became part of Scotland in the 15th century, Scotland has maintained more or less the same shape ever since.  The Pencil Monument, at the south of the promenade, was built in 1912 to commemorate this famous victory.  Nonetheless, today the town's connection with the Vikings is celebrated by Largs' Vikingar Centre, which has exhibits, entertainment and activities with a Viking theme.

Today Largs is a peaceful and pretty little town with all the attractions one would expect from a seaside resort.  A large proportion of its inhabitants, however, are permanent residents, who give Largs perhaps more of an authentic feel than the word ‘resort' might suggest.  It is also a ferry terminal, providing, amongst other services, the main link between Great Cumbrae and the rest of Scotland.  During the summer months Largs is a stopping off point for ‘The Waverly', the world's last sea going paddle steamer, as it carries passengers around the Firth.  For some Largs may be a place for a quick pit stop on a tour of the islands, but those who give it more than a second glance will discover that this historic and picturesque town has much more to offer.

How to Choose a Pencil

1.  Consider how you use pencils.

• What do you do with your pencil? Do you write? Do homework? The daily crossword? Do you also draw or sketch?
• Do you press heavily or lightly when you write or draw?
• Do you prefer a fine line or a bold one?
• Do you tend to lose, loan out, chew, or mistreat your pencils, or do they get stored safely in a cup or pouch?
• Do you carry your pencil in a pocket or purse where a sharp point could do damage?
• Do you wear the erasers down to a stump or tend to lose eraser caps? Do you erase very little, so that the eraser dries up?

      2. Notice what you like and don't like about the pencils you already have around.
           Perhaps one is comfortable to hold and another drags along the page.
     
      3. Decide between a mechanical pencil and a traditional pencil.

Decide between a mechanical pencil and a traditional pencil.

• Mechanical pencils don't need sharpening, but they do need a supply of the right size lead. Generally, the last half-inch (1cm) or so of a lead is not usable.
• Mechanical pencils can achieve a finer and more consistent line if you are doing technical drawing or small or fine writing.
• The length of a mechanical pencil stays the same, no matter how much you write with it.
• Mechanical pencils typically cost more, especially for good quality, non-disposable ones. On the other hand, many allow lead and erasers to be replaced, meaning that you can use one pencil for much longer.
• Standard pencils are generally inexpensive and the line width can vary more, both with angle and with how blunt you allow the pencil to get.
• You may prefer standard pencils for their low cost, availability, and simplicity. You may also prefer them for their feel.

      4. Decide on a lead diameter for a mechanical pencil.

0.5 and 0.7mm lead.

• If you are a heavy-handed writer who presses hard, try a 0.9mm pencil. 0.9mm pencils are usually darker because they are about twice as thick as regular lead.
• Pick a 0.5mm if you like to write lighter and easier. 0.5mm pencils have more precision so you can write in tiny places and it can still be legible.
• If you are in between, buy a 0.7mm pencil. 0.7mm pencils have a good medium lead size.
• Other sizes are available for artists and drafters, but larger leads may need to be sharpened even though they are in a mechanical pencil and finer leads may be very delicate.
• In general, larger diameter leads give more flexibility when you are sharpening the lead, a technique used in drafting and sketching.

      5. Write in comfort.
          Look for a pencil with a large, padded grip, such as the Pilot Dr. Grip 0.5mm. It has a cramp-resistant grip for long essays.

        6. Choose a lead hardness for standard or mechanical pencils. Lead hardness can be confusing, because it is measured on two different scales and is not especially well standardized. Here are the basics.

A selection of artists' pencils with varying hardnesses.

• The usual medium hardness is called HB. This corresponds to a #2 pencil. If the pencil or the lead is not labeled, there's a good chance this is the hardness.
• If you're not sure what hardness you want, go for HB or #2.
• Many automated test-grading machines require HB or #2 pencils. If you will be filling in bubbles on a test, choose this hardness.
• The softest leads make the darkest lines. The hardest leads make the lightest lines. If you are drawing, you might outline with a harder lead, then darken and shade with a softer lead.
• If you will be shaping the lead, softer leads are easier and faster to shape but also lose their crisp edges more quickly, with the opposite effect for harder leads.
• Hardness runs from 9B (softest) to 9H (hardest). Numbered hardness values may be listed in the U.S. Here is the sequence.
  
  

      7. Look for other features according to your needs.

• Does it have a built-in eraser? Is there a little cap to lose?
• On a mechanical pencil, does it advance by clicking the side or the top, or by some other means, such as twisting?
• How sturdy is the construction of the pencil?
• Does it have a comfortable, soft grip?
• How much does the pencil cost?

Colored pencils.

      8. Use colored pencils to color objects on paper, to outline and color coordinate various items, or just to use on coloring books.

• If you're serious about art, visit an art store and get artists' color pencils. They are more costly, but you may find that they give a stronger color and that a wider range of color is available in quality artists' pencils.
• Another type of color pencil is the highlighting pencil. It has fallen out of favor with the introduction of marker style highlighters, but you may still find it in a good stationery store.

      9. Consider special-purpose pencils if you have demanding or specialized applications.

• Charcoal pencils are used by some artists. Like charcoal, they give a deep black. Unlike straight charcoal, they write a bit more smoothly and have the form of a plain pencil. These come in various hardnesses. Charcoal also comes in stick form.
• Carbon pencils have yet a different character than graphite or clay. Carbon also comes in varying hardnesses and can be obtained in stick form.

A grease pencil can be used for temporarily marking glossy surfaces, such as ceramic and smooth plastic. Construction pencils are designed for rough duty, such as marking lines on wood to prepare for cuts.