My Favorite Pencils By May Monten on Nov 19, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

It's nice when even the most mundance objects, such as pencils, are well-designed and work the way they are supposed to.

These are nice-looking pencils, black plastic with an assortment of different-colored clips. They're mechanical pencils, which means the lead is inside, and you click on the eraser to bring more lead out. I like this much better than conventional pencils which need to be sharpened. Using the mechanical pencils lets you avoid the hassle of looking around for a pencil sharpener.

These pencils last a very long time, and they're disposable, not refillable, so you just toss them when you are done.

They are sold in packs of 5, and cost almost nothing.

I use them all the time. I guess the traditional six-sided yellow wood pencils have more nostalgia value, though.