The ultimate carpenter’s pencil is the mechanical pencil — the kind used by people who make working drawings. It has five advantages: The length never changes, so it never disappears in a carpenter’s apron; being metal, it’s almost unbreakable; the hardness of its leads can be changed to get thin lines for finish work and thick lines for framing; you don’t have to rely on your chisel or utility knife to sharpen it; and the lead can be extended to mark precise holes through thick material.
I’ve had my mechanical pencil in my tool belt for five years now, while watching my fellow carpenters go through boxes of carpenter’s pencils.
Mick Oliver, Ventura, CA
