Some pieces of stationery are very personal - like staplers. Mechanical pencils couldn't be far behind.
My relationship with mechanical pencils (simply called 'Pacers' when I was growing up) has not been a long and joyful one. My [miserable] high school years were silently witnessed by a red 0.5mm red Pacer, exposed only to use when plied to the drudgeries of MIS (maths in the sandpit).
Following my exit from that august institution (which apparently provided an education for countless happy children), mechanical pencils dropped out of my life.
Until this year. A new job opened the door for our reacquaintance.
Our work involves a lot of writing. I began the year with some nice pens, most notably an X-Pen Matrix 250b - a gift from my friends at Kogarah Presbyterian. I was just beginning to lay the foundations for a lifelong friendship with this pen, when an alternative suitor arrived.
One afternoon my boss dumped a small pile of stationery on my desk. "What's this?" I asked. Dumb question. It was pretty obvious: tools of the trade. Conspicuous by its striking presence was a new Faber-Castell TK Fine 9717 (0.7mm). I groaned; just when the X-Pen and I had been getting along so well.
It's been 3 months since this pencil came into my life. It's now my constant companion. I love the thick lead in it - beautiful to write and draw with. It's pleasing to look at as well; with clean, precise lines. This is one sweet writing-stick. Click, click.
Glad to know I'm not alone in my feelings about nice mechanical pencils.
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