Do you still use pencils? If so, for what?

[CTyankee]

I still mark stuff in a book calendar, with those little squares for days, which is the way I visualize days, weeks, months.

However, I am old and set in my ways.

Is there any use of pencils anymore (except for me and I am old)?

[True Dough]

1. If my

ear is feeling lonely, I slide a pencil behind it.

[Ocelot II]

2. Drawing, marking musical scores.

[CTyankee]

5. That hasn't been updated with computer technology?

[Ocelot II]

13. Yes, you can use an iPad and a stylus, but I'm old-fashioned.

[Ilsa]

39. I've never seen iPads on stands at the symphony, but

I haven't been there in awhile. Do some musicians carry their work this way?

[Ocelot II]

40. It's fairly common in choirs, and I've also seen it in small instrumental ensembles.

Having all your music on an iPad instead of paper copies in a folder is convenient if you're in a concert consisting of multiple scores.

[Ilsa]

46. I bet it's wonderfully convenient. Of course, I'd be scared

of breaking it, running out of charge, etc!

[Thunderbeast]

50. Yes

[AllaN01Bear]

22. manual impact device.

[TomSlick]

48. I have a pencil attached at to my trombone for making notes on music.

They idea is to erase the chart before turning it in Of course, that never happens.

[SheltieLover]

3. Calendar, crosswords, & artwork

Ps - remember, only 2 pencils allowed...

[BOSSHOG]

6. Pencil for crosswords?

Try doing them without clues

[SheltieLover]

15. Sometimes

Lol

[CTyankee]

8. Ah yes, the pencil for the NYT Sunday puzzle! My sense of worth depends on me finishing that puzzle, which I never do

since I end up throwing it against the wall in disgust and I hate people who claim to finish it!

[likesmountains 52]

4. Crossing off completed rows in knitting patterns.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Be ever frugal

I use pencils because there are some around my house. I inherited them mostly. But last week I salvaged a long pencil from the parking lot. It had been run over a few times, but after sharpening I've got more than 1/2 a pencil.

What do I use them for? The cost of pens is through the roof! What was Write Bros Dollar Tree package is $4.49. Gel $6.99.

So for making disposable lists, pencils are the way to go.

I too use a booklet calendar. $Tree version. I got the last one, buried beneath all the others. Two years' worth! Can hardly find them.

The paperwork of one's life troubles me. I have calendars going back to about age 12. What will become of them? I have relatives papers, some from the 1920s, 1950-the aughts '00s. My niece doesn't care about her parent's papers.

[CTyankee]

12. Doyou have a pencil sharpener? The old kind with a little handle for your real desk top which is now a computer desk for

my large screen computer (yes, I do have one. Is there something wrong with that, too?).

[bucolic_frolic]

14. Yes, I have a hand crank grinder 1960s model, state of the art

Bolted to the wall. Pinch the spring-loaded top to allow the pencil to enter the grinding cones.

[bucolic_frolic]

21. Boston Self-Feeder 4

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-boston-self-feeder-desktop-523478980

[democrank]

24. I use pencils and a hand-crank Boston sharpener

My sharpener has a rubber base that adheres to a flat surface when you use the metal lever.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

37. I need a pencil sharpener and can't

figure out where to find them.

[Haggard Celine]

52. They have them on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pencil+sharpener&crid=64FJ3ELG5XO&sprefix=Pencil%2Caps%2C254&ref=nb_sb_ss_p13n-expert-pd-ops-ranker_ci_hl-bn-left_1_6

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

68. I looked on Amazon and was horrified at how

expensive an electric sharpener is. Oh, well, the front office where I live has a sharpener, and they let me use it.

[CTyankee]

17. Oh, yes, the booklet calendar! I have one which is the 8/2 X 11". It is a spiral notebook.

Every page contains a month with the little squares for days of the week and holidays where the day of the week is in red. At a glance I can see where I am in the week and how long it is til Xmas and where I can see my doctor's appointments and I can anticipate deadlines ahead of time. This is how I visualize time.

[debm55]

9. Yes, I still do for artwork, and especially color pencils. Thank you CTYankee and have a great day.

[Raven123]

10. 4 and 5 star sudoku. I'm not that good

[surrealAmerican]

11. drawing, mostly

I do, however, favor mechanical pencils over the wooden ones.

[WestMichRad]

16. Yes, almost daily

Wood pencils. Especially to sketch out plans in my workshop.

[dem4decades]

19. Making lumber for cutting, you know, 15 and 5/16s, take the line.

[PJMcK]

20. Yes because I make mistakes or change my mind

I use Pentel 0.9 mm mechanical pencils using 2B leads (soft and dark). Years ago, I used Blackwing 502 pencils but they got too expensive and needed constant sharpening. Leonard Bernstein used the Blackwings to compose music and kept the used stubs in a big Chinese bowl because his creativity flowed through them.

The mechanical pencils are used for writing and arranging music, keeping my calendar and writing notes to myself. My erasers are some of my closest friends because they remove my mistakes. I also use the pencils for keeping a journal (on land) and a logbook (afloat and on nautical charts).

[Rebl2]

23. My older

sister told me years ago she uses a pencil to make entries in her checkbook. Guess I am crazy because I use a pen. Yes I still have a checkbook and balance it every month.

[True Dough]

25. Here's a pencil joke for you:

[CTyankee]

42. OMG, that's funny! Whatta sense of humor he has!

It's so bad it's funny for that imagery alone!

[Diamond_Dog]

26. I use them for drawing. Mr. Diamond uses them for crossword puzzles.

And we have a 1960s era hand crank pencil sharpener bolted to the wall down in the cellar by his work bench.

[ret5hd]

27. yes...always carry a few...

just in case i’m in an office with those white ceiling tiles then i throw one up and stick it in there.

[CrispyQ]

28. Every day. Mechanical pencils on cryptograms & drawing pencils for sketching. -nt

[Bobstandard]

29. Carpentry!

You’ve got to have something to mark a cut when you’ve measured for it. A pencil remains the best, lowest cost, option.

[Bayard]

57. We still use them for that too,

And I use them for sketching.

[karynnj]

30. Also old, but I use them, as you do, for things I might want to change

Like you, I use them on a paper calendar that I regularly compare to a goggle calendar. I also create a dinner menu/grocery list before shopping each week. Doing it in pencil, I include anything I am not sure is in the pantry. When complete I check anything marked as unsure if I have it.

Also, there are times I try to figure things out using mathematical/logical skills from my past. Pencil is ALWAYS better for that.

Most lists of things I want to accomplish are in pencil so they can be revised

For complicated, many dish meals, I always use pencil to create a "plan". The plan is written for everything to be ready at T. Each recipe is essentially broken down to prep that can be done earlier, main cooking, and finishing. Main cooking includes when relative to T something should start cooking, where (oven, stovetop, air fryer, instapot), temperature. Finishing is just to have a convenient list of last minute garnishes etc. Doing this in ink would be a mess as I often make changes to make things work better.

[CTyankee]

43. I like the logic of your creating a plan. It's "if this, then that" kind of thinking which I find helpful. After all,

the first thing you do when you plan to bake a cake is make of list of ingredients you need (then you gotta make the plan to get to the supermarket to buy them....)

[Sequoia]

31. Yes

Grocery lists on refrigerator magnet pad, mathematics. Good ole Ticonderoga no. 2 pencils.

[markie]

32. oh yes

building, wood working..... measure twice, cut once

[RockRaven]

33. Carpenters pencils, yes.

Mechanical and regular, not as much. I still keep them around all the time, but am more likely to use a pen.

[KitFox]

34. A world without pencils? I can't imagine!😁 I use them on my calendar, doing puzzles,

drawing, doodling, list making, checkbook register, marking practice passages on sheet music, among multiple other uses. I’m a retired 32 year elementary school teacher, so it’s in my DNA!😁

[GPV]

35. Sketching.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

36. Sewing..marking up patterns.

[HappyH]

38. Yes, I use pencils mostly for woodworking projects.

Army recruiter pencils are the best, the point is durable and the mark is dark. I have a couple of hand crank Boston sharpeners, but the pencils in the shop usually get sharpened with a knife.

[bif]

41. Sketchng

I'm a artist, of sorts.

[Maninacan]

44. BlackWing pencils

I use Blackwing pencils to do my crossword and some sketching. Luxury i can afford.

[intheflow]

45. I am a public librarian.

We make weekly scavenger hunts for the kids. They write their answers with pencils, which can be erased when they inevitably transcribe their answers.

[doc03]

47. I use pencils everyday. I still write checks and

record them in my checkbook. I write notes to myself.

[CTyankee]

58. I didn't know you could write a check with a pencil! I always thought you had to use a pen.

[doc03]

66. No I record my checks in the check book because I make mistakes, don't use a pencil on checks.

A few years ago I remember they made erasable ink pens. I don't see them anymore probably people ran into trouble with
them.

[LuckyCharms]

49. In a compass or other scribing tool...

To scribe a piece of wood to an irregular, or non-square surface.

[bamagal62]

51. Yes,

Drawing and crossword puzzles.

[ShepKat]

53. Yes !

All sizes and textures. Lots of paper.
it's a good winter for that

[mahatmakanejeeves]

54. Winding cassette tapes. NT

[Trueblue Texan]

55. for drawing. nt

[Phoenix61]

56. I use a mechanical pencil for everything.

It helps me write a little neater and I need all the help I can get.

[Rastapopoulos]

59. Keeping score at a baseball game

[Emile]

60. I use them for my wood cutting projects.

[chia]

61. Mechanical pencils every day. I'm a list maker: grocery lists, to-do lists, menus, Christmas gift lists,

reminders on post-it notes, calendar entries for appointments... I can't imagine not using a pencil. I like being able to erase mistakes, rearrange, re-imagine.

[Xavier Breath]

62. I have one that I got at the county fair this summer.

It's in my pen holder with a bunch of pens and a marker or two. It is unsharpened and since I don't own sharpener it may go forever unused.

[LogDog75]

63. I use them but not as often as I used to

Usually for taking short notes or marking some boards to cut. The pencils I have are fat ones because that's the only one's I've found. I prefer slender pencils because they feel better in my hand.

[Tikki]

64. Yes...I grab whatever is nearby when I write a list...

or write a thought down.
Pencils work just fine for everything except checks which should be written and signed in permanent ink'

Tikki

[CTyankee]

65. I find that the backs of envelopes make wonderful, if disorganized, note paper.

[Randomthought]

67. Notes on

Knitting patterns. Also making knitting charts on graph paper.

[OldBaldy1701E]

69. Always.

My TTRPG games require a lot of changes and corrections to the players sheet, so we will always need pencils.

I also need them for drafting things. I am not a drafter, but I do use them for such.

I am a loyal Dixon Ticonderoga user. They have always been my go to pencil!

[ProfessorGAC]

70. Sort Of

I use one when I substitute to put a little mark on the seating chart for kids absent.
Once I transcribe the name, I can erase my little mark & not mess up the real teacher's seating chart.
Other than that, I don't think I've used a pencil in years & years.
Even when I worked in the lab, everything was in pen. If we made a mistake, we needed to strike it, rewrite & initial the change, so there were no erasures in the record.
That same requirement applied to manufacturing later under our interpretation of ISO requirements.
No pencils; no white-out allowed.

[electric_blue68]

71. Sometimes for a reminder, a list, but Mostly for Drawing...

or possibly craft related.

[Ziggysmom]

72. I bite the wood! It helps calm me. All my wood pencils are branded with

my teeth marks