Monday, October 26, 2009 - Who Needs a Better Mousetrap?
What I would be delighted with is a better pencil. Pencils and sharpeners are the bane of my homeschool.
Miss Dog Lover demands sharpness. So, we sharpen pencils about every 18 letters. No kidding. And they break like crazy - really, I think they manufacture them out of 3/4 inch segments of graphite.
Anyhow. Last Friday I took a new 8-pack of pencils and sharpened them all, except leaving one full-length for comparison. This pack was typical of my recent experience.
As they get shorter and shorter without producing a point that does not fall out, my frustration builds. By about 2, I am not happy. By the time I reach 4, I have nothing good to say about pencil manufacturers. By 5 I have nothing good to say about anything.
we have only three brands of pencils that I buy but I don't know if you have them there. In order of greatness they are 1. Copperplate 2. Staedtler and 3. Papermate Any other brand does not enter the house. The only sharpeners I like are the large ones that sit on the bench. The abovementioned pencils cost more but the minimisation of frustration is worth it. Been there, done that.
I understand your pain. I do not understand graphing your pain, but I understand your pain.;) What happened to the good old pencils from childhood? It took FOREVER to write down to the nub.
I'll have to look around here and see what brand actually holds up best. We actually have some that lose their erasers before the lead. woo! Do you have opposition to mechanical pencils? They have some with .9 lead, I think.
