Pens Week: Retractable Writing Implements

It wasn't all about writing with pens, however. Pencils were all-a-plenty too. Not wanting to need to sharpen often (& therefore always hunting down a sharpener - manual, like this or electric, like this), these were a fan favorite - or, at least, a thorough fan in our house. In fact, when I did happen to more-than-pass by a back-to-school stand at the front end of a retail store this month, it was in front of these that I paused, picked up, pondered, shook my head, & managed to put back down 😂💔👍 a package of these.

They've always been simple. They've an eraser, you click on their ends & they produce more lead - right away; they're always sharp - an auto-sharpening just by means of ejecting more by pushing on the pencil's eraser. They're a quaint & convenient size, more lead can be added to their shaft once the initial strands run out if the user wishes to be optimally economical (or is super attached to that specific pencil shaft 😂).

One inconvenience I always found was that the erasers were often of a white color, like these. This meant once they'd be used, they'd be dirty. The evidence that they'd erased work would be obvious, unchangeable, & permanent. This is something I didn't like. If I could find any which had black or gray erasers attached, like these, I'd try to get them instead. Also, I was never very interested in the "comfort grip" perk that these have; the addition to the implement's shaft got in my way more than it benefitted me.

And on the topic of things that'd get in my way, would be these. I've only used these when I've borrowed them from the next student over because it's what they had to use. Too much apparatus to have around. Then again, I typically didn't carry more than one of each writing implement with me at a time, oftentimes I'd have only one & that was it. It was definitely less to keep track of; it was also a negative in the case that I'd "lose" it or become the victim of public high school adolescence when a classmate might swipe that one writing implement & I'd be stuck for the remainder of the school day. I can't deny this has never happened to me. 😂😎

There were also these, which were retractable, though they didn't have a "click" option at their eraser. This model is engineered to simulate the original #2 pencil design. This is the version I'd known which simulated the same design as a retractable pencil while having the twisting/turning element still next to the lead output.

On the topic of pens, as much as I grew to prefer retractable pencils... (I'd typically retract the led when not in class or completing my homework in my bedroom in so that it'd not break off or mark up something, like papers placed nearby in one of these. Overall it was just a "cleaner" way to be.)...I'd never taken a liking to retractable pens. I didn't link listening to the constant retraction many users would ominously create. They'd be numb to its noise; I'd be distracted in class. It was a bad mix. My only option: get over it. 😕😞

Alas, I preferred those pens with caps. And I liked having the caps on & in place. Still the same reasoning. They couldn't mark up nearby items, which was great. The cap kept them clean. This was great. Really, it didn't take all that much to keep me happy. 😂😃💙

(And before closing, a special nod out there for those students who'll be enjoying the thrill of filling in the circles with these, their provided No. 2 pencils during standardized testing...A thing for which I was particularly delighted to graduate & have no more! 😍😄😁)


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