ORIGINAL POST DATE: July 3, 2006

Pencils have changed very little over the years, at least in their outward appearance. They are still the same length as they have always been, give or take the presence of an eraser, and a pencil made 100 years ago could easily be mistaken for one made yesterday. Triangular pencils are a big innovation then compared with all the years of stability in outward design, and rather than being just a novelty item they seem to be growing in popularity. I am excited by these new triangular pencils - as excited as one can get about pencils anyway. The shift from hexagonal shape to triangular shape is a wonderful functional improvement, a major jump forward in the slow evolution of pencil design, and it has me trying out a bunch of new pencils.

I love the feel of a triangular pencil in my hand; it just fits so much better. I also have issues with tendonitis from years of drawing, so the improved ergonomics of the triangular shaped barrel is something I really appreciate as well. From a geometric perspective the new barrel shape, which I recently learned is not actually a triangle but a curve of constant width known as a Reuleaux Triangle. The fact that this shape does not have a fixed center of rotation means that triangular pencils don't roll off your desk as easily as a hexagonal pencil, which is another nice feature of the design.

I have been using a variety of triangular pencils lately to find the best one in the lot for my own use. They include:

- Dixon Tri-Conderoga 2/HB with eraser.
- Mongol Trio with eraser.
- Faber-Castell Jumbo Grip.
- Faber-Castell Grip 2001 2=B (available in other grades).
- Staedtler Mars Ergosoft HB (available in other grades).
- Staedtler Noris Ergosoft HB 2.
- California Republic Golden Bear HB.
- Ticonderoga Tri-Write 2/HB with eraser.

The first three pencils on the list are large diameter pencils designed for small children. I was unable to track down the Staedtler Noris Learner's pencil which is another larger diameter triangular pencil that I wanted to try, but they don't seem to be available in the US any longer. I like the large diameter pencils for sketching, since they are even more comfortable to hold than the smaller versions, but they may be too large for most people, and they require a special size pencil sharpener (the Tri-Conderoga comes with a sharpener for that purpose).

These three pencils all have a very similar feel to the graphiteⁱ, so none of them exceed the others on that front. The Tri-Conderoga has a black "grippy" finish to it that makes it easy to hold without feeling sticky and the Grip 2001 which features raised textured dots. The Mongol Trio has a nice semi-gloss natural finish that isn't slick at all. Each of these finishes works well with the large format triangular barrel, adding to the ergonomic comfort of using these pencils. When it comes down to choosing one over the other for these three pencils it will be a matter of subtle preference; do you want an eraser - do you like the color - do you prefer the finish. My choice is the Dixon Tri-Conderoga because of the construction of the pencil. Even though I prefer the little dots on the Jumbo Grip, the wood used by Faber-Castell to make these pencils is not cedar, but some other very light-weight wood that makes it feel insubstantial to me. The cedar of the Tri-Conderoga sharpens very well compared to the Jumbo Grip, and gives a better overall feeling to the pencil. The Dixon and the Mongol pencil are very similar but I prefer the style of the Dixon over the Mongol. Additionally, the Dixon Tri-Conderoga is much easier to find in stores in America.

The five other pencils on the list are all regular sized and of similar grades of graphite. The Mars Ergosoft and the Staedtler Ergosoft pencils have the best graphite in my experience; with the other pencils having good but not excellent writing qualities. The Golden Bear HB doesn't match my hexagonal Golden Bears for graphite quality, lacking the smoothness I have come to expect from California Republic. It's not bad graphite, just not as smooth as it should be.

The finish on these pencils is varried, with the two Staedtler pencils have the same "grippy" rubberized finish, the Grip 2001 having the same dot grips as its larger version, and the Tri-Write and the Golden Bear having a traditional lacquer finish. Of the last two the Golden Bear has the best finish, with a nice thick orange lacquer with a blue endcap. I like the rubberized finish of the Staedtlers and the dots of the Grip 2001 over the lacquer, but if you have a tendency for sweaty hands these may not work as well for you.

The wood of the Grip 2001 and the Mars Ergosoft are lighter than I like, as I mentioned above, with the Mars pencil being so light that it seems to be made from Balsa wood. The Mars Ergosoft is nearly impossible to find, but it would be nice to have the choice of graphite grades that it offers available with the Noris as well. The Noris Ergosoft, Tri-Write and Golden Bear are all made from more substantial wood, and fit my liking better. As with the larger pencils, your choice among these may depend on subtle preferences, but based on graphite and quality I prefer the Staedtler Noris Ergosoft over the others. I like the look of the design as well, with the black and yellow stripes and the distinct red end cap.

Let me know if there are any good triangular pencils I missed or if you have anything to add on the pencils discussed in this post.

UPDATE: 7/14/06 You can read part two to this post HERE.