Loot Crate had an exclusive set of X-files pencils ($2.80) a few months back that featured quotes from the series. While I am not a subscriber of the pop culture box service, I was informed that it was fairly easy to grab a set on eBay so I scurried over and for less than $10,…
Review by Tina Koyama When the Tokyo Slider Twin Pencil Holder ($11.50) first came out, it caught my eye for several reasons. One is that conventional-size woodcased pencils are a little too slim for my comfort, and I experience less hand fatigue if I fatten the barrel with a holder. Another is that I have…
Review by Tina Koyama While woodcased colored pencils are commonplace (a quick search on Amazon resulted in 20,000 products!), colored leads for mechanical pencils or clutches are much harder to come by. They seem like they should be a promising idea – compact, refillable, no need for sharpening – and yet they generally aren’t. I’ve…
Review by Tina Koyama The only grease pencils I knew about were the white and black ones I’d seen in hardware stores. Recently a few of my urban sketcher friends shared sketches they had done with some kind of bright, opaque material on toned paper, and when I asked what they were using, the answer…
Review by Tina Koyama Well-known for its iconic notebook, Moleskine has been coming out with quite a few other analog stationery and art products the past several years. I recently reviewed the graphite drawing pencils and watercolor pencils. When I was choosing contenders for my Great Eraser Rub-Off Challenge, I included the eraser from the…
Review by Tina Koyama Ana warned me. When I said I wanted to review the Kum Lefty Aluminum Can pencil sharpener, she said she had found it difficult to get used to reversing her hand when she used a sharpener made for lefties. I was so tickled to see any sharpener made for lefties that…
My pencil problem has an equal rival: the pencil accessories problem. To accompany my pencils, I have pencil point protectors, erasers, sharpeners, and leads for mechanical pencils. The accessory collection has grown to such proportions that it warranted its own organizational system. I use an old military green metal box with divided compartments that keep…
