Staedtler News & Reviews

Remember a few days ago I went on a rant against carpenters pencils? I also talked about my new favorite carpenter pencil replacement, the Staedtler graphite 771. Well, I put together a little video to show you its cool features. The 771 is now my go-to pencil throughout the day, though I do keep a .7mm on hand when greater accuracy is needed. I don't think this pencil was designed for carpenters, but it has a lot of great features on it that suit our needs.

“Carpenter's Pencil” is a horrible name for those rectangular pencils commonly used on jobsites. Sure they have the advantage of being easier to hold, their shape prevents them from rolling, and the lead is strong, but as a finish carpenter they are absolutely useless to me. There is no way I can make an accurate line with lead so thick. Yes it can be sharpened to a point, but that doesn't last long. Carpenter's pencil? No, more like a framers pencil.