School Supply Season 2024: Pen and Gear Motivational Pencil Review

[@JWimpy]

Even at 71 I still look forward to the school supply displays. I am always buying new types of pens and pencils.

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi Johnny! Me too - I'm sure we're both far more excited than the students this time of year!

[@ma-mo]

Very nice! I, of course, brought some of these home also. Regarding your closing statements, about sharpening through the motivational sayings: we all recall the "Too Cool to Do Drugs" pencil fiasco. Pencil manufacturers must always be aware what message is presented, at all stages of a pencil's length and life!

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi MAMO - Glad you picked up some of these. They seem to write in typical P+G pencil fashion. I'm not sure if these pencils are more appealing for their fun colors or their motivational words. I'm always amazed at the things designers and manufacturers don't think about, including how messaging on a pencil can change as it gets sharpened down. Thanks!

[@LouiesWorkshop]

I do a trick to see if pencils are wrapped: take an unsharpened pencil, take an X-Acto knife, and scrape a bit of the top layer off. I like the look of wood on the Pen+Gear pencils and other Indian pencils. It's easy to sharpen and it looks nice. I don't know if you saw my comment on the previous video but Pen+Gear released a jumbo variant of the standard pencil, and it comes in a 4-pack (or possibly a 5-pack) with a sharpener.

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi Powerstroke - thanks for the tip on how you check to see if a pencil is wrapped. I did see the P+G jumbo pencils - I didn't buy any this time, but I'll probably pick some up the next time I'm there. Thanks!

[@raccoon874]

*It's not even August!! No 'back to school' specials up North yet.*

[@AlwaysAnalog]

They set up the "Back to School" department right after the July 4th holiday. Seems to start earlier every year!

[@raccoon874]

@@AlwaysAnalog Next up: Christmas decorations in August!

[@ilurvemv]

My niece and nephew's schools start back up in two weeks. Certain schools now restart early and offer longer fall and winter breaks.

[@radellaf]

Given the phrase's usual use in "How I Met Your Mother", IDK if I'd put "Challenge Accepted" on a kid's pencil ;) I like the pun ones: On Point, and Stay Sharp.

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi radellaf - that's a show I didn't regularly watch, so I missed that reference. I agree that the puns are the best ones. Thanks!

[@raccoon874]

*New clock in the room?*

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi raccoon - same clock, but the microphone was in a different spot because I had to move some things around. Thanks!

[@TheThirdeYe1337]

I know a lot of Pen & Gears were made by Hindustan, not sure if they still are or not. I would assume these might still be, hence the nice dark core and decent quality.

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi ThirdeYe - I'm not sure if Hindustan is still making the P+G pencils, but all of the P+G pencils I've seen so far are made in India, and they seem to have a darker than average core. Thanks!

[@user-fg6ro]

For your information: The pencils in the video are sure made by Hindustan Pencils.

[@AlexanderCrump]

Walmart has some nice products under the Pen+Gear brand. The water-based ultra-fine and fine point plastic point/fiber-tipped pens in multicolor packs are quite good and are a good alternative to the pricy Paper Mate Flairs. How long the ink will hold out is a question mark. The Flairs are known to last forever so this may be a case of false economy. The permanent ink Sharpie knockoffs are also very good. Again, the amount of ink in them may determine actual value. Some of the ballpoint pens are quite good as well. Typical pens manufactured in India with very low viscosity ink that tend to blob a bit. The retractable ballpoints in the multicolor packs have obscenely large ink cartridges that contain mammoth amounts of ballpoint ink which should provide tremendous value. The cartridges are more like gel ink cartridges but contain ballpoint ink. They come in intense, vibrant colors and write very smoothly and consistently. I have not tried any of the wooden pencils.

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi Alexander - thanks for the tips on the Pen+Gear pens. I've not tried any of them, but this year it seems there are more P+G pen offerings then in previous years, so I'm guessing they are popular. Over the years I've found the pencils to be pretty decent writers for the price. Thanks!

[@DinnerForkTongue]

I can't say anything about kids and teens of nowadays, but the words on these pencils are pretty corny IMPO. I wouldn't pay more for these than I would for the regular basic P&G pencil, that I bet has the exact same graphite core. If they're in a sale for cheaper per-unit than the basic ones, then sure, why not. Take my words with a few grains of salt, though. My sense of taste is pretty austere, and I don't enjoy empty platitudes.

[@AlwaysAnalog]

Hi DFT - It's a pretty safe bet that the words on these pencils were selected by a middle-aged person and not a young student, so kids may may not think these pencils are as cool as the creators do. I think the colors of the pencils have the great appeal - but that's me. At $1.39 USD for a dozen, these are twice the price of the standard yellow P+G pencil, so there is a premium paid for these pencils. Thanks!

[@radellaf]

@@AlwaysAnalog Yeah I think some of them would have more appeal to GenX than school kids. It's not like "every challenge is an opportunity" or other more... platitudinous verbiage. But, hey, 70 cents extra per dozen? Can't afford that ;)