Pencil for woodworking compass - Golf
TomD
The executive summary is Staedtler golf pencils.
I own a variety of compasses and scribes that share the feature of holding the pencil in place by means of a screw that when tightened tends to punch a hole in a standard pencil. The pencil will wiggle, and it is hard to adjust as it ends up looking as though a woodpecker had discovered it. Not a big problem and I have made do for decades.
Recently I was in the Dollar store, which actually tops out at 4 dollars, Canadian. I discovered a box of 72 Staedtler golf pencils that must have sold for 3 or 4 dollars. They are the short format that I prefer, though I have perfectly fitted pencil extenders and caps that I can print for use as required.
The pencils are just short of 3.5", normal dimensions otherwise; HB. Unlike many cheap pencils these do not break in normal use other than from abuse, and sharpen without tearing. They are roughly the quality one expects of Staedtler, though of a utility grade. They are very attractive, all black throughout.
What is special about these pencils is that they are made of plastic rather than wood. For a general use pencil, and perhaps in particular a presumably considered disposable golf pencil, I would rather they were wood. But for the compass, and similar devices, they do much better as the plastic barrel while easily sharpened and shaved is not easily compressed. Works for me.
