Well of course I had to chime in....To me any carpentric initiate who is not the
slightest bit concerned about the quality of the pencil they use is still pretty
low down on the learning curve.

Henry Thoreau’s family made it’s fortunes selling pencils, yet in Thoreaus
inventory of belongings in Walden Pond, the pencil with which he wrote his notes
goes unmentioned, so it’s not an uncommon oversight of a good pencils place in
daily activities.

There is the book about pencils
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=12942859009&searchurl=
sts%3Dt%26amp%3Btn%3DPencil%26amp%3Bx%3D0%26amp%3By%3D0">http://www.abebooks.com
/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=12942859009&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26amp%3Btn%3DPencil%26am
p%3Bx%3D0%26amp%3By%3D0

I grew up using pencils, and never gave it much thought, until I bought a dozen
“imported” pencils from the local office supply store. Not wood, but plastic,
which flexes, breaking the leads into many pieces, which then rotate in the
sharpener and never really get sharp. Moreover, when they did work, when I went
to erase, they  didn’t erase, but rather smeared black graphite and whatever
binder (which I think was some kind of harder fat or oil) in a black mess.
ARRRGH!

I tried to throw them all out, but a visitor to the shop pointed out that my box
of pencils must have fallen into the trash, they kept returning like a dirty
shirt til I finally wrapped them up in paper and successfully disposed of them.

I pick up good old wood pencils whenever I find them at Gsales etc. 
I use a lot of the smaller and larger drafting pencils too. 

A good pencil is essential.

Eric