To write or not to write, that is the question

Submitted by Eric Daniel

The Army is fixated on two things, paperwork, and ink pens. Everything must be in ink; if it’s not, then it’s not official. Yet over the years I have come to fear the government-issue Skilcraft pen. I cannot count the number of times I've had one of those little black demons vomit all over my uniform pocket. Moreover, ink doesn’t work worth a flip in the rain, even if you’re using storm-proof or treated paper. One way to get around that issue though is to use pencil, and in that arena, the best tool for the job that I've found it the carpenter's pencil. In the event you don't know, carpenter pencils are those big, flat, pencils with a large lead you see construction folks using. They are easy to grip with gloves on, they don't tear wet paper when you use them, and they are easy to sharpen. Most importantly, they're something like 50 cents apiece, which makes them cheaper than mechanical pencils and the tube of replacement leads they require.

Another nifty writing implement, again courtesy of the construction jobsite is the lumber crayon. Basically a grease pencil (or china marker for you old timers) writ large, lumber crayons come in a variety of colors, are cheap as hell, and will write on just about any surface, wet or dry. This makes them useful for marking up structures or vehicles to communicate status or contents, rather than trying to do so with spray paint or a sharpie.

Both of these are available at just about any hardware store, home improvement store, or construction materials supply store.

Submitted by Joe Brett

The grease pencil was used in Vietnam by us 0-1 Bird dog pilots in three ways: 1. to make a mark on the front window that was became gun site for shooting our WP rockets; 2. A marker to write on the window the coordinates, call signs, frequencies and other data for running air strikes and adjusting artillery; and 3. to mark the cylinders on the engine. The mag with the cold grease was the one with a magneto drop.

Buy the Irwin Carpenter Pencil

Comments

[Jim KING]

I AM AN OLD TIME SWASHBUCKLER AND THOSE 'GREASE PENCILS' DOES SAVE A LOT OF TIME. TRYING TO USE SOMETHING ELSE THAT DOESN'T WANT TO WORK IS A WASTE OF TIME, ENERGY, AND GOVERNMENT PAPER. IF THAT SKILKCRAFT BALLPOINT WON'T WORK, PICK-UP THE GREASE PENCIL.

[Charlie]

This pencil is an excellent idea. For scribbling down notes in the field, what I use in the rain and wind is a Scuba Divers slate. They are hard plastic and have a tethered pencil. All of it is (of course) waterproof, and not subject to being blown away. The only problem is that they are difficult to erase.

[John Jacob]

During a meet up with the scientists from NASA and the Russians [during the cold war era], the NASA guys asked "how do you guys manage to write in space? we have spent over millions to design a pen that can write in zero gravity." The Russian dudes replied "Whart a pity. We harv used pencil."

Moral of the story, think simple, work simple, and of course, to make it official use ink.

[Matt]

You can often get quantities of carpenters pencils for free or for nominal costs from home builders associations, home-store promo's or at various swap-meets. I picked up 50 recently for about 2 bucks. As easy as they are to sharpen with anything sharp, spend the money on the little twist sharpener. They work quick and fast and provide a precise point when needed. Pricey at arouund 3-4 dollars each, but well worth it.

Grease Pencils/China markers work well, but the lumber marker is a bit better. It is fatter, but it seems to have a higher melt-point than the classic china marker. It is tougher and doesn't break as easily either.

[Jessie]

I've come to find when needing ink for official documents, the SPACE PEN is the way to go. Writes in the rain, upside down, and in extreme cold. It's pretty cheap too. www.spacepen.com But, this Pencil sounds awesome as well.

[Mike]

The Spacepen is awesome for field use. So are Parker pens very tough. The carpenters pencil is great to, and you can just rewrite the documents in "official worthless pen" back at base or type them up. Plus a sharpened carpenters pencil makes a better weapon of opportunity...

[Mr Kris Covault]

Im an ol school Salty Dog gone Army. Setup a Land Nav class and gave them pencils. they laughed when i explained why they were better than pens. Next class is setup outdoors. hopefully it will take place in the rain!

[Eric Daniel]

Mike - I carry a number of parker pens. They are my prefered pen for when I do use a pen, but in the field, I always use pencil. The issue I have is that, when wet, the ink runs (the Stadler perm. alcohol pens used for overlays are horrid in the rain) and is impossiable to read. Ball point ink is a little better (it doesn't smear as much) but nothing beats pencil.