Universal Wooden #2 Pencil, Black HB Lead, Pack of 12

Flash back

These pencils write so we'll. So happy!

Is a pencil

I still have a #55400 pencil (now about 3" in length remaining) from decades back. I have loved the pencil over the years, which has been characterized by easy sharpening and a consistently pleasant darker shade produced by the incorporated graphite. It has never failed to be a delight to write with over many years. This now OUTSOURCED (India) current iteration/version is wholly unacceptable in comparison! I can't express my frustration enough regarding how poorly the current manufactured version of this pencil performs! (I am hopeful that Universal/Essendant Co. of North Deerfield, IL will see my review & make immediate plans to have the current iteration of the pencil seriously examined by QUALIFIED US-based product specialists/QA representatives for the purpose of reverting this pencil back to the original specifications.) The photo below shows how much pencil is missing during the first sharpening attempt of the product! The wood currently used for the UNV55400 is not the same as the excellent earlier version of the pencil; it is much softer, which permits it to move through a sharpener too quickly. Additionally, the graphite version presently used in the pencil breaks off repeatedly, if one doesn't use the most steady of sharpeners; I tried several older Boston crank sharpeners I have available & only a screw-mounted (with no sense of rocking while sharpening) version I own was able to somewhat handle the task. I still had to be extremely careful with the job. Forget the small handheld sharpeners; these produced constant breakage of the inferior graphite used. I will say it MAY be possible that the current pencil version sharpens with less damage when using an electric sharpener, however, this is only conjecture on my part as I don't have this type sharpener available to me. This option aside, consumers should not have to go through a gamut of trials in order to easily, effectively and economically sharpen a pencil. Thanks for your intervention with this obvious product degradation issue, Universal/Essendant Company of Illinois! Addendum 11/24/2025. I found an electric tabletop pencil sharpener to try with the pencils; they sharpen perfectly with the electric sharpener. I have given one additional star for this discovery, which is positive; however, the composition of the pencil remains deficient compared with past versions, which now limits one to an electric sharpener.

There normal pencils good for the value sturdy gets the job done

The price