what pencil for wetnotes?

[ReefHound]

Thanks for the laugh but seriously, I prefer to sharpen my own pencils but I'm not a certified pencil technician and the manufacturer won't let me take their course unless I work for a pencil shop. Any suggestions?

 

[thanksforallthefish]

You had me up until the "yellow paint"

I use these:

They are made from a cellulo-organic material which is known for its depth compensating properties. Specially designed, these precision writing instruments are of hexagonal cross-section in order to accommodate divers wearing a range of gloves. The active ingredient in the instrument is a polymorph of elemental carbon, specially imported from the country of New Hampshire. Each instrument is coated with a patented substance known as "yellow paint" to allow the instrument to double as a signaling device - either at depth or at the surface. You'll notice that image I've posted above is a purpose-built piece of tech gear; easily identified by the lack of several failure points that are commonly seen in recreation pencils:

Plus, you'll also notice the model I use has no wireless transmitter, no switches to fail, etc.

Now, you may say "But Ray, isn't a pencil a life support system?" And of course you'd be right to ask that question. You'd sound like a bit of an alarmist nut, but you'd be right. Either way, I do worry about redundancy for anything that holds my life in its hands (if it had hands) so I always carry an appropriate backup...

Some folks may opt to carry a SparePencil^TM...

but I believe that something that was originally designed to carry just enough graphite to enable helicopter pilots to write "Oh sh-t!" before drowning has no place in tec diving! That's why in cases where you REALLY need redundancy many recreational divers opt to sling one of THESE as backup...

On the other hand, hard-core tec people like myself will often "dive doubles"...

which are perfect as this configuration allows you to completely isolate one pencil in the event of a "catastrophic" failure...

Whatever backup system you choose ultimately comes down to cost/benefit ratio. Extravagant to own two of these highly specialized graphical communication systems? Perhaps. But I spare no expense when my life is on the line. In fact, I recommend that people don't even buy one of these systems on-line. Sure, LP (LeisurePencil.com) offers their own warranty and lifetime battery replacement, but I like to support my LDS (local dime store) which is an authorized dealer with a factory trained technician on-site. I'm not gonna get caught short before a trip or a big dive and have to send one of these instruments back to the manufacturer for warranty service! And don't make the same mistake I did with my first one. (Don't ask how I know, just trust me... there really AREN'T any user-serviceable parts inside!)

Sure, I pay a little more from my LDS which charged me MAP pricing (minimum actual pencil pricing) of $3.99 for 2 boxes of 144 (remember the tec diver's mantra "2 gross is one, and 1 gross is none!") but they let me try the system out in the pool before buying it, showed me how to set my rig up, and I know they'll stand behind it if anything goes wrong! So, if you want to spend $8 for one super-duper mechanical pencil feel free...or you can get 588 of the instrument that I entrust my life to.

If anyone's interested I can make up a batch, paint them black, and put little blue H's on them, however that version is $27.50 each.

:shocked2:

 

[RJP]

I prefer to sharpen my own pencils but I'm not a certified pencil technician...

You've been around long enough to know the answer to your question...

YOU'RE GONNA DIE!

:shocked2:

 

[RJP]

I've got to give you credit for all the time you spent digging up images to make this post. smartass :mooner: lol

You'd be surprised what you can find with simple google search terms. For instance...

google "suicide pen" and you find this:

google "DIR pen" and here's first search result:

Search on "Fundies Pass Pencil" and find this...

...while searching on "Typical OW Pencil" finds this...

google the boolean search of "pencil AND silt"...

Try searching "Seacure pencil"

Search on "Primary Pencil, Backup Pencil" finds this...

Search on "Aqualung online dealer pencil sharpener" and you won't be surprised to get this...

Then I got a bit more obscure, and found that "POF" came back with this...

While "PADI Pen" came back with this...

 

[BabyDuck]

you rock. really.

 

[HenrikBP]

Too funny Ray ... you have too much time on your hands Thanks for the laugh.

Henrik

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I bought one once, but it was real slick on the sides. When I went to use it, it wasn't there. I suppose it slipped out of my wetnotes and went to the same place that one sock always seems to go after you use the dryer.

I use a piece of latex tubing over the rear portion of the Pilot pencil to keep it from going solo.

I looked at a couple of other links for the Croquis, and as I understood it, the H, B and 6B designations refer to the harness/softness of the lead itself. One place mentions that the holder takes 4 mm leads. So different hardness, but same diameter. But then I may have misunderstood.

The H, HB and 6B refers to the hardness of the lead. H is hard, B is soft HB is in the middle. The more Hs the harder the lead, the more Bs the softer the lead. A "normal" pencil of the yellow painted organic depth compensting material variety normally has 2H lead. In drafting, 4H and 6H was pretty common for finer line work, while an HB or B might be used for lettering. Anthing softer than B is pretty much for art applications. Such is the knowledge that was gained in drafting classes in the pre-Autocad era...

Softer lead equals a darker and usually wider line. For wet notes HB or B would work fine, while 6B would probably be close to a china marker in terms of softness and would also work fine but may be more prone to breakage and would wear much faster.

The one Marci bought me is a "B" and works great.

 

[LiteHedded]

I bought one once, but it was real slick on the sides. When I went to use it, it wasn't there. I suppose it slipped out of my wetnotes and went to the same place that one sock always seems to go after you use the dryer.

I've been using pop-a-point pencils for a few years now and they've been pretty good. I carry two of them, and my buddy has a few pencils too, so we're always covered.

and mine have firetrucks and footballs on them.
chicks dig it.

 

[Sloth]

and mine have firetrucks and footballs on them.
chicks dig it.

I could only find ones with barbie on it....Im not that self confident in manhood to go there.

 

[pedo]

you're a genius, ray.

I use these:

They are made from a cellulo-organic material which is known for its depth compensating properties. Specially designed, these precision writing instruments are of hexagonal cross-section in order to accommodate divers wearing a range of gloves. The active ingredient in the instrument is a polymorph of elemental carbon, specially imported from the country of New Hampshire. Each instrument is coated with a patented substance known as "yellow paint" to allow the instrument to double as a signaling device - either at depth or at the surface. You'll notice that image I've posted above is a purpose-built piece of tech gear; easily identified by the lack of several failure points that are commonly seen in recreation pencils:

Plus, you'll also notice the model I use has no wireless transmitter, no switches to fail, etc.

Now, you may say "But Ray, isn't a pencil a life support system?" And of course you'd be right to ask that question. You'd sound like a bit of an alarmist nut, but you'd be right. Either way, I do worry about redundancy for anything that holds my life in its hands (if it had hands) so I always carry an appropriate backup...

Some folks may opt to carry a SparePencil^TM...

but I believe that something that was originally designed to carry just enough graphite to enable helicopter pilots to write "Oh sh-t!" before drowning has no place in tec diving! That's why in cases where you REALLY need redundancy many recreational divers opt to sling one of THESE as backup...

On the other hand, hard-core tec people like myself will often "dive doubles"...

which are perfect as this configuration allows you to completely isolate one pencil in the event of a "catastrophic" failure...

Whatever backup system you choose ultimately comes down to cost/benefit ratio. Extravagant to own two of these highly specialized graphical communication systems? Perhaps. But I spare no expense when my life is on the line. In fact, I recommend that people don't even buy one of these systems on-line. Sure, LP (LeisurePencil.com) offers their own warranty and lifetime battery replacement, but I like to support my LDS (local dime store) which is an authorized dealer with a factory trained technician on-site. I'm not gonna get caught short before a trip or a big dive and have to send one of these instruments back to the manufacturer for warranty service! And don't make the same mistake I did with my first one. (Don't ask how I know, just trust me... there really AREN'T any user-serviceable parts inside!)

Sure, I pay a little more from my LDS which charged me MAP pricing (minimum actual pencil pricing) of $3.99 for 2 boxes of 144 (remember the tec diver's mantra "2 gross is one, and 1 gross is none!") but they let me try the system out in the pool before buying it, showed me how to set my rig up, and I know they'll stand behind it if anything goes wrong! So, if you want to spend $8 for one super-duper mechanical pencil feel free...or you can get 588 of the instrument that I entrust my life to.

If anyone's interested I can make up a batch, paint them black, and put little blue H's on them, however that version is $27.50 each.

:shocked2:

Unfreakin believable.