Wirecutter - The Best Pencils for Writing and Schoolwork
By Sarah Witman Updated May 15, 2023
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Whether you’re filling in multiple-choice bubbles on a standardized test or solving the Sunday crossword puzzle, you should have a great pencil in your hand.
We’re confident that the Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil (Blue) is the best pencil for writing and schoolwork thanks to its high-quality wooden barrel, a dark core that writes clearly and fluidly, and an eraser that removes marks cleanly with minimal tearing.
Our pick
Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil (Blue)
A high-quality pencil you can buy in bulk
This inexpensive pencil is made of premium incense cedar. It is comfortable to hold, has a neatly painted exterior, and its eraser removes marks cleanly.
$5 from Pencils.com
(pack of 12)
The Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil (Blue) is made of top-tier incense cedar, which has a uniform wood grain and a faintly woodsy smell when sharpened. Its hexagonal shape makes it comfortable to grip and resistant to rolling off your desk. It has a glossy, blue-painted barrel and contains a No. 2/HB core that makes smooth, dark marks.
Even though darkness and hardness varies among brands, No. 2 and/or HB pencils are widely considered to be the ideal lead grade for writing (and they’re required for many standardized tests), which makes this Golden Bear pencil a perfect choice for elementary school and beyond.
Aside from the much more expensive Palomino Blackwing 602, the azure-hue Golden Bear pencil is the best overall performer among the pencils we tested. It’s also a solid value, especially if you buy in bulk.
Budget pick
Dixon Ticonderoga Classic Yellow Wood-Cased Pencil
Good performance for the price
Quality control for this iconic pencil has gone downhill, but it’s still the best cheap pencil you can buy, with a decent eraser, smooth writing, and a comfortable grip.
$14 from Amazon
(pack of 72)
$16 from Target
(pack of 72)
The Dixon Ticonderoga Classic Yellow Wood-Cased Pencil is not made of the same high-quality wood as our other picks—and we have reason to think it’s more prone to breaking or having an off-center core—but it is the best pencil we’ve seen in the budget price range (typically less than 20¢ per pencil).
In testing, it performed well in terms of writing ability, surpassed only by the Arteza #2 HB Wood Pencil (which is saddled with the worst eraser we tested) and far pricier pencils like the Palomino Blackwing 602.
The Dixon Ticonderoga Classic Yellow pencil’s eraser is just okay, but it scored well in comfort and sharpening ability.
Upgrade pick
Palomino Blackwing 602
The Cadillac of pencils
This comfortable pencil has a replaceable eraser, an incense-cedar barrel, and a smooth, dark core. But it costs over twice as much as most writing pencils, and you can’t use it on standardized tests.
$30 from Amazon
(pack of 12)
$27 from Palomino Blackwing
(pack of 12)
The Palomino Blackwing 602 is the most expensive pencil we tested, but it’s pretty much unsurpassed in quality.
It’s made of incense cedar, like our top pick, and it’s the only pencil we tested with a replaceable eraser (which, unlike most pencil erasers, has a rectangular shape that enables more detailed erasing). Its hexagonal body has slightly rounded corners, making it more comfortable to write with than most pencils, and it’s glazed in a velvety, dark silver paint.
Some of our testers had trouble sharpening the Palomino Blackwing 602, especially the first time after they unboxed it; the same happened with our top pick. But otherwise its biggest flaw is its price tag—more than $2 per pencil at the time of publication.
It is also likely to be rejected by standardized-test proctors because it doesn’t list a lead grade on the side (though its core is similar to that of a No. 2/HB pencil).
Also great
Faber-Castell Grip 2001 Graphite Pencil with Eraser
An extra-grippy triangular pencil
This is the only triangular pencil we recommend. It writes, sharpens, and erases about as well as our other picks, and its uniquely textured grip area was beloved by many of our testers.
$15 from Amazon
(pack of 12)
If you have trouble gripping hexagonal pencils or you just prefer a triangular barrel, look no further than the Faber-Castell Grip 2001 Graphite Pencil with Eraser.
It’s the only triangular pencil we’ve tested that we recommend; nearly all of our testers, many of whom don’t typically use triangular pencils, enjoyed using it.
It earned good marks in our writing, sharpening, and erasing tests, and its array of raised dots along the front end of the barrel give it a more comfortable grip than most pencils.
On the downside, it’s not made of incense cedar (as our top and upgrade picks are), it’s on the pricier side (about 80¢ per pencil at the time of publication), and it’s unavailable to buy in bulk.
Everything we recommend
Our pick
Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil (Blue)
A high-quality pencil you can buy in bulk
$5 from Pencils.com
(pack of 12)
Budget pick
Dixon Ticonderoga Classic Yellow Wood-Cased Pencil
Good performance for the price
$14 from Amazon
(pack of 72)
$16 from Target
(pack of 72)
Upgrade pick
Palomino Blackwing 602
The Cadillac of pencils
$30 from Amazon
(pack of 12)
$27 from Palomino Blackwing
(pack of 12)
Also great
Faber-Castell Grip 2001 Graphite Pencil with Eraser
An extra-grippy triangular pencil
$15 from Amazon
(pack of 12)
The research
Why you should trust us
Who this is for
How we picked and tested
Our pick: Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil (Blue)
Budget pick: Dixon Ticonderoga Classic Yellow Wood-Cased Pencil
Upgrade pick: Palomino Blackwing 602
Also great: Faber-Castell Grip 2001 Graphite Pencil with Eraser
Other good pencils
The competition
Why you should trust us
For this guide, I spent hours writing in cursive and print, drawing, doodling, shading, sketching, erasing, sharpening, and filling in Scantron bubbles with various pencils. Furthermore, I asked five Wirecutter staffers to test pencils, all of whom are self-described stationery fanatics.
Who this is for
This guide focuses on wooden pencils designed for K–12 students to write, draw, doodle, take notes, and complete exams. But even if you’ve left school, you might like to have a few good pencils on hand to write letters or do a crossword puzzle.
Pencils that are specifically designed for certain activities, such as fine art or carpentry, are beyond the scope of this guide.
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