Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The TerraCycle Newspaper Pencils are made from used newspaper by rolling whole newspaper sheets around a high quality No. 2 lead. No mulching or mixing with toxic chemical is required. A special adhesive formula is used to bind the newsprint together into a cohesive trunk, which then makes it as hard as wood.
Approximately four pencils can be made from one broadsheet of recycled newsprint.
After drying, the pencils are smoothed to a consistent round barrel. Newsprint images are still visible on the pencil surface.
U.S. made quality ferrules and rubber erasers are attached to the pencil end.
Over time, natural oils from your hand will tend to highlight the interesting newsprint.
Sharpens easily – just like wood – with a normal regular run-off-the-mill pencil sharpener, and this is the truth. It works better still with the desk sharpeners for pencils as used to be common in offices and schools.
What can one say about recycles pencils from whatever material? Well, quite a bit, methinks.
I have encountered recycled pencils, made from a variety of materials, though more often than not recycled vending cups and such, from a number of sources by now and have found most of them, I am afraid to say, wanting.
The main reason for the wanting bit was and is the fact that the trunks of made from recycled vending cups and such like plastic is not rigid enough and because of this flexing of the trunk the lead gets broken all the time, making the use of the pencil a pain.
The TerraCycle Newspaper Pencil, on the other hand is, as stated in TerraCycle's information, as hard as wood and does not flex. Hus, in my humble opinion, making it the best recycled pencil that Ii have so far seen and tested. Could I have a big case if them please...
They sharpen easily with use of either said run-off-the-mill pencil sharpener and better still with the crank version; much more than can be say for all the others I have seen and handled. A real big thumbs up!
The lead definitely appears to be very high quality No. 2, deducing from use, and is a very strong lead too.
From the newsprint used on the pencils that ended up with me I would deduce the country of manufacture to be China because of the fact the paper used has Chinese characters on it. I do pity the readers of that paper though; they need a microscope and not just spectacle to read the paper, I am sure. Never seen small print like that, LOL.
OK, and now the rating... wait for it... drum roll... five out of five even though not made in USA, as those are, in my opinion, the best recycled pencils one can get.
Unfortunately I do not have any information as to price per item or per box.
Brilliant pencils and highly recommended.
The cost $4.99 for a pack of 24 and that definitely is a good price, this is less than 21 cents per pencil.
© 2009
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TerraCycle Recycled Newspaper Pencils – Product Review
