(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)
As I've been carrying this E+M Peanpole Wood Pencil Extender around over the last few weeks, I've had to explain several times why such a product exists. "Sometimes pencils are special," I said. Some people understood. When you have a special pencil and you want to use it down to the last splinter, you need a pencil extender.
This extender is hexagonal, made from Beech wood and has a metal grip that holds your special pencil nub in place. The gripper fits most standard pencils' diameter and it has a metal ring you can slide up or down to tighten or loosen the grip. Of course, standard size is subjective. Typical yellow school pencils work perfectly, and so do most of my cute graphic pencils, but a few of my most precious pencils do not. Palomino Blackwings don't, due to their flat ferules--but they do fit if you break off the eraser. Yes, I broke a Blackwing to test this for you. You're welcome. Alas, some of my wider colored pencils don't fit, and some pencils with bulkier metal around the eraser don't quite work, either. But most of my pencils do fit, which means this simple contraption will get used.
It does have its downsides, though. If not tightened enough or if your pencil has a narrow diameter, it may wiggle a bit in the holder. Also, because the metal gripper is made to be flexible, it can easily be crushed or bent out of shape. I'd consider it a somewhat fragile product. Also, because it covers the end of the pencil, it blocks access to any remaining eraser you might have, so you'll need a separate eraser handy. Of course, if your pencil is down to its last few sharpens, the eraser may already be gone, anyway. The metal gripper can obstruct some sharpeners as your pencil gets smaller as well, so you may have to remove the pencil from the extender to sharpen it the last time or two.
The remaining length of your pencil stub is also a factor. About 1" of pencil can fit into the holder. If your pencil is 3" or longer, the extender can feel a bit long. That's still probably better than too short, though. In any case, the window of comfortable use for this product might be a bit on the narrow side.
It's still worth it, though, to get the full use of your favorite pencils, and it prevents waste, which is always a plus. And at $4.30, it not much more than some of the fancy pencils themselves--and definitely worth a try if you, too, cherish pencil splinters.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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