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My DS9 is crazy about Mechanical Pencils. He gets very upset if I toss his favorite one in the desk with all the other pencils. He loves looking at all the different mechanical pencils in the office supply store. He loves drawing little detail stuff. He dislikes pencils that need to be sharpened. I could probally keep going but I think you get the picture. I quess gifted liking precision can come into play here.

It would be fun to know - Does anybody else have a obssessed with Mechanical Pencils Kid? Any other fun obssessions?

My dad was that way, guess it was the engineer in him. I do enjoy a good mechanical pencil, and of course have a specific lead size that I most prefer!! (Where's the smiley with the little helicopter hat??) Ds9 definitely likes his mechanical pencils way more than regulars.

Calculators here! DS7 has 5 or 6 calculators already, and he's still upset that he didn't get another one for Christmas!

Two years ago at Christmas, I got him an "office"--a plastic drawer organizer full of office supplies such as paper, envelopes, stapler, notecards, labels, etc.

He hasn't discovered mechanical pencils yet, or I'd be in trouble.

I think DD is more in the "prefers mechanical pencils" camp than in the "obsessed with mechanical pencils" camp. I never really gave it much thought until this thread started. Now looking at her desk and work spaces around the house, she tends to collect lots of regular pencils to draw and doodle with and just have on hand, however, whenever it is time to write or work or do any serious task, she always reaches for a mechanical pencil.

Hmm..the things I learn about my DD by reading this board! lol

This is so funny. Where else can you go on about mechanical pencial, calculators. Thanks for your comments. I needed a good laugh tonight.

I think the sign interest is very cute. Like lots of things they drive you a little crazy and then you get to laugh about them years later.This is a good one to write down so you don't forget.

ROFL. Watch out for Dottie's pencils!!! My DS7 also prefers mechanical pencils. What is up with that???? Maybe they should put that question on the next version of WISC. "Do you prefer mechanical or #2 pencils?"

My father has an obsession with them. And yes, I would say that why both parents are very intelligent, my father would be the highly-profoundly gifted of the two. DS6 is no obsessed with them, but he DOES love office supplies, which of course, so does his mother. Both kids received their own pens for Christmas because they kept stealing mine!

Many years ago they sold 1 mm lead for mechanical pencils. THAT was the cat's meow. It never broke and the lead was so SMOOTH to write with.

The smaller leads catch on the paper and make a vibration not unlike chalk screeching on a chalkboard. It was and still is annoying.

When I was in college, I saved my 1mm pencils for tests. Using them was like slipping into a hot bath - SOOOO relaxing.

Weird, huh?

As a high school teacher, I get very amused about pencil preference among my students. They get very set in their ways!

I'm a sharpened-pencil girl. Sharpened in a very good electric sharpener, please, to a well defined point, but not sharp enough to snag the paper or risk breaking.

And there are two kinds of lead - I have no idea how to describe them, but I know which kind I like and which kind I hate. The one I hate requires more pressure on the pencil.

And then there are preferences on notebook paper...