historynsh-t:
WHAT’S IN MY PENCIL CASE?
Hello all! Thank you so much for 100+ subscribers! I know that I have been a terrible studyblr and haven’t been posting much, but that’s because I’ve been down south in Los Angeles! And while I was out of town, I did some stationery shopping. I finally have all of my supplies for the upcoming semester, even though school doesn’t start again for another month. I jumped the gun a bit, but really, how many of us can help it when it comes to school supplies? It’s a curse, I tell you. I have no idea if anyone will be interested in this, but I love seeing other people’s similar posts, so I figured I’d make one myself!
So while some of this stuff is old, some new, and all purchased from different places, I want to share my favorites with you. I will also preface this by saying that I have more than one pencil case in my backpack, but this is my ‘go bag’, the one that can get me by even if I don’t have all of my pretty Mildliners or gel pens with me. If I’m rushing to class or to meet someone, I can just throw this one in any purse or bag I may have without taking up too much space. I can show you my other three pencil cases and their contents later, if you guys want!
I’ve tried to find each item online, though I did not spend a ton of time looking for the cheapest deal - I’m sure that if you did some searching you could find some better prices. I am not affiliated with any of these companies or websites in any way whatsoever.
First, the pencil case itself:
Lihit Labs Smart Fit Bright Label Pencil Case
Purchased at Kinokuniya Bookstore in Los Angeles for around $19.00 USD, but I found it online here, (for a bit less, too) if you’re interested! I love this pencil case because I can store a ton of stuff in it without it getting super bulky. It fits all of my favorite supplies with room to spare.
Now for the writing utensils:
Pilot FriXion Point 04 Gel Ink Pen
Also purchased at Kinokuniya for $3.00 USD each. I carry both black and blue. You can also find them online here at jetpens.com. I love these pens for their fine point and their erasable ink - that erases absolutely without a trace. For as long as I’ve used them, I haven’t had an ‘eraser’ wear down at all.
MUJI Gel Ink Ball Point Pen 0.38mm
I snagged these from the MUJI store in Santa Monica (it’s about fifteen minutes away from Kinokuniya - in traffic). They’ll run you $1.50 USD each. The US MUJI website’s online store seems to be under construction, but I found a pack of them online here. On the MUJI website, you can just buy single pens if you don’t need 10 of them! They write very smoothly and have very little bleed-through on most papers. I prefer the 0.38 point over the 0.5, but that’s just me.
Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5mm Pen - Limited Edition (French Casual)
Another pen I purchased at Kinokuniya, though quite awhile ago for about $1.50 USD. I found it online (and in other colors!) here. I love it’s cute design (it has a pony on it!!) and its soft grip - it has also been through two or three ink refills and is still going strong! I have a few of the other Sarasa pens in the 0.38mm point, and they are also very nice - super fine lines!
Uni-ball Signo White Gel Ink Pen - Broad Point
I bought this pen at my favorite local stationery store, Paper Source, for about $4.00 USD (pricey, I know). You can find it online here. I don’t use it much, really only for doodling on the dark covers of my notebooks when I’m procrastination not studying. But I like it, so I keep it around!
Uni Alpha Gel Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil - 0.5 mm - Turquoise Blue
I bought this pencil online at jetpens.com for $14.00 USD. You can find it here, and also in other colors! I don’t use pencils very often, really only for Math or Science classes - and as I’m a history major, those tend to be few and far between. However, when I do use pencils (and I will be in my Chemistry class this fall) I am very picky. So when I say that I love this pencil, I really love this pencil. These ‘Kuru Toga’ pencils allow the lead to rotate/spin so you get less breakage. The ‘Alpha Gel’ grip is nice and squishy (but not too squishy!) and it is very lightweight. I can’t speak to the quality of the eraser because I don’t use it. I have had this pencil since I was a junior in high school (circa 2012) and it is still going strong!
Uni Alpha Gel HD Shaka Shaker Mechanical Pencil - 0.5 mm - Rose Pink
This pencil is also from jetpens.com for $10.00 USD, and you can find it here in a bunch of different colors too! Can you see a theme? I love these Uni pencils, and I love their grips even more! The grip on this one is slightly thicker and squishier than the Kuru Toga. This is also a ‘Shaker’ pencil, meaning that if you run out of lead while you write, you just give it a quick shake! I just bought this one a few weeks ago, so I can’t speak to the durability so far. When I spend so much money on a pencil, I expect it to last. It’s the same brand as the other, so we’ll see! I really like both of these pencils equally, so if you’re trying to choose, I will say that this one is cheaper!
Uni E-Knock Eraser - Dust-Gathering - Fine - Green
I bought this at jetpens.com for $1.65 USD, right here. You can find it in other colors there as well! Because I don’t use the erasers on my pencils (I like keeping the caps on and it’s too tedious to take them on and off, makes lead re-fill easier as well) I rely on separate ones like this. I really like this eraser. The shavings/dust clump together nicely so I don’t have a huge mess and it erases quite well - better than the eraser sticks I was using before. It also matches the pencil case!
MUJI Plastic Eraser, Large, Black
I picked this up at MUJI Santa Monica when I was down there for $3.00 USD since my other one was almost reduced to a centimeter-wide nub. Again, the online store isn’t working in the US, but here it is on Amazon! I really like this eraser. I use it over my E-Knock when I have large areas to erase, or I’ll use both in conjunction just to make sure if I’m correcting a Scantron answer or something like that. It comes in black and white and in both a large and a small size. I don’t really know what the color difference is for so I couldn’t recommend one or the other… I just like the look of the black better!
Pentel Stein Enhanced Silica Pencil Lead - 0.5 mm - HB Hard
I purchased this lead for $3.30 USD at jetpens.com, here. It comes in all sorts of softness and shades! I tend to be very heavy-handed when I write and carry a lot on tension in my hand, but I also like a fine point. It tends to be a problem because the finer the point, the weaker the lead. Because of this, I need a strong lead that won’t break. This has been the answer! I use it with all of my pencils and love it! I’ve been using it for two years and have only gone through one and a half containers of it (each one has 40 pieces). That being said, I don’t use pencils all that often. To my knowledge, this lead is also fine for Scantron tests! Just to be safe, though, I will at times revert back to a standard Ticonderoga pencil (I have badass-looking black ones from Target).
On to highlighters and miscellaneous tools!
Sharpie® Clear View Highlighters, 3pk
I picked these up at my local Staples for $3.00 USD as soon as they came out! They’re on the website here. I was very excited. I love the vibrant colors of the Sharpie inks and the clear tip is a lifesaver when highlighting textbooks or printed articles. I bought the 3-pack of yellow, orange, and pink, but I think that they also make a green one. They are similar in shape and feel to the Stabilo Boss highlighters. I only wish these had the same range of colors! I have not had these smudge any of my gel inks, which is awesome.
Uni Propus Window Soft Color Double-Sided Highlighter Pen
I bought these at Kinokuniya when I was down there. I was happy to find window-tipped highlighters in colors I was missing! You can find them individually online here, and also in a pack of 5 colors here! I purchased the Aqua Blue, Lime Green, and Lavender purple for $1.50 USD each.
Pilot FriXion Light US Erasable Highlighter - Blue
This is from Kinokuniya as well. They’re also online here as well. I wanted to try out one of these highlighters since I love the pens so much, and I wasn’t disappointed. It erases just as well as the pens, and that makes up for the fact that it doesn’t have one of those nifty new window tips. Eventually, when my other highlighters run out, I may have to grab the soft-colored set of these (you can see them here). So pretty!
BIC® Wite-Out® Brand Mini Correction Tape
I actually picked this up from the Office Supply section of my local drugstore for about $3.50 USD, but you can find it online here. It’s your average correction tape, but I do like the small size for portability/space saving.
Plus Tape Glue 7mm
I picked this up from DAISO Japan for $1.50 USD when I was down in Los Angeles. I can’t seem to find the exact model online, but there’s a similar one here. This stuff is just plain handy to have around. This particular one is nice and compact and draws a thin line. I’ve had more expensive models in the past but this works just as well, in my opinion.
Thanks for taking a look, guys! If you have any questions or would like to see my other pencil cases, let me know!