PencilPull
The PencilPull, a couple of dollars worth of plastic, metal and string, have made life as a carpenter and woodworker a whole lot easier. I reach for a pencil dozens of times every workday and no matter how much I've tried, I just haven't been able to develop a steady habit of putting the pencil back in the same place each time, whether it's in my shirt, apron or behind my ear.
In the morning, I clip the PencilPull to my shirt pocket, tool apron or the collar of a t-shirt, where it stays all day providing instant, trouble-free pencil access. The pencil is held in a soft plastic cone by friction, sort of like a Chinese finger puzzle, and the retractable chain gives you about 18 inches. The soft holder firmly grips both round and carpenter pencils firmly and -- in the year and a half I've been using it -- I have yet to break the string or return mechanism; that's saying something. Whenever I am absorbed with the task at hand and need a pencil, the smooth flow of work never stops for a frustrated hunt through the shop or work site. I own thousands of dollars of expensive sophisticated hand and power tools, but really value the utility of this little gem.
Why not simply tie a chain to a pencil and safety pin it to your shirt? Fair question. A pencil on a string would flop around and get in my way, even a loop of string hanging out of my pocket would get caught on things. The PencilPull retracts the string so I don't have to think about putting the pencil anywhere. The pencil pull does that itself.
-- Clarke Green
PencilPull
$5
Available from PencilPull
Or $7 from Grainger
Previously available from Amazon
Favorite (15)
AJ
At $5 this is much cheaper than having 'dork' tattooed on your forehead, but has the same effect.
cooper harlo
i have this same pencilpull. it is very dangerous as i had it pulled all the way out and it snapped back impaling my spleen. i was lucky to live thru the operation....
tlm
The pencil pull is great
(for about an afternoon-give or take a few hours).
If you are similar to the person modeling the "pencil pull",in the photo,
who has never done a days work in his life,
then it may last longer.
But on the job,
the moment you start relying on your pencil being there;
at the top of a ladder(?)
I assure you,
it will be not.
Lexica
Oh, for pity's sake.
AJ @ #1: If I'm at the top of a ladder and need a pencil, I'm not thinking "oh dear, I look like a dork," I'm thinking "darn, where did that pencil get to?"
cooper harlo @ #2: That must have been something to see. I'm trying to visualize how something like this could snap back and impale you through the spleen... must have been some sort of double-reverse snapback with backflip for extra difficulty, or something. (In other words, the PencilPull is attached to the eraser end of the pencil, which means it will be pulling the eraser end of the pencil, which would seem to make it difficult or impossible for the pencil to flip 180 degrees in order to come in point-first and stab you.)
tim @ #3: The review was written by someone who is a carpenter and woodworker, who after using the product for a year and a half has come to "really value the utility of this little gem". Given a choice between a first-hand report from someone who's actually used it, and an "assertion" that it won't work from someone who hasn't used it... I'm inclined to put more reliance on the opinion of the person who's used it.
This reminds me of Plato and his students arguing about how many teeth a horse has.
Louie Kish
Thank you for the comments. I invented the product and I am daily humbled that so many people find it useful. I have to laugh at the ladder comment. In fact, I was standing on top of a step ladder (a no no of course), hanging on a rafter with one hand, and I reached for my pencil with the other- in an attempt to make a mark. The darn pencil fell to the garage floor. I was always losing my pencil, but that was the last straw... At that moment - some 7 years ago - I climbed down the ladder, rustled up an old badge holder (now that is "dork"!), attached a section of tubing and to this day I have NEVER lost a pencil again. The patent soon followed.
Pencil Pulls actually last quite a while unless you cut the string, or if it gets coated in cement (or stuck in your spleen). But hey, it costs less than a cup of coffee, will last a heck of a lot longer, and save just as much frustration. :-) IMO, I still think it is the most useful tool I have in my bag. (Except for my power screw driver of course.) But I am biased a bit.
The product is actually used by millions of contractors that - "dork" factor aside - get addicted to the tool because it is such a frustration and time saver. The person (my wife) in the picture is actually working on an arts and crafts project. If you're skeptical I understand, but I can almost promise you, that if you use it for a few weeks on the job, you will never want to be without it. And you will never want your working partner without one either ("can I borrow your pencil?")
If anyone wants to send me a comment - positive or negative, please drop an email or get my number off the website. I am always looking for ways to improve it. (If anyone has an idea how to overcome the "dork" factor, let me know!) Thanks again for taking the time to write. And than you, Cool Tools :-)
Louie@pencilpull.com
nic
hey, this product is pretty impressive. I am running a convention for teachers this summer and I think they would adore it (no more sticky fingered kids making off with their pencils). Can you do custom logos on it?