Why Tradesmen Love Pencils

You almost never see a tradesman without a pencil stuck behind his ear, stuffed in a pocket, or within reaching distance. Why? Well here are some of the reasons why a tradesman always keeps a pencil nearby –

• It is a vital piece of kit that needs to remain absolutely sharp, due to the importance of marking off anything that is to be measured, cut or lined out. In many trades objects need to be custom fitted, so a good sharp pencil helps ‘measure twice, and cut once,’ and write down any unexpected information.
•  It makes the day go by that little bit quicker. What tradesman can say that they haven’t drawn a cheeky drawing on the back of certain materials for the homeowner to find in 50 years time when they rip everything up for a re-furbishment?
•  It’s what the ear was invented for – where would we be without the trusty pencil holder? Any other tool requires external attachments to keep it close to the person using it – but not the pencil.
•  The hacked and sharpened end of the pencil is a clan tag or trademark of the tradesman’s world – where else would you find such attention and care for a wooden pencil? Every last piece gets used, down to the final stub, plus who doesn’t enjoy getting back to basics using a stanley knife to carve a pencil?
•  It doesn’t explode when you step on it, chew on it or when it’s just sitting idly in your pocket and inexplicably decide to leak everywhere.

• Two for the price of one. You can take any pencil snap it in half, and sharpen both ends – who doesn’t love a bargain?

If you’re a tradesman, are there any reasons that you’d add to this list?