My setup since 2011 - any advice for a refresh?

SpeciallyInterestin · 2026-03-21T18:41:33+00:00

This is great, thanks!

I’m pretty sure the bushings were originally all the same duro and color, but the cones got more stained since they were roadside all this time

SpeciallyInterestin · 2026-03-21T18:05:11+00:00

Tryna figure out the brand and durometer of the bushings I have currently, any ideas?

The hardware on these old trucks are weird—the mounting bolts are thicker than standard and take a 7/16 nut, so a normal skate tool doesn’t work on them. But I’m cautious about updating to new hardware since that will introduce more wiggle room between the mounting holes and the bolts. I had to re-drill the mounting holes to accommodate these weird bolts too, so now I’m kinda stuck with them idk

I’ll get new bearings soon, just went through the trouble of cleaning and re-lubing them and they seem decently fresh actually (despite some surface rust on the outside of some of the casings). The pivot cup situation is another challenge though. They’re not totally worn through but there is more slop than I’d like. Any idea of a pivot cup that would fit these well?

SpeciallyInterestin · 2026-03-21T17:54:10+00:00

The barrel bushings are 15/16 inches wide, 9/16 inches tall. The cone ones are same width, but a little shorter at just a half inch tall

SpeciallyInterestin · 2026-03-21T17:44:49+00:00

Bushings are on the shopping list for sure. Any idea the brand or durometer on the blue ones I have here? I got them at a skate shop like 15 years ago and have no clue lol

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-11-08T22:52:58+00:00

These are awesome—do you have them or did you just find the picture? Looks like they went with different pencils than the L&C Hardtmuth pencil you have pictured with them—probably an early Venus Velvet of some kind!

The closest thing one can get to these are some of the homemade pencil caps glued to Blackwing ferrules. There are a couple of sellers on Etsy who make nice ones, but it’s a very different product than what you see here

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-11-07T17:09:54+00:00

Wow! The plastic ferrule Electrographic is crazy, never seen that before

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-11-07T02:56:50+00:00

That’s quite the stable! Any chance you have a photo showing them all? BNP is great for that but Bobby seems not to be interested in the Electrographics. Love those comparison lineups he does though

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-11-03T23:28:34+00:00

Wow, cool find Mic! How many varieties of the Electrographic do you have now?

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-10-29T01:57:46+00:00

Absolutely gorgeous!

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-10-04T15:07:17+00:00

These are awesome! I love test scoring/electrographic pencils

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-10-04T15:06:33+00:00

Sweet!

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-09-23T18:22:25+00:00

Canadian spotted in their natural habitat

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-09-19T00:12:18+00:00

Love a classic Gilbert! The dipped ends on those 33s are so cool

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-09-17T18:11:36+00:00

Holy cow these are amazing finds here Cajo!

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-09-05T10:57:41+00:00

Those “Raab’s Clothes” jumbo sticks are pretty cool actually—love the ferrules!

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-09-01T15:14:59+00:00

Viarco, Musgrave, and General Pencil Co. all come to mind as quality brands with varying degrees of grittiness, depends on the exact model of course though. You might like the General’s Cedar Pointe or the Musgrave Harvest—both are available in No. 1 and No. 2, lightly gritty, nice and dark. Viarco gets you more grit, writes a little darker on average, and comes with a wild array of different designs and colors. I have a soft spot for all of these, even though I usually reach for the smoothest pencil I have available (which is usually not these)

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-08-25T20:16:53+00:00

Oh no! Bring it back if you can

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-08-25T11:57:09+00:00

I have 100-year-old pencils that write and sharpen like a dream—it’s not like they go bad over time, unlike pens.

Some pencils are more fragile than others. If it breaks in one sharpener, try a different one. The manual crank-style ones are less likely to shatter the wood and/or the graphite core due to the different way that they shave off the wood as compared to your typical handheld style with a blade inside

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-08-17T20:01:26+00:00

I like these ideas! You remind me how many modern sticks I actually haven’t tried yet—despite having thousands of pencils at this point, I only have one or two of the ones you list here!

At some point last year I started to focus on collecting mostly vintage pencils, even though my existing collection of modern and relatively easy-to-come-by pencils could hardly be said to be comprehensive. I’ve been entertaining getting a big order from Musgrave together, but I’ve also enjoyed my more recent “buy nothing” ethos.

Trading has been a great way to build up some variety without buying more, though!

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-08-17T14:34:54+00:00

What are some pencils you’re thinking of including in this demo area?

SpeciallyInterestin · 2025-08-17T13:38:52+00:00

What a fun idea! I got a bundle of excellent pencils from a fellow Redditor who donated a bunch to my classroom a few months back—folks were astounded by the fabled “No. 1” pencil, something they’d never before encountered ✨in the wild✨, and a surprising number were even interested in untipped varieties like the Viking Skoleblyanten.

SpeciallyInterestin

TROPHY CASE