[ArtDodger]

Is it my imagination or are today's pencils garbage? The graphite core is not centered in the middle of the pencil so the sharpeners leave them with an off-center tip that breaks easily. And the erasers! Smearers would be a better name and after a few months, they get hard as a rock. Recently found a box of pencils in an old desk. They were from the 60s. Work great. Sharpen up to a keen center point and the erasers really work.

[Daffynition]

You’re probably speaking of pencils made in China. They are terrible .....and an elementary school teacher’s worst nightmare.

IMO, the only ones worth anything are the Ticonderoga pencils....cost more but they have wood sheaths that don’t shatter when they are sharpened.