I found the white to be too soft, and have been much happier with red and blue colored pencils.
I found the white to be too soft, and have been much happier with red and blue colored pencils.
I was thinking along the same lines. I have a lot of daylight full-spectrum fluorescent lighting and now some LED lighting. I work with Wenge a lot and just use a normal mechanical pencil. I can't see it from across the room, but certainly at work distance. Also if a tool has a laser line, it shines well on the graphite if it's decently heavy (I typically make three pencil swipes on dark wood).
I use this. It works well on any dark wood. It is a thin chalk lead.
Jim
https://smile.amazon.com/Bohin-Extra...s+white+pencil
That's a winner. I bought one. I was a bit concerned by the word "chalk" in the product name. However, I think that's a hiccup in translation. This is a .9 mm mechanical pencil, with white leads. The leads are thin enough to make fine lines on the wood. They are strong enough to not break on rough wood. The white color is easy to see on walnut. And the mechanical pencil aspect means that sharpening a worn lead means just punching the button on the top -- not running around to find the sharpener.
By trade, I am a pipe fitter/welder. I always seem to have a piece of soapstone laying around or in my pocket. Sharpen it with a file and it shows well on walnut. You can get round or flat SS. I tend to use the flat and sharpen to a point. The round is to fragile.
I use the Dritz tailor marking pencil. It comes with several 0.9mm ceramic leads in white, green and pink. They are made for marking on fabric but work well on milled lumber. They are a bit delicate for marking rough-sawn lumber, but work well marking smooth lumber - they put down a really fine line.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
After reading this thread I bought this, .9mm while chalk lead. Got it yesterday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004M5BGD4
I tried it on a half dozen different woods from walnut to some exotics and it is quite visible. Makes a fine enough line. The lead is a lot tougher than I what I was prepared for. The lead didn't break once while experimenting with the pencil.
JKJ
I use these : https://www.amazon.com/Prismacolor-P.../dp/B0035A12D6
Silver works better than white for me on in-between shades. They are also great for marking black pneumatic cloth, which is what I first bought them for.
I bought a 0.9mm pencil, with white leads included, at a fabric/sewing supply store. The pencil quit working in pretty short order but the lead fits my Alvin drafting pencil just fine. I order refills on Amazon nowadays.
Last edited by Brett Luna; 03-07-2018 at 6:44 PM. Reason: minor sp.
Brett
Peters Creek, Alaska
Man is a tool-using animal. Nowhere do you find him without tools; without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all. — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
Try iron workers [welder's] soap stone. Round or flat. Reasonably hard, but sharpens easily. Marks walnut nicely.