The Problem with Adam Savage's Favorite Pencil

Among the tools Adam always keeps at arm's reach in his workshop is his favorite mechanical pencil: the venerable PaperMate Sharpwriter #2. But he's noticed something disappointedly different about the newest models of this pencil, and it has everything to do with color. What product did YOU love that underwent a disappointing change later on?

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Shot by Adam Savage and edited by Norman Chan
Music by Jinglepunks

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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman

Thanks for watching!

[tested]

What product did YOU love that underwent a disappointing change later on?
Disclaimer: Tested may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through the links here.

[dylandenney]

This is the only person on Earth that I would listen to talking about a pencil for 16 minutes.

[XanTheDragon]

the "it's fine" at 12:35 has immeasurable amounts of emotion in it
the pure disdain, the despair

[DanteNava]

"It looks cheaper" is EXACTLY what my thoughts were when you first pulled it out.

[christiankoll]

"I don't know exactly how it works, but I know you gotta clean out the whatevers."

What an incredibly applicable sentence.

[CommanderFox]

Imagine being the executive in charge of changing the design of this pencil and then getting roasting by Adam Savage for 16 straight minutes for it lmfao

[marksmith]

My father was one of the engineers that worked at PaperMate and actually worked on developing the production line for that pencil (among other products). He would have been pleased to know how much you enjoyed that pencil. My childhood was filled with pens and pencils taken from the test runs of production and my father’s shirts having small ink stains in the breast pocket from test pens that had leaked.

One of my fondest memories of him was when he took me into work at the lab in South Boston and showed off two machines that were both making ballpoint pen nibs. One was using a single piece of wire, while the second used two wires to make the nibs. It was then that I knew how much he loved his work.

Your comment about why they didn’t make them in white for you is probably spot on.

[voidsabre_]

I work in an art supply store. The section that I'm in charge of are the aisles that hold pens, pencils, markers, and paintbrushes. This kind of enthusiasm and sentiment is one that I encounter on a regular basis, so your reaction to a change in such an iconic product that people use every day is a perfectly normal one to me.

If they made an unannounced change to the Pigma Micron 02 I've been using since I was 16 I would react the exact same way

[the.y.method]

The sentiment is shared across fields. After 25 years as a cook, we do the same thing about tools, knives, tongs, you name it.

I feel you on this. It changes everything when they do stuff like this. And yeah, the original yellow is lovely. But the eraser is a dealbreaker. I hate the cheapening of institutions in favour of profit.

[Scrivscribe]

I worked at a water heater manufacturer that went through a cost cutting phase. I was a process engineer at the time and was told that the purchasing team had identified a new supplier for sheet metal blanks (used as a protective shroud) that was significantly cheaper but thinner gauge and different metal composition. I was told to run trials on the new sheets and report back on suitability. The sheets worked fine for for the first 5-10 tries but quickly began to cause problems with the rollforming machine. Little did I know that the purchasing team had already placed orders for 1000s of this new product. Within 24 hrs a strange metal coating from the new sheets had galled up the rollers on the rollforming machine and they needed regular cleaning. The operator also began having to spray lubricant on the rollers and the maintenance team needed to constantly supervise the machine while running. Also, the fit-up of the folded metal sheets was not working well with the rest of the product during assembly. The purchasing team was congratulated at the time for making a cost saving, meanwhile the company had created a net loss in $ savings due to the additional cost of machine maintenance, lubricant, rework, time wasted in fitup. Unfortunately it was difficult to capture these costs on paper and so they got away with it. It can be very frustrating when corners are cut to save a few dollars and I'm sure examples like this happen across many manufacturers! Savings in one department can have repercussions in the larger picture! Listen to the engineers people!!!

[devilmay]

when you order a product for over 20 years and the company "updates" it and makes an inferior product, its a valid concern.

[Shambolicoholic]

Just another example of the enshittification of everything, as coined by Cory Doctorow.

While watching this video I went from being introduced to something I've never bought before to jumping onto Amazon planning to buy way too many to being horribly disappointed that something I never knew about before wasn't as good as it used to be. 😭😂

[Bedlightt]

This problem boils down to "It's every so slightly different, and I don't like it". And honestly? I feel that. I don't care how subtle the change is, if the thing that I have loved for years even slightly changes a little I'm instantly crabby about it and will absolutely pick it to pieces and find excuses to hate it.

[jenniferbryant]

Art teacher here: regular ol' Ticonderoga #2 pencils have become almost unusable!!! Hard to sharpen, wood splitting, breaking easier. They used to be the best!!

[dvjvbv]

"The old pencil has a point of view on being a pencil !"
Love that.
I can imagine the conversations the old pencil master would have with the young yellow apprentice. This is what we are! This is what it means to be a pencil!

[kilmameri]

i forgot this channel and adam excised. ive been feeling alone and like im too weird, bc the people around me are nothing like me. having rediscovered this channel i no longer feel so alone. im like him. i never relate to people but now i have. thank you

[TheWizardLordOfficial]

My Grandfather passed recently and we over the past 5 years have slowly been clearing out his house and shed to make his life less cluttered one thing we discovered over this time was that power tools were so much more durable. Now power tools are made from plastic and replaceable parts. But my grandad's tools were the kind of tools you'd expect to see used in high-end industrial factories. He had drills that were entirely metal and hefty. You drop it and the ground breaks instead of the tool I had nice smooth corners so the original paint was barely chipped on the edges where tools today would have a tone of wear on them after a month of use. The Quality was 100% unsustainable to produce for bulk but man they are amazing to use. It's one of those things that make you wish was still a thing today but you also understand why it can't be. I now use his old tools in my shop today I've looked up their manuals and how they were made and what parts etc so now I have a box of replacement parts etc specifically so that I can service and look after them so they can keep being used in my shop hopefully for my lifetime.

[tommazzocco]

As an animator, this reminds me of the time at a small studio when we were gearing up to make what turned out to be a moderately successful feature film. We had a very lengthy meeting in which we tested pencils, paper and erasers, scribbling and drawing and erasing in every possible combination to find the paper that would allow for the best line and take the most eraser abuse. Once we came to a consensus we ordered pallets of animation paper and crates of pencils and erasers. And then all we had to do was make a 90 minute film one frame at a time by hand.

[Duzz]

“In cheapening the product to increasining the profit” is the best phrase I’ve heard in awhile.

[Michman]

I've been making custom furniture for 26 years. Ask me about changes in tools and materials sometime.
We really have little control.