answer:I rarely use pencils, but I do have some in my desk. My sharpener is an old one, like the ones used for eyeliner, a little box looking thing with a place to insert the pencil; no crank, never had an electric one. I use pencils when I want to be able to erase. My grandma used to use pencils for everything. All the notes she jotted down. Things she would never have to worry about erasing, but still opted for pencil. I wonder why she chose pencil? She did teach and later was a counselor in the public school system. I think of school as using pencil. Also, my grandfather was an artist, and pen just was not a normal thing to see in their apartment. Paint, pencil, pastels, charcoal, not pen. I never had really thought about it until this question.