[niteowl77]

Case in point, pencils, simple writing pencils made in China. Crap.

Interesting you should bring that up, because I recently had a laughable experience with a pencil whose lead was seemingly pre-broken for its entire length. "Bonded"… ri-i-i-i-ight. Sure enough, it was made in China.

I know that the Chinese can produce beautifully-made items, but in every case that I personally have knowledge of, the price of the product is as high - or close to it - as it would be if made in the USA or elsewhere.

Mr. niteowl77

[Daffynition]

33 years of experience with pencils...under the harshest conditions. Parents and schools are tempted to buy the cheaper China pencils. Pencils with inferior graphite; wood spinsters when sharpened. Awful erasers.

Best buy for quality and durability, Dixon Ticonderoga; sadly no longer made here; a satisfactory substitute: General Pencil.