In the Toolbox

Here are a couple tools I've been using extensively and appreciating recently.

Not the nib, but the holder. It's a Tachikawa T-36 holder and man has it made a difference in the amount of time I can draw with a nib.  The standard sort of "economy" nibs are thin left my hands cramped and only able to ink for about 30 minutes at a time.  I decided to invest in one after completing this piece. 
$5.40 on jetpens.com

This is a carpenters pencil, but I think this one came in a dinky graphite starters pack I had in 3rd grade. But nonetheless, it is an excellent mark maker. Plus you have to use a knife to sharpen it, which I have absolutely no complaint about. :) Heres some drawings below showing some of the variation you can get with this mighty beast.

I actually started sharpening all my pencils this way.  I noticed I can actually get a much longer life out of the graphite before having to sharpen it again!