Ticonderoga Antimicrobial Pencils with Microban
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Ticonderoga Antibacterial Pencils with Microban
With all the talk of Swine Flu, H1N1, and the boogie man, I couldnt pass up the opportunity to take a look at these Antimacrobial pencils from Ticonderoga that I saw at OfficeDepot. Normally I dont even like to use pencils as I’ve said before, but I feel like that shouldnt limit the office supplies that I review.
Not to make this review a rant on over doing things, but the idea of antimicrobial pencils does seem a little bit overboard to me, but who am I to judge. When I saw these pencils I just needed something to use with the gripsharp pencil sharpener, so I figured I would grab them since they looked interesting. Usually when Im in search of cool office supplies to review, Im online and I have a chance to do a little research before I commit to buying them, but with an impulsive purchase such as this, I obviously didnt have that opportunity until I got them home.
After doing the gripsharp review, I started looking around for some more information on these, and it was kind of non-existent. A little further digging and researching the Microban name did however lead to some interesting information though. According to the site supereco, the FDA has classified Triclosan (the active ingredient in Microban) as a pesticide, although obviously manufacturers of products that use it claim its safe.
Now Im far from being a scientist, so I wont sit here and tell you that something is or isnt good for you, or that it will or wont kill germs, but I will tell you one thing….washing your hands is a fantastic idea. 
Something about the push to rub chemicals all over every household item we have just doesnt seem right, especially when common sense and good basic hygene can be just as effective, if not more effective.
My non-scientific opinion here is that if you want to make sure your kids, or you yourself dont pick up some germs at work or at school, wash your hands with warm water and regular soap, get a good nights sleep, and eat a healthy diet. Dont let manufacturers of office supplies or other products convince you that the way to go is lathering up everything with chemicals and relying on a quick and easy short cut to protect you from the Swine Flu or some other virus or epidemic. Another lesson learned here (and thankfully a cheap one at only around $3.00) do some research BEFORE you buy something. Anyway, apologies for this pseudo-review, but I just thought it was an interesting item to stumble over so I thought Id share my thoughts.
Oh, and one last thought, labeling your product “The Worlds Best Pencil” dosent make it true, because if things were that easy, there would be a new banner at the top of this site that said “Worlds Best Office Supplies Blog” and Id recommend that if you want a REALLY awesome pencil, (mechanical pencil actually) try the Uniball Kuru Toga, but just make sure to wash your hands every now and then between uses.
NOTE: Some of you may have seen the version of the image with the text directly on it, that was only reserved for one particular blog that insists on continuing to steal all of my content scraped completely from my RSS feeds, and thworn up as their own. Anyone who wishe sto snip parts of my reviews/photos is more than welcome to as long as you are not pretending it is your own.
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A review of antimicrobial office supplies? http://officesupplygeek.com/pencil-revie...
Well put. As a scientist and former food safety consultant, I concur on the questionable value and non existent benefit of “antimicrobial”coated office supplies. Handwashing is the single most effective measure to prevent spread of disease plus no antimicrobial would have any effect on a viral agent like a flu bug anyway.
@OfficeSupplyGee I saw somethng fun in my local store this week” Rhodia 2010 planner bks 2 sizes. Think I might try the letter size this yr
I’ve used Ticonderoga pencils b4 and I very much liked the product. “World’s best pencil”, not so sure. I’m with OSG i prefer mechanical although i don’t have a fav.
In reading your review i think i would b more afraid of the chemicals on the pencil than I would germs. I also agree that the best thing is just to wash your hands, but have been in situations where a bathroom wasn’t readily available and I was thankful for the small anitbacterial i carry in my bag.
Interesting review though, I probably would have bought them too just cause they sound cool.
But OSG, this IS the “World’s Best Office Supply Blog”…don’t be so modest.
I would be scared of that coating since I’m a big chewer of my pencils!!!
@Alberto – Thanks for your input, its nice to get a qualified scientific opinion!
@Martie – Yup, the only pencil I can use now is the Uniball Kuru Toga. And I totally agree about the worry of the chemicals over the germs. I think your situation of having the hand sanitizer is perfectly acceptable though, I think these thing are good in a non-standard type of situation, but every day use just seems like you are asking for trouble.
@Tom – So very nice of you to say, I might agree with you, but being number one in a field of one still isnt that impressive.
@Eric – I didnt even think of the whole chewing thing, but you are totally right. One more reason to probably avoid these.
More of the endless crap dribbling out of marketing departments of companies to sell things we don’t need with benefits we don’t want… in this case a super deal for germophobes.
Also it lets them slap it in something colored green which is gold these days when dealing with the average intelligence.
@vanderleun – I love it, no beating around the bush from you.
And you are so right, green is the new gold.
I avoid antibacterial products on the War of the Worlds platform. When the aliens come, we’ll need the germs to kill them. That and a healthy immune system includes practice.
[...] was reading yesterday’s number of Ink Quest, and followed an alarming lnk from there to this review of some triclosan-coated pencils. The review is sensible, but the product itself comes very close to unhinging my sanity. [...]
@Tina Kubala – Love the comment, I couldnt agree more.
This would be good for someone like an elementary school teacher who is letting their kids borrow pencils, to keep germs from spreading.