For those that don't want to read too much on this blog to find answers, the simple answer is nothing beats a quality mechanical drafting pencil if you're using it for writing and not for art. The Rotring 600, the Pentel Graphgear, and the Pentel Sharp (P205) are all fantastic choices. For art pencils it's hard to beat Staedtler.

It's an interesting blog, but after spending way too much of my energy on pencils and pens over the years, I've realized there's some great Goldilocks choices out there, so hopefully I save someone reading this the rabbit hole.