I use the #9 mechinal pencil just because I like the feel of the pencil and the hardness of the lead. The Pentel QE519 has a rubber grip and I really like the way it fits to my hand. Now, when I can't find mine, I too, use just a plain old yellow #2 pencil until my favorite can be found. I found mine at Office Max and Staples. Walmart does not carry them (pentel) locally but they do have the #9 lead. I've used pencils to mark my mini blind lables since 2001. I haven't lost a label to fade out yet. (once I tried a sharpie and that was nearly a diaster, but did catch it in time to redo them all in pencil) I have lost some mini blind labels to breakage but if you are lucky enough to find the older hard mini blinds instead of the paper thin new ones, they will last for years and years.
