A black wax mechanical pencil is the ideal pencil for the Hairpin, Miniature and 10" Aluminum Stakes. It NEVER fades. Countless times I have written on plastic or wood labels with black ink markers only to have them fade to nothing. This won't happen with the wax pencil. Sun won't fade it and rain won't wash it away. You can, however, erase your writing with one of the solvents like Goof Off. Then reuse the labels. Each mechanical pencil comes with 5 refills.