Fed up sharpening pencils

[JobandKnock]

The KUM Long point pencil sharpener is very good. But I suppose people will complain about spending £6 on that

I used a KUM long point sharpener for quite a few years in conjunction with Staedler Noris red and black pencils, which are remarkably good at withstanding drops onto concrete without the lead breaking (essential for site work). The sharpener lives in one of the 50 pockets I seem to have in my work pants. Haven't met anyone who used a chisel to sharpen pencils for years. Never liked mechanical pencils for site work simply because the leads break too easily (in the pencil in my pocket) and the few I've tried simply weren't robust enough, getting clogged or broken far too easily. For structural timber marking I use a lead holder (which I'm told is called a creel) or a similar marking crayon holder

 

[mikej460]

After a recommendation by a forum member I bought one of these and I'm delighted with it. It's very sharp and sharpens my staedtlers with a couple of twists and it doesn't rust.

Pencil sharpener, single hole (brass) bullet: Amazon.co.uk: Office Products

 

[thetyreman]

this was sharpened with a chisel

 

[topchippyles]

this was sharpened with a chisel

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That is the way to sharpen a pencil for goodness sake. All my youngsters down the years are trained on the sharpening stone

 

[Adam W.]

this was sharpened with a chisel

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Now you're just showing off.

 

[hughcollier]

I have a couple of very nice mechanical pencils but they are 0.5mm lead and so a little too thin to be of practical use when marking on wood (at least that's what I've found). The line they make is obviously great but I find lead that thin has a tendency to break fairly often.

So I've recently started using one of my Staedtler Mars Technico leadholders which I originally bought for drawing and sketching in the workshop and it's working out brilliantly so far.

The lead is 2mm thick so nice and robust but you can use either a dedicated sharpener (which works beautifully one you've got the knack, and allows for two profiles of point to be created) or the intergrated removable sharpener (the silver bit at the top where you might expect an eraser to be) to get a really good sharp point very very quickly. I'm using an HB lead at the moment but this is changeable and I may switch to a slightly harder lead when this one runs out. There is also a nice little indicator that allows you to keep track of what lead is currently installed.

Because the 2mm lead is nice and chunky like a traditional pencil but also retractable like a mechanical pencil it really is like the best of both worlds to me.

Finally, with the lead fully retracted at least, it seems to protect the lead pretty well if you drop the pencil. So when you come to sharpen your don't just get small bits of broken lead falling out of the thing.

I picked up a parkside magnetic tool holder strip from Lidl recently and mounted on the edge of one of my benches and am trying to get into the habit of storing the pencil on that whenever it's not in use. That's working out fairly well so far.

 

[Droogs]

here's how to do it like a pro



or like a nutter

 

[hughcollier]

here's how to do it like a pro



or like a nutter

Thoroughly enjoyed both of those videos for different reasons! The second one is bonkers and now I really want to buy his book!

 

[TRITON]

Now you're just showing off.

Naw. To show off you need to be able to sharpen it while holding the pencil and chisel in one hand. You need the other hand to hold the ruler/square in place.

 

[Just4Fun]

I have a couple of very nice mechanical pencils but they are 0.5mm lead .......... I find lead that thin has a tendency to break fairly often.

I have found the same. Not just when marking on wood, but for general note-taking also.

So I've recently started using one of my Staedtler Mars Technico leadholders which I originally bought for drawing and sketching in the workshop and it's working out brilliantly so far.

The lead is 2mm thick

I have tried those. For some purposes they are good and I used them for note-taking for years, but the down side is that they do need sharpening which the 0.5mm leads do not.

For the last couple of years I have been using mechanical pencils with 0.9mm leads. These don't have to be sharpened and they don't break all the time. A good compromise.

Having said that I still tend to use old wooden pencils for woodwork most of the time.

 

[Pineapple]

+1
I recently bought a Pentel GraphGear 1000 retractable mechanical pencil having seen it recommended on a Stumpy Nubs video. I love it!

I Love mine too;- even though it did cost £12.99 & 40 Replacement 2H - 0.5mm Leads cost £4.14 ( Including VAT & Shippng.) - They Never Get Lost when you ALWAYS put the PAINFULLY-EXPENSIVE pencil Back In Your Pocket after use !

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

If you really want to push the boat out you could try one of these

https://www.makerscabinet.com/produ...MIr_mf0uj_8AIVlKjVCh2xCg4lEAQYASABEgJ4-_D_BwE

 

[DougT]

BicMatic mechanical pencils.

 

[novocaine]

Thoroughly enjoyed both of those videos for different reasons! The second one is bonkers and now I really want to buy his book!

Do it.
Mine lives on my desk in work.
It has a whole section on propelling pencils.

 

[Billy_wizz]

I genuinely don't understand the people that will use a chisel, disc sander (whhhhyyy??), knife etc instead of just using a pencil sharpener....

If you have problems losing a pencil sharper .. stick it to something that is hard to lose!

It hurts when I see people using pencils like this (unless of course for roughly marking on rough material)

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The KUM Long point pencil sharpener is very good. But I suppose people will complain about spending £6 on that

I prefer a flat point so a sharper is useless for me

 

[Lard]

Well well well, whoever knew......watched that now I’m giving up. Time to burn down the workshop

 

[Alpha-Dave]

here's how to do it like a pro

Brilliant! I have always found carpenter’s pencils a ‘crude tool’ for rough marking on rough surfaces, or shading before sanding; I had not realised that it could be made into a ‘chisel tip’ that would give a fine line for precise work, or offset for custom marking.

 

[stuart little]

Pencils are always a problem, never find one when needed and then when you find one the lead is broken, it then has to be sharpened and you end up with a stubb because the lead keeps falling out as you sharpen it. What about tape measures, they are the same and even when you have many they all hide when you look for any one of them.

I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!!!! Tools keep hiding under or behind other tools! Some simply disappear for days - probably the 'little people' under the floor?!

 

[Keith Cocker]

the chisel is fast for sharpening them, recently I'm using H or 2H and the carbon is much more durable, they seem to last longer.

My old woodwork master at school was an artist at sharpening a pencil with a chisel. He was a gnarled, cussed chap with quite a few fingertips missing. “Please Sir, my wood has split” “No it hasn’t boy! You split it” wallop on back of head. Happy Days. RIP Joe Foulds.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

I bought 96 pencils in a go, so I can afford to lose some

My mate Jerry had a great afro hairdo and he just used to plant his pencil in there.

You can lose all 96 in a good afro!
I used to plant pencils behind my ear but then couldn't after wearing specs. Now I loose them just like the rest of you.
I've never seen the point of the rectangular carpenter's pencils. What's the advantage over an ordinary one?