Which are your favorite lead pointers and pencil sharpeners?

[Anne-Sophie]

 

I can think of 4 categories lead pointer/pencil sharpeners with or without lead waste receptacle,  multi width lead pointers/pencil sharpeners, lead pointers and pencil sharpener combos.

 

Simple lead pointer: the one that is included inside the Staetler 925 2mm lead holder, push button.

 

Simple sharpener: the metal one I used at school, most probably vintage and made in France,  passed down from older family members.

 

Lead pointer with waste receptacle: I bought several of the round blue Staetler lead pointers at a close out sale, I have yet to use them.

 

Pencil sharpeners with waste receptacle: to this day,  I have to confess to have a weakness for novelty pencil sharpeners with dubious sharpening ability.  

 

Lead pointer and pencil sharpener combo: the K U M  Automatic Long Point sharpens 2 mm & 3.15 mm lead holder, it has 2 a steps wood pencil sharpener that shapes the wood then the lead.

 

 

I recommend the last model for people who use lead holders and color and/or watercolor pencils in their artwork.

 

It is big enough that it is easy to find among all the items needed to draw and watercolor, it also contains replacement blades. I am very happy with it. 

 

 

[Claes]

Hi @Anne-Sophie,

 

This combination is quite good:

a 2mm Caran d'Ache Fixpencil plus a

semi-old Fedra "rotary" sharpener.

It had two "settings": supersharp point

and a not-so-super-sharp point.

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

[Doug C]

1 minute ago, Anne-Sophie said:

 

I can think of 4 categories lead pointer/pencil sharpeners with or without lead waste receptacle,  multi width lead pointers/pencil sharpeners, lead pointers and pencil sharpener combos.

 

Simple lead pointer: the one that is included inside the Staetler 925 2mm lead holder, push button.

 

Simple sharpener: the metal one I used at school, most probably vintage and made in France,  passed down from older family members.

 

Lead pointer with waste receptacle: I bought several of the round blue Staetler lead pointers at a close out sale, I have yet to use them.

 

Pencil sharpeners with waste receptacle: to this day,  I have to confess to have a weakness for novelty pencil sharpeners with dubious sharpening ability.  

 

Lead pointer and pencil sharpener combo: the K U M  Automatic Long Point sharpens 2 mm & 3.15 mm lead holder, it has 2 a steps wood pencil sharpener that shapes the wood then the lead.

 

 

I recommend the last model for people who use lead holders and color and/or watercolor pencils in their artwork.

 

It is big enough that it is easy to find among all the items needed to draw and watercolor, it also contains replacement blades. I am very happy with it. 

 

 

I have the same weakness.  I have dozens of sharpeners ranging from a gold El Casco desk model to numerous cool little Japanese stationery pieces that have neat functions. 

I also have a Makers Cabinet sharpener that is basically a mini wood plane.  Not real functional but I use it anyway. 

[Lithium466]

13 minutes ago, Claes said:

Hi @Anne-Sophie,

 

This combination is quite good:

a 2mm Caran d'Ache Fixpencil plus a

semi-old Fedra "rotary" sharpener.

It had two "settings": supersharp point

and a not-so-super-sharp point.

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

Such a nice Fixpencil 77! I like that these are longer.

 

Personally I like the Gedess "rotary" sharpener, or the simple brass M&R that handles 2 and 3,15mm.

 

[Mark from Yorkshire]

Good quality rotary sharpener that fastens to the desk for wood pencils and my little mettle lead pointer in brass from cult pens

[Anne-Sophie]

1 hour ago, Claes said:

Hi @Anne-Sophie,

 

This combination is quite good:

a 2mm Caran d'Ache Fixpencil plus a

semi-old Fedra "rotary" sharpener.

It had two "settings": supersharp point

and a not-so-super-sharp point.

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

 

Claes is this Caran d'Ache Fixpencil modern or vintage?

 

One category of writing instrument I definitely don't feel guilty collecting are my 2mm leadholders, I still use the box of leads which I bought with the beloved Staedtler, I lost at the dentist.  

 

My husband said: " You can replace it".  

 

So, after the Holidays mad crowds, I need to check the big box art store near me, which has the same make and model as the Staedtler, I lost and a couple of other brands, I have been eying for a while.

 

 

  

[Claes]

But of course: it is hard to beat Jupiter No 1.

It took a l-o-n-g time before I found one for myself.

It delivers a superb point --- but the back of the pencil

will get ugly marks from the "hold-stationary-thingy" at the back.

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

[Anne-Sophie]

2 hours ago, Doug C said:

I have the same weakness.  I have dozens of sharpeners ranging from a gold El Casco desk model to numerous cool little Japanese stationery pieces that have neat functions. 

I also have a Makers Cabinet sharpener that is basically a mini wood plane.  Not real functional but I use it anyway. 

 

Would you mind sharing pictures of your finds, especially the Makers Cabinet sharpener?

[Claes]

@Anne-Sophie

>Claes is this Caran d'Ache Fixpencil modern or vintage?

 

Er... what's your definition of modern vs vintage?????

My memory says 1970-ish...

[Anne-Sophie]

26 minutes ago, Claes said:

But of course: it is hard to beat Jupiter No 1.

It took a l-o-n-g time before I found one for myself.

It delivers a superb point --- but the back of the pencil

will get ugly marks from the "hold-stationary-thingy" at the back.

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

 

Wow!

[Anne-Sophie]

25 minutes ago, Claes said:

@Anne-Sophie

>Claes is this Caran d'Ache Fixpencil modern or vintage?

 

Er... what's your definition of modern vs vintage?????

My memory says 1970-ish...

 

My definition of modern is I can find it in a store, now, and it is the same quality as the ones sold in the 1970's or, earlier.

[inkstainedruth]

My choice?  Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-502-BK-A6-Pointer/dp/B002EL9J50/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=lead+pointer&qid=1702146640&sr=8-2  or this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166314586646

 

Relatively inexpensive and they work.  Fairly easy to find in art supplies stores.  Small enough to toss into a pencil box, too.

I also have -- or maybe HAD, somewhere in the house -- a much more convoluted (and way larger) metal one that I picked up at a sidewalk sale a few towns upriver, while meeting people to go to see a movie in the theatre along the main drag....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[gone]

I use a knife and a bit of sandpaper. 

[Claes]

@Lithium466

Yes, Fixpencils exist in a multitude of versions:

from Fixpencil 1.18mm in silver, to Fixpencil I 1.18mm,

Fixpencil II (short) 2mm, Fixpencil 0.5mm (vintage as

well as modern), Fixpencil 2 (short 2mm), Fixpencil 77 (long 2mm),

Fixpencil 3 (short 3mm), Fixpencil 0012 (crayon holder), etc.

 

@Anne-Sophie

Re more modern supply: beware of Rotring 300/2.0:

inferior clutch, faulty built-in-sharpener (in the press button).

 

Staedtler 925 25-20 (Made in Japan) is very good quality.

I believe you can find it at Jetpens.

 

Have fun!

Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

[Doug C]

1 hour ago, Anne-Sophie said:

 

Would you mind sharing pictures of your finds, especially the Makers Cabinet sharpener?

I'll try but my PC died so ill have to see if I can with my phone. 

[Anne-Sophie]

3 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

My choice?  Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-502-BK-A6-Pointer/dp/B002EL9J50/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=lead+pointer&qid=1702146640&sr=8-2  or this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166314586646

 

Relatively inexpensive and they work.  Fairly easy to find in art supplies stores.  Small enough to toss into a pencil box, too.

I also have -- or maybe HAD, somewhere in the house -- a much more convoluted (and way larger) metal one that I picked up at a sidewalk sale a few towns upriver, while meeting people to go to see a movie in the theatre along the main drag....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

The Staedtler 502 BK A6 Pointer is the kind I bought, in a discounted bin, still in their plastic and cardboard packaging.

 

There was one that had no packaging and was wider, I bought it too.

 

I used the Staedtler cap sharpener until I lost the pen, then, the Art Alternative 2mm lead holder, I bought elsewhere, ran out of lead and there was absolutely nothing I could do to refill it, but it has a build in sharpener and it is lightweight, so that is what I used it for.

 

I now use the expensive 2 steps wood pencil and 2mm lead all in one sharpener because it works in saving as much as my watercolor pencil lead as possible and can sharpen my outlining/tracing  2mm lead holder, as well.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

[Anne-Sophie]

4 hours ago, Anne-Sophie said:

 

My definition of modern is I can find it in a store, now, and it is the same quality as the ones sold in the 1970's or, earlier.

 

I have to add the 80's, the cutoff point being the integration of computerized typewriters and computers, in the workplace and in people's homes.

 

It can be seen in the different generics, openings of "Murder She Wrote" episodes, she started with an old fashioned looking typewriter then progressed to a computer.

 

My Alma Mater has, now, a full fledged Performing Art Department. I would love to write about the evolution of desks appointments in a couple of TV series filmed from the 70's to the early 90's.

 

 

[Lithium466]

The Fixpencil 77 would be vintage by your definition, but the slightly shorter Fixpencil 2 and 3 have the same design since they came on the market many decades ago, and I'm happy to report with my last purchase last year, the same quality.

I encourage you to try Caran d'Ache or Japanese (Uni) leads instead of the Staedtler.

[Anne-Sophie]

On 12/10/2023 at 5:13 AM, Lithium466 said:

The Fixpencil 77 would be vintage by your definition, but the slightly shorter Fixpencil 2 and 3 have the same design since they came on the market many decades ago, and I'm happy to report with my last purchase last year, the same quality.

I encourage you to try Caran d'Ache or Japanese (Uni) leads instead of the Staedtler.

 

The Caran d'Ache modern lead holders, I have seen, use 3mm leads, am I mistaken? 

[Lithium466]

Fixpencil 22 and 884 use 2mm leads, and the 3, well 3mm leads.