Sharp pencils

[Mike-S]

Does anyone use a knife to sharpen wooden pencils ?

[Mechanical]

Nowadays, I only sharpen my carpenters pencils and color pencils with a knife. 

[tim77]

Some Caran d'Ache pencils appear to be factory sharpened with knife strokes (presumably automated).  Myself I've never quite got the knack of cutting the lead smoothly.

[Chris1]

Good reason to get out my little Swiss friend with the red coat, one that doesn't involve a cork or bottle top 😉

 

[Estycollector]

The two stage KUM is the best sharpener I have ever used, and they are not expensive. Even has a little shavings collector to keep your desk tidy.

[Mechanical]

5 minutes ago, Estycollector said:

The two stage KUM is the best sharpener I have ever used, and they are not expensive. Even has a little shavings collector to keep your desk tidy.

 

Ah, that’s true @Estycollector, it is  easy to make a mess.  Also you have to keep your knife sharp.  I keep a small sharpening steel in my pencil cup.  Now you’re in the situation where you are sharpening your pencil and also sharpening your knife…

 

Anyway, I sharpen onto a piece of scrap paper at my desk where the lighting is good.  Sharpening directly into the bin would be handy… but I don’t get enough light that way.  On the other hand you’re getting control over the shape of the lead as well as its length.

 

But sometimes, I end up making a mess anyway. 🙂

[Estycollector]

55 minutes ago, Mechanical said:

 

Ah, that’s true @Estycollector, it is  easy to make a mess.  Also you have to keep your knife sharp.  I keep a small sharpening steel in my pencil cup.  Now you’re in the situation where you are sharpening your pencil and also sharpening your knife…

 

Anyway, I sharpen onto a piece of scrap paper at my desk where the lighting is good.  Sharpening directly into the bin would be handy… but I don’t get enough light that way.  On the other hand you’re getting control over the shape of the lead as well as its length.

 

But sometimes, I end up making a mess anyway. 🙂

Nice process you have there!! I have used a knife and have honing materials like you. The KUM produces a long lead which might serve to make the pencil last a little longer. 

[Chris1]

Keeping the knife sharp is another rabbit hole (I always wondered what that implied) inolving hones, strops, compounds and inevitably, sooner or later, Band Aids.

 

 

[Mark from Yorkshire]

2 minutes ago, Chris1 said:

Keeping the knife sharp is another rabbit hole (I always wondered what that implied) inolving hones, strops, compounds and inevitably, sooner or later, Band Aids.

 

 

Ouch 😁

[Mark from Yorkshire]

22 hours ago, Chris1 said:

Good reason to get out my little Swiss friend with the red coat, one that doesn't involve a cork or bottle top 😉

 

😃🤣

[Mark from Yorkshire]

And to answer the question yes every once in a while.

[Estycollector]

20 minutes ago, Chris1 said:

Keeping the knife sharp is another rabbit hole (I always wondered what that implied) inolving hones, strops, compounds and inevitably, sooner or later, Band Aids.

 

 

So far, I have not needed Band Aids. 

[Mark from Yorkshire]

5 hours ago, Estycollector said:

So far, I have not needed Band Aids. 

You know you’ve kyboshed it now, the next time you try a cut thumb needin a bandage will occur. There is a rule in Site Investigation never ever on pain of death say a job is going well. The minute you open your mouth and say those words you jinx the whole operation. Better to stay silent for the good of the team.

[Black Spot]

I do depending on what is closest to me. Snap blade knives get used a good bit as does a Glazier knife I also have used a Machete. As long as its sharp it works. 

[Black Spot]

On 11/1/2024 at 3:58 PM, Chris1 said:

Keeping the knife sharp is another rabbit hole (I always wondered what that implied) inolving hones, strops, compounds and inevitably, sooner or later, Band Aids.

 

 

 

It depends on how far you want to go down that rabbit hole, I have found that for me a old Scythe sharpening stone works great. If I could only have one sharpening stone that would be it. Its a natural stone.  But do not expect to get that exact angel that some people strive for.

Lots of good tutorials on youtube.

 

[Chris1]

Sadly, but it's a youtube/internet truth, an awful lot of rubbish too, posted by folks who pass on the wrong information. Sifting one from t'other can be a challenge, no matter what the subject. 

 

But to go back on track, I have restricted my hones to too many (!) but for most sharpening (penknife to kitchen knife sizes) either the (larger) Crock Stick or the (smaller) Turn Box, both by Lansky, work a treat and their design helps keep the right edge angle and sharp. 

 

Though I do have one of those little aluminium pencil sharpeners with the little replaceable blade that we used to get at school, which works. I wonder whether anyone sells the tiny little blades on their own.

[Black Spot]

As a matter of fact they do I have boxes of them. But I bought them so long ago that the mall the art store was in no longer exists.

 

Half the time I use the snap blade knife to sharpen the Pencil.

 

With all this zero tolerance for butter knives in school how do you teach shop or art ?

I remember in shop class we had a variety of implements of destruction and as our very cool shop teacher liked to remind us Finger removal. 

You want to be called lefty ?  Hey dip (bleep) you play piano ? Are you Ray Charles ? NO then get your safety glasses on. If I catch you with out them again its your last day in class.

He was not joking two guy's failed shop because they never wore  safety equipment and got banned from the class. 

[Number99]

 

I was taught how to sharpen pencils into different shapes with a small knife in junior high school and was encouraged to do so by my teachers.

Until high school, I used a small pencil sharpener and a thin *Cutter knife (a Snap Blade knife, perhaps?). I don't have a pencil sharpener now, though.

 

How can you hurt your fingers when you're just sharpening pencils?

 

I hold the knife in my right hand, use my left thumb to position the blade, join my two hands with my fingers, and move the pencil I hold in my left hand to sharpen it. The knife barely moves at all.

I'm not saying this is the best method, but it's what works for me.

 

I remember a small pencil sharpener like the one shown in this thread, but it stopped working after less than a month of use when I was using a wooden pencil as my primary writing instrument. I tried several similar ones, but they only lasted about two weeks or a month.

Cutter knives are reliable enough that you can just fold off the old blade when they stop working as well as they should.

 

 Just a heads-up: When sharpening a pencil with a knife, it's important to be aware of your surroundings because the knife blade can point in a direction that could potentially injure others.

I think it's risky in this sense.

 

*In the country where I live, you can be arrested for carrying a common knife. 

https://www.olfa.co.jp/en/products/493.html

 

 

 

Edited November 6 by Number99
Change the line break position.

[Black Spot]

@Number99

A snap blade knife is the same as the cutter. Another excellent Japanese invention, Almost as good as the Rice cooker 

 

shop class is at least in our school was carpentry, and metal work. Lots of sharp saws grinders and other tools. 

[Number99]

20 hours ago, Black Spot said:

@Number99

A snap blade knife is the same as the cutter. Another excellent Japanese invention, Almost as good as the Rice cooker 

 

shop class is at least in our school was carpentry, and metal work. Lots of sharp saws grinders and other tools. 

The link I shared in my previous reply is from the website of the company that first invented the cutter knife. (the snap-off blade knife.)

I didn't know much about it, but there was also a page describing how it was invented: https://www.olfa.co.jp/en/birth_of_olfa_cutter.html

 

There were subjects equivalent to shop class in the junior high school, the classroom facilities were similar. There were many old tools that were not used in class or that I did not know how to use.

I learned how to sharpen pencils in drafting lessons.