Pencil sharpeners

[David Keller NC]

I am looking for a quality pencil sharpener. I once used an old cast hand cranked model that would put a point on like I have never seen before or since. Unfortunately I can't remember the brand. Does anyone have one in their shop that works exceptionally well?

Harlan - This is probably not the answer you're looking for, though I would also recommend the antique Boston sharpeners. In my opinion, the best ones ever designed.

But...The problem with any mechanically sharpened pencil in the shop is that it gives you a conical point, which is not ideal for laying against a square and marking a line. The metal blade on the square will bear on a tiny area on the side of the conical point, and the force tends to snap it (the point), especially if you're using the ideal hardness for marking wood, which is in the B and softer range. Harder pencils like the 3Hs will stand up better, but yield a much fainter line on wood.

So there's an easy solution - sharpen your pencil on sandpaper attached to a wooden block. Leftover 220 grit will make short work of sharpening a cedar pencil, but the real reason to use the sandpaper is that it is very easy to form a chisel point on the lead. When oriented correctly on the side of a square's metal blade (with the flat of the chisel point riding on the square's blade edge), a pencil lead formed into this shape won't have the breakage problem that a conical point will, and the chisel edge will yield a very tight, very dark line on the wood that's near garanteed to be perfectly aligned to the square's edge. Doing this allows using leads as soft as 3B, which are a heck of a lot easier to see on wood than a line marked with a sturdier pencil.

One could achieve a chisel point shape with a knife or a chisel, but this isn't nearly as easy as it sounds - in softer pencils, the pressure from the knife often breaks the point off that you're working on. Sandpaper doesn't have that problem.

[Johnny Kleso]

I say get a mechanical pencil

http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/

I like the 6th picture down as far as the style and they have special sharpeners like the bottom pic on in Derek's link

[Andrae Covington]

Depends on what type of pencil you use.

I use a knife for most layout tasks, but sometimes I prefer a pencil. When I do, I use a mechanical drafting pencil and associated "pointer" aka sharpener. The lead pointer was made by Staedtler but I'm sure there are other alternatives, both vintage and new.

I use an F lead which is inbetween HB and H. Mainly I use it because that's what was left when I unboxed my long-forgotten drafting supplies. It is hard enough to make a groove in softer woods, so if a visible mistake is made, that would have to be planed / sanded out.

For other non-precision marking, like making triangular "witness marks" across boards, designating the waste area for dovetails, guideline for rough cross-cutting etc. I use a child's HB (aka #2) pencil. I find the larger diameter a little easier to grip. I use a handheld razor-blade style sharpener. Because I can see what is happening, I can sharpen the pencil "just enough", because I don't really want a super sharp point. (Particularly stubby example pencil in the photo below, about time for a new one.)



At one point I purchased a tabletop crank-operated pencil sharpener, it happened to be made by X-acto. However, to my dismay, the fat pencils won't fit. Measure twice, buy once; measure twice, buy once...

[John Neel]

Here is another shot of the Staedtler sharpener with a Staedtler pencil, I should call it a lead holder since that is what the manufacturer calls it. I purchased both at an art supply store within the last year.

The Staedtler sharpener can produce two different sharpnesses, but I can tell very little difference in them.

I have also attached a photo of 4 lines. The first is drawn with a .9 mm mechanical pencil, the second with a .7 mm mechanical pencil, the third with the Staedtler using the less sharp point, and the fourth with the Staedtler using the more sharp point. The arrow pointing at the fourth line shows where the lead broke as Andrae Covington said it would. You can see that the line is wider after the break point.

I usually use the less sharp point and it doesn't break often. I tried to measure the end of the Staedtler lead when sharp and it appears to be about .2mm or 1/128"; .9mm is just over 1/32".

[Johnny Kleso]

Let me add you might like a Staedtler 2 mm lead pictured above which is much harder to find than a .09 or .07

I checked and Amazon has two seller of these Lead Holders next best place I found was in Hong Kong

[Mark Dorman]

But...The problem with any mechanically sharpened pencil in the shop is that it gives you a conical point, which is not ideal for laying against a square and marking a line. The metal blade on the square will bear on a tiny area on the side of the conical point, and the force tends to snap it (the point), especially if you're using the ideal hardness for marking wood, which is in the B and softer range. Harder pencils like the 3Hs will stand up better, but yield a much fainter line on wood.

So there's an easy solution - sharpen your pencil on sandpaper attached to a wooden block. Leftover 220 grit will make short work of sharpening a cedar pencil, but the real reason to use the sandpaper is that it is very easy to form a chisel point on the lead.

One could achieve a chisel point shape with a knife or a chisel, but this isn't nearly as easy as it sounds - in softer pencils, the pressure from the knife often breaks the point off that you're working on. Sandpaper doesn't have that problem.

Not sure how this makes the chisel point but I thought it was intersting.

[john brenton]

HAHA! good one!

Surely there's someone here who's made their own sharpener out of A2, brass and Bubinga with carved wheat. Anybody?

[David Keller NC]

Not sure how this makes the chisel point but I thought it was intersting.

Yep - That's precisely the idea I was trying to get across, though I would make one modification - I usually make about a 15-25 degree slant along the long axis of the chisel point that ensures that the entire width is contacting the piece to be marked while being held at a comfortable angle. A straight-across chisel point means that one either needs to hold the pencil at 90 degress to the work, or that the near edge of the point will wear in a few seconds and will widen considerably as the line is marked.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Reviving an old thread here, I know...but recently went down the rabbit hole of vintage sharpeners. They are pretty cool, and some of them have the best industrial designing from the early to mid 20th Century. That being said, I gave up on the über nostalgic concept (though it would look suh-weet hanging on the wall), and went ahead and ordered refills for my vintage Koh-I-Nor lead holder (2mm). I went ahead and ordered an additional holder to take the white leads for darker woods. Since I've been gearing up for a mahogany table build, this will be perfect. BTW. You go and try to find white lead refills. Not many out there.

[David Ragan]

Reviving an old thread here, I know...but recently went down the rabbit hole of vintage sharpeners. They are pretty cool, and some of them have the best industrial designing from the early to mid 20th Century. That being said, I gave up on the über nostalgic concept (though it would look suh-weet hanging on the wall), and went ahead and ordered refills for my vintage Koh-I-Nor lead holder (2mm). I went ahead and ordered an additional holder to take the white leads for darker woods. Since I've been gearing up for a mahogany table build, this will be perfect. BTW. You go and try to find white lead refills. Not many out there.

This is from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Metaphys-Locus...white+lead+2mm

Would it work for dark woods?

[Maurice Ungaro]

David, that's exactly the product I ordered! I ordered from Jetpens.com, free shipping, since I ordered a few more things. Will let you know how it works out. I know Derek Cohen uses white lead too, just haven't asked him what brand and where he gets it.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Maurice

I have white and yellow leads, from Cult Pens in the UK. It's not cheap (compared with standard graphite). Cult Pens also sell the Geddess Lead Pointer, which is THE BEST sharpener for clutch pencils.

Be aware that the white "lead" is very soft and breaks easily.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Rob Luter]

I use lead holders aka chuck pencils aka drafting pencils. I use a K&E lead pointer like the one shown below for sharpening. I have the original I used as a draftsman back in the day, as well as a spare I found in an antique shop for a couple bucks. They're both cast metal and heavy duty. If I need a chisel point I use a small file or sandpaper.


il_570xN.772669907_aerg.jpg

[Maurice Ungaro]

Hi Maurice

I have white and yellow leads, from Cult Pens in the UK. It's not cheap (compared with standard graphite). Cult Pens also sell the Geddess Lead Pointer, which is THE BEST sharpener for clutch pencils.

Be aware that the white "lead" is very soft and breaks easily.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek, thanks for the Cult Pens tip. As for the white lead, I know it's not graphite - many people are befuddled by that! Do you sharpen the white lead in the same pointer?

[Maurice Ungaro]

I use lead holders aka chuck pencils aka drafting pencils. I use a K&E lead pointer like the one shown below for sharpening. I have the original I used as a draftsman back in the day, as well as a spare I found in an antique shop for a couple bucks. They're both cast metal and heavy duty. If I need a chisel point I use a small file or sandpaper.


il_570xN.772669907_aerg.jpg

Rob, I also have an old square base K&E pointer, buried deep someplace. It came from my fathers design studio. It's been too many moves to figure out exactly which box it's in....