flat pencils

[lowell holmes]

I am curious. I occasionally acquire a flat wood working pencil. I treasure them, but never buy them.

Do you, like me, just wait for free ones?

If so, why are we so cheap. I bet Amazon has a selection to choose from.
I have kind of settled on "Blackwing 602" pencils.

[Frederick Skelly]

I've seen them but never used one Lowell. With that big fat lead, I always figured they were for carpentry rather than cabinet making. What do you use them for?
Fred

[glenn bradley]

I had a habit of grabbing a few whenever I saw them cheap. I have a grip of Lowe's, Home Depot, a random bunch of freebies from the woodworking shows and retailers. I use mostly for witness marks when jointing and planing and so have a sharpener near the jointer/planer area. I keep one near the table saw and one at the bench as well.

[Jim Koepke]

I have a few of the free ones but have also paid for them when they are on sale. Bought a bunch when HD had them 4 or 5 for $1.

They make a nice wide line when wanted, but can also be chisel pointed to make a thin line to follow in the track of a wheel or pin gauge.

For my regular size pencils a load of the only #1 pencils found on the web were purchased. They are supplemented with a slip on eraser.

jtk

[Glen Johnson]

Chris Swarz has an interesting idea for flat pencils. He planes the wood off one side down to the graphite. This then allows that side of the pencil to register perfectly flat with an edge.

[steven c newman]

Used then all the time as a concrete carpenter....even had a holder for it on my hardhat....rarely had to buy any. That "sharpener"? junk. Utility knife worked better.

[James Pallas]

Used then all the time as a concrete carpenter....even had a holder for it on my hardhat....rarely had to buy any. That "sharpener"? junk. Utility knife worked better.

Exactly correct Steven. Utility knife to a razor edge and they glide nicely down a squares edge. They will stay in a marking gauge line just dandy.
Jim

[lowell holmes]

I keep mine out on the bench or in my apron. I sharpen it with a utility knife, making the lead sharp on sand paper.

I will occasionally buy one, but I love the free ones.

[Mel Fulks]

Chris Swarz has an interesting idea for flat pencils. He planes the wood off one side down to the graphite. This then allows that side of the pencil to register perfectly flat with an edge.

They are good for marking elliptical and circular casings to spring line

[Andrew Hughes]

I use flat pencils I like to sharpen them differently and they don't roll around when I have a lot of fans going.

[Bill McNiel]

All the time for carpentry tasks and rough layout of material for milling. Utility knife for sharpening.

[David Eisenhauer]

Pocket knife.

[Dave Zellers]

Definitely not for cabinetry but also extremely usefull for rough cutting and marking. I have a lifetime supply. Years ago I placed a large order for a deck with my lumber yard and it got lost in the shuffle. When I placed my "WTF" call to them, it arrived the next day with a box (50?) of flat pencils. Would love to live long enough to work my way through them.

Flat pencils for rough cutting, #2 pencils for general work, .5mm mechanical pencils for finer work, knives for really fine work.

[John K Jordan]

I am curious. I occasionally acquire a flat wood working pencil. I treasure them, but never buy them.
Do you, like me, just wait for free ones?

I buy them. I look for the brightly colored pencils so I can spot them easier if I lay one down. I keep them stuck to magnets where I use them the most - wrap a bit of soft iron wire around the top.

They don't cost much at all compared to the bandsaw, lathes, the power for the HVAC, or compared to the cost to build the shop or peacock house. A few dollars gets me enough for a few years of use.

JKJ

[michael langman]

I used one for marking low spots in my stock when planning my workbench top. Sharpen it with my little buck knife.