Pencil Sharpener

[jacric2005]

I broke down and bought this at Office Depot. Got tired of trying to sharpen with a knife and didn't want to wait to find one in a garage sale. It results in very sharp points.

 

[The Cobbler]

I have a few of the old metal housing ones. awsome points ( if you can get a good pencil nawadays)

 

[2oolhound]

Here's an older thread and there's another thread I couldn't find:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=166042

 

[danielbuck]

I've got a cheap old metal hand crank one, I like it

 

[chaosracing]

I have 2 of the old metal Boston sharpeners. You can find them easily on Ebay cheap and you can also still get the sharpening rollers for them.

The newer ones **** as they are made in China. My daughters school has the newer ones and she does not like them.

 

[redidbull]

When my company moved away I grabbed a nice electric one. You need to be careful. If you push too hard it will eat a pencil like a wood chipper. Jim

 

[B_Bimmer]

The old Boston are the way to go.

 

[MushCreek]

I finally found good pencils. I googled pencils, and there are places that sell all manner of quality pencils. My favs are Mitsubishi's. I don't know of it's the same 'Mitsubishi', but the pencils are awesome. The same company also sells little hand sharpeners that work great.

https://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Mitsubishi-9850-Pencil-with-Eraser-HB/pd/11142

 

[redidbull]

The staple of pencils! Jim

https://www.amazon.com/Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Graphite-Pencils-13872/dp/B00125Q75Y

 

[Here2Learn]

The staple of pencils! Jim

https://www.amazon.com/Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Graphite-Pencils-13872/dp/B00125Q75Y

Damn fine pencil right there!

 

[Copymutt]

Seem to always have some type of sander/grinder handy to repoint.

 

[exmaxima1]

The staple of pencils! Jim

https://www.amazon.com/Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Graphite-Pencils-13872/dp/B00125Q75Y

Best sharpener I've ever used comes free with great pencils:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FPICU8/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[MushCreek]

I threw away a bunch of Ticonderogas after getting my Mits- just sayin'. Used to be a great pencil, but I could never get/keep a good point on the last batch I bought.

 

[cgrutt]

Lee Valley has some decent pencils I use the 2B.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32538&cat=1,43509&ap=1

Also use Ticondaroga.

Sharpener is an Xacto KS which has held up great for past 15-20 years...

 

[cmandp]

Last Ticonderogas I was used did not have well centered leads which annoys me, especially when sharpening with a sharpener. I have a bunch that I use for woodwork that sharpen with a knife to get the shape point I want.

I switched to Pentel 0.5mm mechanical pencils for drawing and doing math/ calculations. The P205 is good but my favorite is this one. I've used it so much I've worn the chrome plating off the brass barrel.

 

[Username already in use]

I snagged a vintage 'Mr. Sharpy' battery operated sharpener from the goodwill several years ago. Works very well. The pencil goes in the top.

 

[JAYoung]

The old Boston are the way to go.

Agreed. Though they're rarely laying out at garage sales, at estate sales you can usually find them still screwed into a wall somewhere if you ask.

 

[bonneyman]

Here's an old school Dixon I found in the shop when I bought the house. I'd guess it's 1970's. Cleaned it up, and re-painted it red, white, and blue.
Moved it into the house - and it's getting a bit dull - but still works.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Only this forum would this be a conversation

 

[pepi]

Only this forum would this be a conversation

^^^


Did you catch :Best sharpener I've ever used ,,and WHY ? ......... wait for it ....comes free with great pencils:

Damn I'm so excited I want to run right out and snap an upside picture with my cell phone. of my pencil sharpener.

 

[jacric2005]

It is a tool after all. Ha ha


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[jhnlngn]

I like the German made brass bullet sharpeners. Buy a few because they are easily misplaced.

https://www.dickblick.com/products/alvin-brass-bullet-pencil-sharpener/

 

[jhnlngn]

Or these:

https://www.dickblick.com/products/mobius-and-ruppert-brass-pencil-sharpeners/

 

[WaterBoyz]

While we are on the subject of wooden sharpeners.........

Some years ago I saw a video of a sharpener that used the spiral cut drums like on the hand crank sharpeners to sharpen stakes. Couldn't find it.

But did find these two.

 

[Lynden]

For a few years I used wooden pencils for drafting. Sharpening a drafting pencil was a two-step process -- the sharpener would leave a length of lead and a lead pointer would put a sharp point on the pencil.

https://images.yswcdn.com/-87216093...point-draftsman-pencil-sharpener-2-hole-2.gif

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct...aw0kO72WCN5EqgEGlgBPGScm&ust=1550376456688620

 

[cheechi]

Mitsubishi 9800 (no eraser) 9850 (eraser) are the gold standard (to me) today.

Tombow 8900 are nice but for near the price of the Mitsubishi (my opinion) buy the Mitsubishi. Haven't tried Golden Bears. That's pretty much the top tier 2B general writing pencils available now.

The USA Gold pencils you can get from Walmart are really not bad. They are not as nice as the Mitsubishi but you can get them in greater quantity for less money and the price difference is enough to make them a better value for general writing or workshop/jobsite use.

Back in the day, the USA Ticonderogas were very nice. Now, not as much.
Certainly not bad pencils, but not like they used to be. Orioles and Mirado Black Warriors were up there too. Today's black warriors again nice, not like they used to be. None of them were 'special' they were just made well and didn't break leads often. I had and have plenty of Staedtlers, one Blackwing (overrated IMO), older Generals (not as nice as current Mitsubishi) and several other misc ones around. The ones that you get in the plastic tube either branded CH Hanson (linked above with the drill attachment sharpener, hella fun) or the HD orange ones (same pencils, painted instead of natural/clear coat, with different sharpener) are pretty decent too.

I have an Xacto electric sharpener, nothing special, but it does a great job. I have several nonstandard size pencils lying around and I would like to get the nicer Xacto with the size ring. The brass bullet is indeed the best hand sharpener but I have probably 10 different kinds around my shop both for different sizes and because they often go missing. Friend of mine hates the fact I have a sharpener for lumber crayons and carpenter (rectangular) pencils too.

All this said, I prefer a good mechanical pencil anyway. Staedtler and Pentel fit best in my hand. Hobby Lobby sells a copy of common Pentel model that feels just as good and cheap enough to use in rough and dirty places.

If you can get used to the 2mm lead holder style, that's probably 'the best' for my hands but it's hard for me to get used to them. The Fastcap 'fat boy' is pretty nice.

quite a lot of good stuff at tokyopenshop.com also.

 

[engineer2]

I bought this X-Acto Heavy-Duty 41 based on a GJ rec. It's a beast.

 

[Ilikeike]

I went through this awhile back, Can't find a decent US Made sharpener for garage, so I went to eBay to get an old Boston. works great.

Then since Ticonderogas went global, I wanted a Made ith the US pencil,

I found the ceder Generals on Amazon pretty cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00314DBPI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Since 1889

 

[rlitman]

I bought this X-Acto Heavy-Duty 41 based on a GJ rec. It's a beast.

My sister in-law is an art teacher, and goes through an extraordinary number of pencils (so many, that we actually got her a fast food restaurant straw dispenser to hold them). That's the one she uses, after having burned through the best of the rest.

One day, she brought it to me in a panic, when it stopped working. It seems that a splinter and some lead got jammed in it in just the right way to stall the motor. I took it apart, fished it out, got it turning, and it's back in service.

The shaded pole motor and dual helical cutters should outlast any owner, but the actual torque is kind of limited. I guess that's a good thing though, because it doesn't have the power to self-destruct.

Personally, I prefer either a hand crank sharpener for plain round pencils, or a knife for carpenter's pencils. And when I want a perfect point, I'll use my K+E pointer on a clutch pencil.

 

[engineer2]

Thanks rlitman for the rec.
I've had a Boston hand-crank sharpener for 55 years, but a drop on the floor broke one of the ears off the pencil grabber mechanism. No way to fix it. One time I took the handle off of it and connected it to my cordless drill. You can reduce a new pencil to shavings in just seconds.

 

[rlitman]

...One time I took the handle off of it and connected it to my cordless drill. You can reduce a new pencil to shavings in just seconds.

That's actually why I don't have that X-acto model at home. I know my kids too well. They'd just make sharpening things into stubs a game, so they have a sharpener with auto-stop.

What I'm really looking for is a hand crank sharpener that just takes the wood off the core, allowing me to finish the point separately. But these are quite hard to find.

 

[SARG]

I also got fed up with crappy pencils not keeping a point. Did you guys know you can get mechanical pencils in 1.1 mm, 1.3 mm & even 2.0 mm ?
I bought a couple dozen and don't worry about sharpening any more.

 

[eschoendorff]

The staple of pencils! Jim

https://www.amazon.com/Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Graphite-Pencils-13872/dp/B00125Q75Y

My all time favorite was the Ticonderoga self advancing pencil.

 

[Bacon!]

Around a dozen years ago I was cleaning out my car and found an ancient Panasonic electric pencil sharpener in a dumpster. Built like a tank, there was nothing wrong with it, just needed cleaning so the graphite dust inside didn't build up to a level that can cause electrical arcs.

 

[rlitman]

Around a dozen years ago I was cleaning out my car and found an ancient Panasonic electric pencil sharpener in a dumpster. Nothing wrong with it, just needed cleaning so the graphite dust inside didn't build up to a level that can cause electrical arcs.

FYI, the Panasonic electric pencil sharpeners of years past were some of the best electric sharpeners ever made. They have quite a following online.

 

[2oolhound]

FYI, the Panasonic electric pencil sharpeners of years past were some of the best electric sharpeners ever made. They have quite a following online.

I have one of those Panasonics. They were $200 when they 1st came out and were popular for retouchers (who retouched photos before the digital age). I was a photographer in my past life so naturally I used this camera pencil sharpener to make a point:

You can see how the top face pulls out, it's spring loaded so picture this. You'd insert the pencil with it pulled out and then it would clamp the pencil and feed it in as you cranked. It does a nice job.

I'll try to post photos of my panasonic electric sharpener as well as some old conventional ones I use.

 

[Vinny]

Have a Bostitch nail gun that has a pencil sharpener as part of the rafter hook. It's the only one I use. Such a nifty thing to include.

 

[Ohmthis]

I was just looking for a decent sharpener. My kids are forever are breaking leads and having me sharpen them with a little manual sharpener.

 

[finn]

I have one of the old Boston sharpeners like we had in school back in the late fifties and sixties.

Worth’s like new. No idea where it came from, though. I have had it for decades.

 

[LOW1]

Art supply stores sell good pencils and sharpeners. Around here **** Blick is the art supply place to go. They let you "test drive" pencils.