The Pencil Sharpener
A good pencil sharpener is a must unless you like
grinding expensive drawing pencils down to a nub.
You didn't buy a good, heavy duty pencil sharpener...and now you have a lovely set of three-inch charcoal pencils.
You just dropped down a hefty sum of money for a "primo" set of artist-grade drawing pencils.
You mistakenly decide that your hands are steady enough, you'll just use that old manual sharpener that's been buried at the back of your desk drawer since when Nixon was in office.
It doesn't take you long before you realize your mistake.
Ten minutes later your making a trip to the nearest office supply store in search for a decent sharpener.
Oh well, you could always glue the pencil stubs to a piece of board and make a really pretty collage.
Don't let it happen to you!
A sharp pencil is necessary when drawing fine lines
such as when working on...
- hair/eyelashes
- wrinkles
- fur
- feathers
Pencil Sharpeners come in several types
There are the non-mechanical sharpeners...
and three types of mechanical sharpeners.
Some Final Thoughts...
As a rule of thumb...the higher the cost, the better the quality of the sharpener.
I would not however, go running out to buy the most expensive, heavy duty sharpener there is on the market.
Do some research and decide which sharpener is the best for you.
Consider the type of pencils your using most of the time.
For example are you using a lot of charcoals, or are you using mostly colored pencils?
Other considerations are how much time do you plan to spend on drawing, and will you be making this a casual hobby, or a way to make some money?
Will you be using a pencil-type eraser?
Be aware that the less expensive pencils may break more often than premium pencils. One reason for this is that the leads in "economy" pencils are sometimes centered incorrectly in the wood core of the pencil...thus causing the breakage problem while sharpening.
The main types of pencils that you'll have breakage problems with are soft lead pencils such as, colored pencils,"B" grade graphites and charcoals.
Be
aware that there are reports of electric sharpeners clogging up and
becoming unusable when used to sharpen waxed-based colored pencils. One
site suggests sharpening a graphite pencil every so often to clear-out
the blades. Another suggests using a hand-held manual only.
When choosing a hand-held, my recommendation is to buy the best you can afford. You may find that for your purposes it may be all you really need. You can always upgrade later.
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