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Pencil Sharpener Reviews
A good pencil sharpener is a pencil artist's best friend! I like to draw with a really sharp point and I reach for my sharpener frequently. Here are some reviews of my favorite sharpeners.
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Alvin Rotary Lead Pointer
I draw with mechanical pencils and this is the sharpener I use. You can sharpen leads on a sandpaper block but it much quicker and easier to use a hand held sharpener that's designed for the job. This rotary sharpener from Alvin, will fit any lead holder according to the manufacturer.
As a bonus, the barrel fills with fine graphite powder over time. I dip a brush into it to "paint" in areas and create other effects.
Find it here at Dick Blick.
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Kum Automatic Long Point Pencil Sharpener
If you like drawing with wooden pencils, this unique sharpener works better than any I've ever come across. It's a "two stage" sharpener with two holes. The first hole removes the wood and the second sharpens the lead. This system keeps the lead from breaking as happens so often with regular sharpeners. It also creates a beautifully long lead that's perfect for drawing. The extra blades tucked into the back under the lid are a nice surprise, too.
Find it here at Dick Blick.
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Flat Point Pencil Sharpener
If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the razors angle into the body of the sharpener. (There are razors on top and bottom.) The blue plastic piece with a hole in it slides back and forth. There's another sliding blue piece on the opposite side. |
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| To sharpen a pencil, you insert it into the blue sliding piece that holds the pencil's flattest side horizontal. Then you slide the pencil back and forth over the blades. |
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| You can see the pencil as it looks after the flat sides have been sharpened here. |
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| To sharpen the pencil's short sides, you insert it into the sliding blue piece on the other side of the sharpener and move it back and forth until it creates the point you want.
You can see the fully sharpened pencil in this photo.
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| Even though the blades slice off the wood in a pretty severe way, you can learn to slow the movement and change the angle of the pencil to give yourself a little more control over the process.
Using this sharpener is much easier and quicker than trying to sharpen flat pencils with a knife. If you like sketching with these pencils, I think this sharpener is well worth the price.
Find it here at Dick Blick.
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Some of these images were provided by Dick Blick Art Materials
Free 624-page Art Supply Catalog!
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