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It’s weird, just mentioning non-mechanical pencils brings me back to how coveted Dixon Ticonderoga pencils were when I was in grade school. The Crayola of penci

It’s weird, just mentioning non-mechanical pencils brings me back to how coveted Dixon Ticonderoga pencils were when I was in grade school. The Crayola of pencils, standing out in a sea of Roseart.

fern12 9y ago
I was a huge fan of Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. They were lightweight, and I could sharpen them to perfection using my cheap manual sharpener. I had to google the name to remember, but Eberhard Fabers were my least favorite. Very clunky, the barrel always felt coarse, and the tip always broke in the sharpener.
jeffwass 9y ago
On a slightly different note - does anyone have any suggestions for a good pencil sharpener? The screwed-into-a-tabletop ones we used to have at school in the 80’s and 90’s were great, with the crank and rotating blades. Was easy to make razor-sharp pencil points. At home, with my kids, we only have those common cheapo sharpeners with a single angled razor blade. They sort-of work, poorly. With those it’s too easy for the pencil point to break off, often the planed curl of wood will snap at the boundary between the two wooden halves of the pencil. It’s not smooth, and very hard to get a nice sharp point with them.
- bmsleight_ 9y ago
  Knife ?
- bitofhope 9y ago
  Those crank operated or electric tabletop sharpeners are great. For a portable sharpener, my personal favourite is the KUM long point automatic two-stage sharpener. The way it works is that it first sharpens the wood leaving a round core and then points the lead inside. The longer point stays pointy a little longer than standard. The only downside is it's a little hungry and uses up pencils a little quicker than normal. Jetpens sells them in the US and Cult Pens in the UK. I can highly recommend both. Good pencils help too. I tend to prefer German and Japanese brands like Staedtler, Stabilo, Mitsu-Bishi, and Tombow.
- LeifCarrotson 9y ago
  > The screwed-into-a-tabletop ones we used to have at school in the 80’s and 90’s were great, with the crank and rotating blades. Was easy to make razor-sharp pencil points. Then get one of those? X-ACTO KS Manual Pencil Sharpener: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IEDY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zPGwAbBA2SXPX https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IEDY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zPGw... $7.91.
- ashish01 9y ago
  Carl Angel : https://www.amazon.com/Carl-Angel-5-Pencil-Sharpener-Office/dp/B00NSEDOKS/ https://www.amazon.com/Carl-Angel-5-Pencil-Sharpener-Office/...
- kenbolton 9y ago
  Outsource it: http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/ http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/ As I posted elsewhere in the thread, author of the NYTimes article is the sometimes comedy partner of the artisanal pencil sharpener, who also wrote the definitive book on the subject.
- eigenstuff 9y ago
  Artist here. I've tried both the Xacto and KUM sharpeners mentioned in this thread. Both are now long, long in the trash after dulling and becoming useless. What you want is a Mobius+Ruppert sharpener. They're machined from solid brass, their weight feels amazing in your hand, they're a beautiful tool, AND, most importantly, you can buy replacement blades. This was the #1 selling point for me. They're about $10 and will ACTUALLY, truly, sincerely last a life time. You can't break 'em. Hell, you could smash a windshield with one if you threw it hard enough. I adore mine. It lives in a pretty cut crystal candy bowl in a nest of colored pencil shavings.
devb 9y ago
They used to be made in the same city as the factory in the article.

It’s weird, just mentioning non-mechanical pencils brings me back to how coveted Dixon Ticonderoga pencils were when I was in grade school. The Crayola of pencils, standing out in a sea of Roseart.

fern12 9y ago

I was a huge fan of Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. They were lightweight, and I could sharpen them to perfection using my cheap manual sharpener. I had to google the name to remember, but Eberhard Fabers were my least favorite. Very clunky, the barrel always felt coarse, and the tip always broke in the sharpener.

jeffwass 9y ago

On a slightly different note - does anyone have any suggestions for a good pencil sharpener? The screwed-into-a-tabletop ones we used to have at school in the 80’s and 90’s were great, with the crank and rotating blades. Was easy to make razor-sharp pencil points. At home, with my kids, we only have those common cheapo sharpeners with a single angled razor blade. They sort-of work, poorly. With those it’s too easy for the pencil point to break off, often the planed curl of wood will snap at the boundary between the two wooden halves of the pencil. It’s not smooth, and very hard to get a nice sharp point with them.

bmsleight_ 9y ago
Knife ?
bitofhope 9y ago
Those crank operated or electric tabletop sharpeners are great. For a portable sharpener, my personal favourite is the KUM long point automatic two-stage sharpener. The way it works is that it first sharpens the wood leaving a round core and then points the lead inside. The longer point stays pointy a little longer than standard. The only downside is it's a little hungry and uses up pencils a little quicker than normal. Jetpens sells them in the US and Cult Pens in the UK. I can highly recommend both. Good pencils help too. I tend to prefer German and Japanese brands like Staedtler, Stabilo, Mitsu-Bishi, and Tombow.
LeifCarrotson 9y ago
> The screwed-into-a-tabletop ones we used to have at school in the 80’s and 90’s were great, with the crank and rotating blades. Was easy to make razor-sharp pencil points. Then get one of those? X-ACTO KS Manual Pencil Sharpener: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IEDY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zPGwAbBA2SXPX https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IEDY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zPGw... $7.91.
ashish01 9y ago
Carl Angel : https://www.amazon.com/Carl-Angel-5-Pencil-Sharpener-Office/dp/B00NSEDOKS/ https://www.amazon.com/Carl-Angel-5-Pencil-Sharpener-Office/...
kenbolton 9y ago
Outsource it: http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/ http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/ As I posted elsewhere in the thread, author of the NYTimes article is the sometimes comedy partner of the artisanal pencil sharpener, who also wrote the definitive book on the subject.
eigenstuff 9y ago
Artist here. I've tried both the Xacto and KUM sharpeners mentioned in this thread. Both are now long, long in the trash after dulling and becoming useless. What you want is a Mobius+Ruppert sharpener. They're machined from solid brass, their weight feels amazing in your hand, they're a beautiful tool, AND, most importantly, you can buy replacement blades. This was the #1 selling point for me. They're about $10 and will ACTUALLY, truly, sincerely last a life time. You can't break 'em. Hell, you could smash a windshield with one if you threw it hard enough. I adore mine. It lives in a pretty cut crystal candy bowl in a nest of colored pencil shavings.

devb 9y ago

They used to be made in the same city as the factory in the article.