Sunday 21 March 2010







One of the best ways to keep your wood-cased pencil sharp is to not use pencil sharpeners. I most often use my mechanical pencil, however, I found on my visit to Italy last year to the Angel Academy Of Art, which is an amazing classical atelier, that they sharpened their pencils, by;

  1. Firstly, holding your pencil with a firm grip, use a knife, (craft knife may be best) and cut away the wood, about two thirds of an inch down leaving that much ‘lead’ showing (figure I).
  2. Then next, grab a piece of sandpaper (fine would be best) Using a tray or something to catch the graphite powder, begin to sharpen the edge of the pencil. The aim is to taper the lead from the wood to the tip and not just the tip of the lead. I could do with a lot of practice with this myself; however here are some images of the process (figure ii). Also, the powder can then be swept up for storing or using on the work your about to do (figure iii). Graphite powder is amazing for backgrounds or covering large parts of the paper with a nice even tone.

Using a tray or something to catch the graphite powder, begin to sharpen the edge of the pencil. The aim is to taper the lead from the wood to the tip and not just the tip of the lead. I could do with a lot of practice with this myself; however here are some images of the process (figure ii). Also, the powder can then be swept up for storing or using on the work your about to do (figure iii). Graphite powder is amazing for backgrounds or covering large parts of the paper with a nice even tone.

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