Pencil Sharpeners

[John Stankus]

The Black is soft
The pearl(white) is medium
The grey 602 is firm
And the natural are extra firm

I thought Blackwings were good but expensive ($30/dozen). Try a "Mitsu-Bishi" 9850 HB lead and it writes smooooooth and only $8.50/dozen

on the Sharpener side I have found the T'GAAL multisharpener does a nice job, and you can dial in the point angle you want. (The Kum Automatic long point found in art supply stores is also good but a fixed angle).

In terms of old school sharpeners... the ones with the helical blades are best. Most of the modern ones just have a straight shaving blade.

John