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Guy at the supply shop told me to sharpen my pencil with a sandpaper block instead of a sharpener. Thought he was nuts but tried it yesterday and my lines came out way cleaner.

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3 Comments
price.gavin
Yeah but you also lose the ability to get fine control over the point shape. A sharpener gives you a consistent taper, a sandpaper block just chews away at the graphite however it wants. I've seen people sand their pencils down to a weird stubby tip that still drags on the paper. Plus you have to deal with graphite dust flying everywhere. Give me a good metal sharpener any day.
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emma_dixon70
Ive got a couple of those Apsara long point sharpeners that give you about an inch of exposed graphite. That changed everything for me honestly. Great for drawing where you want a long edge for shading but still need a sharp tip for details. I used to fight with regular sharpeners that would snap the point off if you looked at them wrong. The downside is they chew through pencils faster but the control is way better than sandpaper. No dust cloud either which my desk appreciates.
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emery_white
Did you have to adjust your grip or angle to get those cleaner lines?
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