Carpenter's pencil

Went in to B&Q today and was given a nice "carpenter's pencil" - at least this is what I think they are called.

Not circular cross-section but rectangular 15x5 - with rectangular lead as well.

What is the original purpose/advantage of this design?

Reply to
mike
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So when you put it down it doesn't roll away?

Reply to
shaun

AAA - Doesn't roll away when put down BBB - Can be sharpened with a chisel to produce a long 'line' with a narrow 'edge' for marking wood. {BTW; one can purchase 'carpenters' pencil -sharpeners - rather a weird 'eccentric' action - but it produces a nice result}

Reply to
Brian Sharrock

You sharpen it to a chisel edge, and this allows more finer lines to be drawn be drawn before resharpening.

Reply to
Tony Williams

Sharpened down to a flat 'chisel' edge, they give a fine line when marking out. The chisel edge also seems to be reasonably long-lasting.

Reply to
The Wanderer

Or on the edge of an angle grinder..;-)

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

LOL! I use a bench-mounded belt sander. I'm really intrigued by the "mechanical" sharpener though....

Reply to
Newshound

It's just like an ordinary pencil sharpener but has a rotating ring that the pencil fits into. It produces a normal round point, though, so rather wasteful compared to traditional methods - ie a good sharp chisel.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Also better IMO for marking sawn timber - thicker lead doesn't snap so often.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

In message , Newshound writes

Maplin (Bleurgh!) are currently selling sets of carpenters pencils with a rotary sharpener. It's like an ordinary sharpener but with a rectangular guide that rotates. It seems to work unlike most of Maplins stuff.

Reply to
Clive Mitchell

Yup. But twice the price of the identical article at my local Sunday market.

I've not had a problem with Maplin selling rubbish though. They're just a tad expensive.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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