A bit of a treat for a dull Monday!
Firstly, let me introduce you to a new friend of mine - the Mitsubishi KH-20:
Apart from being a quality bit of kit, this mechanical sharpener has several interesting features that you don't find on other desktop machines of its type. Firstly, it has rubber-tipped jaws so your pencils don't get marked by the metal teeth more commonly found in this type of sharpener. It clamps the pencil nice and tight, too - no slippage at all.
And here's a saucy shot from the rear:
The red button on the there is for waxy coloured pencils; pressing it engages a small stopper bar inside the mechanism, which puts a blunt point on the tip of the pencil lead. But the main feature of this marvelous Japanese sharpener is that it makes the longest points I have ever seen. Check this out - I took one common-or-garden HB office pencil (a Mirado Classic) with a tip that looked like this:
After a quick wind in the KH-20, here it is on the right, next to a similar pencil sharpened in my Swordfish machine for comparison:
I love it, not only do my pencils look dead classy, but the angle it pus on the lead is that tiny bit more acute, which I think means that for someone who prefers to use harder grades of pencil and who doesn't tend to mash the lead into the paper, makes the points last a little longer between sharpenings.
Also new on my desk is the rather interesting Rhodia triangular pencil. Each one comes wrapped in its own plastic baggie:
Although technically pre-sharpened:
...you wouldn't want to use one without first putting it through your sharpener of preference. I didn't use the Mitsubishi for this one because of its unusual triangular cross section:
I love the black wood that the Rhodia is made from. It's almost certainly dyed that colour, but it's still quite fun. They only come in one grade and it feels like an HB to me. A bit soft for my day to day preferences, but fun to have in my pencil pot to ring the changes now and then:
Oh - and finally... has anyone seen this before...?
www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com
It's a real thing in the world - not only is there a book (which is totally on my Christmas list) but you can actually send your pencils away to the author to have them sharpened to his exacting standards.
Better than that, you get your shavings returned in a little baggie, and a certificate of sharpness:
What more could you ask for?
