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Sharpening Pastel Pencils

Blog: #8 of 43 by Pamela Poole

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Artists eventually end up with a collection of pencil sharpeners, since it’s convenient to have one handy in various places we tote our art supplies around to. Some sharpeners are great for graphite and charcoal pencils, some are better for colored pencils, but few are good for pastel pencils. This is a problem for me, since pastel is my favorite medium to paint with and I use the pastel pencils for signing a pastel painting, for small sketches and studies, and for details. The wood casing keeps an artist’s fingers clean with this otherwise messy medium.

I always dread sharpening my pastel pencils. The wonderful blending attribute of the soft medium is the very reason that they wear down quickly and are difficult to sharpen with regular sharpeners. Of course there is the tried and true method of using a craft knife, but this is always my last resort, since it is inconvenient and messy.

I gathered my own collection of sharpeners and pastel pencils to research which ones worked best. This would save me time in the future. I have a Derwent battery sharpener with multiple size holes for various pencils, a Kum plastic sharpener with two slots and a case to hold the shavings, some Faber Castel metal hand-held sharpeners, and a General’s 3-in-1 sharpener with two sides and clear cases to hold the shavings.

My collection of pastel pencils includes Derwent, Cretacolor, and Koh-i-Noor Giocanda. I tried all of them in each sharpener. The result was not what I expected. Hands down, the economical and convenient General’s 3-in-1 Sharpener was best in handling the pastel pencils on both sides, the “Color” slot and the “Universal” one. The small metal Faber Castel was just as good. However, the 3-in-1 holds the shavings and therefore is cleaner.

If you would like to try the best sharpener I have found for pastel pencils, here is a link to order one online:
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/pencil-sharpeners/generals-3-in-1-pencil-sharpener.htm

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