Peplophoros Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 We have gone from Crayola (barf) to Pentel this year and are still not happy. I simply cannot sharpen these things. The lead breaks all the time. I know SWB recommended some...do you have a favorite brand? Or could it be my crappy pencil sharpener that breaks off the tip EACH and EVERY time?!?! Can you tell I'm ready for Christmas break? :drool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patches Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I saw a video once on how to sharpen colored pencils. They said to hold the pencil still, and rotate the sharpener around it. It has made a really big difference for me! This I believe was from the folks at Prismacolor. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patches Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Found the link: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 That was interesting. Thanks for the link. One quibble... I don't know anyone who "rocks their pencil back and forth." Really? People do that? Most people I know turn the pencil. I see how rotating the sharpener can keep it steadier to reduce breakage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrobynne Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I have Prismacolor pencils and I rotate the sharpener and they still break. I gave up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlestonmom03 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I have Prismacolor and bought their sharpener and they still break. This year we did away with colored pencils because of this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I use a sharpener like this one. I found it locally, though, for under $10. Not sure, but it may be the same brand as this one (Alvin Kum). So far, so good and we've been using them for months. I don't have the issues with breaking that we used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I use this one and, while we still sometimes have issues, my kids use the colored pencils again. Before this sharpener the breaks were so frequent they just didn't use them. We have Crayola so not even nice colored pencils. I use them on my watercolor pencils (nicer) too and have great results. I got it because the Amazon reviews led me to believe we'd have better luck with breakage. That has definitely been true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2girls4us Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 We have these Lyra pencils and haven't had any problems with them. The girls use them almost exclusively for any type of coloring that they do. We use this sharpener for both colored and regular pencils. It has worked very well for us. :) http://www.staples.c.../product_356332 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three4me Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 We use whatever colored pencils we end up with: Crayola, Crazy Art, and some other inexpensive ones. We have a really old (like at least 20 years?) electric pencil sharpener that we use and never have issues with the tips breaking. And my kids are 4.5 and 2.5, and not exactly careful with them. So my guess is you need a better sharpener :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 We use whatever colored pencils we end up with: Crayola, Crazy Art, and some other inexpensive ones. We have a really old (like at least 20 years?) electric pencil sharpener that we use and never have issues with the tips breaking. And my kids are 4.5 and 2.5, and not exactly careful with them. So my guess is you need a better sharpener :) We also have an old electric sharpener (no longer on the Staples site). We don't have a breakage problem. That said, we are not obsessive sharpeners. As a child, we sharpened pencils with a knife. You start at the non-point end and kind of scoop into the wood and flare out straight at the point. You do it all around the pencil. If the pencil is hexagonal, you orient it so you cut into the edges rather than the flat faces. Something to consider. There's a video with a slightly different technique . This page has tons of advice. Two things I've used - 1) try an eyeliner pencil sharpener, and 2) try one of those sandpaper paddle things that draftsmen use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 We have the Faber-Castell ones and they seem to sharpen fine in the electric sharpener. Also, I can't believe I just watched a video on pencil sharpening... and found it interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peplophoros Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 UPDATE! Yes, it was the sharpener. I had three new but cheap ones and all failed miserably. I went to Hobby Lobby and got a nice artist-quality sharpener for 4 or 5 bucks and it took care of the problem! I love colored pencils so much more than crayons, so I'm very pleased. Thanks so much for the advice on how to sharpen my pencils! [insert joke about not being the sharpest pencil in the box here] :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundersweet Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 We love Lyra brand here! Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I either sharpen with an X-acto knife or give up and use crayons. I'm in a crayon phase again. Yes, there are adults that use crayons. Amazing Crayon Drawing With Lee Hammond: Create Lifelike Portraits, Pets, Landscapes and More Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Our favorite colored pencils are the Lyra Giant Ferby pencils. Here is the Amazon link. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 There's always twistables... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 There's always twistables... We have lakeshore and faber castle and dd asked santa for these this year as she only had an 8 pack. http://www.amazon.com/Crayola-30ct-Twistables-Colored-Pencils/dp/B000REI1FU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356925621&sr=8-1&keywords=crayola+twistables They are her favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 We have these Lyra pencils and haven't had any problems with them. The girls use them almost exclusively for any type of coloring that they do. We use this sharpener for both colored and regular pencils. It has worked very well for us. :) http://www.staples.c.../product_356332 This is what ds 8 uses too. We've both been very pleased. We have an occasional break, maybe one pencil every week or two, but I expect that, they're pencils. He uses them everyday. We use either the sharpener that came with them or a metal Prismacolor one. My oldest uses Prismacolor exclusively and rarely has a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tearose Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Another Lyra fan here (we use Lyra Ferby)--it's worth it to spend a little more on better pencils, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2pandc Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I'm relieved I'm not the only one who has breakage issues. We have a bunch of crayola ones and my son laughs uncontrollably when I try to sharpen them. Sometimes he pushes hard just so I have to try and sharpen them. Stinker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Prismacolor -- but you can't ever drop them. If you do, they'll break while sharpening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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