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Being on a budget, it's important not to waste anything. But I'm having a hard time finding a way to sharpen my Prisma color pencils. Tried battery sharpener, several hand held, including the metal one that came in my tin of pencils. All I get is points that break off. HELP!!! I can't get a sharp point & I'm wasting my pencils.
Last edited by floridaphilly; 08-11-2009 at 06:40 AM..
Reason: spelling
I've had a set of 24 for 15 years and never had trouble with the lead breaking. I ordered 20 additional colors online, got them in, and no matter what I do the lead breaks off when sharpening. My only conclusion was that the lead was damaged during shipment. Of course the retailer accused me of using the wrong sharpener.
Make sure you use a manual sharpener and look inside to see if it's clogged. Is your sharpener new? I have an inexpensive manual one that cost me maybe $2 that works like a dream.
I first sharpen all my pencils with a motorized pencil sharpener with an auto-stop feature. (Mine is a Panasonic that I picked up at Staples or Office Depot for about $15.) Once they're initially sharpened, I touch them up with the Prismacolor bullet-shaped sharpener that I hold horizontally (the angle is important so that pressure is not placed on the lead). If my tip is badly broken, I take them back to my motorized sharpener, but I try not to do that too much as it eats them up on a quicker pace.
That being said, like Tracy mentioned, you may have a bad batch. Once these are dropped, the leads can break on the inside, for the length of the barrel. It's impossible to tell beforehand, too. If this is what you suspect, I would take them back to where you got them and encourage them to get a good point (you too, Tracy!). Maybe when they can't, they'll see the problem.
Good luck! HTH!
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I heard that Prismacolor has a money back guarantee that if something is wrong with their product you can send them back to the company and get your money back. If the leads are so damaged, you can't get a point, I would send them back and try again.
I agree with the above two posters. It sounds like your pencils were dropped and their leads are broken. I have some with broken leads and I just keep sharpening until I get a good point. Does it waste lead? Yes. But, they still work so I just deal with it.
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I've had really good luck with a manual sharpener I got at Michaels (three in a package for $4.99). It's located in the art supplies section and the brand is Art All.
Someone said that you can put them in the microwave for a few seconds and it helps fuse the lead so it won't break as easily. I haven't had to try it myself and I am not sure which thread it is on, but it might be worth a try to find before you have to ship them back. Good luck.
I read somewhere that the best sharpeners for colored pencils are the ones that grind the wood (make sawdust) as opposed to the ones that shave the wood (shavings that look like apple peels).
I have an battery operated X-Acto sharpener that picked up at Michael's and it breaks leads like crazy...it shaves the pencils. I now use a Panasonic battery operated one and an electric Boston model and haven't had a problem with either one breaking leads...they both grind the wood. So, my personal experience supports the grinding vs. shaving theory, and I sharpen LOTS of pencils.
The only problem I've had with the Boston electric sharpener is that it will overheat if I try to sharpen too many colored pencils in a row (like 60 or so ;) ). Also, you should sharpen a regular graphite pencil in your sharpener once in awhile to keep the blades clean.
Not conclusive by any means, but that's been my experience. Hope that helps!
I have a panasonic electiv sharpener that I love. It doesn't break the leads. I use a metal sharpener for travel. Like others have said, if they were dropped, then there is nothing you can do. I tried the microwave and all it did was melt the outside of the pencil, not the actual lead!
If you use a manual sharpener, be careful not to twist to hard as you can over-torque the pencil and break the leads.
Also, do you really need a sharp point all the time? Sharp points break faster because you may be putting too much pressure on the lead when coloring.
Another thought, if you hold the pencil in a more upright position, instead of a slant, you put the pressure on the entire length of the lead, not just the tip.
I use a small manual sharpner that I got at Sally's Beauty Supply - it's supposed to be for lip & eye liner pencils but it works just great on my Prisma's!
I too use a Panasonic auto stop electric sharpener. I love it. I've never had a problem with tips breaking because of the sharpener. I break tips because I tend to use too much pressure. I also agree with those who said if you can't get a good point on it to begin with, that you should take them back and get a replacement set.
I bought an Exacto electric pencil sharpener to sharpen my 120 ct. set I bought recently. It worked great. (I was not about to sharpen that many pencils by hand...lol) It was about $20 in the office supply section at Wal-Mart. I have broken my tips using the pencil sharpener (electric) from work AND using manual sharpeners but have had great success with my Exacto sharpener.
I offered to buy a set of Prismacolor pencils for the Art teacher when my kids were in Elementary school (years ago), and she said she did not want them for the kids at school...because....lead in these pencils is very very soft, so if they get dropped or shaken around, the lead breaks inside the wood. She says that is why if you sharpen them and the lead breaks, the pencils have been dropped or handled in a rough manner. Could have happened at home, could have happened at the factory or in the store where you bought them....who knows. I do not have problems with mine, but I do drop my cell phone at least once or twice a day, so I guess if I use them and the lead does break, I can only thank myself!!!
Someone said that you can put them in the microwave for a few seconds and it helps fuse the lead so it won't break as easily. I haven't had to try it myself and I am not sure which thread it is on, but it might be worth a try to find before you have to ship them back. Good luck.
I've tried this, it works if you don't mind the paint on the barrel of the pencil bubbling up.
Better yet, just use coarse sandpaper to file the lead to a sharp point.
I, too, use a cheap, metal handheld sharpener that I bought in the make-up section at Wal-Mart. For some reason, it really works well! Also, this may sound kinda crazy, but if you put the pencils in the freezer until they get pretty cold they are alot easier to sharpen and the points don't seem to break when I'm sharpening. Good luck!
Thank you all for the great ideas!!! Sorry I took so long to try any, had the flu/virus. I had my husband clean out my battery powered sharpener. Seems that was a bit jammed! But the real thing was, it was one that ground not peeled (making sawdust not peelings) the pencil. I didn't even know mine did that! BUT IT WORKED!!!! My pencils are getting sharpened w/o breaking now!!!
I do think they were a bad batch, but had them too long to take back. Thanks again for all the great ideas & help.This was like picking up a phone & calling my best girlfriend!
I was not about to sharpen that many pencils by hand...lol
I laughed when I read this. This is exactly what I did. I sharpened my 120 pencil set by hand with the metal pencil sharpener that dame with the set. I thought my fingers were going to fall off afterwards. And I only had 1-2 tips broke in the process. So maybe the OP had a bad batch of pencils.
I just bought my first set of prismas and had several that broke every time they almost got to a point :( I thought it must be my sharpener so I paid for the prisma sharpener and had the same thing happen with several of the pencils. Figured they must have been dropped and leads broken inside the pencil :( Stinks that some are only half size before I even got to color with them.
I just bought my first set of prismas and had several that broke every time they almost got to a point :( I thought it must be my sharpener so I paid for the prisma sharpener and had the same thing happen with several of the pencils. Figured they must have been dropped and leads broken inside the pencil :( Stinks that some are only half size before I even got to color with them.
That's how I felt too! My pencils looked like nubs!!! But really, the type that makes "sawdust" really did work. Next ones I buy, I'll check them ASAP so I can return them if need be.
How to sharpen Prisma color pencils
How to sharpen Prisma color pencils
