Did You Lose Your Pencil? or The How to Art of Pencil Sharpening

While watching a Sunday Morning program this stormy September morning, (pretty amazing since we had extremely hot weather this past week), my attention to a story about Cartoonist turned Artisanal Manual Pencil Sharpening Expert, David Rees made me think about the days when instead of typing on a computer you had a flat sheet of lined paper and usually a yellow or blue, long hopefully sharpened pencil with attached eraser on top to enter and explore the world of writing. Some well known writer's still prefer a yellow tablet and writing with the graphite instrument.

I remember I always had a very easy time of telling which pencil was mine at home and at school because I suppose due to nervousness my entire pencil would have teeth marks around it. I wasn't concerned about getting lead poisoning I guess (actually pencils are not made of lead but graphite) but who needed personalized with your name pencils when teeth marks would do.

A #2 pencil was part of most school kids arsenal of school supplies for many years. Now top at the list is an IPad and way down the list is probably a pencil or two--graphite or mechanical.

In David Rees book "How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical and Theoretical Treatise of the Artisanal Art of Pencil Sharpening" (say that three times fast) he covers the steps of sharpening pencils and the devices to use. For a fee you can send him your pencil and he will sharpen it to perfection, with the shavings encased, and covered back to you with or without a copy of the book.

Ironically, Dixon Ticonderoga once had a factory in Versailles, MO which isn't that far from where I live. It closed in 2005.

Another interesting fact about pencils today is that if the graphite is not exactly in the middle of the wooden casing that makes the pencil you probably will have a hard time sharpening or keeping the point sharp. How many brand new pencils have you ground and ground either by hand or by an electric sharpener (yes I still have one of those too, along with my typewriter) you can basically grind until you basically have a "stubby" short pencil.

A former co-worker I had at my first job for the State of California would use a pencil until it was probably just big enough for her hand to be able to hold it. It was always her "point" to get as much use as possible out of government supplies.

 Why all this nostalgia?  Well it was a breath of fresh air that this story was so interesting to me that someone in today's economic challenges can forge a business and or love out of pencils. I am sure Mr. Rees partakes in technology, but his love of the pencil and keeping it a part of daily life is to be commended.

"Did you lose your pencil?" "Oh, you can borrow one of mine" I'm not sure exactly whether many people carry them around but cheaper to lend out than a technology device.