Grrr, argh! My pencils keep breaking!

[SinisteR]

When I try to sharpen them that is. Any tips? Perhaps it`s just my 10p pencil sharpener, but I`d like to know anyway.

They`re Karisma pencils, 2 euro`s a pop.

[jwo]

sharpening colored pencils has always been a problem with me, but now i either use a knife or an electric sharphener so i dont waste the precious pigments.

[SinisteR]

Djeez, a knife, the very solution is right in front of me.

Thank, worked like a charm.

[Payback]

Never trust a person with a knife on his desk, that's what I say...

[cotron]

i've heard an eyeliner sharpener works with color pencils pretty well.... havent tried it out though

[BadMange]

Get an electric sharpener (I have a battery-powered one), because no matter what handheld sharpener you have, you will continue to break leads. You have to be careful when twisting pencils with soft leads. I sometimes sketch with a 4B or even 9B pencil and always break leads when using a handheld. An eyeliner sharpener is the same as a 10p plastic/metal handheld sharpener, only you'll never get a point. Reason being, no woman would put a sharp-pointed anything near their eye! My wife has ~3 different kinds and I've tried all of 'em. Go with an electric!

-Bad Mange

[egerie]

And be sure not to drop your pencil ;) (avoid display pencils too. Go with boxes).

[daniela]

How old is the sharpener? Depending on how often you use them, the blades in hand-held sharpeners dull fairly quick. If you continue to use them, I suggest you either buy a whole bunch of cheap ones so you can just throw them away when they start breaking your pencils, or buy a really good one and always have spare blades on hand. Or better yet, you can get an electric sharpner like the others suggested. The blades take a really long time to wear out in those. If you are going to use a knife, remember not to bear down to hard or you will continue to break your pencils.

[Caledonian]

Change sharpeners often. I am still looking for a good electric sharpener myself. The following page explains the process quite well.

http://www.pencils.co.uk/sharpening_techniques.asp

[kapturowski]

I used to have a problem with points breaking. After some experimenting this is what I found out:

Since I'm lefthanded I held the pencil in my left hand and the sharpener in my right, somehow this didn't work for the sharpener and it would break the tip off, however by switching them around to the other hand I would almost never break it! Don't really know why it works but it does.

-adam