Need your pencil sharpened?

[230RN]

I remember those sanding pads, which were always too rough.  I used to burnish the points further on a piece of scrap paper.  2H and 4H pencils kept their points well, and you have to remember that the purpose of the erasable pencil line was to provide a guide for the permanent inking, not for final blueprinting.

So you didn't have to bear down on the point.

We were allowed one (simple) drawing with ink and blueprinting to show each of us students the entire process.

I still have a couple of inking pens with the adjustable nibs around somewhere.

Jeeze, I don't even know if you can buy India Ink any more... I suppose line drawing artists still use it, though?

Terry

[vaskidmark]

....

Jeeze, I don't even know if you can buy India Ink any more... I suppose line drawing artists still use it, though?

Terry

It now comes in colors other than black - http://www.dickblick.com/products/dr-ph-martins-bombay-india-inks/

For some reason, I always liked the name of that company.  Say it fast a few times.

stay safe.

[Hawkmoon]

... I thought the modern approch to drafting pencils was use mechanical pencils anyway.

The modern approach to drafting pencils is to use a computer and a mouse.

I took my first drafting classes in high school and college in the 60s. Sandpaper pads were the general rule. When I got to my first paying job, I was able to afford a mechanical lead "clutch" and one of those rotary drum sharpeners that had a cone-shaped sandpaper insert that the tip of the lead rotated against for sharpening.

Portable:


Table-mounted:


The "modern" mechanical drafting pencils with the fine (as in "skinny," not "wonderful") leads pre-sized in various widths rather than grades of hardness, didn't arrive until the late 80s or 90s IIRC.

[230RN]

To paraquote George Gobel, "Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a 7mm pencil  and you were a 5mm lead?"

Terry

[Azrael256]

To paraquote George Gobel, "Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a 7mm pencil  and you were a 5mm lead?"

Terry

Enjoy your new job with AP.  Remember, .9mm caliber is the deadliest kind. 

[230RN]

OK, OK. Point 7 mm and point 5 mm.

 

Good catch.  Despite what my mother used to tell people, I ain't perfect.