Pencil Grinder For All Pastel and Colored Pencils
Pencil Grinder For All Pastel and Colored Pencils
This is going to be a pretty short review, which I know is quite odd for me, my reviews on occasions resemble a draft of War & Peace, but this little tool I have stumble upon will mostly speak for itself.
I am not a hundred percent sure where I seen the Pencil Grinder for the first time, it was either on Facebook or Instagram with someone displaying it. I immediately looked for the tool on Amazon as I thought it would be excellent to review and bring to the attention of you guys, after all, us pencil artists need all the help we can get and I hope to bring as much help and awareness to you all as possible.
The Pencil Grinder is a difficult tool to research with regards to the actual company who manufactures it, nevertheless this is not incredibly important. When I first received the item in the post, I wasn’t sure if it was a tool specifically for pastel pencils or pencils in general.
Pencil Grinder Characteristics
The Pencil Grinder is a really simple concept and design yet such a versatile tool and one I feel many pencil artists, especially pastel pencil artist. Although this item is called the Pencil Grinder, it has more than one function and I will brake down those functions further into the review.
the overall design is simple and looks similar to a black clog type sandal, on the base of the Pencil Grinder is a tin plinth with a rough textured design on it. On the base of the Pencil Grinder there is a clip clamp which enables the Pencil Grinder to clip and hold your work in place whilst on an easel or wooden board.
The cup like section of the Pencil Grinder acts as a collecting service, if the Pencil Grinder is used in conjunction with holding your art work in place, as you create a point on the pencil core using the rough textured tin grate, the dust will fall and collect in the cup. At this point you can either bin the dust by tipping out into a bin, or a much better and economical idea would be, in the case of pastel pencils, reuse the collected dust on your work by simply using your finger to apply or a sponge applicator.
As I mentioned, the Pencil Grinder is not only for Pastel Pencils, however, I do think that the Pastel Pencils work best in terms of the tool collecting the pastel dust and being able to reuse the dust, nothing goes to waste. The Pencil Grinder does however work well with traditional colored pencils and water-soluble pencils.
When you sharpen your colored pencils or watercolor pencils by the tradition method, using the Pencil Grinder to maintain the sharp point, reduces the need for sharpening and thus prolongs the life and usability of the pencil. Goodness knows how much money we all invest into our beloved colored pencils, pastel pencils and water soluble pencils, so the longer we can make them last the better.
Of course, when using the Pencil Grinder for traditional colored pencils or water soluble pencils, although the dust from the pencils is still collected in the cup section, I am not sure reusing the dust in the same vein we would with pastel pencils is an option, however, I am sure someone much more intelligent that I am could think of something to do with the collected pigment dust, especially your white Luminance dust.
As I mentioned, the Pencil Grinder is more than just a sharpener, it is a three in one tool, the definition of simplicity yet versatile and incredibly inexpensive. Use the Pencil Grinder to hold your work safely in place, better yet, get a second Pencil Grinder for the opposite corner of your work and have two. The primary use of the Pencil Grinder is of course to sharpen your pencils and finally the third use is to collect the falling pencil dust after sharpening and reuse.
Pencil Grinder or Sandpaper Block
I am sure every one of you have a thin sandpaper block, a few strips of sandpaper, neatly stapled to a stiff board which allows pencil artists to refine points. So why would anyone use the Pencil Grinder over the usual sandpaper block? First of all you don’t have to change from one to the other, but the option is available, the biggest difference between the Pencil Grinder and the Sandpaper Block is that the Pencil Grinder is completely reusable.
The Sandpaper block will indeed last quite a while if looked after and the cost for another one is not going to break the bank. With the Pencil Grinder, it is a one time buy, once you have used it, all you have to do is clean of any dust from the rough textured tin grate with a dry cloth, or you can run it under some water and clean it off this way.
Pencil Grinder Price
Here in the UK, the Pencil Grinder will cost you £7.49. Unfortunately I could only find this tool on eBay US so make sure you check out the details before purchasing, but in the US you can expect to pay $14.47. I much prefer to stick with Amazon when providing links and prices as in my experience, Amazon has always proved to be reliable and amazingly competitively priced. Finally in the EU artist can expect to pay €12.99
Pencil Grinder Conclusion
Every now and again something pops up that us colored pencil artists and enthusiasts must have, it doesn’t occur very often, but when it does we all tend to jump on it. Hopefully reviewers such as The Art Gear Guide can help you slow down and take stock of such an item and make sure that it is going to be the revolutionary tool you have been lead to believe it is.
I think the Pencil Grinder is an excellent tool and in particular for pastel pencil artists. Pastel pencils are notoriously difficult to sharpen and create a fine point and if you do use a conventional sandpaper block you lose a lot of valuable pigment, whereas with the Pencil Grinder, nothing goes to waste.
I hope you have enjoyed this review and that you have found the information helpful. I have created a YouTube video review of the Pencil Grinder so you can actually see the tool working as it was intended. For products such as the Pencil Grinder, the written review and images are helpful, but I think the video demonstration will be equally beneficial to you in helping you understand its potentials.
Thank you so much as always for your wonderful support and I hope each and every one of you continue to be well and keep safe in these incredibly uncertain times.
