Hello again. This is just a quick video on how to go about sharpening
prismacolor colored pencils without breaking. I started using prismacolor
scholar student grade pencils about two years ago. I really didn't know much
about art or colored pencils and I chose these because one, they were reasonably
inexpensive, and two, they had good reviews.
I also purchased a prismacolor scholar sharpener with the sets as well as some
colorless blenders. The colorless blender are great but I wouldn't waste your
money on the scholar sharpener and I'll explain why later.
I used this scholar pencils for several drawings and had to deal with many
broken leads, until I figured out how to sharpen them so they were less likely to
break. I also moved on to other sets of pencils Faber Castell Classic,
Polychromos, Lyra Rembrandt, Prang, Crayola, Staedtler, and Prismacolor Premiers.
Feel free to watch any of my reviews to see my thoughts on each of these sets.
What I did known as as many of the other pencils didn't have the breaking lead
issues that the scholars had. Many people have issues with prismacolor and
breaking leads. A few reasons why the leads are soft and this is what makes
them great to work with. They blend better than any pencil I have used
almost too good in some cases. They use poor quality wood. I notice that it can
be soft sections that can be hard sections and brittle sections. Often the
wood flakes away from the lead. And the last reason is sometimes the leads
themselves aren't centered very well. I believe it is a combination of these
three things the result in leads breaking. So you need to address each of them in
order to be successful. The first thing I've done to prevent breakage is to use
a Faber Castell Trio sharpener like the one shown here. It has three places to
sharpen pencils one for thicker pencils and two for standard size. One of the
standard sized sharpeners is labeled Universal and I use this for pencils
that don't typically break. The other side has a
sharpener labeled color grip. The color grip side is a lower angle sharpener
meaning after you sharpen with it, you don't end up with a long extended lead.
When the scholars and premiers come from the factory they'll arrive with a very
low angle point so a very short extended lead. Which generally isn't very useful.
When you sharpen them you want a sharpener that's gonna give you enough
of a point to allow for detail, but not too far otherwise the lead will just
break. The universal sharpener, also the prismacolor scholar sharpener, will
result in a high angle lead that is just going to break. Here I have used a
Mitsubishi sharpener with an extreme high angle lead just to emphasize what I
mean. If we look at the four results the Mauve pencil is the factory one, the red is
done with the color grip, the yellow or sorry the gold yellow is done using the
universal sharpener, and the blue one using the Mitsubishi sharpener. The red
one is what we want to go for. The color grip section of the Faber Castell Trio
sharpener works great. If you know of any other low angle sharpeners please let me know
One thing I will point out is that you need to replace your sharpener quite
regularly. I've had this one for almost two years and I'm starting to notice
it's struggling with the wood. Once the sharpener feels dull get a new one,
replace the blade, or sharpen the blade if you can. Another option for sharpening
your pencils is to actually use a blade itself. I don't recommend using a utility
knife. You can do it I'm not sure how much pencil you actually save in the
long run. I'm sure you can become good at using a utility knife but for me going
with the sharpener is the easier option. That covers how I
sharpen prismacolor pencils however there are other factors that affect
pencil breakage. I already mentioned keeping your pencil sharpener sharp
replacing it if necessary. I also wanted to mention not to use them in the cold.
These are wax pencils and one way of repairing them is to heat them up in the
oven or the microwave. Again I don't recommend doing this. But it only makes
sense that they could become brittle if you use them in cold conditions. When
you're working with them try to work with them in a warm room. When you're
sharpening them sharpen them gently take your time especially when you're just
about to sharp start sharpening the pencil. Also, be careful when you're
removing the pencil from the sharpener because this is a time where you can
accidentally break the tip off. Don't drop Prismacolors. This rule I break
all the time. Even doing this video I drop several of the scholar pencils. If
you drop them you might end up shattering the lead inside and every time
you sharpen it the lead will break. So do not drop them and maybe even flag any
one that you do drop just so you know why it's breaking. Lastly, don't abuse the
pencils. I have two sets of prismacolor premiers that I keep in their metal tin.
I don't take them anywhere and I always keep them lying flat. I try not to drop
them and I'm careful sharpening them with the color grip section of my trio
sharpener. And I have yet to break a single lead. I have two sets of scholar
pencils one set my kids play with I believe I've dropped both sets. I hate
the case they come in since you can't see the pencils in the back row so you
need to pull more pencils out than you really want. And getting the pencils
back in their case can be quite difficult.
Because I break the scholar leads constantly I would recommend getting a
proper case for them. Alternatively because the scholars are nearly the same
price as the Premier's I'd avoid the scholars completely and just get the
Premier's that come in a good case. Recently I've been picking up sets of
Prismacolor Premiers for about $0.50 a pencil Canadian. That's a steal for artists
grade pencils. I realize that they do often get bad reviews because of the
breaking leads, but there are some simple steps you can take to avoid breaking
them. I think if you follow my tips you shouldn't have any problems. That's all
for now, don't forget to subscribe. I'm going to try and put up at least one
video a month. I've got a backlog of drawings I want to do so hopefully I'll
get something posted before Christmas. Thank you for watching