Sharpening a pencil correctly can be important, especially if you are an artist or just want your handwriting to look smooth. In fact, it can be an artisanal skill. There are several different ways you can sharpen a pencil.

Use a portable, manual sharpener. These usually come with two holes in a small plastic square. One hole is for a smaller pencil, and one is for a larger one.

• The benefit of using a manual sharpener is that they are cheap and portable. Again, if you're not careful, you can create an irregular pencil point.

• Simply put the pencil into the sharpener’s hole, and turn it several times to create a point. Sharpen over a garbage can, unless the sharpener has a plastic bubble designed to capture the shaving remnants.

Try using an electric pencil sharpener.

Try using an electric pencil sharpener. An electrical pencil sharpener will create a pencil that makes a very neat line. Push the pencil into the hole in the sharpener. The sharpener will make a whirring sound as it sharpens the pencil.

How Does an Electric Pencil Sharpener Work?

An electric pencil sharpener is a small motorized appliance for sharpening or refreshing the points on lead pencils. Inside the hole, a small electric motor turns a blade assembly at high speed. The blades shave wood and lead from the pencil’s end, bringing it to a point. Most electric pencil sharpeners are powered through a 120V electrical cord, though some are battery operated.

What Can Go Wrong with an Electric Pencil Sharpener?

7 Uses for Electric Eraser

Highlights! You can use the edges to create a tiny highlight in the eye of your subject or intentionally color a large area and come back to create reflections along it with your electric eraser. The electric eraser is to pencil what the white gel pen is to marker work.

Did you know electric erasers can be used on more media than a regular eraser can? You can cleanly remove colored pencil, graphite, charcoal in addition to regular pencil!The Game Changing Sharpener for Colored Pencils – Blade vs. Helical

Sharpeners fall into 2 categories: Blade and Helical.

Blade sharpeners are what we all used in school, and probably what you're using now. They can be as simple as the one pictured, or they can come with a reservoir attached to catch the shavings. Depending on the angle of the blade, you can get a sharpen with a very small amount of core exposed, or a little longer.

Uses For An Airbrush

Most people don't realize how versatile an airbrush can be. They learn how to airbrush for one or two purposes but never realize the many ways they can use this tool. A good airbrush can be applied to a range of artistic applications and it can also be good for DIY projects.

Working with the battery-powered hub, this crafting tool model does not need an airbrush compressor and it can travel for use anywhere you need it.