The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

PasturesNew

The gas man cometh ... looks like I'm on his list for this morning.

silvercar

michaels wrote: »

Pretty much every other house on that little stretch seems to have good options for access and yet that is the only one that has built in the garden....

I am surprised that the original house has enough remaining 'amenity space' to satisfy the planners.

Possibly no objections from neighbours as they plan to do the same, or at the very least they see their property increasing in value due to the potential to back garden build.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

There is something nice about sharpening pencils isn't there... with a penknife, or a good sharpener.

I have never, ever sharpened a pencil with a knife, despite having been a girl-guide and having had my own Swiss Army-type penknife.

I suppose it was just easier, and safer, to use a pencil sharpener!

I still use pencils a lot...... for crosswords, Futoshiki and Kakuro and other puzzles. I don't like doing them online.....I like to make notes and try things out. Plus I use the sort with an eraser on the end.

Unfortunately, over the years, the quality of the eraser tips has deteriorated alarmingly...... I got my last job lot of favourite tipped pencils over the Internet about two years ago....... the self-same brand, which used to be made in England, is now made in ? China, and the erasers are useless.

When my job lot runs out, I will have to use propelling pencils with replaceable eraser tips. I don't like propelling pencils, because the lead tips often break or lose sharpness.

Mind you eraser-tip pencils weren't all that economical, because when the eraser ran out, I didn't want to carry on using the pencil, so have loads of redundant pencils! It's a shame they never invented an ordinary pencil where you could replace the little eraser tips.

By the way, I've tried the ones you can buy and stick on the end of pencils, but they weren't any good either. For Sudoku, Futoshiki and Kakuro, you need a very small eraser edge so that you can rub out just one of your tiny number options in the square.


I'm sounding like a pencil nerd, aren't I? :rotfl::rotfl:

Perhaps I should buy that book after all! :rotfl:




NB.....Can anyone think of a use for redundant pencils?

chris_m

Pyxis wrote: »

NB.....Can anyone think of a use for redundant pencils?

Making a very small fire

Pyxis

Hahahahhahahahahahjaha! I just had a look at the pencil book, and thought you might like to share this review.........

QUOTE
About this Item: Melville House Publishing, United States, 2013. Paperback. Condition: New. Language: English.

Brand new Book. A hilarious guide to the lost art of artisanal pencil sharpening .

"I am so thrilled David Rees is picking up the reins of the forgotten art of manual graphite-encased-in-wood point-crafting. I love my pencil!"

"You may think that sharpening a pencil is easy, but David Rees makes it look hard, and that makes all the difference." [:D ]

"Truly, my life before I was presented with correctly sharpened pencils by an artisan was a dull and ill-sharpened void. Learn from my mistakes."

Have you got the right kind of point on your pencil? Do you know how to achieve the perfect point for the kind of work you need out of that pencil?
Deep in New York's Hudson River Valley, craftsman David Rees, the world's number one #2 pencil sharpener, still practices the age-old art of manual pencil sharpening.

In 2010, he began offering his artisanal service to the world, to the jubilation of artists, writers, draftsmen, and standardized test takers.

Now, Rees presents a book that is both a manifesto and a fully-illustrated walk-through of the many, many, many ways to sharpen a pencil.

Including chapters on equipment, current practice, and modern technologies, it also points at new trends in sharpening, including "Celebrity Impression Pencil Sharpening (CIPS)," a warning about the Psychological Risks Associated with Pencil Sharpening, and a survey of "Wines that tastes like pencils."

As Rees implores: "Sharpening pencils should be an activity that enriches the senses."

And if you think it's a joke, why don't you poke yourself with your newly sharpened pencil? Or better yet, don't, because it'll really hurt.
UNQUOTE


I love it! :rotfl:

Pyxis

chris_m wrote: »

Making a very small fire

I shall poke you with one I've just sharpened, just see if I don't!

Jackmydad

I rarely use a pencil sharpener. Nearly always a knife, or a chisel sometimes.
And (Horror of horrors) I break new pencils in half so I can tuck the "half" behind my ear.
Faber Castell rubbers used to be good. I rarely have found the pencil tip rubbers to be much use.
Speaking of Faber Castell, have you tried their clutch pencils Pyxis?
Fairly thick lead that doesn't break too easily, and you can get a sharpener that gives a really good point. Not cheap though.

Pyxis

Jackmydad wrote: »

I rarely use a pencil sharpener. Nearly always a knife, or a chisel sometimes.
And (Horror of horrors) I break new pencils in half so I can tuck the "half" behind my ear.
Faber Castell rubbers used to be good. I rarely have found the pencil tip rubbers to be much use.
Speaking of Faber Castell, have you tried their clutch pencils Pyxis?
Fairly thick lead that doesn't break too easily, and you can get a sharpener that gives a really good point. Not cheap though.

Have they got eraser tips, though?
I'm working through said supply of Berol Mirado. The original sort. The eraser tips on them are good.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

NB.....Can anyone think of a use for redundant pencils?

Wonky Jenga.

Rubbers are useless; I use the propelling pencils and the rubbers on those are hard and all they do is create a dark smudge. Rubbers used to be much better years ago....

PasturesNew

Jackmydad wrote: »

I break new pencils in half so I can tuck the "half" behind my ear.

That reminds me of an old joke.... a carpenter on a building site had an accident and sliced his ear off .... his workmates were helping him to find the ear before the ambulance arrived. One held up an ear and asked "is this yours?" .... "No .... mine had a pencil behind it"