David Rees and Blackwing Pencils: Artisanal Pencil Sharpening

[@BiteAndChewReviews]

"It is possible to sharpen a pencil without a pencil sharpener, but it is impossible to sharpen a pencil without a pencil" Wow, this man is full of insightful gems.

[@DeoxOddsey]

H

[@DeoxOddsey]

BiteAndChewFoodReview k

[@iannordin5250]

The best part is when he explained that since the shavings are indeed part of the pencil, they should be returned to the customer with individual packaging

[@MoreThanMichael]

I have purchased and read his book. It has changed the way I sharpen pencils.

[@Dawn24Michele]

Wait, what. This was real?. I thought it was a spoof on the whole artisanal bs morons come up with these days. Oops.

[@Myystical1]

I've never seen the line between serious and satire toed so masterfully.

[@Axelrad1]

I feel like this is a joke that went way too far.

[@kylestonebraker3050]

Look up Going Deep with David Rees. This is no joke.

[@jimmygrant3212]

But damn good one

[@edouardbail9741]

The guy has multiple books and a tv show!!

[@NaNa-kj2gw]

Actually, it was a joke that went to far. He's quit. Said it was a sad commentary that people were willing to pay $40 for a white guy in an apron to sharpen a damn pencil. So any people were paying him for this.

[@dkiefersu]

@@NaNa-kj2gw interesting! I can see why he would quit and that is kinda sad. But there are some good points to sharpening a pencil his way, especially putting something on the tip to protect the pencil and yourself from impailment.

[@Z7Games]

*"Im a professional pencil sharpener"* Lost it there.

[@Ed-lz4jv]

LMAO when he said that

[@philnamproductions]

I thought this was a joke but this was actually really fascinating! his passion for pencil sharpening is just mindblowing!

[@LoveBystroem]

This is possibly the best and nerdiest piece if content ever produced

[@jacquischmitt7258]

If you want to sharpen a pencil you can do it for under $1000

[@jbsg01]

+Jacqui Schmitt That's where I lost it haha

[@WillLeingang]

😂

[@EM-vr8ip]

I love this guy! I'm sorry his show was cancelled. I liked the little shaved tool, it reminds me when I was a little girl and we had to sometimes shapen our pencils with just a blade. Sometimes our little sharpeners broke. The good old days. 😀

[@AafkeArt]

I am ashamed of myself now... For all these years working as a professional artist I have never taken the sharpening of my pencils seriously enough. Thank you sir for opening my eyes, I am sure my artwork will be significantly improved. In three or four years, when I have mastered the art of artisanal pencil sharpening....

[@Kaya2yuh]

This inspired my final Buisness technology class assignment. My made up business was a professional pencil sharpening service. A+.

[@ivanvollvik1810]

"This is me playing it safe" - David Rees on sharpening his pencil manually. Gotta love it.

[@gonepostal474]

He's either funny as shit or insane.

[@aidysfan]

He's a comedian.

[@patrickmccormack4318]

He's both.

[@EamonnDoylePhotoFilm]

Is ok guys you only need $1000 to get started. *Walks into bank* "hello i would like to take out a loan of $1000 to start a small business". "What is your business sir?" "I will sharpen peoples pencils". *Thrown out the door by bank security*

[@pewster31]

real talk, that "handmade" pencil sharpener was actually cool as shit.

[@stealthsilen]

He is being serious, but also adding a funny twist to it. He used to be a comic, but changed to a become a pencil sharpener, and you should watch his other videos. I really like him, he is sincere, and funny as hell. I love him.

[@michellechen9696]

Oh shit, I was hella scared of sharpening a pencil before but not anymore, thanks to this video

[@Spydercocaine]

Correct. I see a deep philosophical genius behind this masquerade of lead and charcoal.

[@kurt1618]

I'm not really that interested in pencils but I do collect sharpeners. I'm glad to see you use an El Casco. I own two of the first they made in the 40's and they are amazing.

[@Mike_Key]

This is awesome. One of the funniest videos I have seen on KZbin. They dryness of the humor is priceless.

[@IamJok3r1]

It is impossible to sharpen pencils without a pencil. Genius! Now I know where I've been going wrong all these years. That's why I'll never be any more than a mere amateur pencil sharpener.

[@TheLochNessWhisper]

This video has increased my appreciation for pencils...

[@drnh4444]

Wow!!! What an amazing collection

[@whiteliketar]

An absolutely beautiful thing. Something poetic , something old - of yesteryear - I love this.

[@odoloid]

Sharpening pencils is SERIOUS BUSINESS.

[@kuprukuula]

"I'm in the pen sharpening business"

[@SenselessUsername]

No, no , sharpening pencils by mail order is just phase one.

[@reso1349]

I love the seriousness of this gag... Palominos are great pencils.

[@yokabaka]

I had goosebumps while he was rotating the handle of the pencil sharpener. Very nice piece of craft

[@TheFuggNugg]

"it is possible to sharpen pencils without a pencil sharpener; but it is impossible to sharpen a pencil without a pencil." truly the plato of our times

[@YudiMuchanis]

i will get some of em... one, because i love seeing him doing what he loves the most and two... that sharpen pencil is just... wow...

[@Avetarx]

If people can make money by playing videogames, this guy deserves to make a living from sharpening pencils.

[@cynthiahauser2250]

fer shur

[@ryanphillips4123]

Tru dat

[@BaddaBigBoom]

@@ryanphillips4123 I know ...right.

[@lissacpc]

Amén.

[@htm2250]

I feel like this is a Funny or Die skit

[@tjduprey]

With an Amazon Prime discount you save almost $7 on the hardback version. It's great to see a master in the art of pencil sharpening at work. Truly a necessity for the library of every serious pencil artist.

[@penguinpie5056]

I prefer to shape the graphite on increasingly finer grits of japanese waterstones. I usually end off with 10,000 grit for the smoothest possible surface. Another thing I like to do is fire harden the wooden casing for added strength. This is an ancient pencil sharpening technique dating back to hunter gatherer times. I also build pencils by hand planing triangular strips of wood and gluing with hide glue to join them into a hexagonal blank, I then hand auger each blank through and laminate strips of B hardness graphite around an H hardness core to ensure the pencil is both of sufficient blackness but also strong enough to withstand the rigours of practical use. Most of my pencils end up being display pieces however. Typically I find Honduras Mahogany is the best pencil casing wood as it is sufficiently hard to provide structural stability and also has a nice tap tone and superior acoustic properties. I typically will seal the casing with a clear nitrocellulose coating to both show off the aesthetic beauty of the wood and help it retain its acoustic properties. Pencil acoustics is often overlooked but becomes apparent when a pencil is dropped. Lesser pencils often produce a dull dead sound, whereas an artisanal pencil will be apparent due to it's clear ping upon hitting the floor.

[@penguinpie5056]

+Penguin Pie I mean I was apprenticed for 5 years in the bavarian school of pencil sharpening. But you should never limit yourself to just one system. take what works and strip away the inessential. I have found the traditional japanese approach to pencil sharpening can produce a much finer final point. I have created many jigs which streamline the process which also helps.

[@justmegawatt]

I definitely recommend the El Casco, the world's most expensive pencil sharpener only $600. My team and I were competing against 12 other teams in the national pencil sharpening competition and with the Casco we ended up winning with an average pencil sharpening time of 8.52 seconds, barely beating the second place competitors whose average was 8.68 seconds per pencil.

[@loupetron]

Simply brilliant and witty!

[@Traderjoe]

Make sure you keep all your certificates of sharpening and lighting conditions in addition to your clear bag of pencil shavings (since they are the clients property) in a safe deposit box in your local bank and have the certificates duly notarized, as required by law in the state of Wisconsin.

[@faraz1729]

"Teacher my pencil broke" "Go sharpen it" "Ok! 2 weeks in the mail..."

[@wastedpaint8281]

i could watch this for 10 hours straight and be entertained full

[@yyyy2999]

This guy takes pencil sharpening to a new level.

[@danielcarmi305]

I have to be honest, when he wrote his signature at the end the pencil wrote smooth as hell.

[@justinkeefe3456]

This guys humor is fantastic!

[@brinh123]

I love the way you've convinced people that this is a thing now.

[@MrMiniblock]

Timmy Turner's dad

[@XweXcollideX]

This. Was amazing

[@dance1211rec]

I took the seriously and was incredibly intrigued by pencil sharping. I love it

[@choochoochooseyou]

A lot of you have already asked if this is a joke and the consensus seems to be that it's not. In which case the people paying for this service must be the not-rights. So I get my newly sharpened pencil, carry on my pencil drawing, and after a couple dozen strokes the point has dulled. Do I send it off all over again?? What am I missing here?

[@firstnamelastname2672]

This guy's book is a must read

[@Spydercocaine]

I have one too and can highly suggest getting one. When the transparent box fills with dust and wood, it feels like all the negative energy that lies within an unsharpened pencil gets sorted out naturally, with you being the active puppet player in an opera of dualistic factory manufacturing and artistic handcraft. Just imagine the possibilities of a sharpened pencil. I could stare at it for month rather than touching it and using it for something simple as drawing.

[@studiot7480]

love the 'travel kit' clearly there would be a blunt pencil somewhere that urgently needed attention - all for under 1000! 😃

[@grimshawr]

I watched this whole video. Why did I watch this whole video? I watched this whole video because I am extremely bored, and it was on Reddit.

[@TuberoseKisser]

He actually made a bunch of good points, especially about picking debris from the sharpener and potentially damaging the blade

[@lindaburnett3]

He made a couple of good points. Punny.

[@kingtyris4992]

Are we sure this isn't a clip from Portlandia?

[@norwester7018]

+king tyris HAHAHAHAHAHA, EXACTLY what I was thinking when I heard about this shit... I'm a born and raised Portlander (and despite what one might imagine, NOT a fucking fixie riding hipster) and even I couldn't believe this was for real...

[@treephant]

Finally we've found a man worthy of hanging out with Steven Wright.

[@tomfung9492]

Just heard David Rees interview on CBC's "As it Happens". So funny.

[@ericburlingame8079]

damn i just cant seem to sharpen this pencil to my liking, how much do you charge? I would also like to receive all equipment used in the sharpening, price is no object.

[@zeester0101]

That was a cool signature at the end.

[@WALLACE9009]

I have read the book and is fascinating

[@PatrickEPM]

Just heard David being interviewed on CBC radio. Thought it was an elaborate joke. It is very funny, but he is for real. David has even just finished a USA pencil sharpening tour. He charges $15 to sharpen a pencil.

[@danstrayer111]

they replayed that 2 nights ago., last day of April 2022.

[@pocket83]

There is a flaw! At 5:03, you reveal that this is satire. Beautifully, masterfully conceived satire, but nevertheless, it is a carefully calculated ploy for attention. Here is why I can say this: unlike the presenter, _I_ actually am an expert on this topic. I am a carpenter who has been trained in higher level mathematics and who is skilled in drawing; I have filled dozens of notebooks with mathematical ideas and models, sketches, writings, and various ideas. The actual implementation of each of my ideas requires pinpoint accuracy and precise manipulation of the Ticonderoga, both on paper and on the project's substrate. I am surrounded by the pencil constantly- presently one rests on my ear. There is no place in my house where I am far from a sharpening method. If you can trust that my proclamation of expertise is not satirical, then consider this piece of testimony: _nobody_ who is an expert on pencil sharpening/usage would ever throw one (even for demonstration), and risk internal damage to the graphite. He has revealed, albeit in a subtle way, that he is a fraud. lol.

[@newtracetriad]

So... you're saying he somehow acquired those expensive drafting pencils and all that equipment, neatly packed them, and set this up just to fool people...

[@RedouaneSebbar]

FLYING PANDAS trol genious..?

[@jeng3000]

FLYING PANDAS smh... pocket83 is satirizing the satire. People need to stop taking this stuff seriously.

[@Definatalie]

When he threw the pencil I felt ill inside. I knew the graphite inside the pencil was ruined forever.

[@ThisIsSCHPARTA]

by god... this guy (the guy in the video) is a legitimate professional pencil sharpener. I looked up the website and found out that it was made in 2010, so about two years before this KZbin video was made. and that this website was last updated in october (4 months ago but i thought that it would have been around a year since the last update). and recently he has done a project with national geographic about basic daily functions such as making eye contact or giving a handshake.

[@sherylpockrose4029]

Since most of my pencils are things I pick up from the sidewalk or parking lot, I find the usual little hand-held manual sharpener is adequate! This is fun to watch, though.

[@brokenglass9853]

I really wish I found this video before purchasing my pencil sharpening kit for 1800.00. It didn't even include a flexible hose. I just ball up tissue and gently push the pencil tip into that and then insert into the tube and ship it off to the client. I haven't had a mishap yet but still, it seems so much easier his way.

[@mafed451]

he worked for the census, the sheds a little light right there. But I have to give credit to a guy's salesmanship that can make a career out of something we have all done for ourselves since the age of 5. Reminds me of the tailor of the emperor's clothes.

[@Mbeluba]

Man, I love your humour sense. This joke is sooo wonderfully created.

[@victoriagarcia6768]

Ayyy this was way before going deep with David Rees

[@victoriagarcia6768]

I'm sorry this is so surreal

[@Dallas-Nyberg]

A piece of trivia... in the movie "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954)... Miller (James Stewart) can be seen rewriting a music score, using a Blackwing pencil... you can clearly see "Half the pressure - twice the speed" imprinted on it. - Cheers

[@mishaerementchouk]

I am a big fan of Mr. Rees's work but he presents with an attitude of unquestionable authority (perhaps unintentionally) some ideas, which in fact are subjects of heated ongoing discussions. Holding the sharpener, or, as aficionados usually say, the Tool, is precisely one of them. If you are interested in the art of sharpening you may visit pencilsharpeningnetwork . com, where you will find a vast amount of information.

[@genscripter2]

I got my pencil yesterday! Christmas came early!

[@roonietunes60]

I have heard your interviews via tom sharpling and am now watching a French film (only 15 minutes long) called "I'm a sharoener". It's a romantic drama based on a professional pencil sharpener. Their maybe a subtitled English version out there.

[@joshmcgowan4]

It sure if this is genius or insanity either way I watched to the end and it made me smile.

[@lissacpc]

I need this book in my life

[@lmwfy]

there are so many people in this world... mind = blown.

[@Skipperdee]

Under $1,000.00? I better start getting my rig together. This is a potential GOLD MINE!

[@Troy_Sent_A_Message]

The best part of this video is that it out of focus 93.4% of the time.

[@jeffnovak4584]

"the lighting conditions" Because when I send my pencil to someone to have it sharpened I needs ta KNOW!!! ^_^

[@thabrosh]

I'm sure everyone that gets a pencil from this guy just can't wait to see what the lighting conditions were when he sharpened it.

[@duffthepsych]

Ah good. Another good one for the unintentional asmr playlist.

[@BruceKaplan]

We like the Blackwing so much, we wrote a song about it!

[@cindydale2891]

This is the coolest thing ever!

[@mylabot]

actually, that tip about the tip protectors is rather handy for us who work with soft lead color pencils.

[@NicoleRetuta]

This video changed my life. :D

[@jlmaybon]

This guy's a poet!

[@theplaidasparagus]

If I saw this guy walking down the street my first thought would definitely be, "Yep. Professional Pencil Sharpener - NAILED IT."

[@jaystew8911]

Wow I want to be a professional pencil sharpener too

[@jaystew8911]

Quite a great career man we got here

[@jaslevartri]

Omg I fucking love him! CX

[@member0900]

Im not going to lie.. that was honestly pretty entertaining (to watch). I wanted to see the reproduction 1908 pencil sharpener sharpen the pencil... I need to get out more.

[@DeathBringer769]

He is, in fact, completely serious.

[@31992lm]

Wow, this video involves a lot of tools, my favorite was the narrator.

[@amyx231]

I would love to be able to make a living doing this. It's an art. Did anyone see the pencil lead sculptures?

[@LocustLeafFarm]

He forgot to do the warm up exercises that are in the book. Hope he doesn't get hurt. LOL Got to love this guy.

[@japanboy31415]

"so what do you do for a living?" "oh! i sharpen pencils!" "..."

[@sclogse1]

And we're just getting started.

[@koabzilla]

this is pure bliss

[@truthgully]

Entertaining and informative, can't wait for the next one!

[@MasterC2012]

If you have bandaids in your pencil-case, you are doing something very wrong.

[@MsHaRdeHaR]

This has the best comment tread ever...thanks david....i realize as an artist....i only need $.75 at my local dollar general....or a box cutter...I have both...

[@Abion47]

"It is impossible to sharpen a pencil without a pencil." Mind = BLOWN

[@croppingbeef]

Thanks Reddit. This was great.

[@jcb24146]

person:what do you do for a living? i sharpen pencils, sir.

[@PhilosophicalCat]

David Rees: There's no reason to be intimidated by sharpening a pencil. Kid in elementary school during a math test: Am I a joke to you?