Tools of the Trade: If you’ve been around a jobsite long enough, you’ve likely come to appreciate the finer things in jobsite life like pencil lead that doesn’t snap every time you take a knife to it, and that stays sharp for more than three clicks on a board. Here’s a quick survey of some worth checking out, for framers and finish carpenters alike
11 comments:
I am constantly looking for new and better marking tool, and a pencil that stays sharp longer would save me many many trips to the pencil sharpener. While that may sound super lazy, given the pencil sharpener is only across the room, when you are in the middle of marking out a pattern the last time you want to do it stop. That ‘snap off graphite’ pencil looks really quite amazing and is not something I would have ever thought to look for. It may not always be the right choice for marking (and with fabric one type of marking tool is never enough), but that pencil may be one of my next marking investments. I’d also be interested in the fully graphite pencil, while it may end up leaving to much of a mark, if its a soft enough graphite to bend a bit while you use it, it could be great, when used with discretion to assist in marking more delicate fabrics.
I have to say, my mechanical pencil hasn't been doing great lately and I just hate the constant need to sharpen normal pencils, so I’ve never had those handy. I think my favorite one is the SuperPencil because I’ve had something like that as an art pencil, but never thought of using it for more than huge areas of shading. It does look quite thick, which is good to keep it from snapping, but it would probably get annoying when it gets dull and the tip is a quarter of an inch wide. I’m really interested in the pencils that are like box cutters; both the snap-off version and the utility knife one. It’s crazy that they can guarantee that the lead wouldn’t snap wherever and that it actually snaps at the creases, giving you a sharp point every time, or that the razor blade one is strong enough not to snap in the utility knife holder. Usually with articles listing off new tools like this I like maybe one or two off a list of ten, but this article only gave four and I love them all and am very tempted to buy them right now.
I want the Accutrax! I love looking at new technologies being developed for simple tasks, it's amazing to see things you never even knew you needed. I think for the Accutrax specifically, having it able to be inserted into a standard utility knife. With the flat blade as well, it doesn't matter if the blade "dulls" because it is the same thickness all the way through!! Very tempted to buy. Probably will.
It always amazes me that we, as humans, are still making innovations on marking utensils that we have been using for hundreds of years. Like Rachael I am always looking for a better way to mark my patterns out on fabric. Brian is very particular and doesn’t want any of our markings to show when the garment is finally constructed. Right now I use a mechanical pencil with HB lead, chalk and beige Prismacolor colored pencils. I once tried to us a harder lead and that did not work out. I don’t know if these innovative pencils would work as well in the costume studio setting. I hesitate to use anything that needs to be sharpened with a knife. The pencil that flexes sounds like a good idea, I often snap lead while putting pressure on my pencils. However it should be noted that marking wood and marking cloth are two very separate things. We usually need something soft for ease of use and I don’t know if these pencils would qualify.
With the few carpenters’ pencils I have used over the years, they have always been good for the work I’ve done. I say I’ve had several because I sometimes lose track of them. The only downside with a carpenter’s pencil is you are just about out of luck if you don’t having a knife blade to sharpen them with. The fatboy pencil looks interesting due to its mechanical pencil like quality. I mean do you use it like a mechanical pencil and then sharpen the edge. Which would be pretty cool, you would just have to buy extra pencil leads. See that’s where the downside of that design is, who is going to carry around giant pencil leads. The Superpencil is interesting in that it is entirely made of graphite. Downside? No matter when you touch it, you’re going to get dirty. I'd say the coolest is probably the accutrax. The fact that you can put it in any utility knife makes it versatile, and we pretty much already use blades to mark lines anyway. So why not make it more beneficial to the project instead of damaging it.
As exciting as these marking tools are, I don't believe I'll ever switch away from my carpenters' pencils. The Fatboy is a great idea, but, as Evan pointed out, no one wants to carry a giant replacement leads with them. As for the Superpencil, I have had too many bad experiences with all-graphite pencils. In previous work, I have managed to snap in half, while simply gripping the pencil, every all-graphite pencil I own. It seems silly to me to use a pencil that cannot withstand the stresses of being held. That being said, I've never had the lead point of a graphite stick break off. The Accurtrax seems like a great tool, but with the rate I loose carpenters' pencils, I'm not sure if it is the right fit for me. In the meantime, for better or for worse, I will stick by my "free in the lumber yard" pencil.
At first this article didn't really interest me, as an intended stage manager, this was not my field of knowledge. However, the more I thought about it, the technology to produce these kinds of pencils is very advanced. I never really come across situations where having to sharpen a pencil or click more lead out is a problem. But for carpenters or framers it can actually be an issue. The Super Pencil which is bendable and will simply bend instead of breaking really is something a carpenter or framer could make good use of. They also all come at a very reasonable price. However, if may be more cost effective to stick to as the author puts it, the "free in the lumber yard pencil." It may snap in half, or need sharpening often but for just your average guy building something, it would be worth more to stick to the basic then to invest in something that may not really solve any problem.
So I have that trouble too, when I want a robust pencil but don’t want to keep sharpening it. I’ve recently given up, and just started crying around a pen with me everywhere I go, but that isn’t exactly the ideal situation. You can’t erase pen. My issue is, I don’t like mechanical pencils very much. It’s hard to tell when you’re running low on lead, they can jam and snap off far more easily than their traditional counterparts. But at the same time, it’s not convenient to keep a sharpened pencil in your pocket all the time, and when you’re doing overhead work, you can’t really keep things behind your ear. While a lot of these are really cool, they definitely aren’t marketed towards my issue. I could absolutely see myself using these doing carpentry work, but at the same time, I could also just by a sharpener that I keep on me or near me during carpentry calls. Though they’re cool, and definitely inventive and useful, I don’t think any of these products are for me.
It’s neat how innovations in something as simple as a carpenter’s pencil can make our lives and jobs much easier. Out of these products, the Accutrax seems the cleverest. The design is such that it will never dull. I’m not sure I would pay $15 dollars for the FatBoy pencil (because I would lose it in a week), but it seems like a great product for a construction professional. New products like this show how even the smallest of improvements somewhere along a process can impact the final result (even if that improvement is just in one’s head). However, there is something about a regular old carpenter’s pencil that just feels right when you’re marking a 2x4. That being said, it’s always important to keep on the lookout for new tools.
There are a lot of gadgets and gizmos around to make carpentry and woodwork easier and/or more accurate. Though I enjoy exploring these and seeing and reading, I have found that sometimes, the simpler items work best. For my money, the standard Dixon-Ticonderoga #2 pencil is the best. Many tape measures (and some other tools) have pencil sharpeners built in and most shops have them, so there is never a need to pull out a knife to sharpen it. They are cheap and reliable. The fine point may wear down quickly, but that is only a problem when doing extremely fine woodwork and that is easily solved with a quick sharpen. This may be the one time when a fancy, high tech gadget may not be worth the price.
Well look at this, I thought I was about to get a whole article on mechanical pencils that carpenters and industrial workers may use during their job. However, I underestimated and see that this article was actually providing other options. But I wouldn't think to use an exacto blade as a way to make where to cut because if you need to change that spot you cannot erase the mark you already made. However, seeing that they have a tool that uses lead but looks like a box cutter it pretty cool. I just hope whoever uses it won't get confused can use the actually bow cutter or try to cut something with the one that has lead. I also wonder what would happen if you cut yourself with the lead box cutter? what would be the next course of action. I still feel like it's the easiest and cheapest way to just have an actual pencil on at all time, but these other markers may help with something more complex.
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