How to sharpen a pencil with a box cutter
Sharper Things
Sharpen your pencil with a box cutter. It's more reliable and you have more point options than with a sharpener. Go slow. Keep the blade pointing away from you. Take a little off at a time, rotating as you go. Some websites sell safety sharpeners. There are so many tutorials on YouTube. Just one tutorial of so, so many..
I don't spend any longer than it takes to get a serviceable point. I avoid long points and thin points because I know I will break them. But some people like to expose the entire lead. I don't personally feel a need to but whatever works for you.
Self realizations prompted by the symbolic meaning of sharpening a pencil with a knife
The box cutter is the easiest way I've found to sharpen a pencil. It's so much easier than a hand sharpener. There's a risk of injury but there's a risk of injury with everything in life.
It's a little more work than an electric sharpener. I'm not afraid of hard work. I am arbitrarily lazy. I won't flinch at the prospect of spending twelve hours working on a project (or 30 seconds carving a point on a pencil). But the idea of doing something I don't want to do and I shouldn't have to do can send me into a ranting rage (this has been on my mind lately).
My propensity for stepping on proverbial soap boxes is not fun for the people in earshot. It's also not something I am ashamed of any longer. I choose to stand up for myself and accept that sometimes the consequences of standing my ground are high but sometimes they're amazing rewards.
Talking about a problem can get out the anger and frustration in a constructive, honest way then I can move on to dealing with the problem. This is really important for artists. I'm working through my hang ups and a side effect of that is I'm less likely to deal with crap by silently fuming about it or by denying that its effecting me. I am going to fight for myself because I am nasty woman and I am proud of it.
