Promoting his new book how to sharpen pencils, david. Apr 11, 2012 david rees, author of the new book how to sharpen pencils shares his equipment and technique, using palomino blackwing pencils. Jan 01, 2012 david rees sadly retired get your war on remains to this day one of my favorite political comic strips, but after that ended he hasnt done much on that level. How to sharpen pencils is the standard to which all future pencil sharpening textbooks must now aspire. Jul 29, 2012 david rees credits a 1940 shipfitters manual as inspiration for how to sharpen pencils, his stupefyingly exhaustive guide to the art, science and artisanal pleasures of manually shaping a. Nov 27, 2012 the author of a book on how to sharpen pencils, rees has been conducting pencil sharpening workshops across the country. David rees, author of the new book how to sharpen pencils shares his equipment and technique, using palomino blackwing pencils.
David rees s book, how to sharpen pencils melville house will be released on april 10. Rees, previously known as creator of the brash, deadpan. A practical and theoretical treatise on the artisanal craft of pencil sharpening. The artsandcrafts web site etsy recently published an extract from david rees s new book, how to sharpen pencils. The expert guide to sharpening pencils lifehacker australia. This is how rees artisanal pencil sharpening works. The thundering roar of a thousand knifewielding hurricanes you just detected is the sound of david rees revolutionary how to sharpen pencils.
May 11, 2012 the artsandcrafts web site etsy recently published an extract from david reess new book, how to sharpen pencils. How to sharpen pencils by david rees cw pencil enterprise. David rees, founder of gets busy with his travel kit to educate viewers about how a pencil should be sharpened. My favorite use for a david rees handsharpened pencil. Artisanal pencil sharpener youtube going deep with david rees s02e08 how the dishes duration. Just a man, some high quality cedar, a knife, and an occasional pencil sharper revive a bygone era and a disappearing. Most manual pencil sharpeners work by turning a crank, which rotates blades around inserted pencil heads. To david rees, sharpening a pencil is far more than a mundane task its an art. David has made a living as a humorously serious or seriously humorous expert on pencil sharpening and has stated this is not only the most expensive sharpener on the market, but also the best. This is a glimpse into a compulsive mind and it is scary in there. Artisanal pencil sharpener the art directors club recently shot a documentary video featuring david rees, artisanal pencil sharpener and author of how to sharpen pencils find it in a book store near you. The event promised a tutorial on pencil sharpening techniques both novel and advanced, and thats what the audience got. For david rees, pencil sharpening is an art form new.
David rees credits a 1940 shipfitters manual as inspiration for how to sharpen pencils, his stupefyingly exhaustive guide to the art, science and artisanal pleasures of manually shaping a thin. On the surface, david rees s how to sharpen pencils. Manual pencil sharpeners come with various mounting options, allowing permanent installation or temporary installation on a wall, desk top or other smooth surface. A practical and theoretical treatise on the artisanal craft of pencil sharpening for writers, artists, contractors, flange turners, anglesmiths, and civil servants, with illustrations showing current practice arriving on the shelves of your local bookshop.
Psychological risks associated with pencil sharpening, from. How to sharpen pencils is a book, a manifesto and a fullyillustrated walkthrough of the many, many, many ways to sharpen a pencil. David rees, a cartoonist, humor writer and selfproclaimed pencil sharpening artisan runs a truly unique business. Just as that venture is surely no joke, john hodgman assures, us in his foreword to the book. How to sharpen pencils by david rees overdrive rakuten. Fortunately this treatise only took a roundtrip twoborough subway ride to complete, but i kept looking up every ten minutes exclaiming, surely this will be about something else than sharpening pencils.
I think the theoretical stuff applies to matching the device to what the client needs. Apr, 2012 on the surface, david rees s how to sharpen pencils. Pencil sharpening maven david rees turned the nonfiction writing series at the midmanhattan library upsidedown tuesday night with his edgy pencil sharpening workshop. In 2009, the humorist david rees gave up cartooning and opened up his oneman artisanal pencil sharpening service in beacon, new york, an old factory town along the hudson river.
He slides the finished pencils very sharp tip into a speciallysized segment of plastic tubing, then puts the whole pencil in a. In fact, hes apparently been running an artisanal pencil sharpening side business from his house in suburban new york, which he decided to leverage into this very treatise. Oxford american this is the best treatise on pencil sharpening in a sea of none and diabolically funny. The extracta meticulously detailed guide to the correct use of singleblade pocket sharpenerswas lavishly illustrated with monochrome photographs of rees at work wearing an apron, a set of headmounted magnifying goggles, and a. Talking to professional pencil sharpener david rees. If you have further questions about pencils, i can recommend two books.
A little bit, but in his ostentatiousness he gets to the heart of it. Youll laugh, youll probably cut yourself trying to whittle down your nearest ticonderoga but most importantly, you will indeed learn how to sharpen a pencil. Gothamist this is the best treatise on pencil sharpening in a sea of none and diabolically funny. David rees may well be the worlds first and only artisanal pencil sharpener.
Yet somehow david rees tricked me into reading his howto manual on just that. Psychological risks associated with pencil sharpening. A handheld pencil sharpener is perfect for stashing in a backpack or a pencil box. Nov 29, 20 expert pencil sharpener david rees provides exacting instructions for proper pencil sharpening in the short film how to sharpen pencils by kenneth price. David rees and his oneman artisanal pencil sharpening. He says people have entrusted 1,500 pencil points to his sharpening business. You will walk away from this book feeling the satisfaction of having both discovered and. I know a little something about working with sharp pencils, and let. In 2010, he began offering his artisanal service to the world, to the jubilation of artists. How to sharpen pencils is a hilarious little volume whose presence is essential on any curious persons bookcase. Apr 06, 2017 david rees thinks he knows how to sharpen pencils. Artisanal pencil sharpening is part of the blackwing experience.
In new yorks hudson river valley, craftsman david rees still practices. Youll laugh, youll probably cut yourself trying to whittle down your nearest ticonderoga but most importantly, you will indeed learn how to sharpen a pencil if thats what youre really in it for. How to sharpen pencils, an instructional film on proper. Dec 11, 20 laugh all you want, but sharpening pencils is a serious businessjust ask artisanal pencil sharpener david rees. Be sure to get books one and two, and read the newest strips online on his website as well. For tips to help you understand what the availability of each book means and how soon. After the cartoonist, author and writer discontinued his satirical comic get your war on which ran in. My new show, going deep with david rees, airs monday nights on the national geographic channel. The challenge in satirizing a technical manual, as this example semisuicidally. Without any sarcasm, wit or puns, rees goes through each painstaking step of sharpening pencils. Just a man, some high quality cedar, a knife, and an occasional pencil sharper revive a bygone era and a disappearing instrument of communication. He says people have entrusted 1500 pencil points to his sharpening business. A practical and theoretical treatise on the artisanal craft of pencil sharpening for writers, artists, contractors, flange turners, anglesmiths, and civil servants.
You might send him your favorite pencil, but rees more often selects and sharpens a classic no. In 2010, he began offering his artisanal service to the world, to the jubilation. Writer david rees, pokerfaced and pokerstraight, and a selfstyled. In 2010, he began offering his artisanal service to the world, to the jubilation of artists, writers, draftsmen, and standardized test takers. Every aspect of pencil sharpening includes its own suite of pleasures. David rees is the pencil sharpening authority of the twenty first century, and no finer book has ever been written on the principles and practice of artisanal pencil sharpening. David has made a living as a humorously serious or seriously humorous expert on pencil sharpening and has stated this is not only the most expensive sharpener on.
Look for pencil sharpeners with tip saver technology to prevent over sharpening, which helps extend the life and usefulness of each pencil. I am david rees, artisanal pencil sharpener and host of going. On his new handbook, his upcoming visit to book people and the art of graphite by samantha pitchel apr 12, 2012, 1. Apr 12, 2012 talking to professional pencil sharpener david rees. I previously visited reddit to answer questions about my pencilsharpening business. Well, the whole point of the book was to try to defamiliarize pencil sharpening as an activity, so that people would just approach it from square one again. Its a show that allows me to explore in depth things people tend to take for granted.
How to sharpen pencils abebooks shop for books, art. Yes, its real, says david rees of his budding pencilsharpening business. David rees presents a primer on the artisanal craft of pencil. Going deep with david rees is a different kind of howto show. David rees started an artisanal pencilsharpening businessand wrote a book about it. One of the things i liked about starting the artisanal pencil sharpening business was that it made me think about pencils in greater depth than i probably ever had in my life. Library journal this book is really a mustread for anyone interested in pencils. David rees books list of books by author david rees. An excerpt from david rees newest book how to sharpen pencils, out today from melville house. Pencil sharpeners may be operated manually or by an electric motor. In new yorks hudson river valley, craftsman david rees still practices the ageold art of manual pencil sharpening.
No one these days does political satire as savagely and as honestly as david rees, creator of get your war on. His artisanal service is perfect for artists, writers, and standardized test takers. I am david rees, founder of artisanal pencil sharpening. By bringing pencil sharpening out in the open, david rees has lifted a taboo. I am so thrilled david rees is picking up the reins of the forgotten art of manual graphiteencasedinwood pointcrafting. How to sharpen pencils by david rees, 9781612193267, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Shipped with their shavings and a certificate of sharpening, these extrasharp pencils make wonderful gifts. He moved on to his artisanal pencil sharpening service and published a related book.
You may think that sharpening a pencil is easy, but david rees makes it look hard, and that makes all the. Artisanal pencil sharpener will sharpen your pencil for 15. A real book, how to sharpen pencils, written by comedian david rees creator of the cult comic get your war on. David rees, author of how to sharpen pencils, has described the m430 as. Its as real as artisanal cheesemaking or artisanal honey production or artisanal anything else thats. How to sharpen pencils, by david rees the new york times. The extracta meticulously detailed guide to the correct use of single. David rees is very entertaininghis sense of humor is sharp. A pencil sharpener also referred to as pencil pointer or in ireland as a parer or topper is a tool for sharpening a pencil s writing point by shaving away its worn surface.
It is common for many sharpeners to have a casing around them, which can be removed for emptying the. Manual pencil sharpeners generally come in handheld versions and more industrial versions. Sending threatening letters to strangers whose names i pick out of a phone book. David rees will sharpen your pencil the artisan way. He first rose to prominence as a cartoonist whose best known work combined bland clip art with trash talk. He says the things that some of us are afraid to say out loud, and uses profanity at exactly the right time. At heart thats what this book is, and good for rees for even trying. Rees has been making waves in the pencil world since opening his artisanal pencil sharpening business in 2010. A history of design and circumstance by henry petroski, an exhaustive, fascinating history of the pencil. When i decided to start my pencil sharpening business, it was very much informed by the vibe of the hudson valley, and i knew very quickly that if mine was to be a pencil. He gives lists of equipment, safety precautions and detailed procedures for every type of pencil sharpening method ever considered. He has also been distinguished visiting professor on the english faculty at california state university, san jose. How to sharpen pencils by david rees, the best book ever written and a wonderful holiday gift. Author david rees discusses artisanal goods movement.
Artisanal pencil sharpening is part of the blackwing experience, an. David rees was a lecturer at exeter university, england until 1984, when he became a fulltime freelance writer. He showed rocca a modern reproduction of an antique pencil sharpener. The book is powerfully funny a stylistic highwire act, and rees.
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