![\"IMG_1116_edited-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1116_edited-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The 0.5 HB<\/strong>, despite limitations, is convenient and versatile to perform most layout work. However, as in most matters of woodworking, it is valuable to have a range of options<\/a> to suit the tool to the task.<\/strong><\/p>\n In the photo above,<\/strong> the line on the left was made with 0.5 HB, the next with a worn chisel point 2.0 mm 2H, and the three on the right with fresher chisel points.<\/p>\n What about the flat carpenter’s pencil?<\/strong> It won’t roll away while you are building on a roof but I do not like them for furniture making layout. The lead is too soft in the widely available regular ones, and though harder lead is available, I find them generally too coarse. A chisel point<\/strong> can be made with a knife, and renewed with sandpaper, but the process is slower and messier than the 2.0 mm and 0.9 mm 2H.<\/p>\n This is just personal preference<\/strong> and you may find you like them. Another option for sharpening<\/strong> the carpenter’s pencil is the clever Keson sharpener<\/a>, which uses two blades in succession. Other sharpeners that bring the flat pencil to a rounded point are a good example of defeating a design with “improvements.”<\/p>\n Since only the timid and fools don’t make mistakes, those who use pencils must use erasers.<\/strong> The pink eraser on the end of a wooden pencil is adequate for spot use but it tends to smudge. The refillable white eraser<\/strong> on the end of the Pentel Twist-Erase<\/a> is much better.<\/p>\n However, I like to make big, head-slapping mistakes so I keep two types of separate erasers<\/strong> available. A kneaded eraser<\/a> is convenient in that it does not produce crumbs, and it lasts a long time, but often it cannot fully remove lines on wood. Its surface is refreshed by folding and kneading.\u00a0More thorough is a white “plastic” eraser<\/strong>, such as the Staedtler Mars<\/a>. It does produce crumbs but this serves to keep its surface clean and thus prevent smudges on the wood.<\/p>\n