cool. i’ll try that out

cool. i’ll try that out

what the…I tried this and it blew up my mom’s microwave! -jk

what the…I tried this and it blew up my mom’s microwave! -jk

Uh…heads up if your pencil has metallic printing.

Uh…heads up if your pencil has metallic printing.

Hmmmm I tried it and had no problems. Maybe left it in there too long?

Hmmmm I tried it and had no problems. Maybe left it in there too long?

I need to try this! My cat is forever knocking pencils off my table causing me lament the experience within the wood shell casing.

I need to try this! My cat is forever knocking pencils off my table causing me lament the experience within the wood shell casing.

Did you find that out by absent mindedly putting pencils in the microwave or on purpose? :-p

Did you find that out by absent mindedly putting pencils in the microwave or on purpose? :-p

friend of mine told me . . . i didn’t believe him, then I tried it and it worked

friend of mine told me . . . i didn’t believe him, then I tried it and it worked

cool! do u put it in before u sharpen it, or after it breaks?

cool! do u put it in before u sharpen it, or after it breaks?

I only do it after it breaks or I find that the pencil keeps losing its point. Then I’ll put it in and zap it for a bit then resharpen it.

I only do it after it breaks or I find that the pencil keeps losing its point. Then I’ll put it in and zap it for a bit then resharpen it.

ok sweet ill give it a try!

ok sweet ill give it a try!

“the entire lead of the pencil is shattered”
Ummm… How old are your pencils? I know that for all of MY life, we’ve had GRAPHITE pencils, not lead, due to the whole lead poisoning thing.

You should really be more clear. Does this only work with pencils from forever ago or did you just use the wrong word every time?

“the entire lead of the pencil is shattered”
Ummm… How old are your pencils? I know that for all of MY life, we’ve had GRAPHITE pencils, not lead, due to the whole lead poisoning thing.

You should really be more clear. Does this only work with pencils from forever ago or did you just use the wrong word every time?

Sorry! by lead I mean the waxy core of a prismacolor pencil. Not a graphite pencil!

Sorry! by lead I mean the waxy core of a prismacolor pencil. Not a graphite pencil!

[...] Via IDSketching.com [...]

[...] of something unique you can bring to the table. One of our most unique and popular posts was on microwaving prismacolor pencils to keep them from breaking. That post alone brought over 10,000 new visitors to [...]

[...] of something unique you can bring to the table. One of our most unique and popular posts was on microwaving prismacolor pencils to keep them from breaking. That post alone brought over 10,000 new visitors to [...]

hi Spencer,
I have to admit that I find your website incredibly significant in getting ID students (like myself) to dive into sketching. Your tips and tutorials are really great. I have recommended this website to many of my friends and colleagues.
However, with this advice – microwaving your pencils – I believe you are asking for a law suit. These objects are NOT meant to be nuked and you should be a aware of the consequences your reader might experience. Trust me, someone’s pencil will catch fire eventually.
If I were you I would delete this posting.
I wish you all the best, and I am looking forward to see what you have to show next.

hi Spencer,
I have to admit that I find your website incredibly significant in getting ID students (like myself) to dive into sketching. Your tips and tutorials are really great. I have recommended this website to many of my friends and colleagues.
However, with this advice – microwaving your pencils – I believe you are asking for a law suit. These objects are NOT meant to be nuked and you should be a aware of the consequences your reader might experience. Trust me, someone’s pencil will catch fire eventually.
If I were you I would delete this posting.
I wish you all the best, and I am looking forward to see what you have to show next.

If you read through the post, you’ll notice the warning – proceed at your own risk. I make no claim that this is safe, nor do I assume responsibility for anyone’s actions, so if you overlook the warning, it’s on you. Thanks for the warning, and I hope you don’t catch on fire either. Hehe.

If you read through the post, you’ll notice the warning – proceed at your own risk. I make no claim that this is safe, nor do I assume responsibility for anyone’s actions, so if you overlook the warning, it’s on you. Thanks for the warning, and I hope you don’t catch on fire either. Hehe.

Oh great tip I’ll have to try It out In case mine ever break! What’s best to sharpen them In hand held sharpener, Electirck sharpener, Or the kind they come with?

Oh great tip I’ll have to try It out In case mine ever break! What’s best to sharpen them In hand held sharpener, Electirck sharpener, Or the kind they come with?

Personally, I use an auto-stop electric sharpener. That way the pencils aren’t wasted by over sharpening them.

Personally, I use an auto-stop electric sharpener. That way the pencils aren’t wasted by over sharpening them.

Great idea. It would be similar to leaving your pencils in the sunny window for a while. Of course you need to live where the sun shines and it gets warm. I had also heard that you can put them in the oven for a short time. (I don’t remember what temp and how long)
Just to let others know, the companies who manufacture colored pencils all refer to the colored wax as lead.
” a. Any of various, often graphitic compositions used as the writing substance in pencils.
b. A thin stick of such material. ”
Which by definition could be graphite, charcoal, or a colored wax stick. The term in Spencer’s instructions is a generic reference to the center portion of a pencil and the casing is made up of wood covered by paint.

Great idea. It would be similar to leaving your pencils in the sunny window for a while. Of course you need to live where the sun shines and it gets warm. I had also heard that you can put them in the oven for a short time. (I don’t remember what temp and how long)
Just to let others know, the companies who manufacture colored pencils all refer to the colored wax as lead.
” a. Any of various, often graphitic compositions used as the writing substance in pencils.
b. A thin stick of such material. ”
Which by definition could be graphite, charcoal, or a colored wax stick. The term in Spencer’s instructions is a generic reference to the center portion of a pencil and the casing is made up of wood covered by paint.

I’ve been reading through the various articles on the site and I have to admit that I found this particular advice to clearly demonstrate your skill at thinking outside of the box! Most manufacturers are pretty secretive concerning the exact formulation for their cores, which makes it difficult if not impossible to determine accurately with which brand this technique will work and with which it will not. Without being an expert on the topic, after some research, I determined that the average coloured core contains a significant portion of vegetable-based wax as the primary filler.

If a core shatters, it is often, as others have indicated in previous posts, because the age of the pencil (or even its manner and place of storage) have left the core filler material brittle. This is indicative of a lower than desired level of moisture within the filler, which gives it pliability and even a measure of density. This led me to think of a few other methods that could also give some good results for your older pencils:

- Temporary storage in a higher heat/humidity area, such as a bathroom

- Using an iron on low heat/steam setting and rolling over pencils between towels

- Using a re-purposed cigar humidor to store older pencils until they have regained their original moisture content.

Just a thought… I have run into this problem only a few times in my life and I’ve always attributed the problem to improper storage (close to electric heaters) and UV exposure (clear storage containers, near windows). That can be an issue for some art shops too!

I’ve been reading through the various articles on the site and I have to admit that I found this particular advice to clearly demonstrate your skill at thinking outside of the box! Most manufacturers are pretty secretive concerning the exact formulation for their cores, which makes it difficult if not impossible to determine accurately with which brand this technique will work and with which it will not. Without being an expert on the topic, after some research, I determined that the average coloured core contains a significant portion of vegetable-based wax as the primary filler.

If a core shatters, it is often, as others have indicated in previous posts, because the age of the pencil (or even its manner and place of storage) have left the core filler material brittle. This is indicative of a lower than desired level of moisture within the filler, which gives it pliability and even a measure of density. This led me to think of a few other methods that could also give some good results for your older pencils:

- Temporary storage in a higher heat/humidity area, such as a bathroom

- Using an iron on low heat/steam setting and rolling over pencils between towels

- Using a re-purposed cigar humidor to store older pencils until they have regained their original moisture content.

Just a thought… I have run into this problem only a few times in my life and I’ve always attributed the problem to improper storage (close to electric heaters) and UV exposure (clear storage containers, near windows). That can be an issue for some art shops too!

Lawsuit for advice on site targeted at relative grownups…. Sounds soooo American…

I just googled “prismacolor pencil keeps breaking” and this is the first site that came up! I thought that I needed to start searching for a pencil sharpening tutorial because my prismacolour indigo blue pencil kept breaking (its down to half the size now) while sharpening. I thought i’d switch to a prismacolor verithin and it kept breaking too! I’ve tried 3 different sharpeners and the same thing. Microwave, here I come!

IT WORKS!!!;] <3

Be careful doing this to premiers since they have a large bit of metallic printing on the end that will easily smoke…almost toasted my dorm’s microwave

[...] Pencils This is an article to help with broken pencils and tells you how to "fix" them. Quick Tip For Prismacolor Pencils | Industrial Design Sketching and Drawing Tutorials Prismacolor Chatter Thread on SCS about broken pencils, sharpening etc. – Scroll down on the page [...]

cool

Thanks for this! How long do you wait after you microwave, until you sharpen? Do you need to put the pencil in the refrigerator first?

I never keep my pencil in refrigerator. Your idea help me to keep it in refrigerator, which will be best to use long time very easily. I just started to keep all beauty products in refrigerator after reading your post.

storage containers…

[...]Quick Tip For Prismacolor Pencils | Industrial Design Sketching and Drawing Tutorials[...]…

I tried the microwave suggestion, first time for five seconds, second time for ten seconds, and it didn’t melt the core I still had breaks…  any suggestions?

Try different pencils.

Spencer

I stopped having the problem of breakage after I placed them on a cookie sheet and placed them in the oven.  You must put the pencils in a cool oven, then start heating it up to 200. Once it hits 200 degrees wait 30 minutes, then turn off the oven, but leave the pencils in there until the oven has cooled off to room temp. You will see a little wax sometimes on the outside of the pencil, but I never have problems of breakage.

Free Drawing Softwares…

[...]Quick Tip For Prismacolor Pencils | Industrial Design Sketching and Drawing Tutorials[...]…

Word of advice: Don’t nuke watercolor pencils or pencils in a mug. They must be lying flat. I just had a black pencil explode over all of my other pencils and stain the mug it was in. Going to go out looking for a cigar humidor now.

So, you really believe that you can sue over bad advice on the internet? What has this world come to.