Comments on: Quick Tip: Prismacolor Pencils (UPDATED)

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:10:00 +0000

I should add – in spite of the barrel cracking in the microwave, the newer pencil did sharpen smoothly afterwards.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:08:00 +0000

Age may be factor, but I have used coloured pencils on & off for decades. 20 year-old Berol Prismacolor pencils I have still sharpen crack-free, and almost all the ones I have bought recently – I see Sanford took over the brand- are non-stop crack-a-thon in the same sharpener.

The metal foil lettering caused arcing and charring even at low for me, and the wood barrel split on a test in the microwave – I’m going to try the oven, as I have a soft spot for Prismacolor.
Still – the older ones have none of these issues, and it’s kind of sad when we have to go through these hoops just to get a coloured pencil to sharpen.

By: Shirley P.

Shirley P. — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:24:00 +0000

Be very careful if you decide to do this! If your pencils have shiny metallic colored writing on the side, it will arc in your microwave! I would suggest using a hair dryer or a heater, but be responsible and don’t leave it unattended or laying on top of the heater, we don’t want fires!

By: Low Budget Mofo

Low Budget Mofo — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 07:35:00 +0000

ok I went and tried the hair dryer on high and BINGO that works but it just takes about a minute or three to bake them a bit (I’m not sure how long, I was baked a bit myself Wakka Wakka) But just observe the tip and look for signs that the wax is beginning to melt. I suppose as an alternative you could try a space heater if you don’t want to stand there holding a blow dryer.

By: Low Budget Mofo

Low Budget Mofo — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 07:25:00 +0000

I lived in a very hot part of the world for a about 15 months and my Prismacolors never broke. In fact they remained a very helpful soft consistency which lead to better blending. But the comment about storing them in a humid place concerned me because where I lived was a DRY heat so perhaps it’s just plain old heat that solves the problem. But I don’t mind being proven wrong either.

By: srsly?

srsly? — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:20:00 +0000

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

By: Emily Marlow

Emily Marlow — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:41:00 +0000

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.

By: Free Drawing Softwares

Free Drawing Softwares — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:01:51 +0000

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By: Rich Berry

Rich Berry — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:47:00 +0000

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.

By: snugja

snugja — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Try different pencils.

Spencer