Pencil Sharpeners

Hoipoloi · Post by **Hoipoloi** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:00 pm

Having just been reminded by another thread I looked for a pencil sharpener. Thought I'd give it a go for making shavings and, you know, sharpening pencils

Anyway, 5 x double pencil sharpeners, 8mm capacity, free delivery, £1.36 from Amazon. How crazy is that?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Pencil-Sha ... +sharpener

unsure · Post by **unsure** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:17 pm

bit like these .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-DOUBLE-HOL ... 5afe27d660

preparedsurrey · Post by **preparedsurrey** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:34 pm

Doesn't everybody just carry a machette for sharpening pencils? (Honestly Officer)

poppypiesdad · Post by **poppypiesdad** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 10:43 am

Of course we do with a backup axe too

janso · Post by **janso** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 4:23 pm

If I remember correctly; older pencil sharpeners were made of magnesium, so a great gadget for gaining wood shavings and scrape a bit of magnesium off for a good tinder bundle...
Thoughts?

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preparedsurrey · Post by **preparedsurrey** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 1:11 am

More likely to be a magnesium alloy, anyway you need a fair bit of heat to get magnesium burning - remember lighting magnesium strip with a bunsen burner in school science classes? Then pinching a bit to try it out at home.....

janso · Post by **janso** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:34 pm

Heat from a ferro rod and steel works on magnesium fire blocks though? You might be right on 'newer' ones not working as well as older sharpeners

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Post by **diamond lil** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:49 pm

I use the back doorstep lol

nickdutch · Post by **nickdutch** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:35 pm

I haven't really used the whole pencil shavings to make tinder for a fire thing before. Partially cos i don't make that many fires (which has got to change as the spring comes in!), but has anyone really given that much thought when it comes to how to make a fire? How long to get enough together? How to make sure your twigs are dry enough to begin with to make the tinder? Any types of wood is best?

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:22 pm

Belly button fluff makes good tinder. A strip of bark torn off every birch tree you pass and tucked under your oxter will dry out quickly and burn well from a match, or if powdered, from a ferro rod, but it needs to be bone-dry for this. I always have a couple of rubber bands on me as well, around my lighter, and I think I'll add some cotton wool and vaseline in a little tube. Won't hurt. It takes ages and ages to get enough tinder, kindling and wood together and if I were lighting a fire for survival I'd start by collecting wood and tinder until the light failed as otherwise I'd be doing it at night. Last fire I lit outdoors was on a wet day with a premade birch-bark firelighter and kindling gathered from the ground and dried off, and other wood cut back to dry wood. A bit of a faff but better than exposure.

uk-preppers.co.uk