michael adams wrote:

As with tailors chalks drawing lines with a chisel edge rather than with a point
presumably has advantages which aren't immediately obvious. In the case
of the former, it can't be wear as you'd imagine they'd wear out quicker.

Maybe both were in regular use before pencil sharpeners became
widely available and haven't been bettered.

A chisel shape actually wears better than a point, and maintains
the line width better. Maybe it is better visualised as a wide
point.

Back before the ubiquitous 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 clutch pencils became
common, and technical drawings were still done on actual paper
(or drafting film), we were taught to sharpen our 4H pencils in a
chisel shape so that we got a consistent and dense line, which
was necessary for the copying methods of that era. I may still
have one in a pencil pot somewhere.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.