Put a little lead in your pencil
The Striker, a mechanical carpenter’s pencil sold on the promise of an indestructible plastic body and a fat piece of graphite that never needs sharpening, probably won’t replace the traditional carpenter’s pencil on many job sites. That’s too bad. As a marking tool, the Striker has its problems: the “Dura Lead” breaks under little pressure, with use it rounds off to a nub you can’t get within 1/8-inch of your layout square, and it “advances” by dropping out of the pencil housing entirely. But let’s not dwell on that.
Instead, think of the Striker as a motivator, an instrument that’s more inspirational than functional, that rare tool that becomes a kind of project mascot. The name itself has a catchy, superheroic quality (this looks like a job for…the Striker!) that gave me a last little burst of momentum when I was working on a job I just wished would end. A friend and I were marking cuts well past midnight, sharing the Striker and all its shortcomings. I had just scribed another cloudy line on some lumber when the Dura Lead snapped, leaving a jagged edge as sharp as a freshly whittled wooden pencil to make our final few marks.
“Alright,” my partner said, “Hand me the Striker!”
“Strike it!”
“Stricken!”
Striker to the rescue? Maybe. Regardless, the Striker keeps its place in my toolbox—right next to the carpenter’s pencils.
Posted by Harry Sawyers | Categories: Hand Tools | Permalink
(2) Comments
I think you should check out a product called Pencilarmor by C.H. Hanson, Inc. out of Chicago.
Pencilarmor lets you use a carpenter's pencil down to a nub. The device is 6" long made out of aluminum and has a heavy duty pocket clip attached. There is a thumb slot that allows the user to advance the pencil forward and by applying presure to the pencil thrugh the thumb slot the pencil will not slide back up into the holder. The pencil is protected from breakage and I flip my pencil around and slide it in backwards for storage, this way the lead never gets broken. No matter how short the pencil gets with the holder it is like having a new pencil all the time. Pencilarmor can be found at any Home Depot usually in the tool section. Check it out.
This looks like a job for the Striker. That's great. I have seen the Striker advertised a little, so I had to buy one. It took a second to get used to, but it sure beats the heck out having to sharpening your pencil half way through the job. I do a lot a framing, so for the most part the flat end is ok. If I need to make a more accurate mark or I'm using a square, I just sand it real quick on the concrete foundation or floor. That's just one those tricks of the trade. The Striker is King.