Sharpening charcoal

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by: preyank4u
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Word Count: 624
Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 Time: 8:52 AM

Keeping your charcoal as sharp as possible is essential to fine drawing. Many people are surprised when they first discover that charcoal can be sharpened like a pencil. This is probably because most of the charcoal on the market tends to crumble or disintegrate when any force is applied. I have been using Nitram Fusains Fine Art Charcoal because it is strong enough to be shaped and sharpened without crumbling.

To sharpen charcoal, I recommend making an inexpensive tool called a sharpening block. Find a scrap of wood that is perfectly smooth one face. A hard wood is best – pine has an open grain that might make the surface bumpy. Pine can be soft enough to dent. A piece of smooth hardwood like maple is better. MDF or other smooth laminates also work great. It should be at least 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. Some folks like to make them long enough to sit on the edges of a trashcan for easy cleanup. I understand that the students of the Academy of Art Canada use house paint stir sticks as the surface, and place them in a large used coffee can for a portable dust collector.

Once you’ve got your sharpener’s base, you’ll want to attach two pieces of sand paper to the surface. The first piece of sandpaper should be something close to 220-grit; the other much finer, like a 400-grit paper. It’s best to use wood glue as adhesive tapes tend to allow the paper to bend and buckle. Apply just enough glue to the base to thinly coat the surface. Once you apply the pieces of sandpaper to the board, use your palm or a scrap of card stock to squeeze the excess glue from the sides of the sand paper. This will prevent buckles and lumps from forming under the sharpening surface.

Once the glue is dry, you can trim off the excess with a box cutter. Try to cut the excess sandpaper as close to the edge of the board as possible, because deckled edges will get in your way as you sharpen.

Now you are ready to make a sooty mess! Use the rough end of the sharpener to shape the charcoal to a point, and the finer side to achieve a tiny needlepoint end, perfect for the most sensitive work. When I was at the Florence Academy, I would try to arrive to class early so I could sharpen as much charcoal as possible. That way I knew that every piece I picked up was ready to go. During figure drawing sessions, I suggest using those model breaks to sharpen charcoal, too. Having freshly sharpened charcoal really makes a difference when you are charcoal drawing in class. Watch out for your pants, unless you’re going for that classy Victorian chimneysweep look.

With experience you will develop your own style of sharpening charcoal. Some folks I’ve talked to like to keep their charcoal points 2 or 3 inches long. I’ve seen people sharpen their sticks into a blade as well, using the charcoal like a knife to cut fine long lines along the paper surface. This method is advantageous if you like to leave conspicuous marks in your drawing. My personal preference is to keep a fairly sharp point but only an inch and a half down the stick. I also find a slightly dulled stick is useful in flattening tones and pushing charcoal into the paper for additional stability in darker areas.
Tim Rourke

Timothy P. Rourke is a Chicago-based artist who studied at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy and the Ravenswood Atelier in Chicago.

About the Author

Nitram Fusains – The finest Drawing Charcoal in the World. We ship our charcoal for drawing to all over the world. Nitram Fusains Academy line comes in H, HB and B hardness. This allows the artist to create a broad range of tones. Nitram is now becoming available around the world in stores that sell high quality artists materials.

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