The first crude ballpoint pen was patented in 1888 by John Loud, an American leather tanner.

The next stage of development came almost fifty years after Loud's patent, with an improved version invented in Hungary in 1935 by László József Bíró (September 29, 1899 - November 24, 1985) and his brother.
It was john loud in 1888 ..and then redisigned by laslo biro in 1938.
It went through many developments and patents, first begun in 1888 by John Loud with the first patent. It didn't work well, even though he got funding to produce it in Argentina with the help of the government there, it kind of flopped. Something to do with gravity. It went through many more stages based on his patent, and in 1938 Laszlo Biro was given credit for inventing the first ballpoint pen. It still went on thru many changes to get to the one we know today.

I hardly ever use a sharpener to sharpen pencils, actually, because it's hard to get a good point. Get an Exacto knife (I think that's how you spell it), and scrape off the top of the pencil equally, going all around the pencil. If you've done that, but the tip still isn't sharp enough, just scrape off the lead, not the wood underneath it. Here are some more in depth/other methods:

Sharpening with a knife

A knife is the most versatile method of sharpening a pencil. It can take a little practice but it's a very useful skill to master. Make sure you cut away from yourself and preferably over a bin. With softer leads try cutting smaller bits at a time to prevent breaking.

Using sand paper

This is a neat little trick that I use regularly. Try clipping a little piece of sandpaper to your drawing board and if your pencil starts getting a little blunt just run it over the paper a few times to bring the point back. This is especially useful during quick figure drawings when there is no time to get out your sharpener.

Paper wrapped charcoal

This is a very neat way to sharpen charcoal pencils. Simply pull back the string a little then peel off a roll of paper. The best thing about this method is you are left with the 'bullet point' style of sharpened pencil, very nice!

Scissors

You could also use scissors. Just simply grab any scissors (any kind) then just cut until it's sharp. I have tried this myself and it can get very sharp
You can use a knife but a sharpener is best
You can use a pocket knife (or any sharp carving knife, for that matter) to define the point of a pencil. Although, achieving a good point is difficult, so a sharpener is preferred.
Use a knife. It works.

Yes.

Some people say it will eventually cause cancer because of what the toxic chemicals in it do to your skin.

But the one reason that makes most sense is that it's not good for your skin, and something *WILL* happen to it eventually.

Try to see if it tells you what chemicals are contained in it... Might not be very comforting.

If you enjoy writing or drawing on your skin you might want to think about special markers that are safe for applying on skin.

You can read an article about the connection by clicking on the related link below.

Also many chemicals and heavy metals can; over exposure and time, accumulate in the body, where down the road they will begin to tax the immune system and open the door for a whole avalanche of other health issues (which of course the doctors will undoubtedly blame on something else ).

Best to play on the safe side and not do it :)

This all depends on how often each is used, and the care given to each.

If both are used on a daily basis, the pencil would last longer as the leads within the mechanical pencil would eventually run out before the wooden one would be sharpened down to its eraser.

Typically a mechanical pencil holds eight to ten leads in the inner chamber, while one is within the exiting chamber. As this lead comes to its end it will either be used up until the exiting chamber can no longer hold onto it (and the next lead is coming up behind it), or it will annoy the user by slipping back up into the chamber as the next lead has not found its way into the exiting chamber.

When the final lead is nearly finished it will either fall on out or continually frustrate the user by slipping back into the exiting chamber. More lead can be bought for a mechanical pencil, which would mean that essentially the mechanical pencil will last longer than a typical wooden pencil.

The problem with this theory is that not all mechanical pencils are made the same. Some manufacturers make their mechanical pencils in such a way that they cannot be reused either because the lead is not a typical universal size, they do not manufacture refill lead, and they may not make it possible to even open the mechanical pencil to replace the lead. In any one of these three cases, this makes the standard wooden pencil last longer.

The other deciding factor on which will last longer is up to the user. The person using a wooden pencil might chew off the eraser from nervousness adding to the use of an eraser that is not attached to a pencil. In other cases, it could be that the person using the wooden or mechanical pencil might tap it excessively to the point of almost breaking it. Dropping either pencil on a frequent basis can result in permanent damage of the lead inside.

Personally, I still own the same mechanical pencil I bought for drafting classes back in high school. That has been 30 years ago. I have been through nearly 100 wooden pencils since then for sketching.

- Harold Sink

(these answers are really based off of more opinion than fact.)

Answer

Mechanical pencils always break and the lead is too thin. Good old fashioned regular pencils are the best.

zeldalover

it depends. if u wont the base with a lot of led, then macanical. if u wont a ton of sharpening, then a normal pencil

But seriously you might try a coat hanger to hook behind it and dislodge it so it will fall out.

Ask a professional to remove it for you. You could try using a cleaning snake to get it out. Or, just don't get it stuck in the first place.

Are you serious? If it's stuck in the bell try getting your cleaning snake attached with something and see if that helps, If its stuck in the slide take the outer part off and use your snake again with something attached Trust me I know I have played trombone for the past six years

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Get a repairman to do it. You could do some expensive damage trying to remove it yourself. it would be very hard to get a pencil stuck unless it was very short.