A sandpaper pointer, usually a block of small sandpaper sheets mounted to a wooden handle, is a handy accessory for artists who use charcoal, pencils, and pastels. Pointers can be used to sharpen ...

Perhaps the sandpaper block’s most common use is to shape the tip of a pencil. Softer graphite and pastel pencils are fragile and break easily when you use a regular pencil sharpener.

Starting with 220-grit paper, we selected a proper-shaped sanding block and proceeded to smooth the surface. The key is to use a lot of sandpaper (changing it often) and keep the surface as clean ...