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Comment by fvdessen | Hacker News Reader

I've found it works best with artisanal sharpened pencils http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com

Lol. From the newyorker article “I’m sure there’s somebody in India who could sharpen your pencil for $8, but if you want authentic American craftsmanship … that’s how much quality costs these days.” https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/pencils-and-noth...

Well, the Paypal button actually works! I wonder if someone ever placed an order though...

IIRC it was a successful business at some point ...

There was a much lower price point originally, before he got sort of famous from the book, and subsequently a TV-show (Going Deep). The current price is basically to keep people from ordering, but still having it open if someone REALLY wants to get one.

Honestly, what is getting me is that his book on sharpening pencils is actually 224 pages long. That seems awful long on such a simple subject!

And yet he made a half hour show with episodes such as "how to bounce a ball", "how to dig a hole, "how to open a door", "how to take a nap", etc.

Sounds like he must be a good talker to say the least. Charismatic or at the minimum entertaining.

It's definitely majority charisma and being funny, but a portion of the show is talking to experts in the relevant fields to discuss underlying aspects of each "simple concept" that one doesn't normally contemplate.

It's mostly satire, but of the best variety. He spoke at my university a few years ago, he definitely knows how to entertain a crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KabOfnbS4TQ

Cortázar wrote some stories like "how to climb stairs."

Or, my personal favourite:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77377.How_to_Shit_in_the...

That book is surprisingly nuanced, full of good advice like:

- The best paired squatting methods, for when there's no good tree available (takes a lot of trust).

- Advice to look below you before using a cliff.

I guess the joke is that sharpening pencils is what you do when you have writer's block, so if you really have writer's block, you write a whole book on sharpening pencils?

There's only a few sentences on each page.

Wait! The price is meant to STOP people from ordering? I naturally assumed after watching the video of his artisanal pencil sharpening techniques that the prices implied exclusivity and a cut above the rest.

I ran out to the dollar store lickety-split, purchased five dozen pencils, and put in orders for all 60 of them. Sure, it was a cool 30k, but you need your pencils sharpened properly for your entire family, maids, and baby-sitters.

He really should update his order cart for people who want to get a dozen or more sharpened at a time.

I would have ordered a full gross, but I had to run off and purchase a book for my second cousin's youngest son's friend who has a book report due. https://www.amazon.com/Trends-European-Television-Communicat...

I assume the price is set by the same logic as any other price: enough to make it worth his while to close the deal.

You can get the book for much less on amazon[1] though for a reasonable price (including a look inside). There is even a direct link to Amazon on his website.

[1]: https://www.amazon.com/How-Sharpen-Pencils-Theoretical-Contr...

The price on the web site is for the pencil, not the book.

Or just DIY with this:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,42936,42452...

this is my favorite pencil sharpener because it has so many other uses and the blade is easy to change: https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-10-499-Change-Retractable-Uti...

$500/pencil? Sounds similar to recent online money laundering schemes.

Nope. That link has been posted around here since about 7 years ago!

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2453713

I didn’t mean that I think this is anything bad, just that charging that much online for something not worth anywhere near the given price is generally questionable.

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