Yes, but not only is the performance art version funnier, but I might get a pencil out of it.
Of course, knowing me I will promptly break the pencil and then I'll be heartbroken.
What I need to do is go into business selling inert-gas-filled hand-blown glass ampules to store your artisanally-sharpened pencil in, so that it retains its sharpness until long after you are dead. I am an authentic solid state physicist with an authentic lab coat and goggles, after all, so I have ample qualifications in scientific pencil preservation.
>... the more I thought about it, the more I was like, 'If I could figure out how to get paid to sharpen pencils, I would be happy.' So I decided to become an artisanal pencil sharpener."
Talk about meeting your goals. Congrats to him for making his life happier, that's one hell of a risky job idea.
The image with the yellow pencils shows really badly sharpened pencils IMO. I hand sharpen pencils (with compacted ceramic glazes in place of "lead") with a craft knife and get a better tip than that.
What I loved so much about this is that although it is very much tongue-in-cheek, I think it is a viable "pet rock" type of product offering. Specially to those slightly older folks who have gone through a few trees worth of pencils.
The tube of lubricant I bought this summer for a lock said that it contained graphite, which is known to the state of California to be a carcinogen. I think that there should be points awarded for the most serious sounding post to the original story pointing out the dangers of our encouraging this sort of activity.
I was convinced it would be about this guy however: http://oddstuffmagazine.com/extraordinary-art-on-pencil-tips...