Makers Cabinet Høvel Pencil Plane
Last updated: 1 November 2026
The Høvel pencil plane is a solid brass block that shaves a pencil the way a carpenter's plane shaves a board, instead of grinding it in a cone. A knurled screw sets how deep the blade bites, so you choose the point: long, short or flat. Makers Cabinet design it in London, and The Journal Shop sells the brass one for £83. The wooden base that catches the shavings is a separate £17. When I checked again on 31 October 2026, the brass Høvel and the base were out of stock at The Journal Shop. The Blackwing edition, in matte black aluminium with the base included, was in stock at the same £83, and Makers Cabinet sells the brass one direct for $109.
Why a plane rather than a sharpener
An ordinary sharpener twists the pencil against a fixed blade. That works by forcing the wood and the graphite through the same cut, which is why soft leads snap in it and why every point comes out the same shape.
The Høvel turns the job round. The pencil is held still and the blade is drawn along it, taking a shaving off the wood and leaving the graphite core standing. Makers Cabinet describe it as paring rather than twisting, and the practical result is two things a sharpener cannot give you. Soft cores survive, so pastel, charcoal and 6B behave. And the shape of the point is yours: a long taper for drawing, a stub for writing, or a flat chisel edge for lettering.
Adam Savage put one through its paces on Tested, which is the most useful three minutes anyone has spent on it, and Makers Cabinet link the video from their own product page.
Brass, and the base you also need
The body is solid brass, machined, and it is heavy for its size in the way brass always is. Left alone it dulls and darkens where it is handled. Some buyers want exactly that and others find it grubby. Polish it and it comes straight back.
The one thing the £83 does not include is somewhere for the shavings to go. Makers Cabinet sell a wooden Høvel Base separately, and The Journal Shop lists it at £17. Without it you are planing a pencil over a bin or a sheet of paper. It works; it is just less pleasant than the photographs imply. Replacement carbon steel blades are £7 for ten, and a leather sheath is £27 when it is in stock, which on 6 September 2026 it was not.
The brass one and the Blackwing one
There are two Høvels at the same price and the difference is not obvious from a listing photograph.
The standard Høvel is solid brass, and it is the one this page is about. The Makers Cabinet x Blackwing edition is a limited run in anodised aluminium, finished in Blackwing's matte black, and it is lighter rather than heavier. It also arrives with a black-dyed wooden base included, which the brass one does not. Both are £83 at The Journal Shop.
So the choice is between weight and completeness. Brass at £83 plus £17 for the base comes to £100 and ages visibly. The Blackwing at £83 is finished, matte and stays as it started. Anyone who wants the object to develop a patina should take the brass. Anyone who wants it to look the same in ten years should take the aluminium.
| Item | Material | Price at The Journal Shop |
|---|---|---|
| Høvel Pencil Plane | Solid brass | £83.00, in stock |
| Høvel x Blackwing, limited edition | Anodised aluminium, matte black, base included | £83.00, in stock |
| Høvel Base | Wood | £17.00, in stock |
| Replacement blades, pack of ten | Carbon steel | £7.00, in stock |
| Høvel Sheath | Leather | £27.00, out of stock on 6 September 2026 |
What it costs, and where
£83 at The Journal Shop is the straightforward UK price. Makers Cabinet sell it themselves as well, but their shop bills in US dollars and lists it at $109, so that is not a like-for-like comparison and it is not offered as one here. For a UK buyer the London-designed object is easiest to buy from a London stationer.
A plastic sharpener costs a pound and does the job badly for a year. A brass plane costs £83 and does the job well for the rest of your life, with a £7 packet of blades every so often. That trade only makes sense for somebody who uses pencils enough to have an opinion about points.
Buy the brass Høvel at The Journal Shop, £83
Living with it, honestly
The learning curve. The first few pencils come out badly. Too deep a setting and you take great slabs off; too shallow and you are planing for a minute to expose anything. It is a hand tool and it wants a hand that has done it before.
The mess. Long curled shavings go further than sharpener dust. The £17 base exists for a reason, and a desk without one collects wood.
The speed. A sharpener takes four seconds. This takes half a minute. Anybody sharpening thirty pencils for a classroom should buy a sharpener. Anybody sharpening one pencil before sitting down to draw is buying the half minute on purpose.
Høvel pencil plane FAQs
What is the Høvel pencil plane?
A hand tool that sharpens a pencil by planing it. A blade set into a solid brass body shaves the wood away and leaves the graphite core intact, and a knurled screw adjusts how deep the blade cuts.
How much does it cost in the UK?
£83 at The Journal Shop for the brass version, checked on 6 September 2026. The wooden base is a separate £17.
What is the difference between the brass Høvel and the Blackwing one?
The brass one is solid brass and develops a patina. The Blackwing edition is a limited run in matte black anodised aluminium, so it is lighter and it keeps its finish, and it comes with a wooden base included. Both are £83.
Does it come with a base?
The brass version does not. The base that catches the shavings is sold separately at £17. The Blackwing edition includes one.
Can you replace the blade?
Yes. Carbon steel replacement blades are sold in packs of ten for £7.
Is it good for soft pencils?
That is what it is for. Because it shaves rather than twists, it does not snap soft cores, so pastels, charcoal and soft graphite grades survive it where an ordinary sharpener destroys them.
Who makes it?
Makers Cabinet, a design studio whose own line is "precision tools for the joy of making, designed in London".
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- Nooka: Designing Time: our review of the monograph, for the same shelf and the same reader.
Prices, stock and terms change. Everything here was checked on 6 September 2026, from The Journal Shop's listing and Makers Cabinet's own product page.
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