Lumber Crayons

[FarmingSawyer]

Has Dixon changed their formula or stumpting? I can't seem to keep a crayon in my pocket for anything.....they either melt in the rain or shatter in the cold or disintegrate and mix with all the sawdust in my pockets...... Seemed like a few years back I could keep at least a half a crayon in my pocket for the week......

What's everyone using? Cause I got a 1/2 a box of purples and a few black left and when they're gone--like by new years.....I'm switching to something which lasts a bit better........

[Chuck White]

A couple of years ago I stopped by the chainsaw shop and picked up a box of lumber crayons.

Usually don't even get the first log marked before the crayon breaks.

So now I have a bunch of pieces of crayon in the top tray of my tool box that are about 1½ inches long.

Is there a holder available to put the crayon in so they don't break?

[york]

Hi all,have a box of Dixon crayons,but about 4 years old,# on box is 52112 and are soft blue-they hold up good,wonder what the soft part means??

[beenthere]

There are wooden crayon holders.

Forestry Suppliers or Ben Meadows have them for the Dixon crayons.

I didn't check our own sponsors to see if they have them. Maybe someone knows.

I need to get another deer registered, so rushed a bit.

[Dave Shepard]

There are wooden and aluminum holders for the crayons, including long handled versions for lumber graders on a green chain. I have a wooden one in the left side pocket of my Carhartts. I've got a flashlight in the right one. They took the flashlight last time I went to jury duty, but let me keep the crayon. Must be they didn't think there might be a knife blade in there. :D Even in the holders, I seem to get broken crayons, but a half a crayon lasts a long time. When it's worn down too far, just take the end cap off and retrieve the other piece. I'm using Dixon blue.

[Magicman]

I use a retractable holder.


 
It keeps the crayon always within easy reach. 

[FarmingSawyer]

I've allays used Dixon before....but the ones I have--purple 49300--seem to melt in the rain or wear down in my pockets faster than any others I've ever had..... I've thought of switching to a holder of some sort, but then that's just one more thing to keep track of and find in the washing machine 2 weeks down the line......

Last time I went to the court house I filled their little bin with pennies, sawdust, woodchips and crayon bits.... Suppose their used to it around here......

[ozarkgem]

I use the holders(plastic and wood) but the crayons still break way too easy. They just crumble so easy. I am looking for something different also.

[backwoods sawyer]

Last box of reds acted the same way, found an old box of purple and they are holding up good.

Seem to brake faster in the plastic holder as it piches at just one point where the wood holders hold up the length and on all sides.

[RayMO]

Some of the new fluorescent crayons have been working well for me. They are softer and less brittle and a lot easier to see. Also a bit higher priced but worth it to me .

[redprospector]

The best holder I've ever had was just a piece of 1/2" (I think) radiator/heater hose. I cut it a little longer than the crayon, cut a hole in the end and attached to a keyback, push the crayon in the other end, and away you go. Just push more crayon out using a stick when needed.

When did they stop calling it keel, and start calling them "lumber crayons"?

[RayMO]

Yup known as a keel holder in my neck of the woods. $8.00 from our sponsor....
http://www.shopcomstocklogging.com/Wooden-Holder-wStrap-For-Lumber-Crayons_p_263.html

[FarmingSawyer]

The best holder I've ever had was just a piece of 1/2" (I think) radiator/heater hose. I cut it a little longer than the crayon, cut a hole in the end and attached to a keyback, push the crayon in the other end, and away you go. Just push more crayon out using a stick when needed.

When did they stop calling it keel, and start calling them "lumber crayons"?

Great idea with the hose!

You caught me!  Carpenters call them crayons....Loggers/sawyers call them keels. Been bending nails more than I've been logging until recently so I forgot the, erm, proper lingo.  :D

[Dave Shepard]

I've never heard them called a keel before. A keel is on a ship. :D

[highleadtimber16]

Baileys has crayons and accessories. I got blue Dixons. They seem to hold up well, but do break sometimes.

[thecfarm]

keel???? Must be a Southern thing??  Better tell Labonville.  ;D
http://www.labonville.com/Lumber-Crayons-Holders_c_126.html
You start saying keel in Maine,you might just as well start eating grits too.  :D

[RayMO]

Google " keel holder" and get educated  ;D

[thecfarm]

Aup,kinda like red hotdogs,the ones that snap when you bite into them.

[JohnM]

I picked some up at Lowes.  If I don't keep them in my front pocket they don't break...I keep them in my front pocket. :-[

[kderby]

I had a good experience with these guys. Amarkers.com

They sent me a free variety pack with differing hardness for the markers.  I did not realize different temperatures need different markers.  Some of them were quite soft for the cold weather.  Some were hard so they did not melt.  They have a gazillion colors. 

For those us us who are crayon crazy they will re-melt the stubs and make your short crayons long again!  No innuendo there, I am sure... :new_year:

This was a few years ago that I contacted Amark.  I have been getting by with a case of crayons I found in a junk store.  I have had some disintegrate in my pockets or when they get wet, so I understand the problem.

There is more to learn about lumber crayons. so I suggest a visit to the web page.

I did not know what a keel was so I will want to know more about that!

I am running low.  This thread will get me up to speed and I'll decide what to order!

Thanks Sawyers!

[Banjo picker]

Keel is a southern thing.  Crayons are what kids take to school.  We also mark rebar where it needs to be cut with keel.  Banjo

[FarmingSawyer]

It's also a West Coast thing.....that's where I first heard it when I was younger working in the forest and mill.

[FarmingSawyer]

I had a good experience with these guys. Amarkers.com

They sent me a free variety pack with differing hardness for the markers.  I did not realize different temperatures need different markers.  Some of them were quite soft for the cold weather.  Some were hard so they did not melt.  They have a gazillion colors. 

For those us us who are crayon crazy they will re-melt the stubs and make your short crayons long again!  No innuendo there, I am sure... :new_year:
Thanks Sawyers!

I forgot about these guys. I'll check them out. I think they advertise in Sawmill & Woodlot, or used to....... I like the "free" pack.....that would certainly help determine which ones would work......and now that I'm thinking on it, I had decided to get a new chunk of 1/2" hose when I was at the autoparts yesterday--don't know why I don't have any to hand, but then I moved a year ago and lost all the little odds and ends I used to have around the farm--guess I forgot to get the hose while I was fiddling with making sure the steering pump was the right one......Oh well, I gotta drop the core off. Maybe I'll remember to get me a waterproof keel holder then.....

[Magicman]

Here is a wooden box of Lumber Crayons that I bought right here on a FF Auction. 


 
There is an assortment of three different brands; Dixon, Staonal, and two actually are "Eberhard Faber 836 RED" and match the box.  Thoroughly proving that I have no shame, I have actually used a couple of the red Staonals.  They are very hard, mark well, and do not break.

As near as I can tell the name "James Monford" is hand written on the bottom of the box.

[Banjo picker]

I have a box of yellow Hansons  I have had for a while and I'll be darned if they don't call them Lumber Crayons on the box smiley_argue01  but Im still calling them keel.  Banjo