I had bought white pencils, I think "general" brand, the wood natural looking pencils for my mom. They work great and we ended up buying a bunch more. Never have problems sharpening them, but found some blue and yellow by same brand and can't get them to work in any of my sharpeners without breaking, so I just use a sharp knife and "sharpen" them the old-fashioned way. The lead doesn't get pointy, but at least they are usable.