Even though it took a bit of memory jogging via Google, I remember first hearing about David Rees on the Best Show on WFMU podcast, discussing not only his book How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical and Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening, but also his side-business of “artisanal” pencil sharpening.
“Surely this is an Andy Kaufman-esque put-on,” I told myself.