Twenty years ago, just as my children began to write, I bought an old school sharpener - you know the one! That old workhorse of a sharpener found just inside the door of every classroom from K-12! I hung it in the laundry room, and had a metal waste basket below it. It felt very much like the right way to begin the process of educating my little people! I am that mom that tried to have all the right tools & bought out the office supply store each fall. There are two items I never had to replace… my huge hallway bulletin board & my manual workhorse of a pencil sharpener!
I loved the way that you could feel the pencil being sharpened just right… it took me a helluva long time to perfect my technique, and there was nothing quite as satisfying as getting the point just right! Even as a self-described expert, many times I would get distracted and not turn my pencil every few rotations and I would end up with one side of the pencil with a ridiculously long, half exposed, point that would break if you tried to even it out. I might get that perfect point on my first go, but I could just as easily end up with a stump of a pencil before it finally was usable. And don’t even get me started on the pencil shavings!! I have never figured out how to keep the area around the sharpener clean. I don’t care how careful or diligent you are when emptying that pencil sharpener… It’s a unique kind of mess that makes its way out of the holes and seems even when it’s empty! And the mess it makes if you accidentally bump it, or if your child decides to empty it for you!!!
If you use the old standard for the classroom, there is no getting around the mess.
Still, though, even with all the headache of using perfect technique the pencil debris, it It was worth it. I felt confident it would last forever & no matter what my kids tried to sharpen. It has performed 19+ years, and still going strong! My main requirement was to have a sharpener that would be reliable and was mounted so it could not get moved or lost!
Recently, though, I went to sharpen a pencil & there where my sharpener was screwed to the wall was nothing except four empty screw holes. I stood with my dull pencil wondering whether it was the kids or my husband that decided to rob me of my pencil sharpener, and destabilize my life!!
In that moment, I decided to indulge in a grown-up sharpener! I searched all the reviews and narrowed my choices down to a small group, and finally decided on the plug in X-acto “School Pro” model.
I am very change adverse… so, even though I was going with electric I still wanted something that was meant to last! I also wanted something that could sharpen various sizes, and was pleased to find an electric sharpener that also did the triangular shaped barrel often used by small children or in construction.to be able to sharpen various sized pencils.
My experience with this sharpener has far exceeded my previous experiences with automatic sharpeners. Up until now, I avoided buying an electric sharpener, because the ones I have used are finicky, had to push the pencil in hard, and often made the sharpened point easy to break when writing.
I tend to write with enough pressure to make an impression through several pages. The main thing that I thought the old school model would be better for was the length and shape of the sharpened point of the pencil. Even though you had to be skilled at customizing the writing point, when you did get it just right, the point did not break easily and it would write for a long time without needing to be re-sharpened every few paragraphs.
I was very happy to be wrong! I have been using this electric sharpener for a few months and the writing point is as near perfect. I might need to knock off the very tip, but it’s easier than getting your ball-point pen to start to write. Given the ease of used, and the ample (way less messy) catch bin… I am loving my new sharpener!! Also, it will not sharpen if the bin is not fully locked in place, and I appreciate that.
I do put my hand on the back end to stabilize the sharpener and keep it from scooting back. I do not need to push the pencil in hard, you can easily feed the pencil in and you don’t need to turn it or keep pulling it out and pushing it back in. I don’t believe a toddler has long enough fingers to trigger the motor, but if you have young children around, maybe remove the bin when not in use to be extra cautious. I can’t speak to how well it would hold up against all the stuff my kids tried to sharpen on my trusty workhorse, but for use on regular use by teens/adults on pencils (different thickness, colored, and triangular shaped.)
I recommend it, especially as an affordable upgrade to your household sharpener, for the ease of use, versatility, and easy cleanup!
If I had known about this product twenty years ago, I would have bought it instead of my old standby. It is large enough to not be carted off, and even if the motor only last a few years, when considering cost vs. constant mess of old one… I absolutely would be willing to take that chance, and save myself the headache.
However, manual sharpening uses no electricity and that, coupled with the fact that they have proven themselves as practically indestructible, are strong enough points to make the choice difficult!.
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