I, like most teachers, can rattle off a quick list of frustrations that result from the classroom use of electric pencil sharpeners:
- overheating after repeated use, causing one to wait indefinitely for it to start working again
- tips breaking off in the blades, with little to no hope for removing them
- over-sharpening brand new pencils because there's no indication that it's finished, turning 8 inch pencils into 3 inch nubs
- messy shavings that overflow because you can't tell when it's full
- ragged edges after the blades get dull
For the past year or so, I've noticed more and more posts about a pencil sharpener by Classroom Friendly Supplies. I asked them if I could review one, and they gave me one like this to try out in my school library:
After it arrived in the mail, my first impression was, "This is it?" It was very light-weight, smaller than I expected, and uncomplicated, with no batteries to load or cord to plug in. I already knew it was a little different from a conventional sharpener, so I watched their instructional video, which took less than a minute.
Then I was ready to give it a whirl. First, I loaded a pencil with a broken point, and, with only a few turns of the handle, I felt a distinct reduction in resistance. Skeptical of the difference only a few turns could have made, I pulled it out to find...I am NOT exaggerating...the most beautiful pencil point I have ever seen. Um...I hope you're a teacher-type, because otherwise you're sure to think I'm a nut...
- the wood of the pencil was smooth, as if it had been sanded
- the tip was REALLY long, allowing it to be used longer before needing re-sharpening
Then I thought I'd try sharpening a brand new pencil.
It took more turns, but soon enough I
felt the resistance lessen, and I knew we were done! I took it out, and
there was an equally beautiful pencil point.
Regrettably, the picture doesn't do it justice, but hopefully you can see the elongated point on that pencil. It's just BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, it elicited
exclamations every time I tried it. It became entertaining - what else
could I sharpen? It was so much fun to watch my colleagues faces when I demonstrated it for them. They were as excited as I was. I love this little gadget and look forward to buying one for my home, as well. It's such a pleasure to know that I'll never be at the mercy of an overheated electric pencil sharpener again!
If you're in the market for a new pencil sharpener, I highly recommend this one. It's available in red, green, blue, black and pink from
Classroom Friendly Supplies for $24.99 with FREE shipping within the United States.
DISCLAIMER: I
received one of the pencil sharpeners mentioned above for
free in the hope that I would review it on my blog. Regardless, I only
recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good
for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal
Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of
Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
