Need recommendation for a decent electric pencil sharpener

[lotsofpumpkins]

We have lots of little cheapy hand-held pencil sharpeners around here, and it seems impossible to get a good point without breaking it off. I borrowed an electric pencil sharpener from church and it would overheat after just one pencil, and would need a long break before it would work again (up to an hour). Eventually, it gave out completely.

 

I really need to get a decent pencil sharpener, because every day the children waste so much time trying to find a decent pencil. We have about a hundred pencils that really need to be sharpened, so it's about time we did something about this!

 

Are the electric sharpeners that walmart carries decent? Or should I get something online? (I don't have a staples or other office supply store near me).

 

Thanks!

[Nestof3]

I tried so many of them, and we've had this one for at least two years and NEVER had one problem. It looks like it's 'out-of-print' so to speak, but you may be able to find it somewhere. I think I paid around $40 for mine:

 

Panasonic KP380

 

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KP380-BK-Classic-Electric-Sharpener/dp/B00006IEIE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1273592878&sr=8-1

[RegGuheert]

We bought the Westcott iPoint Evolution from Costco for about $14. That's a good price and it's been great so far. My only gripe is that it does not hold a lot of shavings. It looks like this one, but like I said, it was cheap at Costco.

 

Good luck! We've pretty much hated all of the predecessors.

[laurad1125]

We've had lots of luck with the X-acto brand. The one I have now was about $20 and we got it at WalMart

[Teachin'Mine]

We've been using mechanical pencils for years. So much easier - no sharpening at all and they're always nice and "sharp". A big box from one of the warehouse clubs or office supply places and some refills and you're good to go. :)

[RegGuheert]

We've been using mechanical pencils for years. So much easier - no sharpening at all and they're always nice and "sharp". A big box from one of the warehouse clubs or office supply places and some refills and you're good to go. :)

I have banned mechanical pencils here. I was tired of finding bunches of leads dumped into the couch cushions or onto the wood floors and then either rolled into the cracks or being ground into the wood by a furniture foot or chair mat.

 

I don't like wooden pencils much either, but they rank as the lesser of two evils in my mind.

[gingersmom]

I tried so many of them, and we've had this one for at least two years and NEVER had one problem. It looks like it's 'out-of-print' so to speak, but you may be able to find it somewhere. I think I paid around $40 for mine:

 

Panasonic KP380

 

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KP380-BK-Classic-Electric-Sharpener/dp/B00006IEIE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1273592878&sr=8-1

 

I have this one too!!! I love love it!!!

 

My son presses down extra hard so we are always sharpening pencils. Ours is 2 years old and going strong.

[lotsofpumpkins]

I have banned mechanical pencils here. I was tired of finding bunches of leads dumped into the couch cushions or onto the wood floors and then either rolled into the cracks or being ground into the wood by a furniture foot or chair mat.

 

I don't like wooden pencils much either, but they rank as the lesser of two evils in my mind.

 

Yeah, I think my little boys would have way too much fun with mechanical pencils. We're going to stick with the wooden ones for now!

[Teachin'Mine]

I have banned mechanical pencils here. I was tired of finding bunches of leads dumped into the couch cushions or onto the wood floors and then either rolled into the cracks or being ground into the wood by a furniture foot or chair mat.

 

I don't like wooden pencils much either, but they rank as the lesser of two evils in my mind.

 

I'd be looking for a good sharpener too! :)

[Snickerdoodle]

We have the same Panasonic listed above and it's a great pencil sharpener. Here are my little beefs about it. The angle of the point is very small which means the pencils get used up faster in our house. The second is that I've had to take it apart several times to get broken points out.

 

That said, we've been through so many pencil sharpeners of all types and this is the one we coming back to.

[6packofun]

We have a Wescott iPoint, too, and it has held up for a couple years now...still going strong. We had a Panasonic for years and that is my next choice.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I went to great effort to get a wonderful Panasonic sharpener like what my dh had at work. I figured that all the negative reviews online were from people who just didn't know what they were doing. Well, I loved that sharpener, but it broke within a couple months. One of the parts was plastic and there wasn't anything I could to to repair it.

 

Now I'm using a much less expensive Royal sharpener. I'm on my second one in 18 months, but it costs so much less that I still haven't come up to the cost of the coveted Panasonic and getting it delivered. I'm now of the opinion that sharpeners have so many plastic parts inside that they are going to break no matter what. So I might as well buy one that I don't mind replacing (<$10) rather than one that I'll be really annoyed to have break.

[Mrs Mungo]

http://www.officemax.com/catalog/sku.jsp?skuId=20598587&csId=2-69-549-56-3-14223-18114-56-549-247-56-549-968-0-3

[AuntieM]

Mechanical pencils only allowed for my high schooler here, and then it's only the quality ones from the office supply store.

 

FWIW, be sure your kids aren't using your electric sharpener for colored pencils, especially not the nice soft Prismacolors. That will cause a meltdown for sure.

Edited May 12, 2010 by AuntieM

[MyThreeSons]

If you're not using good quality pencils, it won't matter what sharpener you have. For wooden pencils, I like Ticonderoga, but I really do prefer mechanical pencils.

[Strengthen My Hands]

Okay, it's NOT a electric sharpener... never found one that worked! Gave the kids these in their stocking last Christmas http://www.samflaxny.com/browse.cfm/4,7982.htmlWow!! Love, love, love these! Beautiful sharp point, and the screw top keeps all the shavings in place.

And I agree with previous poster who mentioned the quality pencils... we also use Ticonderoga - either the black ones or the wood "colored" ones, not the yellow ones!

[Guest nikjem]

Well, I have recommended Panasonic KP380-BK Classic Electric Pencil Sharpener, Black, One Unit. I am no expert but I found this to be the best sharpener I have used. This is my second purchase. I have found the points to be perfect and the auto stop to be very helpful in not over sharpening.