There’s something very satisfying about a sharp pencil, especially for us old-school types who knew how to write an essay before keyboards were available. That sharp point represents a fresh beginning and a way to express wonderful ideas. I’ve been teaching for 16 years and have met many pencil sharpeners in those days. Before I started teaching, I couldn’t remember ever using an electric pencil sharpener in a classroom. Now I know why. Electric pencil sharpeners just don’t last as long as the price tag would suggest and they’re often more trouble than they’re worth. Since I teach approximately 100 students in a given school year, that sharpener gets a lot of use. One sharpener in particular seemed to be fine, until it wasn’t anymore. I needed to replace the blades but it was vintage, so I couldn’t find the part I needed. One of my students cracked the shavings tray but we had to hold it together with duct tape. Other sharpeners would become overheated and just stop working altogether for hours at a time. Going through one or more $50+ electric pencil sharpeners per year was becoming an expensive habit. Knowing that the sharpeners seemed to go downhill after students sharpened colored pencils in them, I asked students to use handheld sharpeners for the coloring pencils. That became even more troublesome. We often had spills (pencil shavings all over the floor), or the top would become separated from the bottom (exposing the hazardous blade.) If you’ve ever taught a classroom of sixth graders, you know how devastating it can be to have any type of distractions at all while you’re trying to convince those 11 year olds that it’s really important to learn about Alexander the Great.  It’s a bigger challenge than it seems to keep your kids — and pencils — sharp all year long.

When I had the opportunity to review the pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies, my wheels started turning.

Would it be electric? How would it hold up to the abuse of 100 kids wanting to use it on a daily basis? I didn’t want another disposable electric sharpener to darken my doorstep. I ordered the red sharpener and hoped for the best.

The vintage look of this sharpener is so very cool. My colleague even suggested that I should decorate my room in a retro theme. After all, I do teach history! My students were absolutely fascinated by the design of this sharpener. I loved that it didn’t need to be mounted on a shelf. In fact, I tried to mount it and didn’t have much success. It works much better just sitting on a table or desktop. Before using it, you need to take a moment and watch the instructional video because it’s very helpful. The point of the pencil comes out so sharp that my students were in awe! They couldn’t wait to work on their assignment so they could sharpen their pencils again.If you’re a teacher, when was the last time you had that problem? We had a point break in the blades a couple of time and it was simple to pull out the blade and empty it out. When the sharpener pulls the pencil in, it does leave a tiny little nick in the pencil but it’s really not a big deal.  After all, just look—look at the points on these pencils!!  It’s much quieter than the electric sharpener, too.  It doesn’t disturb the entire class when someone uses it.  We don’t have to stop the lesson, all heads turned toward the sharpener.  It’s a big help to keeping my students focused.

In the first couple of days there were a few bugs to work out. For example, at first I couldn’t figure out how to use the sharpener.  Classroom Friendly Supplies has AMAZING customer service — they immediately emailed me with this video so I could see how to use the sharpener.  You NEED to watch this to see how easy it is.

On the second day we used it, there was a metallic plate in the top part of the sharpener that came out. One of my good problem-solvers tackled the issue and she got it working again in just a few minutes. The parts are available for purchase separately so if the blades need to be replaced, it’s a very inexpensive fix! I don’t have to toss the entire sharpener into the trash and start over. It’s exciting to think about the classroom money I’ll be able to invest in my students rather than wasting it on another sharpener. I’m really pleased with this sharpener and am purchasing one for home use. I love that it’s an earth-friendly way to keep our pencils sharp and at the ready.  My students are thrilled with having this new sharpener in my classroom, too!

What do you love about a sharp pencil point?