Customer Reviews

Staedtler(R) Handheld Pencil Sharpeners, Graphite, Pack Of 4

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These are all-metal sharpeners, so they've got the ruggedness to survive being tossed around in a plastic bag during shipment, which is how mine arrived. That aside, the sharpened pencils look like something you would see in an advertisement- nigh on perfect. The angle the pencil is oriented when sharpening focuses the blade on the top half inch so it wont eat the entire pencil like cheaper products.

The blades are held on by a small screw, so if they ever get dull, they're easy to replace. I normally don't get excited about office products, but I finally have a pencil sharpener that is worth keeping. If I lost these, I would definitely buy them again

That's why I bothered to search them out and pay for shipping. When you have kids and they have homework to do with pencils and need to sharpen them every day, these sharpeners actually work, they don't break the pencil points off ever. I used to think it was poor quality pencils. I'd say throw out all the old sharpeners, don't buy the cheap ones, these are the only ones you'll ever want and need.

I purchased a pack of these about eight or nine years ago, lost two of them and still have two. Even after almost a decade of use, the remaining two are still sharp and efficient.

Pros:

Shave off a smaller amount of wood than a normal sharpener, extending the life of your pencil. If you do a LOT of homework, it's a plus.

Small and portable.

Won't go out if the power does (maybe a minor issue, but still...)

Very long lasting.

Cheap and durable.

Cons:

Easy to lose?

In summary, if you need a pencil sharpener for school or work, do yourself a favor and save some money from the electric ones, buy a pack of these. You won't be disappointed.

After reading some of the other reviews, I thought it would be pretty hard to be impressed by a pencil sharpener, but this is by far the best one I have ever seen. It is nothing like the cheap plastic ones that are sold in most stores, no comparison. I'm sure even my sons ocd teacher will be impressed by his pencils now.

Fast, free shipping! Plus this is an awesome sharpener. I thought I had crappy colored pencils, but after buying expensive ones and still having the lead fall out I bought this sharpener. I haven't had a problem since!

Solid metal, firm feeling pencil sharpeners. Excellent price. You may think, "I don't need 4. I just need 1." If you're like me, you'll want 1 at every location you have pencils. Personally, I wish someone would develop a model of this sort that could stick to the pencil in some way or even a key chain loop or lanyard hole.

I was simply looking for a sharpener that would sharpen pencils and not break the point as soon as someone started writing with the pencil. This does the job. Pencils are sharpened, kids are doing homework. As a note, this produce it pictured in a package. Mine came loose in a ziplock bag. The sharpeners work fine and it didn't bother me but just wanted to get that out there.

As much as I like my Staedtler double-hole tub sharpener (their article no. 512 001 A6), I like this pack of four Staedtler all-metal sharpeners a little better for my no. 2 pencils. Usually I "initiate" my favorite lead pencil brands like Dixon Ticonderoga with an electic sharpener or buy pencils pre-sharpened, like Mirado Warriors. But before they go onto paper they go through this little device and emerge with a hard, close-to-perfect conical point that just doesn't break. Frequent touchups ensure the graphite's consistency of writing. No electric sharpener (either AC or battery-powered), or schoolhouse crank-type sharpener in my experience comes close. The fact that the sharpeners are all-metal makes a difference even though they are not terribly heavy. And four of them in the package, a treat for chronic misplacers like me. Just observe the limitations of this product genre: they're handheld, have only one hole that's best for our number two pencils and probably impossible for thicker ones, and you'll have to contend with the waste (shavings, graphite) yourself because there's no cup to catch it. Even so, a good deal on a superior product. Manufactured in China.

PS: Turns out that even this simple sharpener has a technique and that intuitive or traditional use of it might not work for everyone. Staedtler lets us download (no kidding) a .pdf document about suitability and use of their erasers and sharpeners. As of the time of this writing, Amazon puts the link at the very head of the Product Details.

The sharpeners are very nice, they sharpen any pencil to a nice point. I foresee myself using these for a long long time

I bought these largely because the top rated review had them listed as being made in Germany. In reality they are made in China (as of February 2011).

They work quite well, but you can get other chinese sharpeners for a fraction of this price. For the money, I wanted German made,....which commonly outlasts Chinese made by a mile.