Customer Reviews

X-Acto Model KS, Vacuum-Mount Pencil Sharpener, Chrome Receptacle, Black Base, 1 Unit (1072)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

After many years, our faithful Panasonic electric pencil sharpener's motor finally gave out. Needing a new sharpener for the upcoming school year, I hurriedly picked up this Boston "Xacto" Vacuum Mount POC. When I opened the box, I was appalled at the poor quality of... everything. I tried to follow the included directions to the letter, but it didn't work out for me. Here are some observations regarding my fruitless attempt to sharpen one ordinary #2 pencil with the Boston Vacuum Mount Pencil Sharpener:
1) Cheap metal (or is it metallic plastic?) housing falls apart in your hands.
2) Vacuum mount adheres to glass & smooth wood surfaces momentarily, but not strong enough or long enough.
3) Dull, inefficient blades grab and halt progress countless times.
4) Then it's re-connect the housing (did I mention that it falls apart?), re-attach vacuum mount, re-insert pencil, and try again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

In the end, I asked my 4th grader to hold the unit firmly on the desk while I continued the "sharpening" process, thereby unwittingly placing him in harm's way-- the housing fell apart in his hands and he nearly got cut. Well, probably not cut since the blades aren't sharp enough to cut anything, but at the very least pinched severely.... Anyway, that's not the real end-- I returned this shoddy, useless rattletrap practical joke and ordered a new Panasonic electric pencil sharpener.

OK, where should I begin, the unit is made of cheap metal, the vacuum mount is just horrible, I tried it on wood, and even glass, and it still comes off quite easily, there is no mechanism to hold the pencil for you, so you need to work with both hands, and imagine when the vacuum mount goes bad, you guessed it, you need a third hand! I tried it on a 5B pencil, which I agree is somewhat soft, but to have two thirds of the pencil chewed to dust by this monster is just unforgivable. Here's why: there is no mechanism to stop the unit from shaving your pencil away, so when you have a soft pencil, and you want to take it off, it's still in the grip of the unit, with a soft lead, it will break and you need to get some more chewed away. For $30 you can buy yourself a house full of pencils and sharpeners. There is an X-acto brand of this on Amazon too, both are from the same manufacturer.

Bought one of these at the store quickly, as we were looking for a manual one - assuming incorrectly it would last longer than an electric. Worked great for less than one day, though the vacuum mount never worked properly. Can no longer sharpen anything with this, as it won't grab the pencil - regardless of what size I try. Horribly designed, ultra cheap, and not worth it.

I bought this on sale for 1/2 price at Office Depot, and it's going back tomorrow. I didn't have a problem with the vacuum mount (yet), but it only seems to want to sharpen one side of the pencil, leaving the other half still covered in wood. How does one write with that? I kept sharpening, turning the pencil around to get all surfaces, but I ended up with an incredibly sharp skewer that doesn't write. Is this the only manual left on the market!? What a shame... I don't need one more battery-operated contraption in my house, but I don't think there's any alternative.

I bought this for the name, thinking it would be superior. The pencil alignment ring is flimsy and aligns poorly, so the pencils often sharpen off-center. Don't bother buying this one.

After reading the variety of reviews here, we opted for this X-Acto product mainly because there aren't that many options out there. First, it is completely adequate as a pencil sharpener. Second, the suction base holds on tight. Third, the blades or whatever lines the pencil up doesn't quite sharpen the pencil perfectly even all around. This is not a big problem, though perfectionists will find it frustrating. I recommend this product if you need a portable sharpener.

If I hadn't already pitched this, it would have been a great produuct for a video review.
The vacuum seal never worked...ever...that means you needed two people to work it. One person had to hold the sharpener down, the other to insert the pencil and turn the crank. Awfully crowded, and awfully complicated just to sharpen a pencil. Because it never mounted correctly the pencil and sharpener weren't stable so the sharpening wasn't evenly done to all sides of the pencil. Sometimes it seemed the leads must have cracked from the torquing because they would fall out if you did get the pencil sharpened to a point.

Wasted money to buy the sharpener and wasted money replacing the ruined pencils.

I bought one of these several years ago for my high school classroom. It sharpens pencils beautifully and quickly--just a few turns usually--the cutting wheels must be very sharp and well-made. But, I don't let students sharpen brand-new pencils from scratch--I don't want to dull the blades. The suction mount works very well on a horizontal surface, but it won't hold for long on a vertical surface (and it's surprising how many students can't figure out how to use it). My only complaint is it's not so easy to re-attach the cup after emptying the shavings--it only goes on one way, so it takes a moment to get it lined up properly. I'm buying another one for my home.

Have two kids and school and tried the battery operated, and other types of sharpeners. This is high quality and works just like the ones in school

Great little pencil sharpener. Gives you a respectably sharp tip rather than one of those dullards that the electric ones GRIND out unless you hold the point in the device til half the pencil is ground away. This mechanical sharpener is actually quiet. I like the fact that it doesn't need to be plugged in (i.e., it's environmentally friendly). And, this model can be situated on a variety of surfaces. It's sweetly portable.