Pencil Sharpeners - Electric and Manual Pencil Sharpening

This little beauty is amazing! I've never seen anything like this. It's a revolution in pencil sharpening! Put a pencil in the stylish iPoint Electric Pencil Sharpener and sit back!

You turn the dial at the top of the unit to select pencil size. The iPoint automatically ejects the pencil and shuts off the power when a perfect point is achieved. The titanium blades stay sharp, and iPoint sharpens a variety of pencil sizes. This pencil sharpener features an EZ View shavings reservoir so you can see when the iPoint needs emptying. Comes with an AC Adapter.

Manual pencil sharpeners are the least expensive and simplest to use, because they are human powered! I've found that manual sharpeners do a wonderful job though and you get a little more control and less waste of your pencil (not as much of a concern for most pencils, but professional-grade colored pencils can be more expensive and it's good not to waste them!)

Look for a manual pencil sharpener that has a canister to catch the pencil shavings. It's really convenient.

This Helix Hand-Held Pencil Sharpener is one of my favorites - it has the plastic barrel to catch shavings. Another nice feature is that the top unscrews rather than just pops off. I've dropped these on the floor and it's nice to not have the top fly off! I like to spend my time drawing instead of cleaning up. This Helix pencil sharpener is incredibly inexpensive, only about $1.30 for this!

Electric pencil sharpeners from X-Acto are designed for demanding office, studio, and classroom environments.

They are quality tools that will last for many years. Designed for steady, all-day use, X-Acto Heavy-Duty Pencil Sharpener is a great investment for years of maintenance-free service.

It has an extra heavy-duty AC induction motor with a thermal overload function that automatically shuts the motor off should overheating occur. It has two solid steel cutters with 30 cutting edges.

The cutting action stops when the point is made. A pencil guide permits sharpening of all sizes of pencils. This model features an extra large shavings receptacle. Requires a 110V AC outlet.

Just flip the lever and this Vacuum Mount Pencil Sharpener locks in place on any non-porous, horizontal surface. This is really nice when you want this classic type of pencil sharpener, don't want to drill holes in your wall or table. It has an 8-size pencil guide with automatic pencil stop.

Other functional features of this great sharpener include solid steel gears and speed cutters with 30 cutting edges. It's built solid for rugged institutional and classroom use.

If you need a long point on your pencil, then this Alvin Long Point Pencil Sharpener might be just what you have been looking for. It has two size holes - one for normal sized pencil, and a larger hole for draftsman pencils. The lid pops open to remove the shavings.

I have two of these Boston Mighty Mite Pencil Sharpeners because they are a nice size, fairly inexpensive, and work well. They get a lot of use in our house, in between my art use and my kids sharpening their pencil for school. I like the way the sharpener leans back so it's easy to insert a pencil, and the shavings tray is easy to remove and clean, yet it doesn't fall out easily.
If you need a good, basic and reliable electric pencil sharpener, you can't go wrong with this one.

It's helpful to have a good quality electric pencil sharpener. I was glad when I finally 'went electric,' and I've never looked back! If you plan to work a lot in Prismacolor pencils along with Verithin or Col-Erase, then get a very inexpensive electric sharpener, because the waxy 'leads' will cause you to go through a few sharpeners, so I don't feel that it's necessary to purchase an expensive "top-of-the-line" model, because you will need to replace it if it gets a lot of hard use.

A Boston Electric Pencil Sharpener will do the job nicely.
The downside of electric pencil sharpeners is that they will eat up your pencils quickly, so try to only use it sparingly.

Some artists use two sharpeners - one for regular pencils and another for the waxy colored pencils. I use both electric and hand held sharpeners - it's nice to have a non-electric one for when I'm not drawing at home and/or I don't want to have to sit right by my electric model. I recently bought a handheld pencil sharpener made by Prismacolor. I thought that maybe it would be something special because it had the Prismacolor name on it, but it was just a regular hand held barrel type pencil sharpener. It has tended to jam up with the shavings too quickly for my taste. I don't even use it anymore. My favorite hand-held pencil sharpener is this Helix Hand-Held Pencil Sharpener, because the blade is very good, it's very inexpensive, and I really appreciate how it catches the shavings. The top screws on, so you don't have to worry about pencil shavings falling out if you accidentally drop the sharpener.

Professional and portable, Dahle's Professional Pencil Sharpener accepts standard, oversized, and European made pencils up to 12 mm in diameter. It features point adjustment to create blunt or extra sharp tips, as well as automatic feed and shut-off when the desired point is reached.

Dahle sharpeners have Solingen steel blades that remove easily for cleaning. They are safe for even the softest leads and pastel pencils.

To many professional artists and illustrators, Dahle's shut-off and point adjustment mechanisms make their sharpeners the most economical choice, as well as the most convenient.