Bring it to the great point with an X-ACTO Pencil Sharpener
Finally a device that will actually save you a bundle of money instead of just throwing those broken pencils away once they get dull. The most frustrating thing that I have experienced is using a pencil when it gets dull right away. That is when I decided to remedy the situation, by going to my local office supply store and purchase an "Electric Pencil Sharpener" from X-ACTO model Number 19500. This unit has a nice futuristic look to it. This will give all of my dull pencils a second and third chance in life; we now use them down to the nub. You can find this product at your local Meijer's, Office Depot, Ace Hardware, Office max, at around thirty dollars. If you do some shopping around then you can probably find this like I did and get a pretty good deal for less than $25.00 plus tax.
Description
This is not very small, and it sometimes will take two hands to operate it. That is because the rubber suction cups located on the bottom sometimes do not stick after a while. It is approximately 4.5” w x 5" d x 4” h in size and only weighs just about 1 pound 0.6 ounces. The sharpener also offers extra plastic see through shaving catcher, to catch all of the shavings. With this sharpener you will be able to sharpen pencils and crayons for your kids. This sharpener comes already preset to sharpen any of your dull pencils that you have lying around. If you are like me, you have all kinds of pencils in your possession such as the regular #2 lead pencil. This has high quality steel blades to keep sharpening your pencils for years to come. Depending on how long you use or how much pressure on the wheel to sharpen your pencils, will depend on whether you ever get the unit overload and get bogged down. This will only happen if you are too aggressive when sharpening your pencils; the unit will stop working and possibly start overheating. This unit also has 4 rubber feet that act as suction cups, so that the when this unit is in use it will not vibrate off of your desk. No need to worry about the power cord because it is 5' long, and the whole unit is basic light green in color.
Experience
There have been hundreds of times that I have had to replace my pencils, because I usually used a old style pencil sharpener to try and sharpen them and all that did to them was break the tip off rather quickly. But, the edge that was put on the pencil and not a precision point, they would only last for a little bit. When doing it this way, the pencil would only last for a couple of uses, and then the lead would break. Since, I have started using the sharpener; I have gotten a lot more use out of my old and dull pencils. I have yet had to throw any of them away since I started using this.
When, you do all you have to do is sharpen your pencils against the bottom of the blades, this unit will start to turn and as you place your pencil in and then turn the pencil as you sharpen, a lot of this depends on the size of pencil that you are sharpening. By using this unit correctly, this will ensure the accuracy of the angle of the point that you put on your pencil. Once you do sharpen the pencil, that is when you can put to rest, the chances of breaking your pencils prematurely. This has worked very well on every pencil, and it will sure has helped in the long run.
There have been times that I had to use this on larger pencils and I have not noticed that the motor inside has ever overheated; it does start to bog down a little when sharpening the larger pencils. The main problem that I have found is that this does not always stay attached to the surface that you have placed it upon. To solve this problem all you have to do is just make sure that you place your hand on the top to help it along. The vibrations and the pressure when pushing down on the unit will make it move around a little while you are using it. If that happens, then you will definitely have to use two hands to operate this unit. When you first get this home it will take you a few tries to get used to using this so that you are satisfied with the results of your sharpened bit. The main thing to remember is to try and stay consistent while turning the pencils and crayons for your kids.
Warranty
This comes with a limited two year warranty that of course does not cover the blades inside. So be prepared to purchase another one if you have a lot of blades that go dull. I have had this for quite a while and I have not had to replace any part of it yet.
Conclusion
If you are tired of throwing all of your old and dull pencils in the garbage, then X-ACTO has the product for you. By spending a little of money now, you probably never have to replace another sharpener for the rest of your life. This 19500 by X-ACTO sharpener is the most superior over all of all the other ways of sharpening your old pencils. This product gets 4.5 to five stars in my book.