Staedtler 512 001 ST Double-hole Tub Pencil Sharpener

Since immersing myself in the world of colored pencils, I've become acutely aware of the problem that most are unaware of: pencil sharpener technology is, put bluntly, pretty terrible. In my earlier world of using the occasional #2 pencil, I found nothing to complain about in terms of sharpeners, bit colored pencils quickly expose the flaws and shortcomings of this realm. For one thing, there is a lot on the line. A good pencil can cost $1.75-$2, so a broken point from a failed sharpening is real money. Over sharpening, where the sharpener eats the pencil down to notiohng is just as bad. And so began my quest. Moreover, working in the field, which is my preferred venue, requires a handheld sharpener (or an extremely long extension cord). The world of electric pencil sharpeners is bad, but nowhere near as bad as that for handhelds. This realization came as a revelation to me. Like many people, I thought all sharpeners are the same. The technology of handheld sharpeners is absurdly simple, a plastic cone tangent to a razor blade. So how could there be differences? I soon realized that there were. The manufacturing tolerance of the cone matters, but, more importantly, the quality and positioning of the blade matters even more. Initially, I thought battery powered devices were the solution. For most of these devices, the technology is identical, a rotating razor blade powered by batteries, as are the results. I used a Foray brand handheld, reputed to be an excellent device, but awful for me. I also used a not of other no name with equally bad results. To be clear, there are three kinds of bad results possible. First, the blade simply does not sharpen sufficiently. About 20% of the sharpeners I tried failed this simple test. Either the blade was insufficiently sharp or the come was incorrectly formed. The second major problem is breakage. This is the worst outcome--putting a dilly colored pencil into the sharpener only to have it turn the dull point into a broken point--a complete disaster requiring the reshape ink of the pencil and the loss of about one sixteenth or more of the pigment. The third problem is oversharpening. Sme sharpeners tend t sheer off a portion of the point, leaving it extremely sharp and extremely fragile. This is also no good since using the pencil with any pressure (unavoidable in colored pencil drawing) leads to a catastrophic breakdown. Enter the Staedtler. It is solidly built with surprising heft. There are two holes, producing points of differing slope. One hole, labeled graphite, produces the familiar 23* slope point. The other, labeled color and graphite, produces a fatter 30* slope point. The latter is advantageous for colored pencils since the resulting fatter point is more resistant to breakage. Sharpening blunt pencils (I have yet to try it with unsharpened pencils) is a breeze. The graphite slot fits the pencil like a glove. A few turns, much fewer than with other sharpeners, produces a super sharp, perfectly symmetric point. The color slot has some play in it since it can be used by thicker pencils as well. Despite this, it too sharpens with few turns and no particular effort. The result is a super sharp, super robust wide point. After sharpening about 15 dull colored pencils, I suffered zero problems. Sharpening about 10 graphite pencils yielded the same results. Simply put, this is easily the best sharpener I own and, more importantly, the best I have ever used out of a sample of about 20+ sharpener models. Especially if you are a colored or art pencil user, this is the one to buy. It will pay for itself in terms of reducing pencil wastage in shirt order. You cannot do better.

The Staedtler 512 001 ST Double-hole Tub Pencil Sharpener has been a fantastic addition to our home. It's a simple yet incredibly effective tool that has made a significant difference, especially for the kids in our household. This pencil sharpener stands out because of its dual-hole design, allowing us to sharpen both standard and large pencils with ease. The convenience it offers is unparalleled. No more searching for different sharpeners for various pencil sizes – this one does it all. The kids absolutely love using it. They find it fun and easy to use, and it has actually made sharpening pencils an enjoyable task for them. As a parent, it's wonderful to see them excited about something as simple as sharpening their pencils. One of the aspects that impressed me the most is the durability of the Staedtler 512 001 ST Double-hole Tub Pencil Sharpener. It feels sturdy and well-built, ensuring that it will last for a long time, even with regular use by kids. In summary, this pencil sharpener has become an essential tool in our home. It's versatile, and user-friendly, and the kids adore it. If you're in need of a reliable pencil sharpener that can handle different pencil sizes, I highly recommend giving this one a try. It's a small investment that brings a lot of joy and convenience to our daily routine.

A year ago I had purchased a top of the line electric pencil sharpener but loaned it out to a friend who had purchased a set of colored pencils that were all unsharpened. Well... this was five months ago and I still haven't received it back. Then just recently I got in the mood for creating a picture using my large set of Prismacolor Premier colored pencils. Soon after starting this project I realized, darn, I have no pencil sharpener. So I went down to Staples and bought this Staedler sharpener. I already own Staedler drawing pencils and several other Staedler products and they were all good quality so I figured, this $6 item might be okay as well. It was a choice of buying that one or a very cheap school pencil sharpener or a much, much more "professional" and expensive (electric) pencil sharpener. So here I went. I needed to sharpen a red pencil. Mind you that the core of these Prismacolor pencils are quite soft and have wax in them. For that reason they are known to be hard to sharpen to a perfect point. So I put the pencil in the large hole and slowly but steadily turned the pencil only five times. I thought let me check to see if it needs more turns or not. I couldn't believe my eyes! The pencil was sharpened to perfection, to a beautiful sharp red point I know there are YouTube videos dedicated to sharpen these pencils because so many people have issues with sharpening them, such as getting broken off points, unevenness, a slanted point, and so forth. Not a problem with this little bad boy. It sharpened my pencil beautifully. The blade must be really good! Since then I have sharpened many more pencils out of the Prismacolor pencil set that I own and never had one single problem. Here are some useful tips: Use the wider opening always Don't force the pencil in too far. Just as far as it will go without putting pressure on it. If you feel that the hole isn't small enough, don't worry, just continue on gently and eventually the sharpener will "grab" the pencil. Sharpen at a slow and steady pace, three turns if this is your first time While turning, don't start pushing the pencil in harder or apply a lot of pressure on it, let the blade do its job Check the pencil after a just a few turns, turn once or twice more if needed For pencils with a good point but not a sharp point, 2 turns can already be adequate Save time by keeping this sharpener handy Very sharp points are always fragile so handle your pencil gently. On a piece of scrap paper gently make a few circles while holding the pencil vertically. You may see some "debris" come off. This will take off that super sharp point just enough to where you can draw fine lines without breakage while applying gentle pressure. If this is your very first time using this sharpener, start with three turns, then check. After you have used this sharpener for several times on the Prismacolors, you will develop a feel for it and you will only turn them the minimum amount of times needed without wasting any pencil. These pencils are not cheap. The enemy of sharpening any type of pencil is over sharpening and dull blades. Always be gentle using your freshly sharpened pencil. The sharper the point, the easier they can break but they won't break if you follow my directions. The key is to be gentle while sharpening and count your turns. Check your point after three or four turns, don't push the pencil in real hard and while sharpening, don't push the pencil in any further than in the beginning. Lots of explanations, yet super easy to do if you follow the tips above! Save your money on electric sharpeners. They over sharpen no matter how good they are. You will lose valuable pencil lead. This thing is faster than walking to your electric unit to sharpen a pencil plus you can travel with it! I hope my comments and tips will help you enjoy your pencil artwork without frustration. Happy drawing and coloring!

Really appreciate how the lid is secure on this pencil sharpener. I’m able to toss it into my art bag without fearing that it will pop open unlike my staedler sharpened that opens at the slightest provocation. Another thoughtful touch is the lid the snaps over the sharpener openings themselves. Ensures no shavings escape whatsoever. It also sharpens very well both graphite and colored pencils. My only gripe is that the flap over the sharpener openings can be hard to open and on one of our units it quickly broke so you must be pretty careful when snapping it open. Overall, this is the sharpened I grab the majority of the time. It’s reliable, consistent in how it sharpens and the chamber size is not too big nor too small. Just right.

This sharpener is so great that I was willing to take time out of my extremely busy schedule to write this brief review. On the surface, there doesn't seem to be much one can say about a pencil sharpener, but... This sharpener is quite small (I had assumed it was bigger from the photo), so it doesn't waste much space at all on the desk. It's small enough and nice enough looking to just leave it out all the time. It's extremely solidly built, not made of cheap plastic. Feels like it would survive being stepped on or run over by a car. It doesn't any leak shavings whatsoever when using it. (Nice!) Also, the hinged cover snaps on VERY securely so that it will not spill anything during transportation if it's full. The cap is also very tight, in fact so tight that it really took some effort to get it off to empty the shavings. I assume this will loosen up with use, but if not, it's OK now that I figured out the correct way to hold it to pull it apart. The blades appear to be adjustable with a small philips screw. (I didn't experiment with this, because mine came perfectly adjusted.) Now for the important part: Just a few quick twists of the wrist, and my pencil was PERFECTLY sharpened. Not overly sharp to the point where it breaks upon writing the first letter, but sharp enough to write very small. I was able to write the entire alphabet in lower case perfectly legibly on a single line in a space just under 1" wide! I don't have any crayons or large pencils, so I didn't try out the large hole, but the blade looks the same as the one on the small hole, so I'm sure it will work just as well. My only complaint is that I waited so long to buy one of these. I wasted a lot of time with fancy looking manual sharpeners that made a mess or always broke the lead, and with an electric sharpener that ate pencil wood faster than a flock of termites. I don't foresee needing another sharpener for a very, very long time. To my surprise (and disappointment), the sharpener is made in China, which violates my goal of buying only USA made or European made goods. Given the high quality, I had expected it to be made in the USA or Germany. Nonetheless, I am happy with the purchase because it works so well, and after all, I was just looking for a good pencil sharpener. This is a great one!

good price as you get 2. I have had these in the past and they work well. Be careful when you open the lid to the sharpener openings - it breaks easily.

Great little pencil sharpener for back-to-school. This will be perfect for my fourth grader's school box. For some, the price may seem a bit much for elementary school, but I think it balances out when I consider all the cheap sharpeners I buy every month or two to replace broken ones. This is much better quality. It sharpens a dull or a broken pencil lead quickly in just a couple of turns. Works well for his colored pencils, too. The point of the pencil is kept short and precise rather than too long and too pointy (which sometimes leads to a broken lead). And it sharpens straight instead of sharpening one side more than the other. This is great for touch-ups and broken leads along the way. It will also put a point on a brand new pencil if you have a little time, but I use an electric sharpener for that. I searched all desk drawers in my house, sharpening as I found broken or dull pencils! As for the reviewer who said it broke Dixon Ticonderoga pencil leads, I also had quite a few of those leads break constantly. I'm beginning to think the quality of that brand is not what it used to be. I sharpened PaperMate Mirado Black Warrior pencils and even those inexpensive decorative pencils with no problem. All in all, I highly recommend the Staedtler Handheld pencil sharpener.

Got these for my colored pencils (this is an Important distinction as they require another sharpening than graphite pencils or they break) and they are brilliant. They hold up well to travel in my bags and being crushed by other supplies.

These seem to be a good quality product. I like the detail such as how the flip lid fits perfectly into the side slot. It's definitely better than the cheaper ones I've tried; and the blade stops working after a few sharpenings. The reservoir for the shavings is also a good, practical size compared to some others (not too big, not too small), and the lid is on quite securely so that I don't suddenly and annoyingly dump and spread shavings all over. The transparent plastic is also handy for monitoring how full it is. It's worth a couple more bucks for these I think.

Simple robust build does its job well

parfait, taille crayon de qualité

Les deux usages de ce taille-crayon sont hyper pratiques. Je l'utilise pour tailler des crayons aquarellables de mines 3,3 mm et 3,8 mm et les mines ne cassent pas.

Sin duda uno de los mejores sacapuntas que hay y de bajo costo. No duden en usarlo para colores de gama alta, como los fc polychromos, no los astilla o rompe, las puntas son perfectas.