Review on X-ACTO Quiet Pro Electric Pencil Sharpener, Auto-Adjust Dial, SafeStart Motor, SmartStop - Black, 1 Count: The Perfect Sharpener for Precise, Quiet, and Safe Pencil Sharpening by Lori Aguirre

I have bought and used many pencil sharpeners in my 20 years of teaching. I learned never to let elementary school students use my sharpeners. However, sharpeners I've bought in the past have rarely lasted more than a few months without noticeable slowdown and possible engine damage. Over the years I've literally spent $100 on sharpeners and burned myself nearly every time. My last sharpener was the X-acto brand. I had a little problem early on and they sent me a replacement part for free. At the end of the school year, the engine burned out anyway. I returned to the venerable Boston mechanical sharpener. Morning sharpening was a chore that often took up to 5-10 minutes to sharpen all of the students' pencils. I could tell upon opening the box that this sharpener would be different. It was much heavier than others bought in the past. I plugged it in and was pleasantly surprised at how fast this model sharpens. The blue light at the top will illuminate to notify you when the pencil is sharpened and then the motor will turn off. On rare occasions I've had to reinsert the pencil because it wasn't fully sharpened. Many modern pencils are cheaply made and the graphite is not properly centered in the pencil. That doesn't seem to matter with this sharpener. Either way, it exacerbates them. Pencils come out clean and sharp. In a class of 20 I can sharpen a couple of pencils VERY quickly. The sharpener has a very small blemish. Some chips come out of a (very big) container. I hand wash them about once a week. It only takes 5 seconds and that's just a small amount. I have owned this model for 2 months now. The engine showed no signs of slowing down. I think time will tell if it holds up. So far I am very happy with this purchase! The engine showed no signs of slowing down. I think time will tell if it holds up. So far I am very happy with this purchase! The engine showed no signs of slowing down. I think time will tell if it holds up. So far I am very happy with this purchase!