Review on Automatic Sharpener Sketching Rechargeable Prismacolor by Michelle Langley

I have been drawing for almost three years now, many charcoal sticks have broken from the tips. I've been looking for a long blade sharpener for a long time. This product is interesting, it doesn't really fit my purpose. But it's so useful that I still like it. I draw with two main points: a needle (for charcoal and graphite) and a beveled one (for charcoal and conte). This product does not have the ability to bevel, but I doubt an electric sharpener will be able to do that. It also can't provide a good needle point, nor am I sure an academic point is possible, if only for the risk of breakage during extraction. What makes this product good is that it offers an acceptable quick advantage. I wasn't sure if the sacrifice was worth it, but to be able to keep up with the flow and just stick a pencil in the sharpener is very rewarding. I brought it into my current work, skull research, just to play around with. I'm doing it Watts style, which requires a bevel point for softer lines, and it can't do that. So I paired an electric sharpened pencil with a hand sharpened pencil. It worked quite well, using an electric sharpened pencil for sharper lines and switching to a beveled pencil for softer work. Not as nice as having both pencils in one pencil, but that's where the value of a sharpener lies. When my tip landed on a power-sharpened pencil, instead of wasting a few distracted minutes manually sharpening a beveled pencil, I simply popped it into the sharpener and got back to running. A few notes: be careful when removing the sharpener. Sharpened pencils, thin, soft mines break easily. Care should also be taken when inserting a pencil, as the device automatically catches and the lead can break during insertion. This has only happened to me once (when ejecting) in multiple tests with slightly soft (2b) pens. Considering the frequency of breakages with manual sharpening, this is a money saver! Be sure to buy this model if you need to accommodate larger diameter pencils like Conte. Attached is a photo of my initial trial tip, pencils from top to bottom: 2b Graphite, 2b Charcoal, 2b Charcoal, 3b Conte, 2x2b Conte, Conte Sanguine (this one broke the tip on removal, user error). Larger diameter soft leads Cons Slightly expensive for build quality Pencil lead easy to break when removed from sharpener Improperly sharpened academic drafting pencil Doesn't work with thinner leads and pencils Conclusion: Consider the limited usage scenario I've outlined. This probably won't be your primary method of pencil sharpening unless you're already using a standard pencil sharpener. It cannot offer two very popular academic points (bevel or needle). However, it's a handy addition to the workbench if you just want to refine something without breaking the flow.