Review on Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener, Pack of 2 by Denise Davis

Did you know that colored pencils are actually made of wax and not graphite? I did not do it. Did you know that almost every pencil sharpener, electric or manual, will either destroy a colored pencil or break itself trying to sharpen it? I also. I realized that my child no longer uses pencils. I finally got around to looking at them. Each one was broken and unusable. I assumed, of course, that he would let me know if they needed sharpening. Little boys. Damn. I had a whole box of pencils that needed sharpening. I tried my trusty electric sharpener and the pencils laughed at it - I even think they might destroy it, because ordinary pencils are now badly sharpened. I tried 3 hand sharpeners found in various jewelry around the house - none worked. The pencil color will just keep breaking. How annoyed should you be researching "how to sharpen crayons"? I did and actually learned a lot about them. More importantly, I found where the artists did a great job and highlighted some sharpeners that actually work for colored pencils - reliably. Almost everyone has decided to call this sharpener "the best” for one reason or another. Pros: - It's cheap. Save yourself the expensive electric sharpener, because it doesn't work and will dull in the process. - It's efficient. This has always interested me how colored pencils have such a small "shaved" area of wood around the lead compared to regular #2 pencils. I understand this is on purpose because the waxy paint is much more brittle than graphite. The less wood that is removed, the more stable the color of the wax. This sharpener does just that - see picture! - The pencil sharpens quickly with just a few turns. Cons: - Sharpening so many pencils at once will make your hand cramp - It's not electric. There is no "simple button" here. You can always check if I'm wrong. If so, let me know in the comments. You need to empty your shaving pencil case frequently. Good luck folks. If you find a better sharpener, let me know it. Since she was so good with colored pencils by the way, I tried regular pencils. As it turns out, my kids (all homeschooled) don't break lead and get up to sharpen their pencils very often. I suspect so. For the same reason as mentioned above - a smaller part of the base of the pencil is shaved off. If you have an aggressive hand that often wipes the paper, this can keep the lead in better shape.