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If you’ve read very many homeschooling blogs, you’ve likely heard of the “World’s Best Pencil Sharpener.” Offered by Classroom Friendly Supplies, this pencil sharpener is just as good as all the other have said! I’m super excited to have the opportunity to review it for you today.
Classroom Friendly Supplies was developed by a teacher who was tired of struggling with his students never having a quality sharpener available with which to sharpen their pencils. The traditional wall mounted, electric, and hand-held varieties just weren’t working. Thus the World’s Best Pencil Sharpener was born.
The pencil sharpener is available in five colors: black, pink, red, green, and blue. Individual sharpeners are available for $24.99 apiece, and there’s a quantity discount for ordering more than one of the same color (specifically in groups of 3 or 36). I chose black for our family for a couple of reasons. First, pink is out since I have only sons. Red and blue were eliminated because one is Seahawk’s favorite color and the other is Munchkin’s favorite color. I didn’t want to have any squabbles over “Mom chose your favorite because she likes you better” (I don’t think that’s very likely – it’s never happened before – but I wasn’t willing to risk it). So that left green or black. Ultimately, I thought the black would be more universally “matching” anywhere we put it than green would.
How it Works
This pencil sharpener is ready to go to work straight out of the box; there’s no assembly required. That’s a definite selling feature in my book.
There are three main parts to the sharpener: the base, the pencil grip, and the handle. The first thing to do is pull out the pencil grip and insert your pencil, making sure it goes through the holes on both the grip and the base. There are teeth to hold it in place while you sharpen, so you don’t have to worry about holding the pencil still while you’re turning the handle. Which is the next step – turn the handle. As you do this, you can watch the pencil and the pencil grip move closer into the base. When the handle goes slack, your pencil is sharp. Gently remove it from the base and grip, and you’re ready to write.
For a better idea of what I’m talking about, here’s a video provided by the company.
In addition to the sharpener itself, you can also purchase permanent mounting hardware; this piece is $14.99 for one, with quantity discounts available just like the sharpener. Also available are replacement parts for the sharpeners: blades ($14.99 each or 2 for $22.99), shavings drawers ($6.99), and clamps ($6.99). I didn’t talk much about the clamp in this review because we didn’t use it for ours. I didn’t find that it was necessary. Due to the pencil clamp that keeps your writing instrument firmly in place during the sharpening process, you have two hands available – one to hold the sharpener in place and one to turn the crank – so I didn’t see the need to clamp the sharpener itself to the table.
Do you know someone besides yourself who might want one of these, but you’re not sure which color to choose for them? Classroom Friendly Supplies even sells gift cards! Available in amounts of $24.99, $53.97, $107.94, and $503.64, they’re exactly priced for various quantities of sharpeners.
Our Thoughts
I could go on and on about this pencil sharpener, or I could just not beat around the bush. Let’s start with the simple answer: we love this product!
The longer version goes something like this… I love how the sharpener is big enough that it won’t get lost easily (ours has found its home in the schoolroom). I like how easy it is to work; all of us (except Small Fry) were able to sharpen pencils quickly and efficiently. Which brings me to my next love. I really appreciate how quickly this sharpener brings points to the pencils – without the dreaded forearm strain I always get with handheld sharpeners. And when you sharpen pencils, you’re left with shavings… This sharpener deals nicely with those as well. The pencil shavings are contained in a drawer at the bottom of the sharpener, and it’s really easy to slide it out for emptying. There’s really no downside to this product that I could find. I highly recommend that if you sharpen a lot of pencils – regardless of the reason (homeschooling or otherwise) – you invest in one of these!
Blessings,
Disclaimer: I received a free pencil sharpener in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.