Redesigned for manufacture in china this sharpener no longer offers long life and worry free use. Out of the box crank was on crooked, screws holding it together were stripped. The eight hole front pencil guiede is flimsy. The design will not stand up to class room use. Look else where. X-Acto Ranger 55 Table- or Wall-Mount Heavy-Duty Pencil Sharpener, Black, 1 Unit (1001)
Very nice heavy duty feel - quite rugged, Sharpens very quickly, better than most electric sharpeners AND takes different diameter pencils.
BUT, sharpens to an off-center point. That was a very significant disappointment in an otherwise super product.
Some pencils sharpen to an unusable state as the point is so off-center. Kids who tend to not keep the pencil perpendicular to the sharpener when inserting the pencil may have a hard time getting a usable point.
What a contrast between how rugged it is and how great the sharpening heads are generally with how the pencil actually gets sharpened.
I would bet some of these will sharpen off center like mine does & some not - it's a manufacturing consistency issue I would guess.
I am a teacher and have gone through a lot of pencil sharpeners in my classroom...manual and electric...and they were all JUNK. I was looking for and industrial strength pencil sharpener that would sharpen all kinds of pencils (even the cheap ones manufactured today), withstand the use of 120 kids a day, and last a long, long time. Well, I think I found it. I LOVE THIS PENCIL SHARPENER! I have only had it a few weeks, but I think that it will stand the test of time. And the word is out...kids from other classrooms come and use MY pencil sharpener now because the one in their room stinks! It may be expensive, but you get what you pay for!
I have two of these - made in USA circa 1950s or 1960s. The original models were made of heavy cast metal with chrome plated steel sides. They offered a point adjustment that moved the cutting heads closer or farther apart. And they size wheel was a solid cast piece.
This - while it has some of the best cutting heads on a pencil sharpener - doesn't measure up to the original Boston Ranger 55 sharpener. Still nice to be able to order one new instead of hunting through auction sites.
Several reviews said this pencil sharpener was heavy duty and worked very well. I teach school and have yet to find a sharpener that will consistently sharpen the poorly-made pencils in my classroom. I purchased this one in hopes that it was do the job. Unfortunately, it sharpens on one side of the pencil so it was a waste of money.
We homeschool our 8 children, and we have been through quite a few pencil sharpeners (manual and electric). This pencil sharpener takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'! It even sharpens those cheap "made in China" pencils! I highly recommend this pencil sharpener!!!
I bought this pencil sharpener based on other reviews I saw and was not disappointed. I was so very tired of having all of the other sharpeners we tried break down on us. Electric, hand held, wall-mounted, you name it, they all wore out very quickly. This one sharpens pencils to a very fine point and seems like it is going to last.
I'm a 2nd grade teacher and have struggled to find a solution to pencil sharpening issues. I spent an entire day researching various pencil sharpeners. I have employed a multitude of different pencil sharpeners, including the behemoth electric pencil sharpeners that are supposedly designed for school use. All have failed me. To be fair, I also believe the quality of pencils have deteriorated as of late, and that has not helped the issue. As my research into pencil sharpeners turned up no clear "winner," as even as the highest rated sharpener still got pretty dismal reviews, I began to think that the issue was that electric pencil sharpeners are just simply doomed to fail. Too many moving parts, and opportunities for malfunction. I turned my attention to manual pencil sharpeners and soon stumbled upon this beauty of a sharpener. I had it mounted upright on top of a bookshelf and it has been pencil sharpening bliss. I regularly have teachers come into my room with baskets full of pencils to sharpen, and have convinced a number of teachers to purchase one for their classrooms. Re-sharpening a dull point truly takes just a few turns of the crank. Butter. I will say that I've only had the sharpener for 6 months, but it is purring like a kitten, and I'll certainly let you know if my dreams of the perfect pencil sharpener get shattered. Anyway, keep it simple...remember that older technology isn't always obsolete...this sharpener is pretty sweet. - School Supplies - Pencil Sharpeners - Home Office - Pencil Sharpener'
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