# Finally found one that wasn't junk



## AttainableApex (Aug 24, 2010)

i bought one just like it at staples like 3 years ago.
i was using these triangle pencils that would not fit in anything but one of those. so i got one and then stopped using it because i started using different pencils, go figure.

now i have it in the shop, and i actually use it now. very nice as you stated. its also great to sharpen dowels for pegging things


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## Geedubs (Jul 23, 2009)

Here here!! I could not agree more. Picked up one of these old tanks (actually just built like an old tank) myself a few months ago after trying to delicately massage sharp points on pencils with a cheasy plastic simulation of a pencil sharpener for years. I can almost smell my old school classroom(s) when I use it and keep thinking that at the end of the day it will be my turn to clean the chalkboard and erasers. Using it feels like slipping on solid old shoes. Every shop should have one.

Thanks for the review Tedstor. Sometimes it is the less expensive 'tools' that have the greatest value.


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## X541 (Feb 20, 2011)

I've got one too. The distracting thing that I found was that there tend to be more battery powered sharpeners out there than manual ones like this. You have to look around to find a quality one, most often found in an office supply store.


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## joew (Apr 22, 2008)

Thank you for posting. Now I can get one for my grandkids. Had one like this when I was a kid back in the 1960s


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## deeman (Dec 19, 2009)

I love mine, I bought it at Staples for about the same cost


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

As a high school math teacher during my day job, I am on my third pencil sharpener this year…yes, same model.

For your shop, it might be good, but in a math classroom, so much usage will wear it out quickly…breaking the chassis that holds the spiral cutters.

I still think you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, this is what the school buys, so it's what I keep getting.


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## bugsiegel (Dec 12, 2008)

I bought an old, used, one off of ebay before I realized staples sells them.
FYI I also bought my old style ,hang on the wall, push button phone from ebay. It's the only phone in the house that never breaks. 
Something about the older *Made in America* items that never lets you down.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Okay now you are making me feel old, I did the elementary school thing in the 1970s, and that X-Acto is at least the modern implementation (not sure if it is exactly the same model) of the X-Acto sharpeners that were installed by the door of almost every single classroom I can recall from elementary school, through college, and even post degree continuing education college studies are recently as last year… (Some classrooms had Bostitch or X-Acto models that seemed to be more, well.. Art Deco designed…)

Those things have probably been in production for 40+ years relatively unchanged, and why should they change? They do the job they are supposed to shockingly well… And while they aren't the prettiest objects on the planet, they have an appealing enough aesthetic quality to them that for me at least, evokes a bit of nostalgia…


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## MikeGager (Jun 15, 2009)

ive started using mechanical pencils in the shop. always a fine point and never needs sharpening


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## GregD (Oct 24, 2009)

I like my electric pencil sharpener. I have a knack for breaking off the tip while I'm working the crank.


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## Deglazed (Jan 12, 2011)

I use my belt/disc sander.


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## twokidsnosleep (Apr 5, 2010)

It is not just the sharpeners that have changed in quality, but the pencils themselves.
My kids seem to collect those colorful but extremely useless pencils with colorful wrapping on them…barbie or hotwheels, NHL etc etc
The graphite led in those things is so weak, it will either break during sharpening or snap off deep inside the wood itself. COMPLETELY useless and yet still we get more at Chistmas and Halloween..; I am sure there will be Easter pencils too. Now don't get me started on pencil crayons and even crayons themselves…everything breaks after the first use!!!!
I bought the kids some made in England pencils from LeeValley…after a good long rant about how poorly things are made and quality is a bad word now and how expensive everything has gotten blah blah blah I basically turned into MY father. Gosh I hate getting older.


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## dlmckirdy (Oct 27, 2009)

I salvaged an old Swingline pencil sharpener about 40 years ago when we started using mechanical drafting pencils (the old, fat lead ones that you still had to sharpen the lead). I also got a replacement cutter head at the same time. I used this pencil sharpener in three different shops and two offices. The cutters finally wore down at the graphite cutting area and it now only sharpens to the lead, and leaves a cylindrical piece of lead exposed. I had been using it that way, finishing the job on a piece of sandpaper, until I recently ran across the spare cutter head still unused in it's original box. I doub't I'll be around another 40 or 50 years until that thing wears out. The body and ring gears still look nearly like new (other than a little patina). By the way, Tedstor, it looks just like yours.


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## TLMiller (Jun 19, 2010)

I have one too. I keep is screwed down to a shelf that also holds my LOG-LOG DUPLEX Pickett 10" Slide Rule. It makes the kids crazy.


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## donjohn24 (Oct 15, 2010)

Talking of pencil sharpeners, I saw one the other day that was for sharpening carpenters' pencils - the flat ones - which made me wonder how effective it would be. I don't actually use carpenter's pencils so I didn't buy the sharpener, but do such devices work ?


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

I was in elementary school in the 80's also.

Funny thing is I was in college during most of the 90's at a fairly large college (25k students) and we always joked about no pencil sharpeners, not a single one on in any of the class rooms on campus.


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## Resurrected (Jan 11, 2011)

Exactly what I want. Hard to find


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

Don…Yes they do work, but kind of a gimmicky thing.
Working construction for 30 years, I just use a utility knife. Sharpened in 5 seconds or less….
I always have to tell my kids…"never try this at home"


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## Dustmite97 (Aug 1, 2009)

Great score! I need one as well and this looks like a good one.


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## Woodwrecker (Aug 11, 2008)

I saw the X-Acto electric desk model on super duper sale at Office Max and treated myself to one.
I have it on my bench and have the sharpest pencils on the block !
I honestly like a sharp regular pencil better then those mechanical ones.
Thanks for a great review.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Crap y'all make me feel old. Ike was president when I started in elemantary school in 1954.


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## Clarence (Nov 23, 2009)

Truman had just beat Dewey for re-election when I started elementary school. And yes, we had the same kind of pencil sharpener hanging on the classroom wall.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Lots of amusement here, with a side order of China-bashing, which is my favorite! It's right up there with Japan-bashing when I was a young'un. True then and true now, they made/make crap in their respective eras. Difference is, Japan wasn't a direct adversary after being defeated, even though we helped them back on their feet. The amount of spying and stealing that the Chinese do is orders of magnitude worse than what the Japanese did. They've even said they're going to stop. Wish I had a "rolleyes" emoticon.

On topic: Personally, I use my pocket knife and sandpaper…Swiss Army knife, some parts made in chinee, and sandpaper made in Canada. Some countries I'm happy to support. China ain't one of 'em. Look how much crap we get from them, just in the woodworking community. I also am a member of an automotive forum, and I can't believe that I see "rare" parts for some General Motors cars…that have NEVER been produced by GM…made in China. Thieves, plain and simple.


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## X541 (Feb 20, 2011)

Pencil sharpening truly is a skill. I remember the long lines at the sharpener where the kid in front of you starts off with a fresh pencil to end up with a nub when he's done. The trick is to rough grind the pencil to a point, then pull the pencil back just a few hairs. After the rough grind, finess it at a slight angle while rotating the pencil. Keep the speed of the sharpener up because when the pencil touches the wall off the blades it'll shave rather than bite into the lead (which causes it to break.) This gives the sharpest point and also shaves off more of the wood nearest to the lead. Pencils tend to last longer, and I've never had to resort to sandpaper with this technique.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

all this learnin
from the early days

very nostalgic

our next discussion
will be

who actually knows how to use a pencil


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## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

I have 2, one is like the one in the picture and the other a little uptown style. They're both Boston models the brand they used when I went to school.  The Boston models ks looks like the one in the picture. The other is a Boston Ranger 55.
http://www.allartsupplies.com/item.php?articleId=1128
http://www.staples.com/Boston-Ranger-55-Pencil-Sharpener/product_384670
I'd be lost without them, nothing like a sharp point when you need one. I go through a lot of pencils keeping the lead sharp.


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## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

Hi All:

I think the reason a lot of people break pencils (the Lead Actually) is the Grade of the Lead in the Pencil. The more Pure Graphite in the Lead..the Harder the lead is.

I use to do a lot of Drafting and Sketching Many years ago. The most common Pencil to use was a 2H Grade. I use an *H or 2H in the shop*. Most of the "School & Kiddies …LOL…Pencils" are* HB *also known as a #2., or *B* also know as a #1. (Softer Lead).

I found a Grading Scale on Staedtler's Site a few months back and saved it.









Just to finish off the "Also known as" ...F =#2-1/2 ….H =#3 ….2H=#4.

You could probably* "Chip Concrete*" with a 9H and put on your* "Eye Liner*" with 9B ..LOL…

Sorry this is Off Topic Tedstor but I thought it might be of some help to others, and it seems to *"Fit"* the Topic.

Rick


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## Brad_Nailor (Jul 26, 2007)

I have an Xacto sharpener that adheres to the desktop with a little vacuum base. It sharpens my pencils perfectly. I use nothing but Ticonderoga cedar pencils with quality leads..I prefer HB. They sharpen up to a dangerous level and are yellow and easy to spot on a cluttered bench!


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

Another good manual pencil sharpener is the wall OR table mountable X-Acto Ranger 55. It goes for around $25. It looks even more retro than the subject sharpener. It also comes in black powder coated metal with chrome gauge dial.

http://www.amazon.com/X-Acto-Ranger-Wall-Mount-Heavy-Duty-Sharpener/product-reviews/B00006IEI2/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1


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## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

The choice of graphite delivery should have to do with the precision you expect in your woodworking. If you want to measure and execute to the 1/64 level of precision, you can only use a mechanical .5MM pencil. If you want whatever the pencil lead thickness gives you at whatever degree of sharp it's at at the time you draw the line, you should go with the Ticonderoga, it's great for a pencil. And, don't tell me you sharpen it before you use it every time because the thickness of a four inch line on maple can vary by up to 8%. Also, I've come to the conclusion that the problem with most pencils these days is lack of precision in placing the lead in the center of the wood. An off center lead leaves that wood that comes to the tip problem you see so often and also accounts for the breaking lead during sharpening. Yuk.


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## X541 (Feb 20, 2011)

I have to argue that there's plenty of precision with using a pencil. The inconsistent line width of a dulling pencil certainly happens. If you're using a straight edge, that inconsistency should only happen on the side of the line opposite the rule. For true precision, cuts should actually be made where the lead meets the straight edge anyway. I like to designate by marking on the wood which side of my line is the truly straight side. Kind of reading between the lines. I constantly sharpen my pencils. That's why this initial posting was so nice, Tedstor found a pencil sharpener up to the task of constant use.

Though I admit, incra style specialized rulers with notched holes require a dedicated mechanical pencil.


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

I agree I bought one 2 weeks ago and it the best one I have ever had! Good review. I got mine at Staple around 20 ish..


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## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

X541, don't forget as you make the line with the pencil, the height of the sharp pencil lead decreases, the lead tends to be pushed away from the straight edge and the distance from the straight edge changes as you mark the line. You will in effect be creating a wedge shaped line and the best you can do is snug your cut to the beginning of the line, the end of the line, or somewhere in between. I suppose you could try angling the pencil against the straight edge at a constant agle while you hold the straight edge and the wood steady with one hand but that seems so difficult to me as to be impractical. That's ok if you like that much error and doubt in your woodworking not to mention the stress of tryiing to draw a perfect line. ;-)


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## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

OP,
Your saying that a freshly sharpened pencil will make a wedge shaped line that grows 8% every 4"??
I'm guessing a freshly sharpened pencil makes a line that is 1/64" wide. Maybe 1/32" at most.
Is an 8% variance of 1/32" even appreciable? 
Don't get me wrong, I admire your attention to detail. Not many people would take .0025" (1/400") into consideration. I personally don't think that small of a deviation has any effect on the outcome of the average woodworking project. But thats just my opinion.
What do you use to mark wood if you don't have a .5mm pencil handy?


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## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

I use an incra ruler with a .5mm pencil or nothing. ;-)

Have a look at this for a reference on how much accuracy is enough.

Best


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

I have two of these sharpeners and love them. I use them with Ticonderoga #3 pencils and it's a match made in heaven. I have one in the shop and one in the home office. The harder lead stays sharp for a long time and works great for precise layout.


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

+ the Ticonderoga #3. I just found out that Target carries them. My sharpeners and these pencils are almost "scary sharp". lol


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