Looking for a quality pencil sharpener for your classroom or homeschool space? Every classroom&#;even homeschooling pods&#;need quality sharpeners. We have what you need teacher friends! This post features reviews and information on the best classroom pencil sharpeners for heavy-duty use. Not only that, but there are also several great bargain sharpeners featured on this list!
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Since sharing how I manage pencils in my classroom, I&#;ve received a flood of questions about the best classroom pencil sharpeners.
I&#;ve researched, interviewed other teachers, and thought back on the electrical and manual pencil sharpeners that work great for heavy-duty use.
For me, these details make a big difference when it comes to good pencil sharpeners:
Not only that, but I also had to do lots of digging for great hand-held sharpeners. Since , many students need to keep classroom supplies at their desk.
So, this list also includes great quiet manual sharpeners that don&#;t make a mess!
Here are the results of my research below.
First of all, the winner for the best electrical pencil sharpener is the Xacto brand pencil sharpener.
I&#;ve used this one for many years, plus other teachers commented on how efficient it works for them. Amazon reviews rave about its features, which you can check out here.
Not only that, but the cost is great considering how long it lasts.
I don&#;t allow students to sharpen pencils while I teach anyway, which I talk about in this post here. So the volume of this pencil sharpener works fine for me.
Basically, this sharpener won across the board of great electrical classroom pencil sharpeners for heavy-duty use.
The second best electrical sharpener on my list comes from Staples.
It was rated as the best commercial electric pencil sharpener so the price was much higher. With a Staples coupon and my teacher discount, I got it for around $60.
If convenience shopping works better for you, this sharpener can also be found here and shipped to your classroom.
But I absolutely love it! I mentioned it in my classroom pencil system post.
Naturally, because of the cost, I want it to last a long time, so I&#;m careful about its use. Which is why I don&#;t allow my students to use it.
If you are shopping for an electrical pencil sharpener that is student-friendly, this may not be your best choice.
But if you have assistants, classroom volunteers, or para-pros that help them. This heavy-duty sharpener will be just fine with your adult helpers!
I use a TON of colored pencils in my classroom. I bought this mega class set with 240 colored pencils.
As you can see, I definitely NEEDED a good pencil sharpener for all these colored pencils!
My favorite heavy-duty pencil sharpener for colored pencils is this School Smart Brand. This tiny powerhouse works like a charm not only for all brands of pencils but also for colored pencils.
Do not let the size of it fool you! Our school&#;s art teacher LOVES this pencil sharpener! She often talked about this being the best pencil sharpener for artists. These Amazon reviews for this pencil stated the same thing.
It also comes with 12 FREE pencils, even though they aren&#;t shown above in the picture.
The thing that makes this sharpener so handy is that it has an auto-stop feature. When a pencil or colored pencil is sharp, the sound of the sharpener changes, letting you know that the pencil is sharp.
Among the best manual classroom pencil sharpeners to sharpen a variety of pencils comes from Xacto.
This Xacto Ranger 55 Manual Pencil Sharpener works great for teachers who want a quiet and student-friendly classroom sharpener.
I could not find other colors for this manual pencil sharpener, but in person, the sleek black design looks great! Plus it can be mounted to a wall, desk, or another classroom surface pretty easily.
My favorite thing about this pencil sharpener is that it sharpens 8 different pencil sizes.
Not only that, but it can be sanitized very easily, which is just as important as actually sharpening pencils!
The next sharpener on my list works very well if you want something portable, but also powerful enough for heavy-duty use.
Two of my former middle school teaching friends went on an on about this hand-crank sharpener and how much they love it.
The SharpTank claims these features:
Both of my teacher friends mentioned how quiet it truly is, so that review is accurate. They also said that this manual pencil sharpener needs to be emptied often because it will jam if the tray stays full.
As you can see, it comes in a variety of colors.
Additionally, the Amazon reviews for it&#;which you can access here&#;featured several teacher comments about the importance of teaching your kids how to use it. Apparently, it isn&#;t your typical manual pencil sharpener.
I still remember the day I was first introduced to the Carl Angel pencil sharpener. Our school secretary popped into my classroom and blurted out, &#;You better get one of these because they&#;re hot!&#;
LOL&#;her comment instantly made me curious!
The Carl Angel-5 pencil sharpener is a manual sharpener that many teachers feel is the best hand crank classroom pencil sharpener.
The one from my school secretary was very easy to set-up and use. My students did not have a problem using it either.
But be warned, this things makes pencils razor sharp if students sharpen for too long!
Finally, there&#;s the amazing little PowerMe cordless, battery-operated pencil sharpener.
I have this sharpener at home for my son to use because it is SUPER easy for him to use.
Many teachers I talked with mentioned how easy this sharpener can be cleaned, and that it has an auto-stop feature to prevent over-sharpening.
I especially like this feature myself now that my son is learning from home! I can trust him to sharpen his pencils quickly.
Plus, it doesn&#;t take up a lot of space. I also love that it&#;s not too noisy to use at home, which I imagine makes it quiet enough to use in school too.
As I reviewed my research on the best pencil sharpeners for , I was thrilled to find this baby! A heavy-duty electrical pencil sharpener for crayons! And it&#;s by my favorite pencil sharpener brand: X-Acto.
So far, my favorite feature about this sharpener is that it peels back the crayon paper for you as you sharpen. Can we say huge time saver!?
Earlier in the post, I talked about a tragic experience with a student who broke one of my expensive sharpeners because she tried to sharpen her crayon in it. Which is the primary reason why I started my pencil system where students were no longer allowed to use my bigger sharpeners.
Now, I can have a heavy-duty sharpener just for crayons.
Plus, I just like seeing crayons with a fresh sharp point as if it just came out the box.
As you continue to shop for the best classroom pencil sharpeners, you will ask yourself this question more than once.
If you&#;re stuck on making a decision, consider these facts about sharpeners:
Asking yourself these questions will help with the buying process.
As far as messiness, both electrical and manual sharpeners can leak pencil shavings at about the same rate.
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Hopefully these facts have helped you make your decision.
When bargain shopping, I want to know how much use I will get! That determines how much I&#;m willing to spend.
As stated above, my School Pro XActo heavy-duty sharpener has lasted for YEARS! But, I also mentioned that I don&#;t allow students to use it. I only use it to sharpen pencils for them&#;occassionally.
Most heavy-duty electrical sharpeners claim to give you around 3,500 sharpenings.
In my honest opinion, that depends on the brand of the sharpener AND the brand of the pencil.
Ticonderoga pencils seems to sharpen more smoothly and keep your electrical and manual sharpener blades from getting jagged.
So, basically the answer to this question is: it depends. Consider these factors:
How you plan on using your sharpener will determine how long it lasts.
Before , we used a &#;community supplies&#; system for lots of things.
Students turned in supplies such as paper, pencils, and markers for me to store in one large container that everyone used.
They kept supplies like their notebooks and binders for individual use.
But all teachers needed to pivot and do things differently to keep students physically distanced in the classroom.
Some of my teacher friends want to keep it that way.
These little cuties have two different sharpener options: sharp and blunt
They are easy for students of all ages to use and do a good job to help students sharpener their own pencils at their seats.
The only downside is that the side door to empty the sharpener opens a little too easily.
You need to train your kiddos to close that door well so that you don&#;t end up with pencil shavings everywhere!
Now that you&#;ve had a chance to see all the options, what are your thoughts? If you&#;re wondering about which sharpener is right for you, that depends on the situation.
Honestly, I adore X-Acto brand sharpeners, but I have the smaller Power Me sharpener at home, and I love it. If you need colored pencils and crayons sharpened a lot, you can&#;t go wrong with the options listed above for those.
When it comes to choosing the best pencil classroom pencil sharpener, you need to know how often it&#;s going to be used in your classroom.
Not only is it important to save money on sharpeners, but we teachers & parents need cost-saving, organization ideas on just about everything right now!
The posts below provide more effective tips on how to save money while getting more organized.
Please be sure to share this post with others!
You&#;ve bought new pencils, now to keep them sharp with a sharpener! While handheld ones are great for convenience, we also recommend purchasing an electric pencil sharpener. Not only are these designed to provide more consistent sharpening results&#;reducing both lead breakage and frustration&#;but they&#;re also kinder on the hands. You&#;ll also save time, as electric sharpeners make quick work of cores. Of course, not all electric models are built the same&#;in fact, some will still ruin your precious pencils. But never fear, we&#;ve done the research for you to find the best electric pencil sharpeners that deliver pointy ends without wasting materials.
How we pick each product:
Our mission is to recommend the most appropriate artists&#; tool or supply for your needs. Whether you are looking for top-of-the line equipment or beginners&#; basics, we&#;ll make sure that you get good value for your money by doing the research for you. We scour the Internet for information on how art supplies are used and read customer reviews by real users; we ask experts for their advice; and of course, we rely on our own accumulated expertise as artists, teachers, and craftspeople.
This blue sharpener checks off all the fundamentals while offering a bonus: It is impressively quiet. Pencils and colored pencils get sharp in seconds, and an automatic shut-off kicks in when they&#;re ready for action once more. The sharpener features six holes for pencils of different sizes and has a large-capacity vessel to catch a classroom&#;s worth of shavings. The sturdy design, with rubberized feet, will keep up with frequent and regular use.
Buy:
Bostitch QuietSharp6 Classroom Electric Pencil&#;
$22.07
Buy it
For a more portable option, we like Fiskars pocket-friendly and durable sharpener, which runs on four AA batteries. Its lid features a sharpening hole you can cover when not in use. This works best for no. 2 graphite pencils and colored pencils, but if you&#;re willing, take it on a spin with your whole arsenal of pencils to see what&#;s compatible. Featuring eight steel helix blades, the sharpener works consistently to achieve fine points without jamming. An auto shut-off device prevents it from over-sharpening pencils.
Buy:
Fiskars Battery Powered Pencil Sharpener
$19.99
Buy it
X-ACTO&#;s sharpener is a smart choice if your students have a growing arsenal of art supplies. It can cleanly and evenly whittle away at a wide array of artist-grade tools. This model features six pencil holes to accommodate pencils of different shapes and sizes, including graphite pencils, colored pencils, charcoal pencils, and even pastel pencils! And it won&#;t eat your tools, as the super-sharp blades stop moving when a pencil has reached its ideal sharpness. The transparent container can accommodate a large amount of shavings and is easy to remove and reinsert.
Buy:
X-ACTO SchoolPro Electric Pencil Sharpener
$24.99
Buy it
If you mostly need to sharpen colored pencils, or want a designated sharpener for your colored pencils, there are few options better than this vertically oriented model from Westcott. The high-quality blades shave away at wood without eating at the core and wasting color, and features a sensor so it shuts off automatically once your pencil is satisfyingly sharp. The Titanium-bonded blades are sharper than stainless steel and stay razor-edged for longer.
Buy:
Westcott iPoint Halo Colored Pencil Non-Stick&#;
$39.99
Buy it
Out of school with your own studio? If you and your studio mates often find yourselves scurrying to the sharpener, this heavy-duty model may be just what you need. The auto-adjust dial works with almost all pencil sizes, and a sensor prevents over-sharpening. A SafeStart motor will automatically stop if the bin is removed, and the bin itself is extra-large for convenience. Unlike some of our other picks, this machine is also suitable for colored pencils, though using it with greasy or waxy pencils or pencils with plastic wrapping will void the warranty. And, if the sharpener should ever wear out, spare parts are available from the manufacturer.
Buy:
X-ACTO Mighty Pro Electric Pencil Sharpener
$115.49
Buy it
Want more information on Electronic Pencil Sharpeners? Feel free to contact us.