Helix Metal Desktop Pencil Sharpener - Blue Body

Since buying this I think I might have become slightly addicted to the dopamine micro-spike associated with the 10 second journey of transformation from ‘blunt and sad’ to ‘super-sharp and ready to conquer the world’.I have also found myself toying with the idea of jacking in work and going full time as a professional pencil sharpener because it’s hard to think of a vocation that would offer such a regular and dependable sense of satisfactionIf you’re looking for a well made, nostalgic dose of stationary smugness this is perfectYes I suspect it isn’t made as well as original ones from the 70s but that’s the world we live in. You could probably spend three times as much for some German engineered version but there comes a point where you have to bear in mind that we are already spending an amount of money on a pencil sharpener that is hard to justify to one’s spouse.It’s slightly bigger than i thought (i thought it would be the size of a crouching hamster but it’s somewhere between that and a small chinchilla size).PROSNostalgic vibeSuper efficientClamps in place therefore can’t be lost under kids bedsCONSIf you get sucked in you could lose a couple of hours sharpening all the coloured pencils in the house

It may be old school but this is my second because its simply the best sharpener i have found. Added bonus is its retro styling and cute colour, but heck it keeps my pencil sharp

This was to replace one of 2 I have had for about 7 years which decided to stop working. First thing I noticed is that it’s a lot lighter in weight. It does the job admirably but the quality of the item is not as good as the last one I had. Time will tell if it lasts as long. The second original one is still going strong. Like most things these days, make it cheaper, sell it for more. Hence 4 stars not 5.

TLDR [too long, didn't read] - Highly recommended. Well-designed and fun to use.Sharpens to five different sharpnesses - from "sharp" to "slightly scary" - shown in the photo of the 3 green pencil crayons with the least sharp at the bottom and the sharpest at the top and the middle setting in the middle.Really easy to fit to a range of desks, tables and shelves. Works best on those with a square edge and won't fit onto heavily rounded ones. The rubber foot which holds it extends to 3 cm. Anything with less than a 1 cm width to the curve will fit great.I tried it with loads of things. A few shown in the second pic, all done on the same (least sharp) setting:- 'normal' sized pencils (green) - great- large pencils (yellow) - great, makes them very pointy- large triangular ones (blue) - a bit tricky. You have to hold the whole thing firmly to start it off, then works great.- wax crayon (pink) - works great, but probably sharpens / wastes too much for kids' crayons- rectangular carpenter's pencil (not shown) - not recommended. It did work, but it was at the size limits and shaved the edges trying to get it in. I was worried it would get stuck. It's not completely intuitive - I had to look at the (very simple and visual) instructions to get the most out of it. You need to pull out the side part before inserting the pencil (see photo 3). It then holds the pencil for you as you turn the handle. Stop turning when you no longer feel any resistance and the sound changes.Clear plastic tray makes it really easy to see when the contents are getting full (pic 4) and remove to empty (pic 5). In that latter photo you can see how much of the pink wax crayon got used up sharpening it!A simple twist removes the sharpening mechanism making it really easy to clean and pop back in. I decided not to sharpen more wax crayons in case I gum it up! There's also a button on the front that you can press without having to remove this piece to get bits of broken lead out of the mechanism easily, but I haven't tested this.Finally - it's really good fun to use! It was expensive compared to a simple hand sharpener, but now all my pencils and pencil crayons are beautifully sharp with what felt like no effort at all. I love it! Now I need to do lots more drawing so I can use it again!

Marvellous sharpener. My hubby has severe tremor who choose means difficult to use hand held sharpener. He was so thrilled to sharpen all the pencils we had😁So easy to use.

What you usually use sharpeners for

This is quality, just from when I wad at school.

A bit of a school throwback but this works so much better than the various handheld sharpeners.Love it

Cumpre bem a função, além de ser um bela peça de design.

I only just received this but so far, it seems really good. I am a casual artist and adult colourist . I use coloured pencils exclusively and like to have the option of a very sharp point or sometimes one that is more blunt. This sharpener looks to provide these requirements with ease .

Livré sans problème. Merci

I love this sharpener. Pull out the grabber, insert pencil and crank handle. Strong point on pencil. Easy to use and easy to empty container. Well worth the money. However, it says not to put chalk pencils in it as the blades may be damaged.

The crank and whole job is sturdy and sharpens in a second. My spouse loves it too.