Classroom Friendly Pencil Sharpener

It's a challenge of epic proportions, and it's been plaguing me for a couple of years.  What is it?  Finding a pencil sharpener that will suit the needs of our family, which includes 7 pencil users and 1 pencil eating dog.

We've tried several different brands and types of sharpeners.  Electric and manual, but all had annoying problems.  They were loud, they didn't sharpen the pencil to a good point, they didn't have an auto-stop so they oversharpened the pencil, the leads broke off in the sharpener and were hard to get out, they left half (or more) of the pencil lead covered with wood, the boys had trouble using them, and the list goes on.  When Craig's 1987 woodgrain Panasonic finally died, my search ramped up.  This sharpener was noisy, but at least it gave a decent point. 

Enter the Classroom Friendly Pencil Sharpener.  From the description, it sounded perfect.  I contacted Troy Decoff (a classroom teacher and the owner of Classroom Friendly Supplies), and he graciously sent me a sharpener to review.

It's better than I envisioned.:

• It sharpens to a fine point.  Every time.
• It never leaves wood behind to cover the pencil lead.
• If a lead breaks (rare), it is easy to remove the lead from the sharpener.
• It doesn't need to be mounted anywhere.
• Both the lefties and the righties in the house can use it.
• It's quiet.
• Everyone, from the 6 year old to the parents, can use it easily.

I do wish it was electric, but that's just my lazy side coming out.  In my defense, we sharpen a lot of pencils for school--they're often left within the reach of Jed (the dog) and he snacks on them, or they're left outside, or they simply disappear.

Priced at $24.99 (including shipping), this sharpener is a steal.  When the blades dull, replacement blades can be purchased (a set of 2 for $22.99).  Three colors are available:  blue, green, and red (there is also a very cute car shaped sharpener for only $19.99).  I was sent the blue sharpener to review, and have since purchased a green sharpener.  I'd love to purchase a red sharpener for the kitchen--the blue is upstairs and the green is in the basement--so that we have easy access to a great sharpener on each level.  The new school year is starting up, which makes it a perfect time to upgrade to this fabulous pencil sharpener.

Disclaimer:  I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are mine.