Teachers -- what pencil sharpener do you have?

[poohfriend77]

I am "class mom" for my DD's 3rd grade class. Her teacher just emailed me to say she has bought two electric pencil sharpeners already this year, and both have broken. She wants me to ask parents if they are willing to donate a couple bucks to buy a new one, so she doesn't have to buy another out-of-pocket.

So my question is... does anyone have recommendations for a sharpener that can stand up to 24 9-year-olds on a daily basis? My first thought was the old-school crank handle type, but she seems to want an electric one. I've been reading reviews on Amazon, but none really seem outstanding so far. I don't mind kicking in some money, and I'm sure most of the other parents will too, but I don't want to waste money on another piece of junk. Frankly, I'm a little irritated that our private school doesn't already provide such basic equipment, but I guess that's a matter for another post...

 

[maggiew]

I bought an old fashioned crank style for my classroom. Holds up fine!

Maggie

 

[girli565]

I'm a middle school teacher and I have the same problem. I've been through 4 electric sharpeners between last school year and this school year so far. I finally gave up and just had a small personal sharpener that the kids pass around, lol. I refuse to buy another piece of junk that's $25+ for it to break in a week.

I know you mentioned an electric one but I will vouch for this one http://www.xacto.com/Product/1178 It vacuums on to my desk, and it seems sturdy enough. And a plus, it sharpens pencils in 2-3 cranks. I bought it a month ago and haven't had any problems... yet.

I got it at Staples for $12.

 

[englishteacha]

We have a wall mount old-fashioned one by Xacto. It's whatever is cheapest in the school supply catalog. They do wear out, though. I'm on my 5th one in 10 years. I haven't had an electric one in my school, though. I'm too cheap! Our school supplies the regular ones.

 

[HsvTeacher]

I have an Exacto School Pro electric pencil sharpener that has lasted about five years. It has an automatic shut-off that turns it off if it gets too hot, which has seemed to help it last longer. I also only let my students sharpen regular pencils with it and not colored pencils.

It is a little pricey to buy out of pocket, but our school system had a bid list with Office Depot, so I was able to purchase it for about $15. We've definitely gotten our money's worth out of it.

 

[findmewdw]

Good luck! Pencil sharpeners do not last! Yesterday, one of my first graders put a crayon in my wall mounted crank style sharpener and I had to get a new one! I had a sub and the child knew better than to put a crayon in it! Luckily, our school has purchased several extra because classrooms go through so many. I tried the electric sharpeners and I never have much luck with them. Now I have one electric that is for teacher use only. I use it for a back up when our crank one is down. It's so loud that it hurts my ears!

 

[wdwmaw]

Electric Sharpeners and kids nor colored pencils don't go together. Most electric sharpeners that come from school approved supply catalogs can have a warranty, have her check. Get a crank one if she insists that students be allowed to use sharpeners. The best solution if she demands electric is to have her or a parent volunteer sharpen pencils once a day or week. Leave the sharpened pencils in a basket and let the kids simply just exchange their pencil for a sharpened one.

 

[debdreamsofdis]

Electric Sharpeners and kids nor colored pencils don't go together. Most electric sharpeners that come from school approved supply catalogs can have a warranty, have her check. Get a crank one if she insists that students be allowed to use sharpeners. The best solution if she demands electric is to have her or a parent volunteer sharpen pencils once a day or week. Leave the sharpened pencils in a basket and let the kids simply just exchange their pencil for a sharpened one.

I was just about to post this exact suggestion. When I was teaching, I would have a can of sharpened pencils and a can for broken pencils. Instead of allowing them to sharpen their pencil during class time, they would simply exchange their broken pencil for a sharpened one. I taught for 10 years and maybe replaced my electric sharpener once.

 

[gower525]

I broke down and spent about $80 on one last year - but I can't remember the name of it. It has been great, but I don't let the children us it - EVER!
I take about 5 minutes every morning and sharpen all of the pencils in the "Dull" box and put them in the "Sharp" box. The kids don't have their own pencils. They get them from the box as needed. It works for me. When kids sharpen their own pencils, they want to do it all day - and they break the sharpener, and they fight over lost/stolen pencils. This is soo much easier. I guess I didn't answer your question

 

[campingcorgi]

My third graders have killed so many pencil sharpeners over the last two years--four electric and all the crank ones I tried. I got so sick of hearing the grinding of electric sharpeners and seeing the long line to get a turn that I did a lot of online research. I FOUND IT! The holy grail of sharpeners!!

It is at classroomfriendlysupplies.com I got three--use two and gave one to another teacher. No more lines and no problems. I can't fasten them to the wall or counter, but don't need to. Since the sharpener holds the pencil, even the tiniest hand can hold the sharpener and crank. They are practically silent and the kids can't over-sharpen a pencil. The crank just spins when the pencil is sharp. No more pencils that sharpen off-side, either, like my electric seemed to do all the time.

I did have a spring come loose--I was able to get it screwed right back in. And one kid tried sharpening a crayon and you can easily remove the 'innards' of the machine and get the debris out.

No, I don't work for the company but I sure like this sharpener!

 

[wdwmaw]

I was just about to post this exact suggestion. When I was teaching, I would have a can of sharpened pencils and a can for broken pencils. Instead of allowing them to sharpen their pencil during class time, they would simply exchange their broken pencil for a sharpened one. I taught for 10 years and maybe replaced my electric sharpener once.

Very smart woman (teacher)

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I buy a new sharpener every year and let the kids know that is the one and only for the year.

There is ALWAYS a kid who sticks a tiny pencil in it, so that it gets caught.

Yes, it is currently broken; the kids with personal manual sharpeners are popular.

The sharp/dull box would not work because most of my kids don't seem to have supplies.

Twelve years and I have yet to solve this problem.

 

[musicluvr40]

My principal bought each teacher in our building an X-ACTO pencil sharpener several years ago. It's the blue and gray one - the School Pro 1670 model. They are pricey, however, I have had it for years and it still works. I teach band at a middle school, so no kids with colored pencils or crayons, but we do use tons of pencils. You can sharpen one after the other with great results. And it's super fast too!

Good luck!

 

[tinkercat]

I have a Bostich brand electric sharpener and it actually has a little post-it attached to the top that says "Teacher Use ONLY" because I went through so many one year. LOL It is awesome though, and has held up well.

I have this one:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0032JUJ4S/ref=nosim/13446222-20?s=merchant

But I swear I got it for less than $60 through one of the teacher supply places.

 

[torinsmom]

I would suggest she get high quality hand sharpeners like these for colored pencils.

http://www.discountofficeitems.com/office-supplies/writing-correction/pencil-sharpeners/manual-pencil-sharpeners/officemate-metal-pencil-sharpener-metallic-silver-pack/p102576.html?source=adwords&utm_source=rkg&utm_medium=none&utm_campaign=non-brand&ref=adwords&gclid=CKrxtLGn4LQCFQGvnQodcwkA-Q

I believe it's because colored pencil "lead" is soft, but for whatever reason they will cause an electric sharpener to fail more quickly. I believe ours in an Xacto that cost about $30, and it has been around 2 years now. I have had to unjam it a few times; last time a child put a pencil in eraser side first

 

[DawnM]

When I was in the classroom I had an industrial pencil sharpener that the school provided.

Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-El...64&sr=1-17&keywords=electric+pencil+sharpener

But we also had a crank pencil sharpener and I made the kids use that most of the time. Not all the kids uses pencils though as I worked in a high school.

I now homeschool and use this at home:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IEIE/ref=wms_ohs_product

I think I paid about $20 for it. My only gripe is that it doesn't hold a lot of the shavings, so we have to dump it often.

 

[ceecee]

Electric Sharpeners and kids nor colored pencils don't go together. Most electric sharpeners that come from school approved supply catalogs can have a warranty, have her check. Get a crank one if she insists that students be allowed to use sharpeners. The best solution if she demands electric is to have her or a parent volunteer sharpen pencils once a day or week. Leave the sharpened pencils in a basket and let the kids simply just exchange their pencil for a sharpened one.

I love this idea! Some kids just want to get up and will use anything as an excuse and then there are the ones who sharpen down to the nubs..."it kept breaking and now it's stuck"...Of course some kids I'm sure would want their own pencils. You could try telling each child to have two sharp pencils BEFORE class and that they can't sharpen during a class.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

The old fashioned style holds up the best.

Electronic sharpeners often have quirks and break down easier when they are used constantly. Just at home, I've gone through 2 in a year.

 

[littlezar]

I have an Exacto School Pro electric pencil sharpener that has lasted about five years. It has an automatic shut-off that turns it off if it gets too hot, which has seemed to help it last longer. I also only let my students sharpen regular pencils with it and not colored pencils.

It is a little pricey to buy out of pocket, but our school system had a bid list with Office Depot, so I was able to purchase it for about $15. We've definitely gotten our money's worth out of it.

There are two of these in the workroom at my son's elementary school. I know this because this morning when I went in to volunteer, my son's teacher asked if I could sharpen all the pencils from the buckets. (They sit 4 desks together with a bucket of pencils/erasers/small easy reader books & crayons in the middle) I was amazed at how well it worked and actually said to another parent that I needed to get one for my house!

Have to agree with those who mentioned only teachers or adult volunteers sharpen pencils unless you have your own little handheld sharpener.

 

[Swmr359]

This one: http://www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com/

My dad has one in his classroom, and one at home (bought for when the classroom one broke). It's lasted all year and all the students and teachers love it. It does require some explanation on how to use it though, it's really easy once you know though. I belive he is raffleing off one to his senior calc. class at the end of the year. (the kids like it that much...)