Blackwing One-Step Long Point Sharpener, German Steel Blade, Machined Aluminum, Compact Design, Black

I have been on a quest for a great pencil sharpener ever since my college years when I lost one I really loved (which was a LONG time ago!). I have bought little hand-held steel ones recommended by my art supply store, and I have bought the cheepos from the Dollar Store (now the $1.25 and Up Store), on the recommendation from a friend who told me they were every bit as good as my art store one. She was right, though that isn't saying much for the expensive steel one.I have tried many brands; some were better than others. My goal was to find one that yielded a long, tapered point that did not wear down too quickly and was suitable for shading tone drawings by holding the pencil at an angle. I found many of the old-fashioned schoolroom hand crank ones that mount on the wall, and the modern electric tabletop models do an excellent job, but they don't fit into my portable pencil box.This heavy-duty steel from Blackwing was far more expensive than many others I've bought, but I am very pleased with it. It is fairly compact, fits well in my hand, and the hexagonal body makes it easy to grasp and hold while sharpening the pencil. Best of all, it has a shavings reservoir that works well. I have another sharpener that makes nice points but is rather bulky. The way you open it to access the sharpening ports is precisely the way you open the shavings reservoir (just from the opposite side), and I can't tell you how many times I've ended up with a lapful of pencil shavings by opening the wrong side. The Blackwing's shavings are stored in the body of the sharpener with a top that screws on securely, there is no chance of accidentally opening it, and it will store a good quantity of shavings before you need to empty it. When you do, that lid's rough, serrated texture makes it easy to unscrew.If I could part with the cool and elegant slider box it came in, the Blackwing would be more portable and fit in my pencil case, but I'm storing it in the box for now. The only thing that would make this sharpener better is if it also came with two ports to sharpen thicker pencils as well as standard-sized ones. They make one like that, but I like the profile of this one better.

I never thought I’d need a pencil sharpener like this, it’s pricey. Very much worth the money. If you’re an artist it is very much worth the money. You can sharpen any pencil to a nice sharp point.

Not great. Works better on round vs. hex shaped pencils. Not great. Regularly breaks pencil graphite, forms irregular point. Jams easily. I really had high hopes for this product because it is really well made and looks professional. Not really complicated to use, but maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Bad ass sharpener, never fails to give you a great tip for you pencil. Pricey but it's one of those things that will last you forever. Great quality material, just loo the feel of it. Good thing Blackwing has replacement blades so they go you covered. Bought this for my son that likes drawing and ended up sharpening every single one of his pencils just to proove if it would eat up at least one of them, but failing greatly. I just laughed at his intent, so he's happy with it.

I was skeptical to pay $21 for a pencil sharpener but this was worth it! Extremely sharp and works great! My pencilled have never been so sharp! Worked great on my colored pencils too! Highly recommend if you are in the market for a sharpener- this thing is built to last too!

I bought this sharpener, and was extremely disappointed when it was not working the way it should have. It failed miserably at what it was supposed to be doing. I use tombow hb's, and the 8900-VP's for my drawing. quality pencils I would say. I could not get a successful tip to save my life with this thing on either pencil. I decided this is not normal, something must be wrong, its a fairly simple design but who knows things happen. So I sent it back for a replacement. My replacement works incredibly well, and I am thoroughly satisfied with the tips I get, even with the colored pencils that are softer inherently (though I will comment that it does not sharpen as well for the colored pencil, stopping at a certain point and not getting the complete length it should have). I figure that for whatever reason the hole was bigger in the original sharpener I had, which left too much room for movement, resulting in consistently broken tips. My replacement has what I assume is the appropriate hold for the sharpener. If I had a defective sharpener I'm sure there are more out there, what that ratio is I couldn't say. I will say however that its worth it. The tips are strong and sharp, and work very well. I would still recommend this product even with the experience that I had.good stuff.

This thing is a beast. It doesn’t hold a lot of shavings but I don’t think that’s the intention here. The unit will reshape your BlackWing Pencils to a perfect point in a jiffy great for an artist looking to fine tune the tip of your pencils for shading or sketching. It’s a tool that is underestimated both in size and weight. When I draw on the go I usually leave my pencil in the sharpeners so as to protect the points from snapping. So this can double both as a sharpener and a tip safe or dock for your favorite pencil. The unit is finished in a nice black color and shaped like a pencil. A sure conversation starter.

It is good quality sharpener