My husband surprised me with an Xacto awhile ago and I have been delighted with it! He gave me his old electric when he retired almost 20 years ago and it finally bit the dust and I love back to using my old battery operated sharpeners. Now i find myself resharpening pencils without thinking about it... and smiling.
Very thorough video. I have 2 AAfmats like the one you showed. ONe of them is rechargeable and is my favorite. It holds it’s charge well and sharpens just like the powered one. It’s perfect if you are working from your chair while watching tv and don’t have an electric outlet nearby. Thanks for your videos.
Who would have think it?! I actually enjoyed watching a video dedicated to pencil sharpeners!! This video spoke to everything I wanted to, or needed to know about pencil sharpeners. Thank you!
I have been using Afmat pencil sharpener for close to two years. I use it daily and have had no durability issues whatsoever. I have two different work stations and have an Afmat in each one. Since getting them, I have retired all my other pencil sharpeners. However, for a hand-held, out in the field pencil sharpener, I like Blackwing (LOVE their pencils). The Blackwing sharpener has one aperture for creating a long point, the second is for very sharp. Only for standard size pencils however.
Steve, I bought the School Smart pencil sharpener after your recommendation several years ago and love it. Best sharpener I’ve ever owned and used. Thanks again ❤️❤️❤️
I ended up ordering the Afmat...and a small set of Derwent drawing pencils to test it on. You have really turned me into a Derwent snob! I loved their products before, but your recent highlights have made me realize, yet again, what a quality product they continually produce!
Honestly, one top brand of pencils is every bit as good as any other. If they weren't, pro artists would all use the same brand. It's one hundred percent personal preference. I have every one of the top pencil brands that I know about, plus five Chinese brands that are as good as any of them in actual testing.
I just wanted to thank you for talking about the Afmat sharpener. I've been frustrated for years because I never could get a decent point on the pencils. Thanks to this review I am now the happy owner of my own Afmat and have sharp pencils!
Hi again, thought I’d post another comment. In the uk Amazon this goes by the name tihoo. I took the plunge and love it. I am a light user. BUT it does the brutfuner square which no other sharpener seems to manage. It is useful to rotate the pencil as you push it in, helps the cams open. I found it sometimes won’t work and I noticed that if too many shavings stop the spring compressing a gentle tap solves it, especially after cleaning. I love mine and the use I give it should make it last. Hope this helps someone. Steve’s review helped me decide. Wish good artists just needed the gear. 🤣
I agree with you that dull point is fairly sharp. I am very impressed with the three pencil sharpeners. I will have to get a new one soon. My electric one right now chews up my pencils. Thanks for sharing this informational video with us.
I went for the X-Acto School Pro and managed to get it off Amazon for $15! I would suggest to anyone looking for one to keep an eye on the "Used" products section - mine was being sold by Amazon because the box was broken and that was it! They just couldn't sell it as a brand new product because of the box damage. It arrived in perfect condition and I saved a pretty penny! Love your videos; thank you for this one!
Thank you Steve! I just ordered the afmat sharpener in the rechargeable unit. I appreciate a sharpener that takes bigger pencils like my luminance and polychromos and your video helped me a lot!
Great information, Steve! I bought the AFMAT a few months ago and I do like it. It’s my first electric, though, so I don’[t have anything to compare it to. Just a few days ago Sarah Renae Clark posted a video on sharpeners that you might find useful. She bought and reviewed 18 sharpeners of all types. Her review is very thorough and “scientific.” Thanks for sharing your opinions and experiences. As always, it really helps when I’m thinking of making a purchase.
I watch all your videos an YOUR GREAT ,I Have painted for years but I need a new set of watercolor brushes.I’m from Sherman, Texas. An you or so good at everything you demonstrate an paint .Thanks for all the time you take to share your work an your supplys you use. My name Lynn❤
I appreciate the clarification between “auto-stop” and “auto-disengage”. I thought there was something wrong with my Exacto. We have a Panasonic that I really prefer over the Exacto, but as you said, it doesn’t work for larger-diameter pencils, so I bought the Exacto. Frankly I’m not crazy about it, as I have trouble holding the pencil steady in the machine and it seems to sharpen lopsided sometimes. I’d definitely buy the newest one that automatically adjusts to the size of the pencil and feeds straight down instead of sideways if I were to buy another one.
Odd, what are you doing with your sharpeners Jennie!!! 😂😉. (You know I'm kidding.) Probably one of the best reviewed sharpeners on Amazon so your experience is not typical. over 31k reviews and nearly a perfect 5 stars.
Thx for this video. I just purchased the ~$30 X-acto school pro. Worked like a charm on my Derwent Intense pencils, will do other sets & graphite tomorrow. Happy dance❣️
Thanks for sharing this! I tend to use mechanical pencils more for just the reasons you were stating. I've tried the method of shaving off the wood and making a long point but it's so fussy. I like simple and these sharpeners make life simple.
I retired from teaching high school a year ago and I know several teachers that bought the School Smart and the X-acto model. When I go to Amazon via either the link you provided or through your store, the X-acto model is a "see all buying options" item and the prices are about $35 to $45. There is a newer version linked on that page for $28. The ratings are just a bit less favorable than the one you have and my old colleagues have. Not paying the price for the older version and a little leery of the newer version. Going with the School Smart because of a smaller footprint, feedback from my old colleagues, it's vertical, I use mostly mechanical pencils and the 2mm drafting pencils, and I just don't use fatter stick pencils. Great review and excellent info. Thanks!
That bit about, "I'm doing about a 3.5" with the straw (or whatever) in your mouth ... that's "tractor talk". The farmers I worked around talked just like that. Loved it! A real coffee spitter (it was funny). Thanks for the laugh. Great info too.
Very cool.I do use hand held sharpeners. Since I am out urban sketching, portability is important. I also have a crank stylus that takes the Magnus pencils.. thanks for the review!
This was very helpful! Just received a set of Derwent graphitint pencils and realized my little junk sharpener won't work. Time to invest in something professional. Thanks for the great video! And all of the comments here were very useful.
As an Art teacher for 20 years I've been through my share of pencil sharpeners-- in particular that Exacto one you reviewed. Those are great, but I found that colored pencils were the death of them. Just before I retired all the teachers in the school were gifted the Art Smart ones. At that time I was on an Art Cart and could only sharpen my TONS of pencils at the end of the day. I did not want to kill the Art Smart one with my colored pencils. So I would go across the hall and sharpen them in an Exacto wall sharpener. Even it would Gum up with the soft colored pencils. I eventually found that sharpening a graphite pencil in between every 7-10 colored pencil. This tended to clean the blades. Maybe this would work on the electric sharpeners. I have an ancient Panasonic that is a workhorse that I would never stick a colored pencil in. I also have the Art Smart still in the box. Neither will ever see the amount of use those did at school. That last one you showed looks great. Best feature is that you can break them down to clean or get at jams. I'll have to look into that one! Thanks for the review.
I have an ipoint that I have used for years, and it's great. I don't sharpen a lot, but it does very well with my prismacolor pencils. The style of it is a lot like the Afmat sharpener you show, but takes only regular-sized pencils. Thanks for the review!
Since you mention airbrush - I would enjoy an episode on that, didn't even know that you could use watercolor with those! Interesting to see my school supplies in a video. I have been using the staedler and faber castells for like 20 years in school and uni, if I wasn't into fountain pens, I'd still only use pencil to write (one more reason to hate exams). Never even thought about using something with a motor.
I don't know why this is but It was sooo satisfying watching the dull pencils get sharpened to a fine point. After the video I ended up looking for some dull pencils myself and sharpening them with my electric sharpener lol. I am very interested in the xacto school pro. I find myself not using my colored pencils as much as I'd like to because it's so annoying to sharpen them manually and dealing with the breakage so I am always using a dull lead. I think that buying the xacto sharpener that can fit my various colored pencils will help me enjoy using them more!
I know it's been a while since I checked in. Howdy! I love the 5.6 mechanical pencil. That's the kind of mechanical pencil that has my name all over it! Thank you, Steve!
I bought that school pro in 2016. I bought it to hopefully be the last one I buy for 15-20 years for my home office. so far as of March 2022 still running strong
Is this the Xacto version I 1st found the smaller one..It made the Best Sharpening Pencil points. I have to my Daughter..Then I Found the Teacher one..WOW It is big.. All my pencils sharpened Amazingly.. even the square Colored Pencils..my son showed me how to do it..Twist slightly against the way it’s sharpening and it Makes them nice..Rarely did I loose the wood I Appreciate you liking the Student one..🙏🕊
For standard size pencils, anything other than jumbo, actually, I've used the same pencil sharpener for thirty years. It's a Boston, and after all these years it still works, and, somehow, the blades are still sharp. And it works fast. You can still get a couple of models of Boston sharpeners, but they are not cheap, and they no longer make a modal that takes pencils from the tope. I live in fear that this one will break. The other pencil sharpener I use in my office is the Derwent long point crank sharpener. It's the only sharpener I've found that give me a true long point. It exposes about twice as much lead as what is considered a long point in other sharpeners. The downside to this is that when you sharpen a pencil for the first time it eats a LOT of the pencil. And I mean a lot. Fortunately, it doesn't take much sharpening to maintain a long point, but the first sharpening is almost scary and will make you wonder if the auto=stop is actually working. I have every top brand of graphite pencil, plus five Chinese brands that honestly seem every bit as good. But I don't actually NEED any of them I have mechanical pencils with lead from 5H to 4B, and a lead holder with 6B. Above this I find graphite shine is a problem, so I use a charcoal pencil, or a carbon pencil, or a Polychromos black colored pencil, depending on the size of the area I need to cover, and the type of paper I'm using. I've also been experimenting with a black pastel pencil, and so far I'm liking the result, at least for small areas.
I've got the Afmat usb charge eraser which is fantastic holds a charge for an extended period of time and has two eraser sizes one is the size of a tombo mono eraser which is perfect for my style of work :D Afmat also has a rechargeable sharpener just a little fyi which one I'm probably going to go with when I run out little hand held sharpeners (which I believe are breeding as I keep finding them everywhere but I swear I've not actually purchased one in decades lol)
I have the afmat electric erasers too. It came with two eraser units and lots of refills. I love mine! I'm going to order the rechargeable afmat sharpener right now!
their sharpener is amazing (dont use it on pastel pencils though) i have the electric and hand-crank one i actually prefer the hand-crank. I have the long point sharpeners btw.
@@manakineu why can't you use that sharpener on pastel pencils?? I'm having a devil of a time finding a decent sharpener for my various-sized pastel pencils....
@@pauladavis5391 if you are thinking of buying the afmat long point electrical, that one has too much torque and isnt made for pastel its gonna break the point every time. the afmat handcrank works much better since you can control how "far" you wanna sharpen
I could have used this video a couple weeks ago lol. I got stuck in the same boat as you. I purchased a huge set of Albrecht Dürer pencils and my heart sank when they wouldn't fit in my favorite desktop electric pencil sharpener (I use a Westcott Pro-Point). So then I researched and THOUGHT I got the right one when I bought Faber-Castell's "Grip Trio" hand-held. Piece of junk does NOT fit Albrecht Dürers properly... because apparently it's not made for those. Thanks, F-C. So a couple weeks ago I finally caved and got one of the naked metal hand-held ones that DOES fit the Albrecht Dürers properly. The point is definitely needle-sharp now, but I have slow hand-held action and shavings to contend with now. I am going to check out the X-Acto one and maybe the last one you featured. Overall, I think it would be nice to have something that can fit everything instead of having to get specialty sharpeners for everything.
The Afmat one holds a charge and can be used wirelessly. I have the Afmat and the Exacto. Both are good choices. I have one at home and one at my studio.
Thanks for this review - I'm on what feels like an eternal search for decent reliable sharpeners and though I prefer really portable ones you can pop in your bag and take anywhere, having one solid electric one would be great. I'm definitely going to check out one of these. I have found one really good portable sharpener (but only for standard size pencils, it won't do the Derwent charcoal, for instance) - and it's so cheap too. It's the Muji single hole sharpener - best order direct as on Amazon the price rockets.
Hi Steve, great review. It has been a'lead'ged that I have all those same pencils (in the full sets) but I won't admit it either. So let me Kum right to the point. Though I have an Afmat, it has a crank but it does have a replaceable helical blade and works very well. For field work I have a tiny portable that uses a USB 5V power bank or AAA batteries and the key point is that it also has a helical blade. I think any good sharpener should have a helical blade rather than a razor blade. They are much better at preventing broken leads.
I carry a metal single pencil sharpener when I go somewhere like to my daughter's. I ordered a Tihoo rechargeable pencil sharpener for at home and away.
Just checked the price for the School Smart model. Not a bad price ... I was expecting to go into 3 figures. I do, however, think, that there is something to be said for shaving the pencil with scalpel. This also allows you to use the powdered graphite later. I have been addicted to stationery and art supplies since birth. LOL. Great video. Thanks.
I was looking for an electric pencil sharpener after I spent a day hand sharpening my watercolor pencils. OH! My poor hands! I am too old for that! LOL! Around the same time, I bought the Derwent drawing pencils. I hadn't thought about sharpening them. DUH! They are BIG. Anyway, I decided on that exact same AFMAT sharpener shown in Steve's video. It works great! I chose it because of the auto-adjustable opening. I considered the Xacto, but didn't want to fool around with the dial. This was my first foray into an electric sharpener. I've had it about 6 months and it's still going strong! Thanks, Steve for the validation on my sharpener choice! 😁
I have had the X-ACTO School Pro Classroom Electric Pencil Sharpener for more than 15 years (I think!) and it works like a champ. Maybe not exactly the X-Acto but very similar... Never damage any pencil. Thanks for your videos and your time!
I am a sucker for gadgets and new art supplies, but for sharpening pencils I am old school. A thin bladed, really sharp knife blade and some sandpaper cover all my needs. No electricity needed, versitile, and portable. But you do need to be a bit careful and patient.
Yeah I get it. Many artists share your preference. My habit as a commercial illustrator was I did not want to spend one second doing anything but getting the work done. No time or desire for sharpening.
@@mindofwatercolor I see your point. Art is my hobby, so time is not a consideration, and also I like to wittle... I never forgot something a teacher told me about making your hobby into your profession. People think that's the coolest thing you can do, a life of bliss. But he said, yeah, sure it can be great, but it has one BIG disadvantage, it means you lose your hobby...About thirty years ago, never forgot it.
@@herbalannie7707 check out the UA-cam channel Coloring Bliss. She’s got a good video on hand sharpening. It’s her preference. Just keep in mind you can tear up a pencil just as easily with hand sharpening as with electric or hand crank. Regardless of what you use it has to be a quality sharpener. There are good and bad sharpeners in all categories.
Thanks for this video! I've been wanting a new electric sharpener after my cheap junk one broke. Been doing them by hand ever since and I hate it x'D I'll give these a look-see, appreciate it! :D
The red Faber Castell pencil sharpener you use can sharpen the Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils but it only works in the Jumbo slot. Good at least for field use for you. I use it as my main sharpener though. 😊
Oh yeah I’ve tried it. That hole is too wide. Too much wiggle room. Regardless, it’s really just a crappy sharpener in my opinion. If had to use one it would be the blue dual point KUM I showed briefly at the beginning. That one also has a 2mm lead pointer at the other end. As I mentioned. I only use mechanical pencils in the field and regular watercolor. No sharpener needed.
Thank you for such an informative video! Do you have any recommendations regarding media buildup on the blades? I'm referring specifically to using the Xacto for colored and water-color pencils. Some have mentioned sharpening a regular #2 school pencil every 3-4 colored pencils to keep the blades sharp.
Yes, exactly! Sharpen a graphite pencil with a narrow core like a #2 every now and then. Helps clean out the softer colored pigments. You can also go in with an old tooth brush if you see buildup.
Very informative video, showing what to look for in a good sharpener. Thanks for all the work you do to make these videos! The Xacto model you have is no longer available. It was made from alloy steel. The newer model is plastic. This change is disappointing.......
@@mindofwatercolor Thx Steve. I really appreciate your help. I´m a U.S. ex-pat living for the time being in Bogota, Colombia. I just received the second X-Acto School Pro 1670/ 1670 XT from Amazon - I asked to return the first as it really doesn´t work well. This is billed as the second and better edition of the X-Acto sharpener you reviewed in this video. I just tried the second one they sent and it´s the same problem: I get a few well-sharpened pencils, including some colored, charcoal, and pastels. Then, especially after sharpening a pastel or charcoal, it seems to get clogged just like the first one I received. I seem to get it back to sharpening by inserting some regular lead pencils but it takes quite some work and I have to waste a number of good lead pencils. I´m going to return this one too as I really don´t want to go through all that hassle. I just thought you´d like to know for your reviews. I guess I´ll try the Afmat you mentioned. By the way, Amazon has great service for us outside of the good ole U.S.A.
I have the X-ACTO School PRO electric pencil sharpener, like you I like it. But just it has to be plugged in to an outlet and has to stay near one. But other than that I love it.
I have the Panasonic and it's good for now since I just use standard size pencils.. and I still love my vintage pencil sharpener from the 60's that was screwed onto the side of my vintage oak library table work space. My daughter needed a sharpener so she got the vintage one but I made her promise she would never throw it away. Nostalgic, right????
HI, I'm a retired teacher. I have the Panasonic 1 size (you first mentioned) and like it. I had the school smart and liked it but found for the colored pencils the soft led often stuck in the sharpener. I had a rule the kids could not use the sharpener for colored pencils. You said something in this video about the only problem you had is if the lead is already broken in the pencil base. Do you think I was seeing more of this effect since I was using school grade colored pencils? Do you have problems with the soft led staying in the sharpener? Thanks.
No problems so far. You can clean a sharpener, so to speak, with a #2 or harder graphite pencil. They have more wood than most colored pencils and it cleans the blades and forces the colored bits out. Graphite also acts as a lubricant.
Very interesting as I've been wanting a new sharpener but didnt want to make a mistake as I have limited funds... do u remember what country the. xacto sharpener made in..? I recd for my birthday fabrel chrome set I'm so excited but I just have a old crank style sharpener that is two sizes holes, I was hoping the sharpnervwould fit it but as I've watched more videos I seem to be needing a updated electric...version ...thankyou for review...
Hello Steve, I've been a subscriber for quite some time, but first time commenter I think. I really value you reviews and tutorials and love your works, so always come here for something new to learn. Thank you very much for this very helpful video! I find pencil sharpeners to be a topic that's never enough covered. If I could ask a few questions, would you rather buy these sharpeners online (just to say one site, Amazon), or either look for them in a phisical art supplies store? Because they seem to have quite "delicate" mechanisms, and I'm always a bit worried about the way these objects are handled during the shipment, when buying online (Well, I know they got shipped anyway from the factory to the stores, but still...) Also, I heard that if electrical sharpeners and handcrank ones in general make better points, they may consume pencils way faster than the classical, portable tiny metal sharpeners... Now I'm not an expert at all but, just looking at the lenght of the points, from the wood part to the real core, that would make sense because they are so much longer. Do you find this to be true in your experience? For this reason I have put aside my beloved handcrank and started using cutters to shave the wood of my pencils and reveal the core, but I don't really enjoy this kind of sharpening "technique" (even aesthetically lol). Neither I love the tiny metal sharpeners. I tried some electrical sharpeners in the past, but never came across one which was any good. I think they were quite cheap things. Now I do understand that's a needed investment to take care of artist grade pencils. So I may want to consider the ones you shared with us in this video eventually. Thank you in advance for your time! Greetings from Italy, Elisa
It may be wise to buy from a local supplier if you can find one. No one near me carries them so I order. That said, Amazon is great with returns. Better than most actually. They have a local return center at Kohls where I live. As for over sharpening. With auto-disengage or auto-stop I don't worry about it. To be honest, I tend to take off too much if I sharpen with a knife. The only time I've heard of too much being shaved off a pencil is when the auto stop doesn't work which happens occasionally on poor quality sharpeners. In such cases it will grind away until the pencil is gone. Shorter points with steeper angles get dull quicker so I don't think you're saving any cores by using manual blade sharpeners.
@@mindofwatercolor Thank you very much for your detailed answer. I agree with you, Amazon has one of the best customer service, for what I have experienced so far, too. I will try to buy from a local store if I can find, otherwise I will be looking online. And I trust your opinion, so I will be more than happily switching to these professional sharpeners, and retire my manual, elementary- school-type ones and the cutter. Thank you again! :) PS: But speaking of manual ones just one more moment, have you heard about the Dux manual brass sharpener that comes with a black leather case? Apparently it looks so tiny and much similar to a single-hole normal sharpener. Yet I think you can adjust it at three different leghts for your pencils and it costs quite a lot fir its size. I have seen many illustrators and colored pencil artists using it and saying good things, so I got curious.
@@elisacavaliere1446 Yes, I've seen the Dux. Might be a good option if you don't mind hand sharpening. Any hand sharpener would just be too slow for me personally.
Appreciate the review. Can this hold up with faber-castell pitt pastel pencils? I've whacked so many sharpeners of various price tags and none of them last very long when I use it for pastel pencil 😮💨
It does, but clean the blades by running a hard graphite wood pencil through once in a while. Like an H or 2H. Keeps it from gumming up with pastel and the graphite dust is like a lubricant.
Hi Steve! Question; once you've used a pencil and sharpened it over a period of time, it becomes too short for an electric sharpener. Between the Xacto and the School Smart - which will accept a shorter pencil? I just ordered the School Smart (because I think I'm gonna prefer the upright configuration), so I'm hoping that's your answer hahaha. Anyways, thanks for the informative video man, I just subscribed!
Is it my impression or does the AFMAT Pencil Sharpener seem to eat up the pencil a lot? The brand new charcoal pencil seemed a lot shorter after it was sharpened. I use the battery operated Derwent Superpoint for my Luminance, Museum, Polychromos and Albrecht Dürer regular size. I also use the two-hole Faber-Castell, the one specifically made for the Polychromos, not the other one, and the M+R Pollux. The latter gives a nice, long, concave point!
@@mindofwatercolor My pleasure! And thank you for this on-point video, and all your videos. A special hello to Reese, your bosom buddy, close friend and lifelong pal!
I need one of those asap. Last year I bought the koh i noor manual sharpener (the one that looks like an old camera) and it broke within weeks. It seems it lost its strength and it keeps on breaking the cores no matter what pencil I try to sharpen. I contacted the company with no satisfactory answer. So this sharpener is a big no for me. I heard some good reviews about the Derwent super point but it is not available in my country.
Hey Steve 👋🏼. I have a question regarding the Xacto School Pro Sharpener. Does it also have the auto-disengage function? I’ve been thinking about getting it but wasn’t too sure if I should, since I have a habit of accidentally sharpening pencils more than needed 😅. However, that being said, great video! It helped me gain a sharp eye for other pencil sharpeners 😄.
Thank you for this video. I’ve been looking for a good electric sharpener for a long time now. I have a question about the sharpeners you’ve tried: which sharpener gives the sharpest point? I mean a long AND a knife-sharp point. That is my struggle with those things. A long point doesn’t necessarily means a knife-sharp point. I have a manual table-sharpener from Dahle and with one or two turns on the handle you get a really(!) sharp point. It is fantastic for details in my work. But… The container of the Dahle is really small and you can’t see properly when the container needs to be emptied. 😣 I have been searching for an electric sharpener which gives a knife-sharp point, but I can’t seem to find the darn thing anywhere online 😭 Do you have suggestions? I most often use coloured pencils. For my graphite pencils I use a different sharpener (KUM long point, highly recommended!)
I have only hand cranks.....and fear of pencil eating machines that go tooooo far tooo fast! And now....i also have clutch pencil envy.....look what you have done!
Months ago I ordered the Afmat manual long point sharpener on Amazon after watching another YTer use long points on their pencils. It works almost too well. It gives extra long points and can get down to very fine tips on the pencils that will break right off and are way longer than I needed and chew up a lot of the wood. It has an adjustment to have shorter points that don’t use up so much wood, but it only reduced it a smidge. I think I may go with one of your recommendations. Thanks!
I got way too much sharpener than I need. Basically because I was looking for something to sharpened pastels pencils. Everything except the shark which Jason reccomend but I reach my max with sharpeners. I noticed you are featuring crank sharpeners which I love, do not prefer the crank sharpener?
I think there are some good cranks out there I just prefer speed and convenience. When I'm working on a piece its easier for me just to reach over one handed and have a pencil sharpened in a few seconds.
@@mindofwatercolor thank you, looking at them now. My daughter is using the watercolor pencils more, and I bought those blackwing. 😉. Fun interview with Liron this morning, enjoyed it!
Thanks Steve, I feel much sharper now.
😄
My husband surprised me with an Xacto awhile ago and I have been delighted with it! He gave me his old electric when he retired almost 20 years ago and it finally bit the dust and I love back to using my old battery operated sharpeners. Now i find myself resharpening pencils without thinking about it... and smiling.
Very thorough video. I have 2 AAfmats like the one you showed. ONe of them is rechargeable and is my favorite. It holds it’s charge well and sharpens just like the powered one. It’s perfect if you are working from your chair while watching tv and don’t have an electric outlet nearby. Thanks for your videos.
This sounds great, will be picking up one soon. Thanks for the video...
Who would have think it?! I actually enjoyed watching a video dedicated to pencil sharpeners!! This video spoke to everything I wanted to, or needed to know about pencil sharpeners. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I bought the Xacto Pro today. I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
I have been using Afmat pencil sharpener for close to two years. I use it daily and have had no durability issues whatsoever. I have two different work stations and have an Afmat in each one. Since getting them, I have retired all my other pencil sharpeners. However, for a hand-held, out in the field pencil sharpener, I like Blackwing (LOVE their pencils). The Blackwing sharpener has one aperture for creating a long point, the second is for very sharp. Only for standard size pencils however.
Fun Steve! This is why I am a patron love your videos you are such a good and patient teacher.
Yes, Steve, this has been a long time struggle for “the perfect” point. Thank you for this review.
Steve, I bought the School Smart pencil sharpener after your recommendation several years ago and love it. Best sharpener I’ve ever owned and used. Thanks again ❤️❤️❤️
I ended up ordering the Afmat...and a small set of Derwent drawing pencils to test it on. You have really turned me into a Derwent snob! I loved their products before, but your recent highlights have made me realize, yet again, what a quality product they continually produce!
@Teri light. Agree on Derwent.
My husband bought me my first Derwent color pencil set at the Oklahoma State Fair 52 years ago!
Honestly, one top brand of pencils is every bit as good as any other. If they weren't, pro artists would all use the same brand. It's one hundred percent personal preference. I have every one of the top pencil brands that I know about, plus five Chinese brands that are as good as any of them in actual testing.
I just wanted to thank you for talking about the Afmat sharpener. I've been frustrated for years because I never could get a decent point on the pencils. Thanks to this review I am now the happy owner of my own Afmat and have sharp pencils!
Hi again, thought I’d post another comment. In the uk Amazon this goes by the name tihoo. I took the plunge and love it. I am a light user. BUT it does the brutfuner square which no other sharpener seems to manage. It is useful to rotate the pencil as you push it in, helps the cams open. I found it sometimes won’t work and I noticed that if too many shavings stop the spring compressing a gentle tap solves it, especially after cleaning. I love mine and the use I give it should make it last. Hope this helps someone. Steve’s review helped me decide. Wish good artists just needed the gear. 🤣
Thank you so much for trying decent sharpeners! I have watched so many videos that all test MAYBE one decent sharpener .
I agree with you that dull point is fairly sharp. I am very impressed with the three pencil sharpeners. I will have to get a new one soon. My electric one right now chews up my pencils. Thanks for sharing this informational video with us.
I went for the X-Acto School Pro and managed to get it off Amazon for $15! I would suggest to anyone looking for one to keep an eye on the "Used" products section - mine was being sold by Amazon because the box was broken and that was it! They just couldn't sell it as a brand new product because of the box damage. It arrived in perfect condition and I saved a pretty penny!
Love your videos; thank you for this one!
afamat p110-a . It has variable pencil size, heavy duty motor and metal parts, huge collection basket.. Love it!
Thank you Steve! I just ordered the afmat sharpener in the rechargeable unit. I appreciate a sharpener that takes bigger pencils like my luminance and polychromos and your video helped me a lot!
Glad I could help
How do you like this sharpener with your Caran d’ache pastel pencils or Carbothello?
Great information, Steve! I bought the AFMAT a few months ago and I do like it. It’s my first electric, though, so I don’[t have anything to compare it to. Just a few days ago Sarah Renae Clark posted a video on sharpeners that you might find useful. She bought and reviewed 18 sharpeners of all types. Her review is very thorough and “scientific.” Thanks for sharing your opinions and experiences. As always, it really helps when I’m thinking of making a purchase.
Not really scientific at all, though not a bad review. Pretty meaningless, but not bad as reviews go.
I watch all your videos an YOUR GREAT ,I Have painted for years but I need a new set of watercolor brushes.I’m from Sherman, Texas. An you or so good at everything you demonstrate an paint .Thanks for all the time you take to share your work an your supplys you use. My name Lynn❤
I appreciate the clarification between “auto-stop” and “auto-disengage”. I thought there was something wrong with my Exacto. We have a Panasonic that I really prefer over the Exacto, but as you said, it doesn’t work for larger-diameter pencils, so I bought the Exacto. Frankly I’m not crazy about it, as I have trouble holding the pencil steady in the machine and it seems to sharpen lopsided sometimes. I’d definitely buy the newest one that automatically adjusts to the size of the pencil and feeds straight down instead of sideways if I were to buy another one.
That’s what mine did, went sideways, both of them.
Odd, what are you doing with your sharpeners Jennie!!! 😂😉. (You know I'm kidding.) Probably one of the best reviewed sharpeners on Amazon so your experience is not typical. over 31k reviews and nearly a perfect 5 stars.
@@mindofwatercolor Hey now “I resemble that comment “ chicken little
Thanks for sharing your experience with pencil sharpeners. 😎🎉🥰
Thx for this video. I just purchased the ~$30 X-acto school pro. Worked like a charm on my Derwent Intense pencils, will do other sets & graphite tomorrow. Happy dance❣️
I've use an Xacto School Pro for several years - primarily to sharpen my Prismacolors. Definitely works really well.
Thanks for sharing this! I tend to use mechanical pencils more for just the reasons you were stating. I've tried the method of shaving off the wood and making a long point but it's so fussy. I like simple and these sharpeners make life simple.
I retired from teaching high school a year ago and I know several teachers that bought the School Smart and the X-acto model. When I go to Amazon via either the link you provided or through your store, the X-acto model is a "see all buying options" item and the prices are about $35 to $45. There is a newer version linked on that page for $28. The ratings are just a bit less favorable than the one you have and my old colleagues have. Not paying the price for the older version and a little leery of the newer version. Going with the School Smart because of a smaller footprint, feedback from my old colleagues, it's vertical, I use mostly mechanical pencils and the 2mm drafting pencils, and I just don't use fatter stick pencils. Great review and excellent info. Thanks!
Very helpful tips! It so happens, I have been hunting around for a good sharpener, and now I have some great suggestions - thanks!
I have 2 that I like: an old school wall mount mechanical sharpener with multiple opening sizes, and a Prisma hand held.
That bit about, "I'm doing about a 3.5" with the straw (or whatever) in your mouth ... that's "tractor talk". The farmers I worked around talked just like that. Loved it! A real coffee spitter (it was funny). Thanks for the laugh. Great info too.
I know. Here is SC, I don't have to go far to find one of those guys. The only thing I was missing was the mullet! 😂
@@mindofwatercolor 😂
Great sharing friend,awesome😃👍☺️....
Very cool.I do use hand held sharpeners. Since I am out urban sketching, portability is important. I also have a crank stylus that takes the Magnus pencils.. thanks for the review!
This was very helpful! Just received a set of Derwent graphitint pencils and realized my little junk sharpener won't work. Time to invest in something professional. Thanks for the great video! And all of the comments here were very useful.
As an Art teacher for 20 years I've been through my share of pencil sharpeners-- in particular that Exacto one you reviewed. Those are great, but I found that colored pencils were the death of them. Just before I retired all the teachers in the school were gifted the Art Smart ones. At that time I was on an Art Cart and could only sharpen my TONS of pencils at the end of the day. I did not want to kill the Art Smart one with my colored pencils. So I would go across the hall and sharpen them in an Exacto wall sharpener. Even it would Gum up with the soft colored pencils. I eventually found that sharpening a graphite pencil in between every 7-10 colored pencil. This tended to clean the blades. Maybe this would work on the electric sharpeners. I have an ancient Panasonic that is a workhorse that I would never stick a colored pencil in. I also have the Art Smart still in the box. Neither will ever see the amount of use those did at school. That last one you showed looks great. Best feature is that you can break them down to clean or get at jams. I'll have to look into that one! Thanks for the review.
Thanks so much Steve ! Amazing review as always you do,
I have an ipoint that I have used for years, and it's great. I don't sharpen a lot, but it does very well with my prismacolor pencils. The style of it is a lot like the Afmat sharpener you show, but takes only regular-sized pencils. Thanks for the review!
Thanks for sharing!
Since you mention airbrush - I would enjoy an episode on that, didn't even know that you could use watercolor with those!
Interesting to see my school supplies in a video. I have been using the staedler and faber castells for like 20 years in school and uni, if I wasn't into fountain pens, I'd still only use pencil to write (one more reason to hate exams). Never even thought about using something with a motor.
I don't know why this is but It was sooo satisfying watching the dull pencils get sharpened to a fine point. After the video I ended up looking for some dull pencils myself and sharpening them with my electric sharpener lol. I am very interested in the xacto school pro. I find myself not using my colored pencils as much as I'd like to because it's so annoying to sharpen them manually and dealing with the breakage so I am always using a dull lead. I think that buying the xacto sharpener that can fit my various colored pencils will help me enjoy using them more!
I know it's been a while since I checked in. Howdy! I love the 5.6 mechanical pencil. That's the kind of mechanical pencil that has my name all over it! Thank you, Steve!
I bought that school pro in 2016. I bought it to hopefully be the last one I buy for 15-20 years for my home office. so far as of March 2022 still running strong
Is this the Xacto version I 1st found the smaller one..It made the Best Sharpening Pencil points. I have to my Daughter..Then I Found the Teacher one..WOW It is big.. All my pencils sharpened Amazingly.. even the square Colored Pencils..my son showed me how to do it..Twist slightly against the way it’s sharpening and it Makes them nice..Rarely did I loose the wood I Appreciate you liking the Student one..🙏🕊
Ha! I’ve been through a few. Ended up choosing the same two ones u did! Great Minds of Water Color think alike! 👍. -Messy Mendy
Amazing I just happen to own that exact electric sharpener. I found it in a donation box at an office. And yep its really nice.
Thank you!
Many thanks!!
My mom has an old hand crank Xacto that I used the other day and that thing sharpened my Tombow to a super sharp point.
Some of the hand cranks are definitely excellent.
I did buy the Derwent hand crank and I love it. But I'm going for the Xacto. Sometimes you just don't feel like cranking a sharpener.
Thanks!
Exactly. Frankly I never feel like hand cranking,. Too lazy I suppose.
For standard size pencils, anything other than jumbo, actually, I've used the same pencil sharpener for thirty years. It's a Boston, and after all these years it still works, and, somehow, the blades are still sharp. And it works fast. You can still get a couple of models of Boston sharpeners, but they are not cheap, and they no longer make a modal that takes pencils from the tope. I live in fear that this one will break.
The other pencil sharpener I use in my office is the Derwent long point crank sharpener. It's the only sharpener I've found that give me a true long point. It exposes about twice as much lead as what is considered a long point in other sharpeners. The downside to this is that when you sharpen a pencil for the first time it eats a LOT of the pencil. And I mean a lot. Fortunately, it doesn't take much sharpening to maintain a long point, but the first sharpening is almost scary and will make you wonder if the auto=stop is actually working.
I have every top brand of graphite pencil, plus five Chinese brands that honestly seem every bit as good. But I don't actually NEED any of them I have mechanical pencils with lead from 5H to 4B, and a lead holder with 6B. Above this I find graphite shine is a problem, so I use a charcoal pencil, or a carbon pencil, or a Polychromos black colored pencil, depending on the size of the area I need to cover, and the type of paper I'm using. I've also been experimenting with a black pastel pencil, and so far I'm liking the result, at least for small areas.
Thank you! I was frustrated with my little sharpener and thought there has to be a better way! These looks awesome.
I've got the Afmat usb charge eraser which is fantastic holds a charge for an extended period of time and has two eraser sizes one is the size of a tombo mono eraser which is perfect for my style of work :D Afmat also has a rechargeable sharpener just a little fyi which one I'm probably going to go with when I run out little hand held sharpeners (which I believe are breeding as I keep finding them everywhere but I swear I've not actually purchased one in decades lol)
I have the afmat electric erasers too. It came with two eraser units and lots of refills. I love mine! I'm going to order the rechargeable afmat sharpener right now!
their sharpener is amazing (dont use it on pastel pencils though) i have the electric and hand-crank one i actually prefer the hand-crank. I have the long point sharpeners btw.
@@manakineu why can't you use that sharpener on pastel pencils?? I'm having a devil of a time finding a decent sharpener for my various-sized pastel pencils....
@@pauladavis5391 if you are thinking of buying the afmat long point electrical, that one has too much torque and isnt made for pastel its gonna break the point every time. the afmat handcrank works much better since you can control how "far" you wanna sharpen
Very interesting, Steve!
Am I the only one over here drooling over that sharp point after using the newest sharpener?!
"Yep, runnin' about 8.3 mm on mine.... " Thanks Steve, I just spewed hot cocoa all over my kitchen floor!
I could have used this video a couple weeks ago lol. I got stuck in the same boat as you. I purchased a huge set of Albrecht Dürer pencils and my heart sank when they wouldn't fit in my favorite desktop electric pencil sharpener (I use a Westcott Pro-Point). So then I researched and THOUGHT I got the right one when I bought Faber-Castell's "Grip Trio" hand-held. Piece of junk does NOT fit Albrecht Dürers properly... because apparently it's not made for those. Thanks, F-C. So a couple weeks ago I finally caved and got one of the naked metal hand-held ones that DOES fit the Albrecht Dürers properly. The point is definitely needle-sharp now, but I have slow hand-held action and shavings to contend with now. I am going to check out the X-Acto one and maybe the last one you featured. Overall, I think it would be nice to have something that can fit everything instead of having to get specialty sharpeners for everything.
Agree, Grip Trio is crap!
The Afmat one holds a charge and can be used wirelessly. I have the Afmat and the Exacto. Both are good choices. I have one at home and one at my studio.
Thanks Steve.
Thank you for the info.
Thanks for this review - I'm on what feels like an eternal search for decent reliable sharpeners and though I prefer really portable ones you can pop in your bag and take anywhere, having one solid electric one would be great. I'm definitely going to check out one of these. I have found one really good portable sharpener (but only for standard size pencils, it won't do the Derwent charcoal, for instance) - and it's so cheap too. It's the Muji single hole sharpener - best order direct as on Amazon the price rockets.
I have no idea if they are still built as well.... but I've had the older version of the xacto for 20 years. No problems.
Hi Steve, great review. It has been a'lead'ged that I have all those same pencils (in the full sets) but I won't admit it either. So let me Kum right to the point. Though I have an Afmat, it has a crank but it does have a replaceable helical blade and works very well. For field work I have a tiny portable that uses a USB 5V power bank or AAA batteries and the key point is that it also has a helical blade. I think any good sharpener should have a helical blade rather than a razor blade. They are much better at preventing broken leads.
Agree totally on helical blades.
I carry a metal single pencil sharpener when I go somewhere like to my daughter's. I ordered a Tihoo rechargeable pencil sharpener for at home and away.
The KUM sharpener is very different to the standard sharpeners!
Just checked the price for the School Smart model. Not a bad price ... I was expecting to go into 3 figures. I do, however, think, that there is something to be said for shaving the pencil with scalpel. This also allows you to use the powdered graphite later. I have been addicted to stationery and art supplies since birth. LOL. Great video. Thanks.
I was looking for an electric pencil sharpener after I spent a day hand sharpening my watercolor pencils. OH! My poor hands! I am too old for that! LOL! Around the same time, I bought the Derwent drawing pencils. I hadn't thought about sharpening them. DUH! They are BIG.
Anyway, I decided on that exact same AFMAT sharpener shown in Steve's video. It works great! I chose it because of the auto-adjustable opening. I considered the Xacto, but didn't want to fool around with the dial. This was my first foray into an electric sharpener. I've had it about 6 months and it's still going strong!
Thanks, Steve for the validation on my sharpener choice! 😁
Exemplary discussion 🎃
Thank you for sharing your knowledge 💖
I have had the X-ACTO School Pro Classroom Electric Pencil Sharpener for more than 15 years (I think!) and it works like a champ. Maybe not exactly the X-Acto but very similar...
Never damage any pencil.
Thanks for your videos and your time!
I am a sucker for gadgets and new art supplies, but for sharpening pencils I am old school. A thin bladed, really sharp knife blade and some sandpaper cover all my needs. No electricity needed, versitile, and portable. But you do need to be a bit careful and patient.
Yeah I get it. Many artists share your preference. My habit as a commercial illustrator was I did not want to spend one second doing anything but getting the work done. No time or desire for sharpening.
@@mindofwatercolor I see your point. Art is my hobby, so time is not a consideration, and also I like to wittle...
I never forgot something a teacher told me about making your hobby into your profession. People think that's the coolest thing you can do, a life of bliss. But he said, yeah, sure it can be great, but it has one BIG disadvantage, it means you lose your hobby...About thirty years ago, never forgot it.
Been reading these replies and wanting to see if anyone advocated for hand sharpening. I think it is a skill to know just in case there is no power.
@@herbalannie7707 check out the UA-cam channel Coloring Bliss. She’s got a good video on hand sharpening. It’s her preference. Just keep in mind you can tear up a pencil just as easily with hand sharpening as with electric or hand crank. Regardless of what you use it has to be a quality sharpener. There are good and bad sharpeners in all categories.
I LOVE YOUR CELTIC KNOT BAT-SIGNAL SHIRT!!! 😂😍🦇
Oh my your intro was too good I really liked it, jokes and all.
How do you do it Steve?. I watched you sharpening pencils for 20 minutes and was fascinated. Now, will it really help me to draw like a pro?
Nope, but a lot of people sure ask me how I sharpen my pencils.
Thanks for this video! I've been wanting a new electric sharpener after my cheap junk one broke. Been doing them by hand ever since and I hate it x'D I'll give these a look-see, appreciate it! :D
The red Faber Castell pencil sharpener you use can sharpen the Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils but it only works in the Jumbo slot. Good at least for field use for you. I use it as my main sharpener though. 😊
Oh yeah I’ve tried it. That hole is too wide. Too much wiggle room. Regardless, it’s really just a crappy sharpener in my opinion. If had to use one it would be the blue dual point KUM I showed briefly at the beginning. That one also has a 2mm lead pointer at the other end. As I mentioned. I only use mechanical pencils in the field and regular watercolor. No sharpener needed.
Thank you for such an informative video! Do you have any recommendations regarding media buildup on the blades? I'm referring specifically to using the Xacto for colored and water-color pencils. Some have mentioned sharpening a regular #2 school pencil every 3-4 colored pencils to keep the blades sharp.
Yes, exactly! Sharpen a graphite pencil with a narrow core like a #2 every now and then. Helps clean out the softer colored pigments. You can also go in with an old tooth brush if you see buildup.
Wow thank U.
Very informative video, showing what to look for in a good sharpener. Thanks for all the work you do to make these videos! The Xacto model you have is no longer available. It was made from alloy steel. The newer model is plastic. This change is disappointing.......
Thank you, Steve, great video. Can I use the X-Acto School Pro 1670/ 1670 XT to sharpen Conté a Paris 1710 pencils? Thx much
Probably, but I don't have that particular pencil to test for you.
@@mindofwatercolor Thx Steve. I really appreciate your help. I´m a U.S. ex-pat living for the time being in Bogota, Colombia. I just received the second X-Acto School Pro 1670/ 1670 XT from Amazon - I asked to return the first as it really doesn´t work well. This is billed as the second and better edition of the X-Acto sharpener you reviewed in this video. I just tried the second one they sent and it´s the same problem: I get a few well-sharpened pencils, including some colored, charcoal, and pastels. Then, especially after sharpening a pastel or charcoal, it seems to get clogged just like the first one I received. I seem to get it back to sharpening by inserting some regular lead pencils but it takes quite some work and I have to waste a number of good lead pencils. I´m going to return this one too as I really don´t want to go through all that hassle. I just thought you´d like to know for your reviews. I guess I´ll try the Afmat you mentioned. By the way, Amazon has great service for us outside of the good ole U.S.A.
Great review ! Does either of the Exacto or Afmat handle the Albrecht Durer Magnus pencils ? Thanks !
Yes they do. Both. I showed that in the video. 😊
My son is watching over my should laughing at me watching a pencil sharpener review. Then he sees you take it all apart and wants one 😂
I have the X-ACTO School PRO electric pencil sharpener, like you I like it. But just it has to be plugged in to an outlet and has to stay near one. But other than that I love it.
I have the Panasonic and it's good for now since I just use standard size pencils.. and I still love my vintage pencil sharpener from the 60's that was screwed onto the side of my vintage oak library table work space. My daughter needed a sharpener so she got the vintage one but I made her promise she would never throw it away. Nostalgic, right????
Panasonics are great. Too bad they don't make them anymore.
Are these sharpeners for pastel pencils like Carbothello or Caran D'Ache? I'm looking at the xacto or Afmat.
They work for those yes.
HI, I'm a retired teacher. I have the Panasonic 1 size (you first mentioned) and like it. I had the school smart and liked it but found for the colored pencils the soft led often stuck in the sharpener. I had a rule the kids could not use the sharpener for colored pencils. You said something in this video about the only problem you had is if the lead is already broken in the pencil base. Do you think I was seeing more of this effect since I was using school grade colored pencils? Do you have problems with the soft led staying in the sharpener? Thanks.
No problems so far. You can clean a sharpener, so to speak, with a #2 or harder graphite pencil. They have more wood than most colored pencils and it cleans the blades and forces the colored bits out. Graphite also acts as a lubricant.
I wish you had showed how to use that blue staedler pencil sharpener. I have one of those but haven’t had much luck with it!
Simple and easy (see the video link) but do keep in mind that its for 2mm leads only, not for wood pencils. ua-cam.com/video/uA-9wBxaAYk/v-deo.html
I use Derwent Superpoint manual for most of my pencils apart from my Prismas and my pastel pencils and I have a seperate sharpener for them 🎨 👍🏻 👩🏻🎨
Hi, could you please let me know which one is best for Prismas Premier.
Very interesting as I've been wanting a new sharpener but didnt want to make a mistake as I have limited funds... do u remember what country the. xacto sharpener made in..? I recd for my birthday fabrel chrome set I'm so excited but I just have a old crank style sharpener that is two sizes holes, I was hoping the sharpnervwould fit it but as I've watched more videos I seem to be needing a updated electric...version ...thankyou for review...
You're welcome. Made in China like most stuff these days.
Hello Steve, I've been a subscriber for quite some time, but first time commenter I think. I really value you reviews and tutorials and love your works, so always come here for something new to learn. Thank you very much for this very helpful video!
I find pencil sharpeners to be a topic that's never enough covered.
If I could ask a few questions, would you rather buy these sharpeners online (just to say one site, Amazon), or either look for them in a phisical art supplies store?
Because they seem to have quite "delicate" mechanisms, and I'm always a bit worried about the way these objects are handled during the shipment, when buying online (Well, I know they got shipped anyway from the factory to the stores, but still...)
Also, I heard that if electrical sharpeners and handcrank ones in general make better points, they may consume pencils way faster than the classical, portable tiny metal sharpeners...
Now I'm not an expert at all but, just looking at the lenght of the points, from the wood part to the real core, that would make sense because they are so much longer. Do you find this to be true in your experience?
For this reason I have put aside my beloved handcrank and started using cutters to shave the wood of my pencils and reveal the core, but I don't really enjoy this kind of sharpening "technique" (even aesthetically lol). Neither I love the tiny metal sharpeners.
I tried some electrical sharpeners in the past, but never came across one which was any good. I think they were quite cheap things. Now I do understand that's a needed investment to take care of artist grade pencils.
So I may want to consider the ones you shared with us in this video eventually.
Thank you in advance for your time! Greetings from Italy,
Elisa
It may be wise to buy from a local supplier if you can find one. No one near me carries them so I order. That said, Amazon is great with returns. Better than most actually. They have a local return center at Kohls where I live. As for over sharpening. With auto-disengage or auto-stop I don't worry about it. To be honest, I tend to take off too much if I sharpen with a knife. The only time I've heard of too much being shaved off a pencil is when the auto stop doesn't work which happens occasionally on poor quality sharpeners. In such cases it will grind away until the pencil is gone. Shorter points with steeper angles get dull quicker so I don't think you're saving any cores by using manual blade sharpeners.
@@mindofwatercolor Thank you very much for your detailed answer. I agree with you, Amazon has one of the best customer service, for what I have experienced so far, too.
I will try to buy from a local store if I can find, otherwise I will be looking online.
And I trust your opinion, so I will be more than happily switching to these professional sharpeners, and retire my manual, elementary- school-type ones and the cutter. Thank you again! :)
PS: But speaking of manual ones just one more moment, have you heard about the Dux manual brass sharpener that comes with a black leather case? Apparently it looks so tiny and much similar to a single-hole normal sharpener.
Yet I think you can adjust it at three different leghts for your pencils and it costs quite a lot fir its size. I have seen many illustrators and colored pencil artists using it and saying good things, so I got curious.
@@elisacavaliere1446 Yes, I've seen the Dux. Might be a good option if you don't mind hand sharpening. Any hand sharpener would just be too slow for me personally.
Appreciate the review. Can this hold up with faber-castell pitt pastel pencils? I've whacked so many sharpeners of various price tags and none of them last very long when I use it for pastel pencil 😮💨
It does, but clean the blades by running a hard graphite wood pencil through once in a while. Like an H or 2H. Keeps it from gumming up with pastel and the graphite dust is like a lubricant.
@@mindofwatercolor Thank you for the tips 😄
Hi Steve! Question; once you've used a pencil and sharpened it over a period of time, it becomes too short for an electric sharpener. Between the Xacto and the School Smart - which will accept a shorter pencil? I just ordered the School Smart (because I think I'm gonna prefer the upright configuration), so I'm hoping that's your answer hahaha. Anyways, thanks for the informative video man, I just subscribed!
Yes, it does seem the School smart can take a shorter stub but not by much.
Awesome! Thanks again, looking forward to checking out more of your videos!
Is it my impression or does the AFMAT Pencil Sharpener seem to eat up the pencil a lot? The brand new charcoal pencil seemed a lot shorter after it was sharpened. I use the battery operated Derwent Superpoint for my Luminance, Museum, Polychromos and Albrecht Dürer regular size. I also use the two-hole Faber-Castell, the one specifically made for the Polychromos, not the other one, and the M+R Pollux. The latter gives a nice, long, concave point!
The AFMAT didn't do so for mine. Thanks for the input on the others.
@@mindofwatercolor My pleasure! And thank you for this on-point video, and all your videos. A special hello to Reese, your bosom buddy, close friend and lifelong pal!
I need one of those asap. Last year I bought the koh i noor manual sharpener (the one that looks like an old camera) and it broke within weeks. It seems it lost its strength and it keeps on breaking the cores no matter what pencil I try to sharpen. I contacted the company with no satisfactory answer. So this sharpener is a big no for me.
I heard some good reviews about the Derwent super point but it is not available in my country.
Hey Steve 👋🏼. I have a question regarding the Xacto School Pro Sharpener. Does it also have the auto-disengage function? I’ve been thinking about getting it but wasn’t too sure if I should, since I have a habit of accidentally sharpening pencils more than needed 😅. However, that being said, great video! It helped me gain a sharp eye for other pencil sharpeners 😄.
Yes, auto-disengage is always enabled. You can push past it if you push too hard though. I just use gentle pressure and I'm usually good.
Thank you for this video. I’ve been looking for a good electric sharpener for a long time now. I have a question about the sharpeners you’ve tried: which sharpener gives the sharpest point?
I mean a long AND a knife-sharp point.
That is my struggle with those things. A long point doesn’t necessarily means a knife-sharp point. I have a manual table-sharpener from Dahle and with one or two turns on the handle you get a really(!) sharp point. It is fantastic for details in my work. But…
The container of the Dahle is really small and you can’t see properly when the container needs to be emptied. 😣
I have been searching for an electric sharpener which gives a knife-sharp point, but I can’t seem to find the darn thing anywhere online 😭
Do you have suggestions? I most often use coloured pencils. For my graphite pencils I use a different sharpener (KUM long point, highly recommended!)
The sharpeners in this video would be my main suggestions as I've not tried tons of other. The points are sharp enough for me.
What kind of blade does the x-acto school pro have?
Helical
I have only hand cranks.....and fear of pencil eating machines that go tooooo far tooo fast! And now....i also have clutch pencil envy.....look what you have done!
😈🤣😉
Months ago I ordered the Afmat manual long point sharpener on Amazon after watching another YTer use long points on their pencils. It works almost too well. It gives extra long points and can get down to very fine tips on the pencils that will break right off and are way longer than I needed and chew up a lot of the wood. It has an adjustment to have shorter points that don’t use up so much wood, but it only reduced it a smidge. I think I may go with one of your recommendations. Thanks!
Apparently the School smart one is unsuitable for plugging in to UK electrical grid. Not sure about Europe. See UK Amazon reviews.
Can someone please suggest best sharpener for Albrecht Durrer watercolor pencils? Thank you.
I use the Xacto School Pro for the AD pencils because of the adjustable aperture. They won't fit in a standard size opening. Works great.
New subscriber.
I have the x-acto in my classroom. If a student dares to touch it, he or she would suffer severe consequences. Hahaha!
I got way too much sharpener than I need. Basically because I was looking for something to sharpened pastels pencils. Everything except the shark which Jason reccomend but I reach my max with sharpeners. I noticed you are featuring crank sharpeners which I love, do not prefer the crank sharpener?
I think there are some good cranks out there I just prefer speed and convenience. When I'm working on a piece its easier for me just to reach over one handed and have a pencil sharpened in a few seconds.
@@mindofwatercolor I hear yo, but for me there's nothing more satisfying than hearing that crank grating against the pencil🤗
Can you review how to handle these when they are jammed?
Just use your knife for pencils,and the only sharpener for lead I use,is the Faber Castell 50/58 for lead the best .
Looking for a pencil sharpener!
If you have multiple sizes (diameters) I recommend the Xacto School Pro for sure. I like the Afmat I reviewed but the Xacto is better I think.
@@mindofwatercolor thank you, looking at them now. My daughter is using the watercolor pencils more, and I bought those blackwing. 😉. Fun interview with Liron this morning, enjoyed it!