Pencil Sharpeners to lust after
Stationery has always been something that I LOVE. The passion has come from my dad who never had access to the kind of stationery he treated me with as a kid. He instilled an awe in me which made me respect and treasure anything from a pencil to a felt tip. There were no lidless felt tips in our household!
Although I could go on about pens, erasers, sticky notes, stickers and pencils until the cows come home, this blog post I'm writing for Planet Patrol is exclusively about pencil sharpeners.
This retro inspired pencil sharpener with rotating handle is actually available to buy for £19 from Trouva
A much more economical version of this desk classic than this beautiful metal pencil sharpening machine below by Caran D'Ache. It comes in a few colours including plain gun metal grey and is the perfect extra special gift coming in at £150. You can buy it here at cult pens a specialist stationery store.
Speaking of design classics, this 80's classic porcupine stationery holder was something that many of us 80's kids had on our desk at some time or another. The pines were to stick your pencils into and the in-built sharpener function at the snout was just pure genius. This item came in a range of plastic fantastic colours.
An awesome pencil sharpener need not be big. Back in the day at school, I would studiously pack my pencil case with all my favourite bits of stationery each day for school. Small and compact pencil sharpeners were an item that would get passed around the classroom from student to student. Having the best pencil sharpener in the class definitely can get one brownie points.
Here is the iconic and classic Staedtler single pencil sharpener with code name 510 10. It was designed by Johann Sebastian Staedtler who started the German company Staedtler in 1835. The humble but beautiful sharpener retails for a modest £1.15. Its such a shame that its difficult to find out more about the design and history of this specific pencil sharpener which has become a design icon.
This vintage Panasonic pencil sharpener with auto stop represents everything about the 80s and reminds me of my mum's electric knife for carving over-cooked roast beef. If you are a teacher in a classroom and have 100 pencils to sharpen everyday I bet this beast definitely comes in handy. As you day dream of being in Bali staring out the window the Auto stop mechanism would also save a few pencils from death.
Finally, the double pencil sharpener for fat or narrow pencils, we have all had these in our pencil cases at one time or another! The origin of this one above is unknown, like many pieces of great design the exact origin goes unappreciated as we focus on the function. By taking a bit of time and looking carefully at these utilitarian objects, we can really appreciate the simple but important things in life... like pencils. ❤️