Pencil Sharpeners

A pencil sharpener is a handy tool used at school and at home. When a pencil gets dull, the sharpener makes the tip pointy again. It works by shaving off thin layers of wood and lead. A sharp pencil makes it much easier to write clearly.

Kinds of Sharpeners

There are a few different kinds of pencil sharpeners. Small handheld ones fit in your pocket and you twist the pencil inside. Hand-crank sharpeners are attached to a wall or desk and have a handle to turn. Electric sharpeners use a motor to do the work for you. All of them leave behind curly wood shavings.

The First Sharpeners

Before sharpeners were invented, people used knives to sharpen their pencils. The first pencil sharpener was invented in France in 1828 by Bernard Lassimonne. In 1847, a French man named Thierry des Estivaux made a better one that worked like the handheld sharpeners we use today. Electric pencil sharpeners came out in the 1940s. Now almost every classroom has one.

Fun Facts

• A regular pencil can be sharpened about 17 times before it is too short to use.
• Some artists use special sharpeners to make extra long pencil points.
• There is a museum in Ohio that has over 3,000 pencil sharpeners.

Did You Know?

A man named Walter K. Foster got the first American patent for a pencil sharpener in 1855.