Boston Sharpener with X-Acto Sharp Blades
Written: Apr 16 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sharpens pencils with ease.
Cons: Noise, Noise, Noise
The Bottom Line: If you want a sharpener that does a decent job, buy good wood pencils and this sharpener. If you want that and a quiet working machine, buy another model.
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| Prepoia's Full Review: Boston Acoustics Mighty Mite Electric Pencil Sharp... |
It costs a lot of money to teach today. Actually, in my district, it always did cost a lot. While some school districts actually pay for paper, pencils, and teacher/student needed utensils (like pencil sharpeners and colored pencils) our district has never had much in the way of extra funding for even these essentials. So at this point in my career, I have decided to buy what I need with my own money rather than argue about it with the supply secretary (who, by the way, acts as though the money for supplies comes directly out of her paycheck).
Writing folders I buy in the summer (when they are on sale for 10 for $1.00 compared to the prices the school has to pay from their supplier). This year I also purchased pencils, colored pencil sets, construction paper, copy paper, staplers (two because the kids are really hard on them) and for the first time, an electric pencil sharpener.
Last year my request for a pencil sharpener that worked went unheard. I will admit though that they did replace the old one at the beginning of this school year in September. The problem with the replacement was that it only lasted about three months before it began not sharpening pencils. So at that point, I brought out my new X-Acto personal electric pencil sharpener. It was not cheap as I paid $22.99 for it at Sam’s Club. But with a name like X-Acto, I figured that it would be up to the task of sharpening pencils for 150 middle school age students each day. After all, the X-Acto knife is sharp and does wondrous work in industries across the nation; so sharpening pencils should be an easy enough task for them to handle. But, “not so much” was the result of that expectation.
THE SHARPENER
The sharpener works by plugging the AC plug into an electrical outlet. Since I only have one in my classroom, that was an easy choice. I did plug it into one of those power saver strip plugs because I have to use more than one outlet for the various machines I use (like an overhead). It’s working fine on it and the brochure that comes with the sharpener did not say I shouldn’t or couldn’t use it that way.
The sharpener is heavy enough to sit on a table without being easily knocked off. It has non-skid feet and they really hold it securely.
It is easy to clean. The front of the sharpener is a see-through heavy duty plastic and when you want to empty the sharpener, you just pull it away from the front and put the shavings into the wastebasket. I like that the kids can see when it’s full and they don’t mind emptying it out.
There is a control that lets you know when the pencil is sharp. The motor makes a different sound and there’s less resistance on the pencil. Please note that 13 year olds love to keep making the loud noise even when it is finished.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS SHARPENER
I like the features that it offers. If used correctly, you indeed know when the pencil is sharpened. It is quick and easy to use. The blades do a great job and the pencil is evenly sharpened.
I like that it is easy to clean and heavy enough to sit securely to a table. I seldom clean it up properly but the sharp parts are contained and it isn’t dangerous to clean if up inside and out.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE ABOUT THIS SHARPENER
I don’t like how LOUD it is. When someone is sharpening their pencil, talk and teaching must stop. Both the sharpening noise and the “I’m sharpened” quieter motor sound are too loud. I believe that there must be a way to construct an electric pencil sharpener that has muted sounds; but this is not the one. Think about a roomful of 30 students (even when they are talking together) and the sharpener is all you hear. This is not good in a classroom and, of course, there is always someone that needs to sharpen their pencils while I’m teaching and others are taking notes.
LAST THOUGHTS
I really can’t recommend purchasing one of these models for classroom use because of the noise. I wish there was a way to test drive electric sharpeners so the next one I purchase could be a quieter model. For home use, unless you have a sleeping baby, this sharpener should work fine and you’ll be able to keep the noise to a minimum by using it quickly and efficiently.
My other last thought is to let you know that all pencils are not created equal. This model and even my non-electric wall model works well with “wood” pencils. Those are then pencils that cost more than a dollar for a box of them. The cheap ones that I (and many of my students) purchased weren’t such a great deal. They have some plastic in them that stops them from sharpening well. So much of my sharpener problem at school is not with the sharpeners but with the pencils. These cheap pencils really take a toll on sharpeners.
Recommended:
Yes
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I Love My Family, Teaching, Reading, the Internet, and Travel (and Epinions of Course)!
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