The 10 Best Electric Pencil Sharpeners

For a classroom or a busy desk, the X-Acto School Pro is the safe choice. A dial with six hole sizes takes slim colored pencils and fat beginner ones, and the cutter stops spinning once the point is sharp. GearLab named it best overall after comparing seven sharpeners. The motor halts when the bin comes out, and worn parts can be replaced. Its suction feet can lose their grip, and it slows down on thick pencils.

The Bostitch EPS4 is a small corded sharpener that costs little and does one job well: ordinary wood pencils. Its hardened spiral cutter is made to hold an edge, the motor is built not to stall on a dull pencil, and it shuts off when the shavings tray slides out. A similar Bostitch model ran loud in an independent comparison and couldn't handle colored pencils, so keep it for everyday graphite.

Built for a room that sharpens all day, the AFMAT PS13 pairs a bigger spiral blade with a motor that stops if the tray is out or if it has run too long. The seller says it is UL listed and good for thousands of sharpenings, and AFMAT backs it for a year. It takes graphite and colored pencils. Soft wax cores clog it, though, and it won't stop on its own at the point.

Teachers who see every kind of pencil get six hole sizes on the Bostitch QuietSharp 6, from slim colored leads to fat beginner pencils. A heat cutoff rests the motor during a long line of kids, the switch kills power when the big bin comes out, and suction feet hold it to the desk. The name promises a hush, but no independent noise measurement exists, and any electric is louder than a hand crank.

Artists who shade with the side of the lead get a long, tapered point from the AFMAT PSA6. A switch picks a sharp or a blunter tip, the wide hole takes thin sketch pencils and thick ones, and the motor stops when the point is done. The clear shavings box shows when it needs emptying. Independent reviews are scarce, and the blade is rated for about 3,000 sharpenings.

With the AFMAT PSX5, a child drops a pencil in, and it pulls it down, sharpens it and pushes it back out. A built-in battery lasts about 600 sharpenings a charge, by the seller's count, and it keeps working while plugged in. Three settings shape the tip, and the hole takes jumbo pencils. Those figures come from the seller alone, and very soft pencils can clog it.

The X-Acto Mighty Mite suits a home desk or a dorm room where space is tight and the pencils are ordinary. It stops cutting once the point is sharp, which keeps pencils from being ground down, and the motor quits when the bin comes off. It handles colored pencils too. It plugs into the wall, so there are no batteries to replace. The single hole fits standard pencils only, and the small bin fills fast.

With a metal face plate and a glossy black body, the X-Acto XLR looks at home on an office desk. It shuts off at a sharp point so pencils last longer, stops when the bin is pulled, and takes colored pencils. This is the current version of an X-Acto model sold for years. The one hole is sized for standard pencils, so jumbo and carpenter pencils won't fit.

Need a sharpener away from an outlet? The JARLINK Heavy Duty runs on four AA batteries, not included, or a wall adapter, and it is light enough to carry from room to room. Its spiral blade stops turning when the point is ready, and the blade lifts out for cleaning. It takes standard and colored pencils. On batteries it slows as they drain, and jumbo pencils won't fit.

Busy classrooms that fill a bin by lunch are where the X-Acto Teacher Pro earns its place. The hole adjusts itself to each pencil, so there's no dial for students to fiddle with, and the cutter stops at a sharp point. The extra-large bin empties without a mess, and the motor halts when it's removed. It handles colored pencils. It's big and heavy, so it needs a permanent spot on a counter.