Can you imagine life without a sharpener? In everyday life, we don't even notice its presence. Unless we suddenly lose it... Although it has many names in Polish, depending on the region where we live, its main function remains the same: to sharpen a pencil so it draws the most precise, thin lines possible.
Caran D'Ache Klein Blue Limited Edition Mechanical Pencil Sharpener
The first pencil sharpener was patented in France in 1828. Previously, pencils were sharpened with knives or scissors. Initially, however, the sharpener didn't look like the ones we know from our desks or pencil cases – small blades protruding from a wooden block at a 90-degree angle didn't sharpen very effectively, so improvements were soon made. A Frenchman, Thierry des Estivaux, created and refined the design of the prismatic pencil sharpener. Its blade was a cone-shaped element and looked much like those we know today. However, the sharpener was still a bulky and clumsy tool, intended for stationary use, not pocket use.
OHTO Mechanical Pencil Sharpener
Pencil sharpeners didn't come into mass use until 1897, when American John Lee Love designed a small sharpener with a shavings container in which the pencil was turned by hand. Finally, there was no need to carry multiple pencils – just one, which could be sharpened at any time. A similar revolution occurred twenty years later, in 1917, when an electric pencil sharpener invented for a pencil factory by Samuel Forrester was developed for mass use.
Derwent Electric Sharpener
Nowadays, the choice of sharpeners is virtually limitless. From tiny razor-sharp sharpeners to impressive machines that are often a true desk decoration. Colorful and monochromatic, made of plastic, wood, lacquered and chrome-plated metal, with stainless steel or carbon steel blades, they can sharpen pencils of various thicknesses. There are sharpeners for pencils of non-standard dimensions, such as those for carpenter's pencils, as well as sharpeners beloved by those who value a well-sharpened pencil with a truly long tip.
Blackwing Two-Steps Long Point Sharpener
The latter, of course, are long-point sharpeners, which offer two methods of sharpening lead. Those with a single hole sharpen the lead and shave off sections of the body, while those with two holes, more precise, offer a two-step shaving. One blade exposes a section of lead, while the other sharpens it like a needle. This keeps the pencil sharp longer and requires less frequent sharpening.
As a final note, while you can sharpen crayons just like pencils, a sharpener and pastels hidden in wood don't get along. The brittle graphite of pastels combined with the hard wood will crumble when sharpened. Therefore, we recommend using a knife to expose the graphite. Then, you can gently sharpen the graphite to the desired sharpness with a sharpener.
The most common names for a sharpener in Poland are sharpeners, sharpeners, sharpeners, and sharpeners. What other names do you know for this useful tool?