Pencil Sharpeners

Historically, people used knives to whittle their pencils to a point. By the middle of the 19th century sharpeners that could fit in one’s pocket became common, and more than 100 patents were granted for these hand held sharpeners. Scores of mechanical sharpeners were introduced by the late 1880's. In 1910 a singular design (the double helix cutter) proved to be mechanically superior, and by 1915 a sharpener with this design was sold for $1 by both Boston and APSCO. Since then, from a mechanical perspective, pencil sharpeners have remained substantially unchanged. Yep, one single design. This Collection celebrates the creativity of early sharpener designers.