Blackwing One-Step Long Point Sharpener, German Steel Blade, Machined Aluminum, Compact Design, Black

I have been on a quest for a great pencil sharpener ever since my college years when I lost one I really loved (which was a LONG time ago!). I have bought little hand-held steel ones recommended by my art supply store, and I have bought the cheepos from the Dollar Store (now the $1.25 and Up Store), on the recommendation from a friend who told me they were every bit as good as my art store one. She was right, though that isn't saying much for the expensive steel one.I have tried many brands; some were better than others. My goal was to find one that yielded a long, tapered point that did not wear down too quickly and was suitable for shading tone drawings by holding the pencil at an angle. I found many of the old-fashioned schoolroom hand crank ones that mount on the wall, and the modern electric tabletop models do an excellent job, but they don't fit into my portable pencil box.This heavy-duty steel from Blackwing was far more expensive than many others I've bought, but I am very pleased with it. It is fairly compact, fits well in my hand, and the hexagonal body makes it easy to grasp and hold while sharpening the pencil. Best of all, it has a shavings reservoir that works well. I have another sharpener that makes nice points but is rather bulky. The way you open it to access the sharpening ports is precisely the way you open the shavings reservoir (just from the opposite side), and I can't tell you how many times I've ended up with a lapful of pencil shavings by opening the wrong side. The Blackwing's shavings are stored in the body of the sharpener with a top that screws on securely, there is no chance of accidentally opening it, and it will store a good quantity of shavings before you need to empty it. When you do, that lid's rough, serrated texture makes it easy to unscrew.If I could part with the cool and elegant slider box it came in, the Blackwing would be more portable and fit in my pencil case, but I'm storing it in the box for now. The only thing that would make this sharpener better is if it also came with two ports to sharpen thicker pencils as well as standard-sized ones. They make one like that, but I like the profile of this one better.

Well built, sturdy. Makes a fine point that lasts a long time.

This particular Blackwing one-step sharpener is dull and/or defective.As far as pencil sharpening, I look for a solid, unbroken shaving (in addition to a sharpened pencil point). This one is extremely choppy (resulting in minced bits of shavings). The blade is extraordinarily dull and blunt...like butter knife blunt.The sharpening pencil process takes WAY more than the estimated sharpening turns of 5 to 15 rotations (per Blackwing), as in 85+ to 100+ rotations (?!) This is the case with new unsharpened Blackwing pencils and previously sharpened (but needed a sharper point) pencils.Additionally, the sharpener has to be opened, and the internal sharpener blade must be blown out (compressed air duster spray) at least every 10 - 15 turns to dislodge the excess wood and graphite bits that accumulate and stick to the blade.So, what's up with this sharpener?I can't tell if it is previously owned and returned merchandise (although it wasn't identified as "open-box" or returned on the Blackwing Amazon store listing), defective, or what. The one thing Amazon has going for it is super-fast shipping and easy returns, so it isn't like I can't initiate a return; drop it at the local UPS store and obtain a refund. But the fact that the return process is simple isn't the point. ✎﹏﹏﹏﹏I've used 99¢ pencil sharpeners that created a better point than this Blackwing sharpener.I reached out to Blackwing support regarding the total failure of their one-step (aka 100 rotations sharpener), and they offered to replace the malfunctioning unit, but the problem isn't just its inability to sharpen (defective blade). The mandatory and constant blowout of the internal blade area (every few turns) to release the wood and graphite obstruction is too much work. I'm going with the Raymay Fujii KUM Masterpiece Pencil Sharpener.The Blackwing one-step is cool looking. Love the weight and heft of the pressed aluminum exterior and matte black powder-coated surface. But it doesn't work.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for somebody else and just couldn’t let it go. This pencil sharpener has a great feel to it and works really well. It is also small in size (in a good way) and made out of very durable material.

I never thought I’d need a pencil sharpener like this, it’s pricey. Very much worth the money. If you’re an artist it is very much worth the money. You can sharpen any pencil to a nice sharp point.

I bought this sharpener, and was extremely disappointed when it was not working the way it should have. It failed miserably at what it was supposed to be doing. I use tombow hb's, and the 8900-VP's for my drawing. quality pencils I would say. I could not get a successful tip to save my life with this thing on either pencil. I decided this is not normal, something must be wrong, its a fairly simple design but who knows things happen. So I sent it back for a replacement. My replacement works incredibly well, and I am thoroughly satisfied with the tips I get, even with the colored pencils that are softer inherently (though I will comment that it does not sharpen as well for the colored pencil, stopping at a certain point and not getting the complete length it should have). I figure that for whatever reason the hole was bigger in the original sharpener I had, which left too much room for movement, resulting in consistently broken tips. My replacement has what I assume is the appropriate hold for the sharpener. If I had a defective sharpener I'm sure there are more out there, what that ratio is I couldn't say. I will say however that its worth it. The tips are strong and sharp, and work very well. I would still recommend this product even with the experience that I had.good stuff.