Desert Song Multifunctional Pencil Sharpener Adjustable for Colored Pencils and Normal Pencils, Quiet for Office, Home and School, Blue

Desert Song Multifunctional Pencil SharpenerA little while ago my beloved disco-era turquoise Panasonic Pana-point electric pencil sharpener bit the dust (RIP, my beauty!). In my experience, I have found that there is no comparison between the old vintage (40+ years old!) Panasonic and any of the newer electric sharpeners on the market today, at least the ones that are under $100. Even another Pana-point would cost more than that if I were to buy a used one from Etsy or eBay. For these reasons, I decided to get an “old school” crank sharpener. Actually, I purchased two: one Xacto KS 8-hole, wall-mounted model (I have reviewed that one already) and this Desert Song multifunctional adjustable model. I wanted to have at least one portable crank pencil sharpener, hence the Desert Song.As an artist, I keep a huge array of pencils- wax and oil-based colored pencils as well as graphite, pastel, charcoal, water-soluble and woodless types of all sizes and shapes (hex, triangular, etc). I also have an obsession with sharp points. Other artists may understand this, but I want to let readers know that I have very high expectations of a sharpener. Art supplies are expensive, so I use my pencils until they are impossible to sharpen any more. In the case of colored pencils, occasionally the cores fall out of their casings, and I will use the denuded cores in a lead holder until the holder can no longer support the remaining pebble of pigment. Sometimes I even remove the core from that last inch of wood casing myself. So, yes, I am serious about my pencils and their points, and I do not like to waste any of them!I was not expecting the Desert Song to accommodate all of my pencils since some have a really thick barrels, but I have been pleasantly surprised by this little dynamo! Since I had already researched dozens of models, I knew how to use it when it came in. True to its claim, the DS sharpens pretty much any type of pencil as long as the pencil is actually dull (my “dull” pencils are probably sharp to most people) and long enough to span the space between the sharpener's body and the extended pincher part. To my delight, I found that this sharpener will accommodate and sharpen Conte a' Paris pastel pencils. This is a tall order because pastel and chalk pencils are tricky to sharpen.The only “problem” with this little beauty is that you have to fiddle with the adjustment knob in some cases because it may over-sharpen your softer pencils, which will break at the narrowest point if you do not snap that off before using the implement. Also, if you place a fairly sharp pencil in the DS, it will do nothing, which is a good thing because you know that its “auto-stop” feature is working. When I turn the knob all the way in a clockwise direction, it sharpens but leaves a perfectly flat “point”, which is desirable for softer pencils like the Prismacolor Premier and Derwent Drawing colored pencils. I have never owned a sharpener that could do this-very impressive! When I use the sharpener with the adjustment knob turned all the way counter-clockwise, I get a long, needle-pointed tip that renders the finest lines when drawing tiny details. It is also very easy to use- you just push in that little side button and pull the front plate out. I have never used the models with two pincher levers, so I cannot compare, but I admit I am a little disappointed that this model has only one lever because I think the two-lever types are cuter- they look like they have ears!I had no use for the mounting piece, so I cannot comment on this part. All in all, I am very happy with the Desert Song as it is also more portable than many other full-size sharpeners, it is easier on my hands and fingers than the little blade sharpeners, and it accommodates a broad range of pencil types.

It works okay but is not as good as the old fashioned ones I used to use in school growing up, and the anchor they provide to keep it from moving on a surface is not well made or engineered, does not work well at all. All in all an okay sharpener, but you can do better for the price it costs.

A pretty good sharpener. One thing I like about it is that it tightly grips the pencil you're sharpening, freeing up your hand. I bought it to sharpen colored pencils and I have to hold it just right and rotate the pencil so it sharpens the lead and not just the wood.

Terrible, product doesn't attach to a desk top, difficult to use without it holding to something, doesn't sharpen to a point...tried using it multiple times and finally put it back in the box and there it has stayed.

Product is smaller than I expected, but has a good sound and pretty good volume. Easy to connect to iPhone via Bluetooth. Received item in a timely manner.

Awful product. sharpened only half of the circumference of the pencil. Sorry i was too late to return it. Waste of money.

Very hard to use and when I received the product it was not desert Song brand. Returned for a refund