This is my first ever review of a pencil sharpener and potentially my last too because this one is so fantastic. I’ve never had issues with sharpeners and have always just used cheap, standard ones, including my favourite which is a Lego sharpener from a kids’ stationery set, but I didn’t realise what I was missing out on, until now! The T’Gaal sharpener has incredible reviews within the colouring community and I can vouch for these because it’s amazing, easy to use, and adjustable for all of your sharpening needs. I was very kindly supplied with this sharpener by Cult Pens, in exchange for an honest review.
The sharpener is available in a number of colours including: black, pink, blue, orange and green. It is small, but larger than a regular sharpener and has a dial on the front with numbers to adjust the length of the point. It has a small plastic shutter which goes over the pencil opening to keep it closed (mine is very loose and when tipped it moves and allows small pencil shavings out so do be careful if transporting it). The dial is numbered from 1 to 5 and this indicates the length of the point you’ll get, from 1 which is a short point that doesn’t cause you to lose lots of the wood of the pencil, all the way up to 5 which is a much longer point with more of the wood coating sharpened away.
The T’Gaal sharpener is by far the smoothest and easiest to use sharpener I’ve come across. There’s no dragging or catching which means it’ll be ideal for your tricky pencils that are prone to breakage. It’s almost silent to use because there’s so little friction and my only slight criticism is that it doesn’t have a clear viewing window so you can’t see when to stop sharpening but this isn’t a major problem and with practice you do work out when it’s roughly ready. Unfortunately you can’t replace the blade when it eventually blunts but the sharpener is a very reasonable price and it’s so fabulous that you truly won’t mind purchasing a new one when you eventually have to. One tip I’ve read online that’s meant to help prolong the life of sharpener blades is to regularly sharpen a normal graphite pencil which will help keep the blade sharp. I’ve no idea if this works but have been reliably informed it does so grab yourself some cheap graphite pencils and sharpen them after every few coloured pencils to keep your T’Gaal in the best shape possible!
Another great feature of this sharpener is that it contains a compartment to hold sharpenings, it’s not very big so won’t last more than a few pencils at a time but it is much more convenient than having to hunt down a bin every time you want some pointy pencils. The compartment has a slide cover which closes firmly which is a welcome change from most sharpeners which have a pull off lid (we’ve all experienced the heartbreak of throwing sharpenings all over the floor when the lid has been too stiff to easily pull off). If you’re still not convinced, check out the pictures below of the silver pencils – the first was sharpened with a cheap Derwent sharpener (yes that’s as sharp as it got), the middle one was sharpened with my favourite Lego sharpener, and the final one was sharpened with the T’Gaal (soon to be known as King of Sharpeners). The points this sharpener creates are almost painfully sharp and are absolutely ideal for using in even the most intricate colouring books. The picture below showing 5/6 pencils shows before and after shots of some blunt pencils that I’ve then sharpened using the 5 different settings of point length so you can really see the difference between setting 1 and setting 5. You can also see the difference in amounts of wood casing that are lost which is worth noting and bearing in mind when choosing what setting to sharpen your pencils with. This sharpener is a great size to hold because it’s not tiny or difficult to grip if you have joint problems. The smoothness and ease of sharpening also means that it’ll be ideal for those of you who struggle with standard pencil sharpeners because this is just so easy to use and needs barely any strength at all!
All in all, this is genuinely the best pencil sharpener I’ve used by a country mile, and judging by other reports and reviews, it’s the best on the market. If you have pencils that you’re struggling to sharpen without breakage, or you’re wanting needle-sharp points, or the ability to adjust the length of your points then this is absolutely the sharpener for you. I can’t rave about it enough, I now love sharpening my pencils and it’s so satisfying getting a perfect point on your beautiful pencils.
If you would like to purchase the only pencil sharpener you’ll ever need, it’s available here from Cult Pens – https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/KT29109/kutsuwa-stad-tgaal-adjustable-pencil-sharpener
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