Archival Pencil Sharpeners

Shopping from 1949

In our household, we still use pencils for annotating books and recipes, for list making and doodling. We love having a manual pencil sharpener that accommodates the various sized pencils in our collection - from the plumpish Ticonderoga Laddie to my sleek German graphite pencils. Our favorite is the Boston Champion – a model you might remember from youe elementary school days. While X-Acto (who now owns Boston) sells a model that can be vacuum mounted to a flat surface, we recommend purchasing the classic version, with an 8 hole dial, that can be permanently screwed to a table or inside of a cabinet. Ebay seems to be the best resource for a wide variety of vintage Boston sharpeners. As always, I enjoy the background detail revealed through amateur product photography. In this set, the fern fronds are my favorite.

If you are seeking a non mechanical option, here's a fine example