How to Sharpen a Pencil: Sharpener, Long Point or Knife

Three wood pencils with a short point, a long point and a bare graphite stub, beside a handheld sharpener — Three points: short, long, and a bare lead stub. Drawn by eye; not to scale. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.

Products compared

Product	Brand origin	Made in	Price range
KUM Automatic Long Point Sharpener (AS2)KUM	Germany	Germany^*	Price range: $$$5–20 per item
CARL Angel-5 Classic hand-crank pencil sharpener (A5CL)CARL	Japan	China^*	Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
Blackwing One-Step Long Point SharpenerBlackwing	United States	China^*	Price range: $$$$20–75 per item

Notes on these facts

KUM Automatic Long Point Sharpener (AS2): Made by KUM (Erlangen, Germany). Made in Germany: KUM's German shop page for the AS2 and AS2M says "Made in Germany", and its German art-materials catalogue is headed "Hergestellt in Deutschland" (made in Germany). Jackson's Art has also listed Germany. Source. Price: example listing.
CARL Angel-5 Classic hand-crank pencil sharpener (A5CL): Made by CARL Office Machines Co., Ltd. (カール事務器株式会社), Japan. Made in China: Yodobashi's A5CL listing gives 生産国：中国 (country of production: China) and its product copy says the Classic is not made in Japan and points buyers who want a Japanese-made sharpener to the Angel-5 Grand. CARL Japan's own A5CL page, as returned by search, doesn't state a country; CARL's site was down when we tried to read it on October 21, 2026. Source. Price: example listing.
Blackwing One-Step Long Point Sharpener: Made by California Cedar Products Company (Cal Cedar), Stockton, California. Made in China: Blackwing's own pages don't name the factory country. Milligram says it is designed in the USA and made in China, and the MoMA Design Store's listing gives China as its origin. "German steel" describes the blade's material, not where the sharpener is made. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Blackwing's store listing went live in late January 2020, and its February 3, 2020 blog post calls it the new sharpener. GetNavi reviewed the Japanese release on August 24, 2020.
How we test and disclose samples: How we test stationery.
Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026.

Key takeaways

Mitsubishi Uni says to insert the pencil lightly and straight and turn only the pencil; turning both or pushing hard puts stress on the lead.
Staedtler and Faber-Castell both name a dull blade as the usual cause of broken leads and suggest replacing a sharpener after about 12 pencils.
Staedtler lists 23-degree blades for graphite pencils and 30-degree blades for coloured ones; Faber-Castell lists 21, 24, 28 and 31 degrees.
KUM's AS 2 cuts only the wood in its first phase, until the lead touches an automatic stop, then shapes the lead into a cone of about 9 degrees.
Tombow's knife tip: take the wood off with the front of the blade, then shave the lead with the part nearer the handle, pushing the blade's back with your thumb.

What do you need to sharpen a pencil?

A sharpener or knife with a sharp blade, and a pencil that fits it. Every maker we read puts the blade first.

A handheld sharpener, a two-stage long-point sharpener or a knife with a sharp blade. Staedtler says the blade “always needs to be sharp”.
A pencil of a size the sharpener takes.
Somewhere to catch the shavings. Staedtler’s tub sharpeners keep them contained.

How do you sharpen a pencil with a handheld sharpener?

Push the pencil in lightly and straight, then turn only the pencil. This is the pocket-sharpener method Mitsubishi Uni, Faber-Castell and Blackwing describe.

Pick a hole that fits the pencil. Staedtler says its standard sharpeners suit pencils 8.2 mm across and its jumbo sharpeners suit pencils up to 10.2 mm. Faber-Castell adds that an opening that is too large lets the lead tilt and break.

Match the pencil to the opening. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Push the pencil in lightly and straight. Mitsubishi Uni says to insert it lightly and straight. A pencil and sharpener bent into a dogleg shape make the blade cut to one side, and Faber-Castell says a tilted pencil can break.

Straight in, no tilt. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Turn only the pencil, gently and evenly. Mitsubishi Uni says to turn the pencil slowly while the sharpener stays still, because turning both or pushing hard stresses the lead. Faber-Castell says to turn as evenly as possible with little pressure, and Blackwing says to turn its One-Step clockwise with steady, even pressure.

Only the pencil turns. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Check the point and empty the shavings. Mitsubishi Uni says wood covering the sharpened tip points to the method or the sharpener, and a rough surface on the cut wood means the blade is wearing out. Faber-Castell says to empty the sharpener regularly; Blackwing says the One-Step’s canister holds three sharpenings.

A clean point shows graphite, not wood. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.

How do you get a long point with a two-stage sharpener?

Cut the wood in the first stage, then shape the lead in the second. KUM and Blackwing both make sharpeners built this way. A hand-controlled alternative is a blade plane such as Makers Cabinet’s Hovel, whose maker’s sheet shows cut angles of 10 and 25 degrees.

Sharpen the wood in the first stage. On KUM’s AS 2, the first phase sharpens only the wood, until the lead touches the automatic stop. Blackwing’s Two-Step has you put the pencil in the hole marked 1 and turn clockwise until the pencil spins freely.

First stage: wood only. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Shape the lead in the second stage. On the AS 2 the second phase shapes the lead and the stop prevents over-sharpening; KUM says the result is a cone of about 9 degrees. Blackwing says to put the pencil in the hole marked 2 and turn clockwise until the blade bites the wood.

Second stage: the lead. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Empty the shavings and change the blade when the wood looks rough. KUM’s AS 2 keeps two spare blades in its container, and Blackwing says its Two-Step holds two replacement blades in its shaving compartment. Mitsubishi Uni says rough wood on the cut surface is the sign.

Spare blades live in the sharpener. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.

Blackwing’s One-Step makes a long, curved point in a single hole, per Blackwing. Our guides cover each in detail: KUM Automatic Long Point, Blackwing One-Step and the wider best pencil sharpeners roundup.

How do you sharpen a pencil with a knife?

Cut the wood back first, then shave the lead, pushing the blade with your thumb. Tombow and Mitsubishi Uni describe it; neither gives an angle in degrees, and Tombow words its page as a tip.

Cut the wood away with the front of the blade. Tombow says to use the front part of the blade to remove the wood before you reach the lead, which spares the blade.

Wood first, with the front of the blade. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Push the back of the blade with the thumb of the pencil hand. Tombow and Mitsubishi Uni both say this. Mitsubishi Uni also says to let the cutter blade out slightly longer than usual.

The thumb pushes the blade. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Shave the graphite with the part of the blade nearer the handle. Tombow says to hold the blade fairly upright for the lead, which spreads wear along the blade.

Lead next, with the base of the blade. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.
Cut the lead slightly long for fine shading. Mitsubishi Uni says a lead cut a little long and at a sharp angle allows delicate shading. Faber-Castell warns that too sharp a point makes the lead more fragile.

A long point shades finely but breaks more easily. Original illustration made for this guide. © Stationery Times.

Why does pencil lead keep breaking?

Usually a dull blade, then pressure and tilt. The makers agree more than they differ.

Cause	What the makers say	Fix
Dull blade	Staedtler and Faber-Castell call it the most common cause; Blackwing says it is the likelier cause with its pencils; Tombow lists a worn blade first	Replace the sharpener or blade
Too much pressure	Mitsubishi Uni and Tombow: pushing the pencil in hard stresses the lead	Push lightly
Tilt or off-centre entry	Mitsubishi Uni, Tombow and Faber-Castell: a tilted or off-centre pencil breaks	Insert straight
Opening too large	Faber-Castell: the lead tilts	Use the sharpener made for that pencil
Point too fine	Mitsubishi Uni and Faber-Castell: a very fine point breaks	Leave a slightly blunter point
Loose or tight blade (new sharpener)	Blackwing: a blade that is too tight or too loose may not sharpen precisely	Adjust the blade screw

How do the makers differ?

Mainly on blade angle and when to replace. None of the pages we read agrees on one number.

Maker	Blade angle	Replace
Staedtler	23 degrees for graphite, 30 degrees for coloured pencils	After about 12 fully used pencils
Faber-Castell	21, 24, 28 or 31 degrees; a finer point is more fragile	After about 12 fully used pencils
Mitsubishi Uni	Not stated	When the cut wood looks rough
KUM AS 2	A cone of about 9 degrees, wood and lead cut separately	Two spare blades come with it

For a desk crank, Mitsubishi Uni says that if several pencils come out off-centre, try the same pencil in a pocket sharpener: if it comes out fine, the crank sharpener is the cause. Our CARL Angel-5 Classic guide covers one such sharpener.

Frequently asked questions

Which way do you turn a pencil in a sharpener?

Blackwing's FAQ says to turn clockwise for both of its sharpeners, with steady, even pressure. The Mitsubishi Uni, Staedtler and Faber-Castell pages we read don't state a direction.

Can you sharpen coloured pencils the same way?

Yes, with more care. Staedtler lists a 30-degree blade for coloured pencils, Mitsubishi Uni says their leads are softer and break more easily, and Faber-Castell says blunt blades fray and tear the wood of coloured pencils.

How often should you replace a sharpener?

Staedtler and Faber-Castell both say about 12 fully used-up pencils. Mitsubishi Uni gives a sign instead: a rough texture on the sharpened wood means the blade is near the end of its life.

Can you sharpen anything else in a pencil sharpener?

No. Mitsubishi Uni says to sharpen only pencils, because pushing a hard object into the sharpener can chip the blade.

Why does my sharpened pencil look lopsided?

Wood is a natural material and can warp slightly in storage, so the lead can look off-centre, says Mitsubishi Uni. If it is extreme, or wood covers the tip, the cause is often the method or the sharpener.

How do you get broken lead out of a sharpener?

Faber-Castell says to push it out with other pencils or sharp plastic objects, not metal needles or scissors, which can damage the blade, and to empty the sharpener regularly.

What size of pencil does a sharpener take?

Staedtler says its standard sharpeners suit pencils 8.2 mm across and its jumbo sharpeners suit pencils up to 10.2 mm. Check the maker's size before you buy.

Do you need a knife to get a long point?

No. A two-stage sharpener such as KUM's AS 2 or Blackwing's Two-Step gives a long point without a knife, and Blackwing's One-Step does it in a single hole.

Sources (11)

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