![]() ![]() The Capsule offers two point options, which are selected with a dial. Unfortunately, it loses points for its cover that detaches completely, because you will surely leave it behind at the café table after you’ve shown it off. For $5.50, it’s worth it to carry around and set casually on the table as you have coffee with friends just to see who is the first to ask about it. The point that results is short, but smooth and clean.įinally, I tried the Sonic Ratchetta Capsule, which has an amazing see-through design that surely belongs in an action movie as the remote for an incendiary device. I’m typically not a neat freak, but I do appreciate sharpeners that have been designed with tidiness in mind. The Maiba also gets extra credit for the sliding door that keeps shavings and graphite particles from escaping. What a funky shape, and yet its roundness and contours are ergonomically comfortable to hold. The Kutsuwa Stad 2 Maiba is my favorite in appearance. The short side, however, sharpened a decent point. It just kept spinning around – a complete fail. Unfortunately, the blade on the long point hole must be misaligned, because it would not make contact with my pencil at all. It offers two sharpeners – one for a long point, one for a shallower cone and shorter point. The least expensive in the showdown, the Sun Star Sect Double has a simple design, yet the flip top keeps tiny shaving crumbs from getting out – very tidy. Like the one-hole KUM, the Maped has no cover, so the lovely blossoms will end up on the ground unless you remember to bring a bag along. I found a jumbo-size General Kimberly 9XXB pencil in my stash that was just the right girth to test the larger hole. The blade must be very sharp, as it felt smooth going around. With two holes, it accommodates standard pencils as well as jumbos.įirst I tried the standard hole, and it produced a lovely shaving blossom, which always brings me joy. The Maped wedge turned out to be a surprising dark horse. The Blackwing’s cover keeps the shavings nicely contained, which is a nice feature when I’m sketching from a street corner and I’ve forgotten a plastic bag or something else to catch the shavings. Step 2 brings the graphite to a long, gleaming point that is almost as long as the KUM one-step, except that it’s smooth and flawless. Step 1 takes away the wood, and a stopper at the end of the sharpener (the “Automatic Brake”) keeps you from taking too much off. The Blackwing two-step is unique in this showdown for requiring two steps: one to sharpen the wood, the second to sharpen the graphite. At $9.95, the Blackwing is the most expensive of the bunch (and also more than the standard KUM two-step with the same innards). ![]() I believe the working parts are identical, however. Recently Blackwing upgraded the body to this slightly more angular shape. For years, I’ve used the older model KUM Automatic Brake long-point two-step, which was formerly available with Blackwing’s branding. The Blackwing two-step is also made by KUM. ![]() It’s a no-nonsense, budget-priced sharpener that takes up little space in a pocket or bag. I think the blade might need adjusting, or maybe it’s a bit dull. However, I kept feeling some resistance as I twisted the pencil, and the point looks a little ragged. This simple, inexpensive sharpener produced the longest point of the showdown. To keep the test fair, I used six identical, unsharpened pencils from Notegeist.įirst up is the KUM long-point one-hole, which was included in the Taste of Blackwing Sampler that I reviewed recently.
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