Who Invented the Pencil Sharpener?

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

Whoever invented the pencil sharpener was definitely one of the sharper tools in the shed.

[@RandomAmerican3000]

Did you really have to point that out?

[@Pining_for_the_fjords]

Unlike the pencils he wanted to sharpen.

[@HScorching]

I can tell you are not the sharpest pencil in the box.

[@janedoe805]

Random American Behave yourself!

[@janedoe805]

Michael Scott PSTFUDB

[@Fadeddeath]

"From that point on," who would have thought we would get such a graceful pencil pun. Simon is a sharp one.

[@DavidFrostbite]

Getting up to use the school pencil sharpener is the kid equivalent to a smoke break.

[@fugithegreat]

I still like using those crank sharpeners. One or two good satisfying cranks, and voila, perfectly sharp pencil.

[@Nirrrina]

They don't break or wear out much either. I kept breaking my electric when back when I was sharpening colored pencils for drawing. Now I use glitter gel pens for coloring. It's much easier just to change the ink. But more expensive.

[@StopFear]

Inserting a pencil into an electric sharpener then having the sharpener make noise all over the place plus feeling the vibration of the blade against wood through the pencil was satisfying too. It's like you let the people around you know you've at least been doing something that caused the pencil to become dull.

[@luissantiago5163]

You always post the thing I never knew I needed/wanted to know. thank you.

[@nuzum11]

Never new that to cool

[@PerceptionVsReality333]

Agreed

[@jameswilson1153]

I have a suggestion for an interesting thing to do a video about: In the very front of a submarine there is a giant metal 'ball' called a sonar sphere. I can find no information on the internet about how these work, when they were invented, or how they even produce sound. I know that it is so loud that it can travel for hundreds of miles, kill divers if they are too close, and even boil the water nearby. Please do a video about this. There must be a fascinating story here.

[@l.clevelandmajor9931]

The best pencil sharpener I ever used id a twin barrel cutter crank style Boston brand . Mounted to a wall or a desktop you just put the pencil in the opening and push in with enough pressure to let the cutters do their work as you turn the crank handle. Practically every electric pencil sharpener I ever used liked to eat the pencil, and was rough on the graphite core, breaking it off a lot. My Boston crank sharpener did the job far better. I could sharpen five to six pencils in about 3 minutes or less depending on how sharp each was to begin with. As an artist drawing with pencils was one of my favorite styles, and having multiple sharpen pencils was a must to help me with my work flow. It saved me time.

[@migyverman]

Double helical cutters. Best sharpener IMO.

[@wyattvb828]

So my school used pencil sharpeners from 1904. That itself is a testament to its design.

[@darrenkrivit6854]

Many memories of having to walk up to the front of the class to sharpen my #2 next to the chalkboard.

[@therub2191]

they were the days eh, the old sharpening a pencil days

[@Perririri]

Imagine actually _writing_ on the blackboard with said pencil

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

Pencils were expected, and were preferred, when I first was in school. There were pencil boxes(or pouches made to go in a binder). Every student was expected to have a couple of pencils sharpened and ready to use. Ball-point pens weren't common until the French Bic pen became ubiquitous. There were many fountain pens, which mostly used replaceable cartridges - but ball-point pens were always preferred to the ink pens that could have an accident which could ruin clothing. So pencils were common until computers became commonplace. Many people have pleasant memories associated with sharpening pencils because pencils were made from cedar wood and smelled nice when they were sharpened. Also, having a few sharpened pencils at the beginning of the school day made you feel prepared and ready to start class(as long as you had done your homework!) Fortune passes everywhere.

[@reneedixonart]

Ours were by the window to the side of the classroom. Oh the memories.

[@jenjenneration]

Student: Teacher can I use the sharpening knife?

[@kingjames4886]

teacher: what happened to your knife? stay after class for a beating.

[@adviceteller1582]

No!

[@robertt9342]

Sharpening a pencil with a knife wasn't a big deal, even with children. I guess when kids are only trusted to use scissors that can't cut butter then it must seem crazy for them to use a knife.

[@diyeana]

I scrolled down to the comments so I could enjoy all of the puns. I am not disappointed. Thank you.

[@118Shadow118]

In artschool drawing class we used knives to sharpen our pencils and pencil sharpeners were actually frowned upon, because the pencil lead needed to be much longer than what you could get with a regular sharpener. You needed the long pencil lead so you could keep the pencil at a very low angle for better shading (almost parallel to the paper)

[@cyrex686]

There is also the pencil grinder. Most people have not heard of it, but it is common for drafting. Pretty much grinds a VERY sharp point on the pencil after you've already sharpened it.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I had one in the pre-computer days that had a pad of abrasive strips glued to a wooden handle. Now, I just use a .05 mechanical pencil for line drawing.

[@kenxclout]

Where does a pencil sharpener keep its money? In a shavings account.

[@Fighter_Builder]

*slow clap*

[@HScorching]

I can tell you are not the sharpest pencil in the box.

[@Competitive_Antagonist]

Check your privilege then realise how this was highly offensive.

[@pabloplato]

WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA

[@shoshanaasimov7243]

Ken Fulton {Baby Elder} Excellent :)

[@hughbrackett343]

My favorite pencil sharpener is the little Staedtler block sharpener.

[@Jim-ie6uf]

That video was right to “the point”!

[@TodayIFoundOut]

*rim shot*

[@LiLi-or2gm]

I have a Panasonic KP-150. When adjusted correctly (there are adjustments intended to "tune" the sharpening, built into the device), it produces the most usable point I've known, in any top-drawer pencil.

[@b.griffin317]

did anyone else find sharping pencils right down their length till there was nothing left but shavings as amusing in childhood as I did?

[@b.griffin317]

@@argiodsilvertongue3589 ha ha, good for you.

[@craighalpin1917]

Can you do a video on your research techniques? I've always wondered about it. You are able to dig up some of the most obscure information around on a regular basis.

[@interwebtubes]

craig halpin well I always thought that Simon and friends consulted the backs of newspapers that are wrapped around the fish and chips that they had for lunch that day??; I’m just saying??🤔

[@ShadowDrakken]

And now when our pencils get dull, we just click a button and fresh pencil happens :)

[@gingerbee6660]

Simon is really Richard from the OG "Guess Who" game.

[@tncorgi92]

Maybe it wasn't perfect, but I would buy a Styloxynon based on name alone.

[@metamorphicorder]

Sounds like a hair loss treatment today. Monoxidil 9.

[@riftalope]

I'm getting the feeling that in 1988 I overlooked an antique bell sharpener on an old key chain in an old house about to be demolished. I kept the brass skeleton keys. Well, kept one and sold the other 5 for $36.00.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I've seen builders sharpen their carpenters' pencil on the side of an abrasive cutting saw. At 12, it was the coolest use of a power tool I had seen.

[@virginagobetz4756]

Very,very interesting! Thank you guys!

[@marcmcfarland3642]

I actually have that same electric pencil sharpener in my kitchen next to the phone. I've had it since the early 90's and it still works fine.

[@KassidyJMoore]

I have an assignment due in tomorrow but I'm sitting here watching a video about pencil sharpeners...

[@clemstevenson]

This guy is sharp, and gets straight to the point.

[@christelheadington1136]

Nice video,sharp and to the point.

[@interwebtubes]

Yeah I definitely hated it when some kid would try to sharpen a crayon in one of those wall mounted pencil sharpeners back when I was a little kid; 😱

[@jameswallace6494]

The pencil sharpener was invented by the inventor of Cat's Eyes, when the cat looked the other way.

[@marccolten9801]

The electric ones are addictive. Sharpen a pencil, put it down. Sharpen the next one and put it down next to the last one. And again and again. If you don't have enough you wind up sharpening the few you have until they are nubs with an eraser. Which beggars the question who added erasers to pencils? And who invented the mechanical pencil.

[@leslietarkin]

We were still using the old hand crank pencil sharpener at my college in the Early 2000s!

[@ErikBramsen]

The genius of this channel is that I suddenly feel an urgent need to know who invented the pencil sharpener.

[@LunaBari]

Urge not urgent

[@alanguile8945]

I am told I suffer from optical migraine, a video on this would be great!

[@sadiedove9364]

I still remember papa using his whittling knife to sharpen pencils. We had a proper sharpener at school, one with a crank .

[@JennCampbell]

My brain is now happy and well fed. 🤗

[@jasmine2501]

It's funny that you post this today because today I just bought two pencil sharpeners for the first time in probably 20 years.

[@cmarie1357]

Everything I never knew I wanted to know about the pencil sharpener. That was a surprisingly complicated history for such a simple object!

[@charllie_k_69]

I didn't know i needed this information until just now.

[@majormana1]

And schools until 90's where reluctant with electric sharpener

[@JimmyMon666]

the manual is more satisfying to use. it's what I grew up with at least.

[@kingjames4886]

@ if they were anything like the sharpeners we had they were always dull and worn out and would constantly crack off the tips of things...

[@jetpack8390]

He once killed 3 men at a bar with a pencil A FOOKIN PENCIL!!!

[@pokemaniacqolem6495]

if he managed to hijack the whole bar with just a pencil, he'd deserve that bar for himself, in all fairness :v

[@StopChangingUsernamesYouTube]

I saw this video mere minutes after sharpening a pencil with a pocket knife. It's as if I'm being reminded to just get one of those new-fangled gadgets already.

[@vincentaurelius2390]

Wish someone would do a vid on the Jupiter sharpener from the late 1800s, the most over-engineered but coolest looking sharpener ever made. Essentially it’s a miniature lathe that both rotates and sharpens pencils at the same time through an ingenious gearing mechanism.

[@robinboyle5786]

In art school we sharpened our pencils with a knife and sandpaper. Done right it produced a better point than a sharpener.

[@jhoughjr1]

I like that British sharpener name.

[@hannahstahl1857]

Well... when the sharpener won’t work then I bring out my pocket knife 💁🏻

[@Sollace]

I've never seen crank or electric sharpeners in real life. They seem super inconvenient compared to the little metal ones we had that you could keep in a stationary case. Imagine having to get up from your desk to sharpen your pencil? >.< Or the horrible loud WHRRRRRR every time someone else has to sharpen theirs?

[@KaitouKaiju]

Little metal ones take forever and don't sharpen as well

[@Sollace]

@@KaitouKaiju Not my experience. They sharpen pretty quickly for me, usually just needing two to three turns of my wrist before the pencil is adequately sharp. Of course that's just me. I don't use my pencils down to a flat stub before deciding to sharpen them again.

[@jamesfry8983]

Oh 4B or not 4B is there a sharper or more blunt question

[@gb6710]

Calm down there Hamlet.

[@biglenin7306]

Considering I do a lot of carpentry, I find the idea of requiring a pencil sharpener on the job pretty funny. I just use my razor blade to sharpen it whenever I need.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

All of the carpenters and ex-carpenters I've met do the same. Whether using the carpenters' pencil or the handy #2.

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

Being an artist,I have something like half a dozen pencil sharpeners;from a big office-style one to those little metal jobs. Being left-handed I would probably end up in the ER if I used a knife on my pencils !

[@Maca1969]

I used to love wasting time cranking the old sharpener in tech class. then they stuffed me up by getting those new electric ones and putting it on the desk of the teacher. Dammit !! ha ha ha ha .

[@myloohagan5686]

If the cat that Percy Shaw spotted that prompted him to invent cat's eyes had been going in the other direction, he would have invented the pencil sharpener.

[@EugeneGM1]

What about the history of the pencil? That would be pretty interesting as well.

[@Stowneyo]

Germans. No one can describe how or why. They are modern day witches. I’m Pretty sure a german just made 1000 pencils while taking a nap after a short easy day of offset lithograph maintenance and started selling them

[@EugeneGM1]

@TheDerpy Kitty Oh, okay

[@jackshepherd2660]

Off-topic but I have heard that the CanOpener was invented 100 years after the can? I have to admit that I have not kept up with all of your videos I don’t consider that my fault, I consider it yours LOL! May take a couple years for me to catch up? Thank you keep up the good work!

[@MlleFeralMinette]

You always seem to find the weirdest, most interesting topics to cover

[@poorman-trending]

Video request. How close to a lightning strike can you be without getting hurt? I know that what kills is the surface voltage difference between your feet, but it would be nice to know some details. Also, is there any other ways that a close lightning could hurt you? Blinding light... Burst eardrums from sound, etc...

[@KaitouKaiju]

Lightning can hit you and not hurt you

[@chadfalardeau9162]

Today I Found Out the KZbin channel to learn things we never knew we wanted to know about.

[@F-Man]

Hahaha those late 1890s, early 1900s sharpeners look pretty much like the ones that I used in elementary school...in the 1990s...

[@jessehawkes1298]

Simon, asking the most pressing of questions

[@histrion2]

But what about sandpaper? My father used to have a hand-held sandpaper block with his drafting supplies, and it appears they can still be bought online. When did those enter the picture, and why are they not more popular?

[@hazelanderson1479]

The old joke is that Percy Shaw invented the concept of cat's eyes in the road after he saw a cat coming towards him in the dark. Had the cat been walking away from him, Shaw would have invented the desk pencil sharpener.

[@handsomeblackman255]

My country grandpa used to sharpen my pencil with his pocket knife.

[@macdaniel6029]

Good old times when something simple as a pencil sharpener was a big deal :)

[@eNodeTG]

The "A. B. Dick Planetary Pencil Pointer" - recently more commonly referred to as simply a pencil sharpener, now has made a comeback in modern namesake as angry people behind keyboards.

[@brantleyhester6641]

I still use a knife to sharpen my pencils. I do have a pencil sharpener, two as a matter of fact, I have the old ones that were used when I was in school. Late 80's through the 90's. A knife is just easier when you're on the job and need it quickly

[@StopFear]

BTW Boston, the company that has been making electric and crank sharpeners for a long time in the US, does not exist anymore. Hasn't existed for some years now. I think it was losing a lot of money in part because there was nothing else it was known for at all. There was ever only so much need for pencil sharpeners. Even before computers and digital word processing it is difficult to imagine how they made their ends meet. I used to have one and I regret I threw it away. You can buy them online though. It may not longer produce sharp point, BUT you can also purchase replacement blades and replace them. Keep checking ebay for it.

[@swampk9]

At least one person thinks that only mechanical pencils will do

[@asian_joe_biden]

Thanks I used this to help me on a presentation in science class.

[@mickisei3547]

I used to sharpen my pencil with a knife

[@jspec-vz3mc]

This video was great to help fall asleep

[@truewarrior9119]

Can you tell us the history of DVD'S AND BLUE RAY? I find it interesting to learn the evolution from one to the next.

[@BrianAdams963]

Okay I haven't watched the video yet but if it isn't the guy who invented the pencil I'm going to be a little disappointed

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Just like the time gap between metal food cans and the can opener, the pencil pre-dates the sharpener. And in both cases, the original solution was a sturdy knife.

[@spongebobsquarepants675]

*He killed three guys with a pencel, a focking pencel!*

[@thomasturner6980]

But who dares to sharpen pens?

[@AtomicReverend]

No eraser bonus fact? I am disappointed Lol

[@richardharepax123]

Maybe they didn't see the point but at least the video isn't pointless

[@AtomicReverend]

@@richardharepax123 I see what you did there You were really on the mark with your point.

[@TahoeJones]

Who invented the rock, to kill a bug? The people must know!

[@nuzum11]

You pick up inng thing kill bug

[@DerykRobosson]

Another sharp video.

[@migyverman]

No mention of the best design? The double helical cutter APSCO crank sharpener.

[@steby123]

Fine research and presentation.

[@420sakura1]

Whete did tbd modern pencil sharpnerb came from?

[@richardharepax123]

This is why I find it odd that in the TV show Hogan's heroes Colonel klink uses a knife to sharpen his pencil

[@lordhelpus3955]

Percy Shaw, the man who invented the cats eyes down the middle of the road would have invented the pencil sharpener... had the cat been facing the other way!

[@ibraheemrao8434]

Today the pencil has a rival THE MECHANICAL PENCIL.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Some mechanical pencils need to be sharpened. I don't get it, either.

[@chadfalardeau9162]

Drafting pencils

[@dannyleung2796]

Who Invented the Pencil Sharpener? I guess it was John Wick.

[@jhoughjr1]

Oh I had some point with that prior comment.

[@QuixoteX]

"The Love Sharpener"

[@Nickname_42]

It invented itself like all mechanisms in the universe humans can just discover

[@felineadventuress]

Hi Simon, why do we laugh watching people fall? (Or watching videos from Fail Army)

[@juliaconnell]

_trying to remember the last time I used a pencil...._ nope - so long ago I can't remember

[@jebowlin3879]

Is it wrong that I want to hear Simon saying both old fashioned and modern tongue twisters? :D

[@finns.srensen9978]

The stuff in front of the history... is also history. ;-)

[@stuartbain3558]

As a joiner I find a knife or chisel makes a better point on a pencil

[@turdferguson9356]

Who shot first at Lexington and Concord? Who fired "the shot heard 'round the world"?

[@KaitouKaiju]

Han shot first

[@martind349]

👍 Stay sharp comrades!

[@ibraheemrao8434]

I love these videos.

[@casualagent7250]

I personally like zee German Staedtler pencil sharpener in yellow & black

[@Corpsealot]

Okay okay... we get the point. 😅

[@Cadwaladr]

I still just use a knife, or sometimes a chisel if I'm in the workshop.

[@pagannova3621]

if it works, it works. old fashioned ideas are still good ideas.

[@mynamehasspacesinit8687]

Why do the Japanese end names with -chan, -san, -kun, -senpai, etc.? I've been told it was a denomination system (you say this if you look up to them, you say that if they look up to you), but I never fully understood it.

[@KaitouKaiju]

To denote status and relationships in Japan you never use a person's name by itself unless they are younger and you are extremely close