STAEDTLER 502 Mars Lead Pointer Tub Sharpener for 2mm Pencil Leads (Pack of 1)

This is a top quality pencil sharpener for the 2mm lead collet pencils from Staedtler. It puts a lovely smooth tapered point on the pencil. The point angle is quite shallow, meaning it lasts a long time between sharpenings. As others have noted, it can be confusing to operate. You first use one of the two small holes on the top to extend the lead to the correct length for sharpening. The further you extend the lead, the sharper point you end up with when the sharpening is complete. You then insert the pencil into the larger hole on the top, and while holding the pencil and the blue part of the sharpener, move the pencil around in circles (note: you aren't rotating the pencil in the hole, you move the whole pencil around the centre of the sharpener). This causes the top portion of the sharpener to rotate. Inside the middle of the sharpener there is a milling cutter. The motion of the pencil moves this around the lead to cut a point on it. Once you get the knack, its very easy and quite satisfying to do. The downsides are: 1) I could have done with a third depth gauge on the top. I find the "sharp" one to be too sharp and it wastes a lot of lead, and I find the "rounded" one to be too blunt for writing. I usually end up setting the lead to "rounded" and then manually extending it about 1mm to get a perfect point. 2) There were no instructions with it. If it hadn't been for the Amazon reviews, I would have struggled to work out how to use it. 3) The lead cleaner in the top (the white dot in the picture) is useless.

This lead pointer works exceptionally well, but it’s pricey. It’s the second one I’ve bought - (the first one went ‘walkies’). It’s really simple to use for 2mm leads. You just expose a length of lead from the clutch pencil, using the appropriate hole depending on how sharp you want the point to be. Then put the pencil and the pre-measured lead into the spout the turn the entire top of the tub. This shaves off the lead against a fixed internal cylinder that has sharp flutes cut into its surface. When top turns freely, you can remove the pencil from the spout to reveal a perfectly sharp point, with all the graphite dust retained in the tub. It’s magic really if not pure genius. No more smudges caused by graphite dust on your paper. In fact you can use the dust on purpose if you want to shade a drawing by tapping a small amount onto the paper and the deliberately smudge it into the surface. The Faber-Castell product works fairly well but has no containment for the dust and is considerably cheaper but not nearly so well designed. I just love the Staedtler product.

Good points: consistent points on staedler pencils at all hardnesses. Well made. Good quality. Bad Points: Although it has a big capacity, empty it often as it leaks like a sieve if you're carrying it around. Stick it in a zip lock bag and empty it daily.

Usual Staedtler quality, will last for years. Easy to use and keeps your 2mm lead nice and sharp. Ordered with the Night blue clutch pencil 925-35-20 and unfortunately it doesn’t fit the sharpener, as pointed out in many reviews which I didn’t notice upon ordering. However, such a nice quality pencil I decided to keep it anyway, and ordered the Mars techno 780c which works perfectly with the sharpener. A bit on the pricey side, however it’s worth paying for decent stuff that lasts, I’ve been using Staedtler for over 50 years, since I was at school, they’ve lasted this long and still going strong for a reason. Quality.

For keeping those leads in your propelling pencil sharp the lead can, if necessary, be seriously extended should your pencil not fit into the opening allowing sharpening of your lead even in those situations.

If you use 2mm lead you need one of these. Used them 30 years ago. Bought one for my daughter for school and they are still the biz.

I can't fault This little tub sharpener. I just wish there was one available that would take 5.6mm lead.

No instructions provided, but found a useful video on YouTube! Even when you know how to use it, it can be a little 'challenging' but the result is worth it! Would certainly buy again!