I have a sneaking suspicion that the Clockwork Pencil Sharpener is going to be harder to use than the cheap plastic ones you can get from an office supplies store. But I don’t care, the thing looks more awesome than half the things I own (okay, maybe 90%).
Made by Suck UK, it’s shaped to look like the wind-up key in clockwork mechanisms. As such, it barely looks like a pencil sharpener at first glance. I’d probably have mistaken it for a toy or, heck, even a wayward handle from one of our old faucets.
Contrary to my suspicions, the Suck UK website claims the Clockwork Pencil Sharpener will make “sharpening your favourite pencils a breeze.” We’re not sure about the difference in finger strain ratio when you crank from that oversized handle versus cranking from the stem (as with traditional pencil sharpeners), but they appear to suggest this will be a lot less cumbersome. Either way, cranking is cumbersome, so let’s just focus on how pretty the darn thing is.
Construction is nickel plated steel, with the sharpener part able to fit all standard-sized pencils (no jumbo-sized writing implements for you). It measures 2.6 x 3.5 x 0.4 inches.
If you work with pencils a lot (which means that either you’re in school, you draw stuff a lot, or you’re just cooler than rest of us), we imagine the Clockwork Pencil Sharpener should be a fine addition to your work desk implements. If you don’t, we reckon it can serve as a wind-up control for your future monster robot or, if nothing else, something you can hang on a lanyard for aesthetic purposes. It’s available from Suck UK, priced at £15.