It’s a gimmick, I admit. These little gadgets are the kind of things your Tupperware representative gives away as prizes at Tupperware parties. These are little Tupperware pencil sharpeners, made to look like one of their line of tumblers. I could have found something similar at a local store, and it may have been cheaper, but this just shows how easy it is for me to convince myself to buy blue Tupperware. That said, they are made of a really nice, heavyweight plastic that won’t break easily, and the little cup catches all the shavings so you don’t make a mess.
I recommend that you have at least two sharpeners: one for regular pencils and one only for chalk pencils. I figured that out after I sharpened a chalk pencil to mark a line on a finished quilt top. When I used my newly sharpened chalk pencil, it left a heavy graphite mark. Apparently graphite had rubbed off from the previous pencil. Darn! I hate having to remove marks, especially heavy ones. I like that the chalk pencils typically disappear on their own by the time I’m done quilting.
Anyway, back to pencil sharpeners. Get two! Then, mark them clearly so you don’t get them mixed up.