The Best Pencil Sharpeners for Colored Pencils – 18 Sharpeners Tested!

What is the BEST sharpener for colored pencils?

This is a question I’ve been constantly asked for the past few months, so it’s time to finally test the best manual sharpeners (as recommended by my viewers!) to see which is the most gentle on pencils, which creates the best pencil point, and which is the best all-rounder for colored pencil artists.

I’ve tested 18 different handheld and desktop crank pencil sharpeners for this comparison, with over 250 cheap, dollar-store pencils to run the sharpeners through some challenges and tests until they can’t take any more – or more likely, until my hands can’t take it anymore!

Check out the full video below, then scroll down for the detailed results and information about each sharpener!

Note: This content is NOT sponsored or endorsed by any of the brands mentioned in this post or video. I have purchased all of these sharpeners on my own. This post contains affiliate links for Amazon and Blick and I may earn a commission if you click them (at no cost to you).

What to Consider When Buying a Pencil Sharpener

Buying a pencil sharpener should be an easy task – but look online and you’ll quickly discovered there are hundreds of options, with different features, mechanisms, ranging $5-100… and it gets confusing fast.

Here are a few things to ask yourself:

1. Do you like to move around a lot, or do you tend to color at a desk? This will determine whether you are better with a handheld or a desktop sharpener.
2. Do you use one brand of pencils, or many? Not all pencils will fit all sharpeners.
3. Do you have any chronic pain that impacts your hand strength? If so, desktop sharpeners may be easier to use.
4. Do you need a built-in container for the shavings?
5. What’s your budget?
6. Do you need an all-in-one sharpener, or are you looking for a specialty sharpener (like a long-point) as an extra to your existing sharpener?

I’ve provided all the information below to help you find the right sharpener with these questions in mind, so let’s take a look at the sharpeners I’ve reviewed and the full comparison and features of each one!

Pencil Sharpeners Reviewed

Click the pencil sharpener name to skip ahead, or keep scrolling for an overview of the different tests and ratings, along with how each sharpener performed.

• Staedtler 2-Hole Metal Pencil Sharpener
• Staedtler Double Hole Sharpener with Tub
• Faber-Castell Grip Trio Sharpening Box
• Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener
• Bostitch Office Twist-N-Sharp Duo Pencil Sharpener
• Kum 4 in 1 Pencil Sharpener
• Kutsuwa Stad T’Gaal Pencil Sharpener
• Kutsuwa Stad K’Zool Multi Pencil Sharpener
• Apsara Long Point Sharpener (Pack of 20)
• Kum Automatic Brake Long Point 2 Step Sharpener
• Kum Masterpiece Sharpener
• Blackwing One-Step Long Point Pencil Sharpener
• M + R Pollux Brass Bullet
• Dahle 133 Pencil Sharpener
• M + R Crank Sharpening Machine
• KOH-I-NOOR DAS102 Pencil Sharpener
• Uni KH-20 Hand Crank Pencil Sharpener
• Derwent Super Point Manual Helical Pencil Sharpener

The Sharpener Challenges

I’ve taken each sharpener through a series of challenges to determine which is the best sharpener for colored pencils based on a set of criteria that I consider to be important:

Is the Sharpener Easy to Use?

I decided to test whether these sharpeners were easy to use under 2 different criteria.

First – the “Goof-Proof” test. How easy are they for a first-time user? This score is based on whether instructions are included, and how obvious the mechanism is for someone who has never used this type of sharpener before. And then, the general ease of use – how easy are they to operate AFTER someone is familiar with what to do and has used them for a few days already.

Does the Sharpener Work for Different Pencil Sizes?

I wanted to see which of my pencil brands these could handle – because there’s no point in buying an amazing pencil sharpener that doesn’t even fit your pencils.

Prismacolor, Crayola and other standard-sized pencils fit in ALL of these sharpeners. Most hexagon-shaped pencils are also this size, and won’t have any trouble in these sharpeners.

Then there are a range of brands that have a slightly thicker barrel – like the Holbein, Derwent Colorsoft, Caran d’Ache Luminance, Arteza Expert, Derwent Lightfast, and Polychromos. These still fit in most sharpeners.

I also tested the Brutfuner square pencils and a set of jumbo-sized pencils (Cretacolor, Lyra Giants).

Is the Sharpener Gentle on the Pencils?

The desktop crank sharpeners tend to be more gentle on the pencils, and definitely more gentle on my hands. They keep the pencil in place and the blades/cylinder rotates around it. This reduces any risk of damage from accidentally twisting the pencil or sharpening on a bad angle. So if you’ve got fragile pencils that break a lot in regular sharpeners, these are the way to go. Although I took points off the Derwent superpoint because it left ‘bite marks’ on the pencils.

Does the sharpener have any bonus features or spare blades?

I’ve also included whether each sharpener has an ‘auto-stop’ function, spare blades, a built-in container for shavings, or other special features that might make it stand out from other sharpeners.

I’ve included these ratings in the breakdown of each sharpener further down this page. If you want a more in-depth look at how some of these sharpeners got their ratings, check out the video I posted above to see them in action!

Other tests further below include the sharpest point and wastage tests. Jump ahead here. 

Handheld Pencil Sharpeners

Staedtler 2-Hole Metal Pencil Sharpener

The Staedtler 2-Hole Metal Pencil Sharpener is easy to use and fits all pencil sizes I tried. It is portable, offers 2 different holes (for varying sizes/angles) and performed fairly well in the tests I performed. It doesn’t offer any fancy features, but does the job.

Price range: $6-8

Where to buy: Amazon

Staedtler Double Hole Sharpener with Tub

This is one of the first pencil sharpeners I owned, and it served me well for my first few sets of pencils. It is easy to use and conveniently compact. It offers 2 different holes for graphite or colored pencils, but you can also use these to create different angle/length points. The sharpener is comfortable to hold, and doesn’t spill as often as other handheld sharpeners. I liked it and it is a good sharpener for the price, but it is not as gentle as other brands.

Price range: $4-8

Where to buy: Amazon

Faber-Castell Grip Trio Sharpening Box

The Faber-Castell Grip Trio is another one of the first pencil sharpeners I tried. It has 3 separate holes to sharpen 3 different sized pencils, including jumbo pencils. The sharpener is comfortable to hold, but a little confusing at first to use and empty. I found myself accidentally opening the shavings compartment frequently instead of the sharpener and making a mess – otherwise, it’s a good sharpener for the price.

Price range: $6-8

Where to buy: Amazon

Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener

Created specifically for Prismacolor pencils, I thought this would be the most gentle on my fragile soft-core Prismacolor pencils. But the opposite was true – this sharpener was one of the least gentle I tried in this comparison. Comes with 2 holes so you can choose your sharpening angle, and the shape and size makes it portable and easy to use. But while Prismacolor makes some of my favorite pencils, this sharpener isn’t one of my favorites today.

Price range: $6-10

Where to buy: Amazon

Bostitch Office Twist-N-Sharp Duo Pencil Sharpener

The Twist-N-Sharp comes with 2 holes to fit a variety of pencils – although it didn’t take the square pencils well. It’s comfortable to use because it works more like a ratchet, allowing you to twist your hand back and forth to sharpen the pencils. The auto-stop feature helps to avoid oversharpening the pencils, and it’s portable and compact. I did find it took longer to sharpen some pencils, but it was also more gentle.

Price range: $6-10

Where to buy: Amazon

Kum 4 in 1 Pencil Sharpener

The Kum 4-in-1 includes 4 separate holes for 4 different-sized pencils (7,8,10 and 11mm) – meaning it fit every type of pencil I tried, including the square pencils. It’s easy to use, compact and portable, and comes in 4 fun colors.

Price range: $5-10

Where to buy: Amazon

Kutsuwa Stad T’Gaal Pencil Sharpener

When I first opened the Tgaal, I thought it was a cheap novelty sharpener. But wow, I’ve been impressed. It seems to be a lot more gentle on the pencils than other handheld sharpeners, and I love the adjustable angle of the point that I haven’t seen anywhere else. It can create 5 different-sized points, which have different angles, not just different lengths – I think it’s the perfect sharpener for Prismacolor pencils.

The only downsides are that it doesn’t have a lot of compartment space and it doesn’t fit square or jumbo pencils. In my opinion, this is a sharpener worth buying, even if you need to buy a second sharpener to use on your larger pencils. It has become one of my favorites!

Price range: $5-7

Where to buy: Amazon

Kutsuwa Stad K’Zool Multi Pencil Sharpener

The K’Zool Multi Pencil Sharpener allows you to adjust the point like the T’Gaal, but instead of changing the angle, it changes from sharp to dull. This is more like what the crank sharpeners do, and can be useful if you’re not needing an extremely sharp point. It doesn’t have much storage space, but is very compact (one of the smallest sharpeners) and works well.

Price range: $8-10

Where to buy: Amazon

Apsara Long Point Sharpener (Pack of 20)

The ultimate bargain long-point sharpener – a pack of 20 Apsara sharpeners is about the same price as any other sharpener on this list! I was really surprised at how well this little sharpener works, and I think I’ll use this as a good extra sharpener alongside my others when I need a super sharp point. It doesn’t have an auto-stop or any fancy features, but it’s quick and easy to use and creates a really long point.

Price range: $5-10

Where to buy: Amazon

Kum Automatic Brake Long Point 2 Step Sharpener

The Kum 2-Step Sharpener has 2 holes, but they are not for 2 different sizes. Instead, it’s a 2-step process. The first step removes the wood around the pencil, and the second step shaves the core to a point. It has an automatic brake and replacement blades, along with a small compartment for shavings. The compartment doesn’t fit more than 1-2 shavings at a time because this is designed for graphite pencils more than colored pencils.

Price range: $5-10

Where to buy: Amazon

Kum Masterpiece Sharpener

The KUM Masterpiece Sharpener features a 2-step sharpening process, allowing you to create a longer point than any other handheld pencil sharpener. The first step removes the wood around the pencil, and the second step shaves the core to a point. It has an automatic brake (which can be removed for even more control on graphite pencils) and includes replacement blades, making it worth the extra spend.

Price range: $20-25

Where to buy: Amazon

Blackwing One-Step Long Point Pencil Sharpener

The Blackwing One-Step Long Point Sharpener is expensive, and might not be the best option if you’re looking for a sharpener for your large sets of colored pencils. But if you’re a graphite artist, looking for a quality, compact sharpener, the Blackwing produces a beautiful point that resists breakage. It almost feels like it polishes the pencil as it sharpens – and the weight of this sharpener makes it comfortable to hold and easy to use.

Price range: $20-40

Where to buy: Amazon

M + R Pollux Brass Bullet

Mobius + Ruppert sharpeners are solid brass and are considered the finest in the world.

I originally tried purchasing a small set of their 4 different shapes, but they were lost in the mail for a few months! So eventually, I was able to get my hands on the Pollux Brass Bullet.

The bullet is high quality and comes with replaceable blades. It is heavy to hold and produces a beautiful point. I think it’s a fantastic sharpener for graphite, but it’s not my favorite choice for colored pencils. The small size means it does get uncomfortable after a few pencils, and it doesn’t offer the versatility and extra features of other sharpeners that come in at a lower price point. But nonetheless, it’s a beautiful sharpener.

Price range: $25-35

Where to buy: Amazon

Desktop Helical / Crank Pencil Sharpeners

Dahle 133 Pencil Sharpener

The Dahle 133 is a desktop crank sharpener with an automatic cutting system designed to be more gentle on your pencils and avoid oversharpening your pencils. It fits any size or shape pencil I tested, and you can adjust the point from sharp to blunt. It promises to never oversharpen – but my advice is to always use your discretion when sharpening. I’ve had this sharpener (and other similar sharpeners) fail at times and eat a lot of my pencils. But it happens rarely! It comes with mounting clamp so you can attach it to your desk, and a huge storage capacity compared to handheld sharpeners.

Price range: $20

Where to buy: Amazon

M + R Crank Sharpening Machine

This is the same as the Dahle 133 sharpener. It is a desktop crank sharpener with an automatic cutting system designed to be more gentle on your pencils and avoid oversharpening your pencils. It fits any size or shape pencil I tested, and you can adjust the point from sharp to blunt. It promises to never oversharpen – but my advice is to always use your discretion when sharpening. I’ve had this sharpener (and other similar sharpeners) fail at times and eat a lot of my pencils. But it happens rarely! It comes with a mounting clamp so you can attach it to your desk, and a huge storage capacity compared to handheld sharpeners.

Price range: $20

Where to buy: Amazon

KOH-I-NOOR DAS102 Pencil Sharpener

The Koh-i-Noor is smaller and lighter than other desktop sharpeners, and is a little easier to use for a first-time user because it you can just push the pencil in without any extra buttons/levers. However, I found the pencils got stuck more often, along with the tray, which has a smaller capacity than other desktop sharpeners as well.

Price range: $20-30

Where to buy: Amazon

Uni KH-20 Hand Crank Pencil Sharpener

I was really impressed at the quality of the Uni KH-20 sharpener. It was the smoothest and easiest to turn out of all the crank sharpeners I tried. It has 2 adjustable settings for a sharp or blunt point, and creates a very sharp point, so isn’t suitable for softer pencils, and doesn’t handle the square pencils well. It has a huge storage capacity and is a good alternative to the Derwent Super Point.

Price range: $20-25

Where to buy: Amazon

Derwent Super Point Manual Helical Pencil Sharpener

The Derwent Super Point produces a really long point as its name suggests, but it was the only sharpener I tried today that also left ‘bite marks’ on the pencils, which is not ideal. It has a huge storage capacity and includes a mounting clamp to be attached to a desk. The auto-stop failed once during my testing, resulting in oversharpening of ¾ of one of my pencils. Otherwise, this is a good sharpener if you’re wanting a really good long point, although for the price, I’d probably recommend the Uni KH-20 instead.

Price range: $26-40

Where to buy: Amazon

The Sharpest Point

I also tested each pencil sharpener to see what kind of point they created on a pencil – possibly one of the most important features when choosing which one you should buy.

A sharp point is really important when coloring or drawing with colored pencils – however, the actual length or angle of your point will depend on your style, technique AND the brand of your pencils.

Pencils with a hard core, like Faber-Castell Polychromos or Crayola, will handle a much longer point and finer tip than a soft-core like the Prismacolor Premier colored pencils.

You can still sharpen them to a sharp point, but the angle will be different – and this is where I like to have a sharpener that gives me options.

I love a long sharp point when my pencils can handle it, but not all of my pencils can handle it.

Some of these sharpeners offer multiple sizes or adjustable settings so you can create a different angle or point length. Although some of them adjust the sharpness when you do this as well, so these are both things to consider.

Here’s a look at the full line up of how our pencil sharpeners performed, from longest point to shortest point. You’ll notice some sharpeners are included twice because they have adjustable settings and so I’ve included their various settings.

If you’re wanting a crazy sharp long point – the Kum masterpiece and Uni sharpeners performed the best, with the Derwent superpoint and little Apsara coming in at a close second.

What I found the most interesting about this, is that almost all of these adjustable sharpeners don’t actually change the angle of the point. They just change how sharp the point is. With one exception.

The Tgaal.

This appears to be the only truly adjustable sharpener from all of these, that actually offers different angles.

Some of these sharpeners offer multiple hole sizes, so using a larger hole size will give you a shorter point on a typical pencil. But the crank sharpeners with the adjustable sizes actually don’t change the angle of the point – they just create a sharp or dull point.

But the Tgaal offered the biggest range of sizes in a single sharpener.

Pencil Waste

I tested these sharpeners against a brand new, unsharpened end of a pencil, to see which sharpeners would waste the least amount of core to create a decent point.

I’ve heard it said many times that crank sharpeners reduce wastage – in fact it’s one of the biggest reasons people chose them over handheld sharpeners – so I was a little confused and surprised at todays results.

Now, these are not scientific in any way, but I’ve tried to keep this test as fair and as accurate as possible. I’ve sharpened until I got a point, I didn’t wait for the automatic stop for the sharpeners that had it available.

And most of the sharpeners performed about the same. The longer point sharpeners had more core wastage, which is to be expected, but what concerned me the most is the amount of shavings in these crank sharpeners when you actually pull it out and compare it to the other sharpeners here.

It looks like less in the sharpener itself, because it’s compressed to a fine dust. But side-by-side, I’m not convinced anymore.

One thing is for sure though, the crank sharpeners are all definitely more gentle on the pencils than many of these other options, and I’ll talk more about that soon.

But if I had to pick a winner from this round, it’s a hard call, but I’d say the Kzool comes in first place, with second going to the Tgaal and 3rd to the Prismacolor.

The Derwent Long Point comes in last.

And Apsara definitely produces the PRETTIEST pencil shavings.

Which Pencil Sharpener is the Best for Colored Pencils?

There isn’t really a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to pencil sharpeners, but there are definitely some great options available, depending on what you are looking for. So let’s break it down:

I would have thought that my Prismacolor pencils would be best with a Prismacolor sharpener. And my first ever sharpener was the Faber-Castell, because they make some of the best pencils in the world.

But I have been SO underwhelmed by our big pencil brands today. The Prismacolor, Faber-Castell and Staedtler sharpeners just don’t produce the same beautiful smooth points and gentle results that these other sharpeners have been able to.

My Prismacolor pencils have broken so much less since I stopped using these sharpeners. And from all the comments I’ve been getting from you guys, it sounds like I’m not the only one who’s come to this conclusion.

So I’m thankful that your comments led me on the hunt to find a better option! And I hope you’ve found this helpful too.

Your choice between handheld or a crank sharpener will depend a lot on where you like to color (a desk or the couch) and your budget – but overall, the crank sharpeners do tend to be more gentle on the pencils and give more control when sharpening.

I like having a desktop crank sharpener when I get a new set of pencils, because there are just too many pencils to sharpen without getting sore hands from any of these handheld options.

And my favorite desktop sharpeners are the Dahle 133 and M+R Crank. – Like I said, they are identical twins! After looking at these closely, I’ve come to the conclusion that these are the SAME sharpener. Everything about them is identical. And any difference in performance is probably just because I’ve been using them both for a while now. I thought that M+R made all their own sharpeners in-house, but it turns out that their crank sharpener is manufactured elsewhere, so these are both the same sharpener, whitelabelled by 2 different brands, much like we’ve seen with colored pencils.

I do like the Uni KH-20 as a long-point sharpener if this was something I was expecting to use often. It felt really nice to use and it gave a really nice point. I wouldn’t buy it as my only sharpener – it’s more of a specialty sharpener for long points, in my opinion.

I liked it a lot more than the Derwent. The Derwent is also the only crank sharpener to leave bit marks on the pencils – which I know is a turn-off for a lot of artists who treasure their special pencil collections.

I also like the option of a handheld sharpener, because I’m not always at my desk. And my favorite is the Kutsawa Stad T’Gaal. This has become my favorite sharpener since I first bought it a few months ago, and today’s results just affirmed this even more. This little guy can do so much, and it’s perfect for my Prismacolor pencils.

I also think the Kum Masterpiece or Automatic 2-Step make for the best hand-held long-point sharpener. Your choice between these will depend on your budget and whether you want the attached compartment. These are a good alternative to buying the large Uni crank if you’re only expecting to use a long-point sharpener occasionally and not as your main sharpener.

The Apsara was a surprising little find for the budget price, especially if you can find some friends to share your set of 20 with! So this comes in with an honorable mention as a wonderful budget long-point sharpener.

Here’s a quick Amazon link to find all of these sharpeners in one place! 

Do you have a favorite sharpener? I’d love to hear about it! Please share this post with a friend and save it for later on Pinterest if you found it helpful!