Review: Kum Automatic Long Point Pencil Sharpener

The Kum Automatic Long Point is a pencil sharpener capable of producing a long point.

Pencil sharpeners that can produce long points are usually those tabletop types with rotary blades and a handle. They aren't exactly portable. Portable pencil sharpeners that can do the same are rare, which is why I appreciate the Kum Automatic Long Point so much.

This pencil sharpener comes in two models. There's one with 4 blades and the other 2. Mine's the 4-blade version.

In the 4-blade version, it comes with two big blades for sharpening wooden pencils. And there are two small blades for sharpening 2mm and 3.15mm leads, aka lead pointers. In the photo above that's the opening for the 3.15mm lead. The other opening is on the other side.

In the 2-blade model, there are no lead pointers. The price difference between the two models are not significant so it's probably better to get the 4-blade model. Some places are selling these sharpeners for ridiculous prices. I bought mine under USD $10 with shipping.

In both models, 2 replacement blades are included.

That's how my blunt pencil looks like. This pencil was previously sharpened with those ubiquitous portable blade sharpeners that you can find easily in any stationery stores.

By the way, the blades are numbered 1 & 2. Blade #1 cuts off the wood and makes the tapered conical shape of the pencil.

Blade #1 will sharpen the pencil to the extent that the core/lead will go beyond the blade at the top where it can no longer be cut.

That's when you put the pencil into Blade #2 where it will sharpen the core/lead.

The result is a long point. Shown in the photo above are two pencils, the top being sharpened by the rotary blade and the one below by the Kum Automatic Long Point.

The lead pointers do not sharpen the leads to such a long point though.

The lead above was sharpened by the Staedtler lead pointer and the one below by the Kum. While I can get a longer tapered point with the Staedtler sharpener, the Kum 4-in-1 is just more convenient.

In terms of quality, the blades are really sharp. You can sharpen the pencils and the wood shavings will come out in a single piece. And it sharpens the pencils rather gently so even those soft 9B graphite pencils would have problems with breakages.

There are two downsides though. The plastic cover is not able to hold a lot of shavings. And if you use open and close the cover frequently, I'm pretty sure the part where it bends will weaken and break off. They are minor downsides when compared to how well the pencil sharpener performs.

With a long point, your pencils can now last longer.

Most highly recommended.

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