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By Miles Lovegrove
A pencil sharpener, also sometimes called a pencil parer, is to some people much more than just something to pare a pencil with. There are collectors who will tell you that an antique manual pencil sharpener is an investment. Some people collect fun, branded pencil sharpeners as well. Yes, you might not have thought so, but a great branded pencil parer is a collector’s item.
You can find them at the antique mall or at an online auction. Some specialty or novelty stores might carry them, too. Nothing brightens up a desk like a branded pencil sharpener. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You can find an electric sharpener in the shape of a fish, where you put the pencil into its mouth and it electrically sharpens your pencil for you. You can get a manual pencil sharpener that looks like a slot machine, in which you turn the blades by pulling the slot handle. There are so many personalized or branded pencil parers that it would be impossible to mention them all here.
Do you have some old sharpeners lying around in the crawl space collecting dust? Somebody might want to buy it them from you. Dig them out and dust them off. Take them to your local antiques dealer and see if they are worth anything. The old, metal, manual kind with fun, novelty and branded shapes are worth more than an electric sharpener. If you have something with a company logo on it that might have been used as a promotional giveaway, you may have a branded pencil sharpener that is really worth some money. Cast iron sharpeners are also in demand by collectors, too.
Don’t sell it unless you really need the money, because the value for old, manual pencil sharpeners is only going to go up. If you have one that’s worth something, see if you can get the antiques man to give you an appraisal certificate for it. If the value is quite high, some insurance might be in order. You can put it away for your children or grandchildren as part of their inheritance. It might sound odd giving saving a pencil sharpener as an inheritance, but if it is worth a lot of money, then why not?
Maybe reading this has peaked your interest in branded pencil parers. If so, start looking for them. The old ones that collectors enjoy aren’t always easy to find, but the fun is in the hunt. Try the antique malls or looking online to see what kind of deals you can find on manual sharpeners. Some electric sharpeners are lots of fun for collectors, too, so don’t rule them out if they’re not 100 years old. Remember that if you are saving them for an inheritance, they will be much older by the time you give them away.
If you want something just to pare down your pencils while you are working at your desk, run to the closest store and pick up an electric sharpener. It will do just fine. But if you want to have a great hobby, start looking for fun pencil sharpeners everywhere you go. You might be surprised at how much you can enjoy your new hobby.
About the Author: Miles Lovegrove is director of Fluid Branding, the UK’s largest supplier of
Promotional Pencil Sharpener
and other
Promotional Products
at www.fluidbranding.com. For Eco Friendly promotional products, including Recycled, Organic and Sustainable items visit www.ecoincentives.com
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