Scott Stager wrote:
"A while back a few of you were discussing the merits of older 
mechanical "crank the handle" pencil sharpeners... I spotted this thing just
sitting there on the shelf. Almost missed it...

"Dexter Model 3,  Automatic Pencil Sharpener Company, Rockford, ILL, 
U.S.A...

"Did I do good?  Was $10 a good price?  Gloatable?"

Hell, yes. I've had the same Dexter as my pencil sharpener most, maybe all my
life. I can remember it on the wall when we moved into my house in 1964. I am
pretty sure we had it before we left Chicago in 1960, when I was 8 years old.

Fifty years of service without maintenance. It still gives, as it always gave,
long cleanly-cut symmetrical conical ends. Sharp points without effort. In
recent years there has been a tendency for pencil leads to break off inside the
wooden part of the cone, but that is the pencils (since I have the same problem
with other sharpeners). Its the best pencil sharpener I've ever used.

I always thought the Dexter company that made pencil sharpeners was the same as
the one that makes Dexter knives. However, the knives are made by Russell
Harrington in Massachussets:

http://www.dexter-russell.com/history.asp

My pencil sharpener has no place marking on it, so I didn't realize it was made
in Illinois. One company or two, I can still say that I have never had a tool
marked "Dexter" that wasn't first-rate.

The waste container on mine is all-plastic and has a small piece broken off the
top. I think its brittle with age, and I worry about replacing it if it breaks
further, but that's the only problem. And I'd really like a backup.

Ten bucks? I'd sure be gloating.

Tom Conroy
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