The Retroist

The Retroist

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Nostalgia for a Pencil Sharpener
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
User's avatar
Discover more from The Retroist
A Retro Podcast, Blog, and Newsletter.
Over 3,000 subscribers
Already have an account? Sign in

Nostalgia for a Pencil Sharpener

Retroist's avatar
Retroist
Apr 06, 2017
1

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Nostalgia for a Pencil Sharpener
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

It is easy to get nostalgic for stuff. Every day I find myself fixating on things from the past. Usually, it is not surprising stuff. A TV show, movie, or a toy are easy things to recall and to have a fondness for. Today, though, it was something else. I went to use a pencil and realized I did not have a pencil sharpener. Instead of thinking of where I could find some handheld one, my mind went back to the beautiful wall-mounted manual pencil sharpeners of my youth.

We had them in classrooms, of course, but my family also had one in the basement. It was randomly mounted on this support pillar near nothing. So the only reason you had to go to this area of the basement, was to sharpen a pencil. This was a thing I did often. Which when I was young was an event since I was terrified of the basement. Still, I needed to sharpen my pencils for school. So down the basement I went, nearly every day.

As I got more into Dungeons & Dragons, the sharpener became a much-needed gaming accessory. Not only did I need to keep my own pencil sharp, but often the pencils of 4 gamers as well. Eventually, we started gaming in the basement and when we chose a place to put our gaming table, we made it as close to the pencil sharpener as possible. I had a player who would sharpen their pencil out of nervousness at least once an hour. By the end of the session, the pencils would be half the size as when we began.

Buy a wall-mounted manual sharpener of your own

That pencil sharpener was the one I used from before I could reach it until I got the pencils I sharpened and brought to college with me. One day I came home, and it was just gone. My mother thought one of my sisters took it, but neither of them would admit to it. Nor have I ever seen it at their houses.

To this day, whenever I get the opportunity to sharpen my pencils on a hand-cranked pencil sharpener, I get to it with gusto. I just wish I had one right now. More to the point, I wish I still had that one from my childhood.

Watch someone take apart and explain a manual wall-mounted Pencil Sharpener


Subscribe to The Retroist

Launched 4 years ago
A Retro Podcast, Blog, and Newsletter.
1

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Nostalgia for a Pencil Sharpener
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Discussion about this post

User's avatar
The Mystery Of The Red Quarters…Solved!
Did you ever find a quarter painted red and wonder if that red served a purpose? It does.
Feb 11, 2017 â€¢ 
Retroist
45

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
The Mystery Of The Red Quarters…Solved!
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
6
Remember when Mickey Mouse decided to commit suicide?
Unless you lived in the 1930s or are a fan of vintage comic strips you might not be aware of the attempted Mickey Mouse suicide.
Aug 30, 2017 â€¢ 
Retroist
9

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Remember when Mickey Mouse decided to commit suicide?
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Monkey’s Blood (Mercurochrome) for those boo-boos
Remember when you were a kid, and you would were out roughhousing with your friends.
Oct 23, 2019 â€¢ 
Retroist
4

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Monkey’s Blood (Mercurochrome) for those boo-boos
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2

Ready for more?

© 2025 Retroist
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Create your profile

User's avatar

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.