Side by Side Comparison of: Desert Song vs ImiKas

My regular plugin type would overheat after about 5 pencils and stop. After many years the main gear broke. Looked around for something that runs on battery, but most seemed under powered or looked like a manual sharpener on a spinner. There are other's that look alike, but this one had plenty good reviews and I went for it.Reasons for 5stars:-Nice high output adapter is 1.5A. Though it's 6V, it may be able to power other protected USB devices.-Multiple settings can be set in between the 3 options given, and you don't have to push down much.-The sharpest is finer than needle point. Which can be dangerous. Adjust down if needed.-The timing estimated is false. You can sharpen in 3 seconds...-Sharpens OLD, and I mean OLD, pencils where the point would immediately break if using a manual sharpener. Only a helical cutter would sharpen these.-Can be powered by anything USB-5V including your TV. The ports on laptops are generally 5V@500mA so it runs a little slower, but still does the job if not pressured too much.-The battery compartment is not used in my setup, but is a handy capability if needed.-Clear shaving bin comes off and goes on easily.-Packaging is a nice storage case.-Great price compared to plugins.-I wouldn't say "quiet". More like "quieter".-Nice rounded feel and sized well. Total size, with adapter and wire, in the case takes up half the foot print of my old junked plugin type.-Plenty colours to choose from.My only concern is the plastic ring gear, but other from that it's good under normal use.

works as advertised. watch yourself, one can overdo the sharpening. ***UPDATE 1/8/16. I'm finding that I have to hold more tightly onto any colored pencil having an off -center core. The sharpened points are perfect for writing and for coloring tiny areas.I'm able to get great color from my Sargent Art pencils in my new Johanna Brasford coloring book!would recommend using ac/dc cord unless necessary to remove.would NOT recommend for a classroom of children under the age of 14.would like to have the option of removing/replacing sharpening blade.

This product has been a life-saver for my family, me, and my hands! With three kids, we are constantly trying to find a sharpened pencil to get homework done or to color with colored pencils. Usually if we find a pencil, we can never find our small manual sharpener. It's. A. Pain. I was the first, and probably most excited, to use this new electric sharpener when it arrived. It comes with a USB cable, that can plug into a computer, or into the AC adapter that is included. It also takes batteries, so very portable. (We haven't tried sharpening while using battery power, but I'm sure it's just as effective). It has three sharpening settings: blunt, semi-sharp, and sharp. I like mine sharp! But for the boys I usually use blunt so the point doesn't break as easily. Once powered, you just stick the pencil in the opening, and within seconds you have a perfectly sharpened pencil. You can actually hear when it's done sharpening, although the blade will continue to run. One of the things I love most about this sharpener, besides it's compactness and ease of use, is the safety feature which prohibits the blade from working if the cover is off (like when you need to discard the shavings). This is a great feature for my family with two toddlers who are constantly trying to be "big boys", and could really hurt themselves if they figured out how to get the cover off! Overall, this was a great purchase!

One of the problems that comes with using colored pencils is finding good pencil sharpeners. One writer said to always have TWO- one electric and one battery operated. They also noted you would need two because one would ALWAYS break down just when you are in the middle of doing something. How true! This little machine has handled both my Prismacolor AND my Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils with outstanding results. The points are needle-sharp AND it allows me to use either the batteries or the AC adapter. It may NOT be able to handle some of the thicker pencils (I haven't tried them yet), and I am certain it WILL break down at some time. But, for now, given its price and outstanding results I am well pleased with this little machine. Oh, and I sharpen my pencils once a minute, as instructed by a teacher, so it's getting a workout. To prolong its life I always put through a few graphite pencils each day to clean out the wax/oil pigments.

I absolutely love this sharpener. I recently got into adult coloring and watercolor pencil art. Have spent far too much money on sharpeners that did not live up to expectations. This is the best sharpener around for coloring pencils, watercolor pencils, etc.

My grandkids love it. Let me tell you, they are very into coloring pencils and sketching. The sharpener gets a workout and keeps on going. I like that you can vary the sharpness. That feature actually does work. Also the sharpener will not mindlessly grind the pencil down to a nub. When the pencil is sharp it stops grinding.It does not eat batteries which is another nice feature. The shavings cup is fiddly to get off but if you train the child to hold the sharpener well into the trash can while opening it there should be no disasters.Of course this sharpener works just as well when an adult uses it. It gets the pencil sharpened as evenly as on hundred dollar sharpeners and, believe me, I have tried them. It is not perfect, but it is as good as the best and better than most.

I've purchased many electric pencil sharpeners in the past, but this one by far is the best so far! I bought it to sharpen all the pencils my boys needed for the start of the new school year and it did so perfectly every time. I love the fact that you can select between 3 different settings for how sharp you want the point. I cannot attest yet to the durability, since I purchased it less than a month ago, but so far it's doing GREAT! I definitely recommend this one!

This has been the BEST pencil sharpener I've ever owned (and I've had a few). The thing I love about it is the size adjuster. It allows me to sharpen colored pencils for my littles without making them super sharp and thus very easy to break. I'd definitely buy this again if it ever died.

Cuts perfectly every time. Definitely a difference in cut with the three settings. It's so nice to have a sharp pencil that isn't too sharp that it affects writing in a negative way or break right away. Very happy I chose this model over others I looked at from more recognizable companies. Would and will buy again if I need to. Great product.

We have used the heck out of this little machine and its stood up exceptionally well. I did read many, many reviews of several pencil sharpeners before buying this.One thing to note, however, is that I misunderstood the settings on the sharpener. The settings control the sharpness of the point (like the lead part), not the angle of the point (like the wood part). Its very difficult to describe what I am talking about on this. The pencil tip will look exactly the same no matter what setting you choose, its just that the very, very, very tip will be like a needle or like a ball point pen depending on the setting. I was hoping that it would be like a smaller tip like a lip liner setting, and then a medium point like a crayon, then a longer point like for a pencil. But that is not what it does.Also, one other minor inconvenience, it doesn't take the larger colored pencils I have which have just a slightly larger diameter. These aren't "jumbo pencils" but they are just a tiny bit bigger than standard and they get stuck in the sharpener while it spins around. If I really shove them in there, it will work, but it is definitely not designed to take anything other than standard pencils. Crayons don't fit.I read about messy times emptying the cartridge, so I just empty mine right over the garbage. No issues at all with that, as it just pulls out and clips back in. The kids can do it. I want to say the cartridge fills up quickly, but actually, its just that we really use this little guy often.With these caveats, I would still say BUY IT. Its durable, convenient, kid-friendly, nice-sized.

PROS:-Small Design-Fast, Powerful Motor-Three Pencil lead tip settings (VERY Sharp, blunt, or very blunt)-Runs off batteries OR an included plug-Pencil Lead does not break off in machineCONS:-Shavings Dispenser-LoudI've had the iPoint Curve that I picked up from Walmart (should have been my first warning) for less than a year. About 2 weeks ago, the thing just wouldn't start. I changed the batteries to no avail. I even took the whole thing apart, hoping that I'd find some obvious defect that I could fix. Again, nothing worked.As a homeschooling parent, I am in constant need of sharp pencils, and a manual sharpener just won't do. In desperation, I turned to this one, hoping against hope that it would get the job done. (I was sent one for review) It took about a week to get here (it was grouped with some other items, so I don't know how fast it would ship otherwise).The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was that it had a plug in for a wall outlet. Not wanting to be tied to an outlet, I was disappointed, until I realized that it was just one option. There is the option for batteries as well as using the plug-in. The next thing I noticed was how compact it is versus my old sharpener. With the batteries installed, it has a nice weight, so it's not going to get knocked off of my desk constantly either.Putting my first pencil in the sharper, I was shocked at how fast and powerful the motor is for such a small machine. You literally only need to keep it in for a few seconds to get the job done. The lead came out with a very sharp tip, not the blunt tip my old one gave (and I hated). If that's what you prefer, though, there are two other settings so that you can get the tip that you like.The one thing that I don't love is the shavings container. It can be a bit tricky taking off the housing at first (I spilled half of the shavings all over myself the first time). Because of how it is situated, you will want to empty it before it gets full, otherwise, you might have an even worse time emptying it. I still give this machine 5 stars, because I am so impressed with everything else!One other thing to mention, that's really important - I have yet to have a pencil lead break off in this machine. It was a constant problem with my other one, and it would take time (always in short supply), patience and some skill to get the thing out and continue sharpening my pencil. This one has not given me a lick of trouble - even with some cheap pencils that are prone to breaking.UPDATE 11/29/2015After several months of using this daily, I've still not need to change the batteries and it sharpens just as quickly as when I first put the batteries in. I'm still in love with this and can't recommend it more.UPDATE 3/8/2016I still use this daily. I've had to change the batteries once, but it still works like a dream. I can't believe that I ever used any other kind! The one thing I've not been able to use this for is my youngest daughters thicker than normal pencils.

At last a pencil sharpener that sharpens the colored pencils to a very fine point - just the way I like them. I am so happy to find this pencil sharpener. I highly recommend it to folks who use colored pencils for their art work.

Fast and makes a very sharp point for my coloured pencils. But it is definately not quiet. That's the reason I didn't give it 5 starts

Use for sharpening colored pencils for coloring. Very good quality, compact size. The Sharp setting isn't as a sharp point as I'd like, but it could the the colored pencils I'm using.

It's nothing out of the ordinary. It does the job and doesn't take up a lot of room.

Bought to sharpen colored pencils for Adult Coloring Books.

Sharpener works well. Larger colored pencils do not fit in hole however (they did in my old Costco sharpener). Standard size pencils are no problem.

Nice and portable. I am using it at home as well as for Sunday school. I recommend this product.

Would give it a 3.5 if I could. 4.5 for the sharpener. Minus one for the power supply design.+ The sharpener produces needle-sharp points. Nice.0 Wish it stopped automatically. You can easily reduce a pencil to a nub if you're not careful.- Don't plan on running it off a computer's USB port. You need 1500 mAmp (6V) output to power it. So the fact that it uses a USB connector is actually a big negative. If you lose the USB-to-wall adapter, you are likely SOL until you find a replacement. Unfortunately, they aren't that common. I wish it used a simple electric cord.

Today I used the Imikas Electric Pencil Sharpener for the first time. Like that the opening is on top. It sharpens fairly easy, although I had some hesitation because I wasn't sure I had the hang of it, so as not to damage or waste the pencil cores from over use. I sharpened both graphite #2 pencils and my brand new Verithin brand of hardcore colored pencils. Did okay... though some of the 36 colored pencils didn't sharpen well. Also took me a few trys to open the grindings case easily and correctly. Then I discovered that I could get a free eBook from Imikas that will have clear instructions, hopefully. I researched this product thoroughly before purchasing. Determined it was the best for the price. Will know for sure after prolonged usage.

Pretty good so far. The helical blade is definitely the way to go. Two things I found to note is that if plugging into the usb, make sure the output is enough to equal the supplied plug, otherwise it won't have enough power to sharpen with a pencil in it. Haven't tried the batteries yet. The other thing is that it doesn't stop automatically, so you do need to check otherwise it'll eat your pencils.

Works excellent when plugged into the wall outlet. When using batteries (brand new ones) they just don't have enough power to make it work well. You'll need to take your time and press very gently then it will slowly sharpen them.But in all fairness i have never used a "good" battery operated pencil sharpener so this was about as good as i expected it to be. I took away one star because i hoped the battery operation would be better.The fact that it can be powered by a phone charger or a USB port on your laptop more than makes up for the battery inconvenience.

I bought this item for personal use. It is smal, light,l and compact. The item has 3 levels for sharpening but the difference is not that much between them. I definitely set it to the sharpest point. It sharpens fast, at this point it hasn't broken any of my Prismacolors which are very waxy and this is the reason I bought the electric sharpener. I was tired of manually sharpening the color pencils and having the point break over and over. This sharpener has made a difference. It gives a long pointed shape as you can see in the picture. It is very convenient and light. There are only 2 things I have to say: it is still a bit loud and the case to dump the residue is a bit hard to open. That's why I give it 4 stars. I don't know how well the blade will hold b/c I use it but I'm not a heavy user. Will update my review when I have given the item some good work. Thank you.

It was much smaller than I thought it would be, I like the idea that it can be plugged into an outlet or run on batteries, it is very handy for travel as well. It sharpens pencils just as it states it should with the variety of different points, and it is quitter than any mechanical sharpener that I've ever used. If you use the expensive color pencils for art work, then the sharpener doesn't blunt the point as much as you get with a regular pencil, I think because the color pencils I use are very soft, but it does a great job. Now I want to see how long this little miracle will last, my industrial sharpener only lasted two years and I was very careful to keep it clean and not to over tax it, but the motor just died on me. I hope this sharpener lasts longer. so far it is all that is written about it in the add. : )

Does NOT sharpen in 3 lengths as advertised. Broke some pencils by sharpening too fast. Love the color but the sharpener is not doing what it's supposed to.

Stopped working the same day I got it. did great while it worked. Will return and give a 2nd chance.

I am a teacher. This lasted 4 months in my classroom. Disappointed.

Not exactly quiet but works well.

It's a good sharpener but not a great one and it's definitely NOT quiet for the classroom. But it serves its purpose.

Good product. Not as quiet as I hoped. But works.

Cons: Difficult to empty, must empty frequently, eats pencils, cord too shortPros: Sharpens pencils AND color pencils really SHARP and POINTY. I sharpened over 100 color pencils (in one sitting) expecting this thing to croak. It didn't. Having to empty it out so often probably helped keep the motor cool (or maybe it's just a good motor).

 **I already tried to upload a very detailed review for this sharpener, but the Amazon staff lost it so this will will have to do, I apologize in advance, but writing a 400+ word review again is NOT what I want to do***This pencil sharpener works well for all types of pencils, even colored pencils, as long as they are not too short or have soft lead. The problem that I have with this sharpener is that the battery cover is too hard to remove. My struggle is shown in the video because I had to go off-screen just to put the cover back on. Also, the pencil shavings cover is only a little easier to put back on. At least there are three different pencil tip sharpness so you can sharpen a pencil for a little kid without worrying that they poke themselves. Overall, this is a great sharpener but I hate that the covers are hard to put back on since the shavings box fills up quickly and I'll need to empty it often. It's also a bit on the large size, so it's not a pencil sharpener to put in a kid's room. I recommend this only if you're okay with the covers being hard to put back on. I received this product at a discount price in exchange for my honest review.

This thing is awesome with multiple power options, but I grew up with a boston with a rotating aperture for larger pencils and I wouldn't mind paying more for similar capability on a unit like this. Perhaps a simple slide up / down?

For the amount of money I paid for this shapener, I would have liked for the pencil sharpener to stop sharpening when it has a sharp point. With a stop sharpening feature, it would save more pencil and save time from checking to see if the pencil has a sharp point.

Can have it handy where I am coloring. Sharpens my cheaper coloring pencils well and quickly. I bought it for the Prismacolor pencils but the directions said the soft ones may clog it, so I haven't tried them. It's a pinch heavy which does make it stable and it's actually a bit larger than I expected. It does leave pencil dust around the unit and clinging to the pencil, so it's a little messy. The big negative about this sharpener is the difficulty opening the small shavings compartment. Not good for the senior user and someone who does not have strong fingernails and hands. When you finally get it open, the shavings pop out and spray around, so you need to open it over the trash can. It's also a bit of a challenge to completely empty all the shavings, too.

I ordered 2 sharpeners and so far they are working well. Warning - I don't recommend using the USB with your computer. The sharpener required too much power and damaged the USB port on my computer.

I bought one Desert Song Pencil Sharpener in black, which lasted a couple weeks until one of my students knocked it off the shelf and broke it. Because the sharpener seemed to work quite well, I ordered a second one in blue. This sharpener has been much weaker than the first one almost from the start. The blue desert song sharpener doesn't sharpen pencils evenly. Lead breaks off easily and quickly IN the sharpener, so that if I go to sharpen several pencils, most inadvertently come out dull because the sharpener already has lead in the tip. I have been extremely disappointed because the first one seemed so super.As a positive, and the reason that this isn't 1 star, is that the Desert Song will sharpen colored pencils quite well. However, as a day-to-day sharpener, this model falls flat.

It was working fine like advertised for the first three months and then it stopped working. Somehow we managed to make it work, but it always stops halfway and never finishes sharpening the pencil. You have to take the pencil out and back in for it to rotate again, but just for a little bit. Then you have to do it again and again until the pencil is sharpened...It literally drives me crazy! I would not recommend it to others.

I sharpened 32 pencils and then it wouldn't sharpen again. When putting the pencil in it would break off the point that was already there. Returned.

I bought this for my classroom, which I would not recommend. The cord was really short, and it ended up breaking. The shaving receptacle is way too small for a classroom, and it is pretty loud. It does come with a battery compartment, but the sharpener isn't strong enough to sharpen pencils on double a batteries. I suspect this would be a fine sharpener for personal use, but not for a classroom.

I don't like it.The tip sharpens uneven, and usable lead is very short before you reach wood. Gets worse if you slide switch to left for duller tip. Please note the sharpened distance between wood and lead tip. I have attached a photo of a pencil sharpened by my old Boston which broke after 20 years ( right ) and this one.

Didn't work well.... Disappointed :(

It started out as a fairly good sharpener, I bought it for my twins who started second grade, I liked the different settings. The motor has increasingly weakened over time, and now you can barely push on the pencil or the motor stops completely. I'm going to spend a few more dollars this time and hope it is more durable.

I work in very fine detail and this sharpener left burrs and pits instead of a perfect point. To their credit, they made the return simple and I very much appreciate that.

Very disappointed. Breaks to tip off pencil when sharpening and then has to be cleared which requires removing batteries, etc. Then one of the clips holding the battery door closed broke off so no use scots tape to hold together. Gone back to manual sharpener.

I bought this pencil sharpener for my colored pencils based on the reviews. I only used it several times and then due to my busy schedule couldn't use my pencils for at least 6 months. When I went to use the sharpener again it wouldn't work at all! VERY DISAPPOINTED as it was stored in an area that was safe and there was nothing done to it for it to just quit working.

I'm quite disappointed in this product. It worked a few times. I bought this in January and now it's July, it worked a couple of weeks ago and suddenly a few days ago and again today I tried to plug it in and use it, and it would not work. I know the outlet is working fine and I tried multiple outlets that I use on a daily basis that work fine, but the sharpener no longer works. I've only used it a handful of times, I can count how many times on one hand, that's how little I used it since purchasing the sharpener. It didn't even sharpen a blunt too when I wanted it to, it was always sharp, but I kept it anyway, because it still worked...it no longer works after 5 times of use in 6 months, so I'm very disappointed in this product.

I am a teacher. I purchased this for my class based on all of the positive reviews. I saved it to use for testing week. On day 1, I sharpened 1 pencil. On day 2, I sharpened 18 pencils. On day 3 (today), I cannot sharpen ANY pencils. It is not the electric outlet (I tried 2 others). It is not because it is open (housing is completely sealed). So, it is either defective or just a poorly made sharpener. I do not recommend this product and will be returning it.

was missing parts and didnt work. had to trash it

We bought this product for an elementary school and it did not even last one week before the motor burned out. Very disappointing since it says it's is a high powered motor specifically for colored pencils.

This pencil sharpener does not sharpen pencil at all. It does not matter what level I set.

1. It did not run consistently on batteries or with the cord. It was like the switch had a short in it.2. When it did run, it sharpens the pencil lopsided; one side the lead was fully exposed, the other only a tiny sliver of lead was exposed.I returned the device for a gift card.

Stopped working after 4 1/2 months of very light use! We loved this pencil sharpener when we first received it. Worked great, and sharpened pencils very fast. We used it to sharpen only #2 pencils occasionally. However now it's completely stopped working! I've tried everything to get it going again. Normally had it plugged in and tried putting fresh batteries in it instead... nothing, not a peep! Very disappointed in this product!

I am a portrait artist and this product does not make a small sharp point has claimed. There is not too much difference between the 3 options of lead sharpness. I would not recommend this product

Received this item today. It sharpened my pencils all crooked. it sharpened one side of the pencils only. I am very disappointed in this product. I am returning it. It may have been that the one I received was defective, but I don't want to take a chance on another one. In addition, it was very difficult to open both the battery compartment and the compartment to clean out the residue. I had to use a rubber jar opener.

Very good sharpener for graphite pencils.As far as we have use it no problems at all.It gives sharp points very usefull in my graphite drawings.Update:it stopped functioning 4 months later.We only used graphite pencils.Very short life for a pencil sharpener.

After 6 months of use, I have to change my original review. This sharpener does not hold up. It takes forever to sharpen one pencil!