Being an artist, I know pencil sharpeners and this one is a poor sharpener.Not only does it not work on arrival, it's also basically a 10 cent craft sharpener attached to a motor, no different from the hand held single bladed sharpeners you see in the kids craft section. The best sharpeners use the dual rotating spiral cutters.Edit: I finally figured out what was wrong, but it's not worth the effort to use. Basically, when the lid covering the shavings area is closed, it doesn't put enough pressure on the safety switch that prevents the sharpener from turning on while the shavings cover is open. To get it to turn on, you must put extra pressure on the switch to get it working.