who invented the pencil sharpener

The pencil sharpener was first patented by French mathematician Bernard Lassimonne in 1828, but the familiar modern hand-held cone-style sharpener is usually credited to French inventor Thierry des Estivaux in 1847.

Quick Scoop

So…who “invented” it?

Because the question “who invented the pencil sharpener” can mean different things, historians usually split the credit:

• First patent for a pencil sharpener:
  • Bernard Lassimonne (Limoges, France) patented a device called a taille-crayon in 1828, widely regarded as the earliest true pencil sharpener patent.

• First classic hand-held cone sharpener (the one we still recognize):
  • Thierry (Constant) des Estivaux, a French nobleman, patented a tube with a narrowing cone and blade in 1847, essentially the ancestor of today’s small metal or plastic sharpeners.

So if the question is “who invented the pencil sharpener at all?” → Lassimonne.
If it’s “who invented the modern little metal sharpener we know?” → des Estivaux.

How it evolved after that

Once the basic idea existed, other inventors rapidly improved it.

• 1830s–1850s:
  • English makers Cooper & Eckstein created the “Styloxynon” pencil pointer, using steel files in a wooden block.

* American inventor Walter K. Foster patented one of the first U.S. sharpeners and helped start mass production in the 1850s.

• Late 1800s–early 1900s:
  • John Lee Love, an African American inventor, patented a compact hand-cranked sharpener known as the “Love Sharpener,” making crank-style devices smaller and more portable.

These inventions turned pencil sharpening from a slow knife job into a quick, everyday desk action in schools and offices worldwide.

TL;DR:

• Bernard Lassimonne (1828) – first pencil sharpener patent.
• Thierry des Estivaux (1847) – first recognizably modern hand-held cone sharpener.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.