Most jammed sharpeners just need a toothpick

Most jammed pencil sharpeners are fixable in under a minute without tools — as long as you don’t go at it with a screwdriver.

The usual culprit is graphite dust packed around the blade or a broken pencil lead stuck in the hole. Empty the shaving bin first. Then take a toothpick or a paperclip and gently scrape around the blade and the hole until the crud comes loose. Twist the pencil in reverse a few times to help break up anything stuck in the gears. For electric sharpeners, unplug it first, then use a can of compressed air or a small brush to clear the chamber. Don’t use water, and don’t force anything metal into the blade area — you’ll dull the edge or bend the mechanism.

If it’s still jammed after that, the blade is probably dull or the gears are stripped. That’s not a fixable jam — that’s a replaceable sharpener. But nine times out of ten, a little poking and a clean bin gets you back in business.

Give your sharpener a cleaning every couple of months and this stops happening in the first place.