I managed to get my hands on two Panasonic battery operated sharpeners, actually someone very near and dear bought one for me. Wasn't that sweet? Hopefully they will last me for a while. I also bought the Stanley/Bostich battery sharpener, model - 02697. It's pretty good but not a precision sharpener like the Panasonic but much better than the Staples brand. You may not have a Staples in your area but if you do, don't bother with them, they are designed to break.
I also sent an email to the Sanford Rep, Shelley Minnis, and suggested Sanford buy the technology from Panasonic. Believe it or not, she had the same idea and forwarded my email on to marketing. Why not? We need quality sharpeners and they have the money. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
By the way, have you seen Sanford's new web page? It's pretty awesome. They have a page called "meet the artists". They profiled quite a few artists who use Prismacolor products, not just colored pencils. If you are interested here's the link: http://www.prismacolor.com/artists
