"It is now 4:30 am and since I can’t seem to get back to sleep, I sit here with a POS exacto pencil sharpener disassembled in front of me.It is a unit from desk use at my job ( but not MY desk) that as you might imagine had prematurely stopped working after a short life of utterly dissapointing performance. It and several others are found around the offices because they are the only model available via the company standard purchase ordering system. Even when new you must hold them down with one hand while gingerly feeding your precious pencil in as not to overburden the feeble motor to the point of stopping it dead.On MY desk is a fine example of a long dimension Panasonic, just as you picture here. I got it at a garage sale , in mint condition, for one US dollar. I have one more at home in use on a shelf in my garage as well as a brand new wide body Panasonic as pictured above, also from a garage sale for 2 dollars. Also in my garage and in my basement workshop I have vintage “Boston” Steel cased hand crank models wall mounted for service. The wide body model is stored in reserve and I rest assured that I have it.  I love them dearly for all the simple reasons you mention. A Number 2 pencil is so much more than just the least common denominator of the handwritten word. And Panasonic seemed to pridefully respect that back in the 80’s. Mine do seem to slide back on the desk when I push the pencil in to sharpen, as the dusty environment both at work and the home garage keep the suction feet from sticking. This causes the back of the unit to push against the wall both at work and at home. As you well know, the power cord is protruding back there, and care as I do I did not want stress on the cord to cause it to fail. I cut properly sized sections of foam and stuck them on the rear of the cases as bump stops and leave the power cord free and unstressed.The simple satisfaction I get when properly and efficiently sharpening a pencil, that I use heavily for daily mundane simple writing tasks, is immeasurable.The hateful Exacto unit I took from work was to the point that it did not sharpen at all and I wanted to take it apart to see if I can Frankenstein in a much more powerful motor just for fun.  I have a couple of old hair dryers around here somewhere that I am looking to scavenge a motor from. Things could get a bit interesting for this sub par and expired Exacto. My beloved vintage Panasonics smugly and quietly mock it as they stand ready as always to satisfy.fieraci at hotmail dot commmmmm"