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Pencil Sharpener
John Lee Love

Inventor
John Lee Love
John Lee Love was an African American inventor, most known for his invention of the hand-cranked pencil sharpener, the “Love Sharpener,” and an improved plasterer’s hawk. Little is known about the early life of Love. His date and place of birth are unknown, but it is conjectured that he was born sometime between 1865 and 1877, during the Reconstruction Era. Love spent his adult life working as a carpenter in Fall River, Massachusetts.
In 1894, Love invented the hand-cranked pencil sharpener, a portable alternative to contemporary pencil sharpeners. On November 23rd, 1897, he filed a patent application for the “Love Sharpener.” Prior to the Love Sharpener, the only available pencil sharpener was the rotary blade sharpener, a cumbersome device that utilizes the same rotary crank mechanism as wall-mounted pencil sharpeners. Love’s invention vastly simplified the pencil sharpener’s design.
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Pencil Sharpener
John Lee Love

Biography
John Lee Love was an African American inventor, most known for his invention of the hand-cranked pencil sharpener, the “Love Sharpener,” and an improved plasterer’s hawk. Little is known about the early life of Love. His date and place of birth are unknown, but it is conjectured that he was born sometime between 1865 and 1877, during the Reconstruction Era. Love spent his adult life working as a carpenter in Fall River, Massachusetts.
In 1894, Love invented the hand-cranked pencil sharpener, a portable alternative to contemporary pencil sharpeners. On November 23rd, 1897, he filed a patent application for the “Love Sharpener.” Prior to the Love Sharpener, the only available pencil sharpener was the rotary blade sharpener, a cumbersome device that utilizes the same rotary crank mechanism as wall-mounted pencil sharpeners. Love’s invention vastly simplified the pencil sharpener’s design.
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