Faber Castell GRIP Trio Sharpener Review

The Faber Castell Grip 2001 used to be one of my favorite hand held sharpeners, but lately I have been disappointed with the quality of the Chinese-made models currently found in most stores.
Found this carded red Faber Castell GRIP Trio Sharpener in the art supplies section for children at a local Jo-Ann store, and was surprised to find out that it was not made in China like most of the silver models currently in the market (including the art supplies section of this same store that curiously featured the carded Chinese silver version of this same sharpener). The Chinese version tends to fall apart when opening the unit, for the silver covers do not snap securely over the hinged sharpeners assembly.
The main reason I decided to pick up this red sharpener was the "Made in Germany" statement printed on the back of its blister card. Though the new sharpener itself did not have that information stamped anywhere on its body like the old Grip 2001 silver models used to have. The red compartment covers fit nice and tight on the gray sharpener assembly, so they did not fall apart when opening the unit.
An old silver Grip 2001 sharpener and the red Trio sharpener side by side. The "colour grip" opening is wide enough to accept thinner colored pencils like Prismacolor and Derwent Inktense pencils, but it is too small for Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils. For the latter, one would have to use the jumbo opening on the "universal" side of the sharpener.
The Trio sharpener features three cutting blades meant for regular graphite pencils, jumbo size pencils, and a separate sharpener and waste compartment for colored pencils. This separation should help prolong the useful life of colored pencils by keeping the graphite dust away from them. Though it might still get a tad messy if the unit is full of shavings and shaken during transport. Thus it would be best to empty its waste compartments in a timely manner.
The Derwent Graphitint pencils with their wider 8 mm diameter can also be sharpened quite easily in the jumbo opening. During the initial test, this red unit did a fair job sharpening a new Tombow Mono 4B graphite pencil and the Graphitint pencil. Yet its cutting performance was not as smooth as I remembered, or perhaps I have grown too accustomed to the steadier feel of a sharpener made out entirely of metal like my current favorite the KUM brass wedge sharpener.
While the Faber Castell GRIP Trio Sharpener might not live up to the precise cutting efficiency of my first Grip 2001 sharpener, it is still a fairly versatile sharpener for regular size and jumbo pencils with plenty of shavings storage space in its two compartments. Worth trying specially if you can get your hands on one of the increasingly rare units manufactured in Germany.