At first penknives were used to sharpen pencils. They got their name from the fact that they were first used to shape feather quills used as early pens.
In 1828, Bernard Lassimone, a French mathematician applied for a patent for a invention to sharpen pencils. However, it was not until 1847 that Therry des Estwaux first invented the manual pencil sharpener, as we know it.
