When clutch pencils first came along in the 1930's there was a requirement for a device that could sharpen the lead on these pencils, without damaging the metal casing or the clutch jaws of the pencil. It was with this in mind that the Swiss Georges Dessonnanz developed a lead sharpener that did just that. First patented in 1939, this sharpener took on the first letters of its inventor's names: GEDESS. In the intervening years the design has changed slightly from the original but the basic idea remains. With only one moving part, the design is delightfully simple: a guide hole for the pencil, a grinding disc and the outer casing. Rotating the guide hole when a pencil is installed rubs the lead against the grinding disc, which, in a few short turns, puts an alarmingly sharp point on the lead.