GorillaSharpener by MB&F and
Caran d’Ache
Some collaborations make perfect sense. Others make absolutely no sense — until you see them. The new Caran d’Ache x MB&F GorillaSharpener falls decidedly into the latter camp, and that may be precisely why it is so much fun.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the M.A.D.Gallery, MB&F and fellow Swiss brand Caran d’Ache have taken one of the most familiar objects from childhood — the classic Caran d’Ache pencil sharpening machine — and turned it into a muscular, knuckle-walking mechanical gorilla.
Yes, it still sharpens pencils. But now it looks as though it might also walk off with them.
Just 300 pieces of the GorillaSharpener by MB&F and
Caran d’Ache will be made.
Dubbed the GorillaSharpener, the fully functional object takes the traditional desktop sharpener and raises it onto substantial stainless-steel and cast-iron gorilla-like limbs. Tilted forward, with its mechanical body suspended above the desk, it has the unmistakable posture of a great ape on the move. It is part functional object, part mechanical sculpture and entirely in keeping with MB&F’s longstanding belief that growing up shouldn’t necessarily mean leaving play behind.
The idea came from MB&F creative designer Maximilian Maertens, who first sketched the creature in two dimensions before working through the rather less whimsical realities of construction, molding and balance required to make a pencil sharpener convincingly stand like a gorilla. There was also a little pop-culture logic involved. MB&F and Caran d’Ache had previously created the DinoSharpener in 2024, which reminded Maertens of Godzilla. And, as he reasoned, Godzilla needed a counterpart: King Kong.
The GorillaSharpener by MB&F and
Caran d’Ache retails for $1,165.
The connection between the two Swiss companies actually goes back further. In 2016 they collaborated on Astrograph, the wildly imaginative rocket-shaped writing instrument that proved there was plenty of creative territory to explore between traditional watchmaking, writing instruments and mechanical art.
For GorillaSharpener, the mechanism is dressed in Alpine Frost blue and crafted using zinc alloy, steel and chrome-plated mechanical components. Just 300 pieces will be made. Each arrives in a special case with a securing clamp and a set of Caran d’Ache wooden pencils — because presumably even a mechanical gorilla needs something to eat.
Appropriately, the GorillaSharpener makes its debut on September 24, World Gorilla Day, and its connection to the animal kingdom goes beyond design. MB&F has partnered with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the world’s largest and longest-running organization dedicated to gorilla conservation, through the symbolic adoption of the historic Pablo mountain gorilla group in Rwanda. The group, named for the silverback Pablo first studied by Dian Fossey in 1974, numbers about 20 gorillas today and continues to be monitored and protected by the Fund. MB&F’s contribution supports the daily protection of endangered mountain gorillas, including field teams, scientific research, equipment and conservation efforts. With the global mountain gorilla population still just over 1,000, it gives this playful mechanical creature a meaningful real-world connection to the animals that inspired it.
GorillaSharpener by MB&F and
Caran d’Ache launched on World Gorilla day (September 24).
Priced at $1,165, the GorillaSharpener will be sold through M.A.D.Galleries, MB&F LABs, the MB&F Lounge in New York and the MB&F eShop. Is $1,165 a lot of money for a pencil sharpener? Of course it is.
But then again, this isn’t really about sharpening pencils. It is about turning an object most people stopped noticing decades ago into something capable of making them smile again. And perhaps, in an increasingly screen-dominated world, there is something wonderfully subversive about creating an elaborate mechanical sculpture whose ultimate purpose is simply to make a pencil sharp enough to draw.
