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Blackwing 602 Pencils


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Over the years I've had a few Blackwing 602 pencils and have never found anything that compares favorably. A distant second for me would be the California Republic Palomino pencil - and I have about 6 dozen of them.

 

What I want to know is - why can't recent-made pencils match the quality of the Blackwing?

 

There's an auction on ebay for 10 of the Blackwing pencils - does anyone want to go in for half? I'd be willing to pay $20/pencil for up to five of them. The auction for those interested:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...E:IT&ih=011

 

Any other pencil suggestions for a Blackwing fan?

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Over the years I've had a few Blackwing 602 pencils and have never found anything that compares favorably. A distant second for me would be the California Republic Palomino pencil - and I have about 6 dozen of them.

 

What I want to know is - why can't recent-made pencils match the quality of the Blackwing?

 

There's an auction on ebay for 10 of the Blackwing pencils - does anyone want to go in for half? I'd be willing to pay $20/pencil for up to five of them. The auction for those interested:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...E:IT&ih=011

 

Any other pencil suggestions for a Blackwing fan?

 

Ahhh the Blackwing 602. Wonderful pencil. A Turquoise 4B is a close match. The Blackwing had wax in the formulation and nothing is an exact match. I purchased a gross of these when I heard from a sales rep that they would be limited to stock on hand. Used them all up but 1 box before I realized what they bring. Now I only use them on rare occasions.

 

Nope, don't want to sell any.

 

Todd

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Okay, someone needs to teach me here, $20 for a wooden pencil? Why? You sharpen it, it goes away. Is it really that good? What makes it different?

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Winston Churchill

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.

Winston Churchill

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All I can say about the Blackwing 602 is that it is like drinking fine wine out of a crystal glass. It is a very special experience, for a lot of subjective reasons.

 

fsm, I just don't have the money right now - for Blackwing 602's, fine wines or crystal glasses. But if I did I would go in with you.

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Is it that much better than the California Republic Palomino? I have some of those and they are truly excellent pencils, but those cost less than $1.00 apiece.

Edited by jonro
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:yikes:

Fool: One who subverts convention or orthodoxy or varies from social conformity in order to reveal spiritual or moral truth.

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I guess I too am curious what makes one pencil so different.

 

As more of a fountain pen fanatic, I can talk abut nib smoothness, nib material, ink flow, the "look and feel" of a pen. I just want to try and understand what wound make one pencil so different from another? It seems as though you're only working with two components: the wood and the graphite.

 

Do these pencils hold a better point? Stay sharper? Write smoother? Write darker?

And are you using them for writing, sketching, drafting, or something else?

 

Please don't take anything the wrong way, I'm just genuinely curious.

 

 

 

Thanks, Ralph

 

 

http://24.144.144.54:8080/RJPPICS//Sig_sm.GIF
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The Blackwing was indeed an amazing pencil. Not even the Palomino can compare. It was the pencil of choice for many great American authors, including Thomas Wolfe and John Steinbeck. Its mere design, with the crimped, removeable eraser, was breathtaking. I do not understand why Sanford (who owns the rights to this pencil nowadays) does not bring out a new version: with the demand for the pencil being so high, the company would surely make a fortune by bringing it back. Apparently, the one machine in existence that crimped the erasers broke down; it is hard to believe that in our day in age such a thing cannot be fixed or rebuilt. I would even venture to say that the Blackwing would make a succesful comback even with a normal eraser, so long as its thick barrel and the satin-like lead remained faithful to the original. Oh, yes, and the barrel would have to keep the pencil's famous logo: "Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed!"

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Hi All,

 

Confessing my ignorance here too - along with an eagerness to learn.

 

Is the incorporation of wax in pencil lead an obsolete or "vintage" practice? I'm looking up at a printout of a 1930s Sheaffer advertisement offering a free pack of Sheaffer pencil leads with each ink purchase, and the ad copy begins: "By working a special wax into every stick, Sheaffer makes Blue Cap leads black as a crow, smooth as oil, non-smudging, long-lasting, strong!" Are current formulations really that different?

 

I do use a fair amount of vintage lead in my mechanical pencils - largely because it's sometimes easier/cheaper to buy vintage 1.1mm leads than it is to locate new 1.1mm leads - and I do find it, for the most part, agreeably smooth-writing and dark. That said, I'm currently using Pentel 0.9mm "Ain" leads in 2B grade, as well as 2mm Sanford Turquoise 6B, and I find those just about as dark and smooth as the vintage stuff.

 

If anyone happens to know: what hardness grade is the Blackwing?

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

Edited by Univer
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The Blackwing was indeed an amazing pencil.

 

Okay still wanting to learn and pardon the ignorance, but why is it such an amazing pencil?

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Winston Churchill

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.

Winston Churchill

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I can't speak for the wonders of the 602, but I can say that when it comes to colored lead, the colors of the vintage leadsare a lot more vibrant.

 

A couple of years ago, I found a couple of NOS tins of Sheaffer Fineline red leads, 1.1mm width, that dated back to the 1950s. The red on these leads are almost magenta in color -- really bright red -- compared to the Pentel 0.5, O.7 and 0.9 mm colored leads I use in more modern MPs.

 

The Norma 1.1mm leads for their four-color pencils, circa 1940-1950, have a similar brightness to them. They are softer than the Pentels, which lead me to believe there might be wax in the Sheaffer and Norma colored leads.

 

Even the old Scripto 1.1mm long leads for their pencils seem smoother than a plain old modern wood pencil.

 

Given the lousy state of wooden pencils these days, you can see why the 602s are so in demand. Between the cheapness of the wood and the brittleness of the lead in many modern pencils, you have to look really hard for a good pencil.

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I'm sure pencilrevolution has some info about the Blackwing 602. try searching for "pencil revolution" in google. I've never used a blackwing myself so I wouldn't know what the fuss is all about (even though I've heard others gush about the Blackwing 602..calling it the high chieftan of all pencils etc).

Edited by ramshacklemann
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What made the Blackwing amazing was a combination of stunning design and a lead that put down a soft, dark line, yet which did not cvrumble or smear. It was useful for drawing but also great for writing, and composers used it to write their notes on scores. The Palomino is SO soft that it needs sharpening every other word, making it more of draftsperson's pencil than a writer's. Design-wise, I can only compare the beauty of the barrel and of the unique eraser to those other classics of American design, the Sheaffer Snorkel and the Parker 51. It is definitely a pencil that should be manufactured again.

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I have the Palomino, but no black wing. I think there are differences in pencils, just as they are in pens. That's why I have a variety of both writing instruments, including pencil sharpeners. Pencil Revolution is a great site for information regarding the Black Wing and pencil related info. Beware, you might get addicted to pencils, too. :headsmack:

 

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Great I learn there are specialized pencils and a pencil website, my wife and bank account are going to kill me. :roflmho:

 

Seriously, thanks for the information, I do want to learn.

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Winston Churchill

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.

Winston Churchill

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Okay, someone needs to teach me here, $20 for a wooden pencil? Why? You sharpen it, it goes away. Is it really that good? What makes it different?

From what I learned on Pencil Revolution (which has not been active for a very long time, by the way), and from other sites and discussion boards, Blackwing 602 fans are like fans of the (insert brand name here) fountain pens. Their fanatical love of the pencil has less to do with reason and features than with their emotional response to the experience of using that particular pencil. We all have similar obsessions. The chief reasons cited for loving the Blackwing 602 always include the blackness of the line and the smoothness of the lead. From what I gather, artists probably had/have a particular attachment to the 602, and will pay almost any price for one.

 

It's probably just as well that Blackwing 602s are not readily available. If they were, at least one or two people here would try them, find fault with them, and pooh-pooh the product. Others would say that the quality had definitely slipped in the modern production, and you just can't compare a Blackwing 602 produced after 1990 to those of the golden years. Then there would be bloodshed and angry posts and flame wars. Don't we have enough of that in our discussions of (insert brand name here) pens?

 

R.I.P., Blackwing 602.

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I guess I'm missing something here.

 

The 602 (other than the very large eraser) looks like just about every other pencil (polygonal body, wood, lead inside).

It can't be the looks.

 

There are dozens of "art pencils" for sale in many many colors, including shades of black, that cost up to $2 each.

 

Do none of these current pencils write as smoothly, or with as dark a line, or hold point as well?

 

If you love it you love it! I'm just trying to understand why.

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The crimped eraser, which was removable, gave the Blackwing a unique look. I also loved the motto engraved on the barrel. But above all, it was a workhorse pencil with the smoothest lead that I have ever tried. Of all the pencils that are available today, only the Japanese Tombow comes close, and perhaps a small but very old brand still made in Tennessee called Musgrave. The Palomino HB is great but more for drawing than for writing.

 

Bill may be right that we would always find a new version of the Blackwing inferior to the old---and the way Papermate has cheapened the Black Warrior and Mirado pencils, that's easily possible-- but I still would love to see it available again (just no Papermate hearts on the barrel, PLEASE!) I don't think that I would ever use any other pencil again.

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All,

 

For the true story about the Blackwing 602 pencil visit here..

 

They really are one of the best pencils ever made. I'm not sure they are worth $20-25 each but I haven't started selling the few I have left. I have also decided I will not sharpen any more for a while.

 

I know the sales rep for Sanford pretty well. They get lots of requests for Blackwing 602 pencils and there are NO plans to make them again. There were plans at one time to issue a pencil with the same formulation of graphite, clay and wax but it was determined there was not enough interest unless they resurrected the eraser as well.

 

Todd

 

 

 

 

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Todd, do you really buy their story that the crimping machine cannot be restored? It seems terribly short-sighted of Sanford/Papermate not to see the potential profit in resurrecting the Blackwing: if there are so many people willing to pay outrageous prices for old stock, just imagine how a new, reasonably priced version would sell. I don't believe that these pencils are merely being collected: writers, composers and artists really use them. There is a need for this pencil. If it were available again, even as a boutique pencil, slightly more expensive than other Sanford/Papermate lines, it would still prove successful and well worth rebuilding that crimping machine.

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