In the latest Coveted episode, a historic lace factory is preserving the dying art of Leavers lace in England: th-cam.com/video/XD2nh75Yz8E/w-d-xo.html
I know Blackwings have a cult following, but some years ago I tried a bunch of different pencils and found the price-quality sweet spot in a smooth-writing office pencil to be the Mitsubishi Pencil Co. 9850 HB, still made in Japan (I think) and available from Amazon at about $8 a dozen.
I used one Blackwing pencil, i happened to find at work, throughout my 4 years in design school, down to a nub. I keep that little pencil in a box of memorabilia.
I admit, I am weird. I have loved pencils since kindergarten. That love, has made me a snob of pencils. My pet peeve with most pencil makers is they use low grade materials for the graphite core and the wooden jacket. I hate the 'premium' pencils you buy that, that the wood is bendy and gummy, and the graphite core is all busted up because the wood is bendy. So you never get a good point. Black Wings are a true premium pencil, you get what you expect. Its a solid pencil, the graphite is nice and hard and you can take a few pages of notes, the wood is properly cured and tight grained. Sharpening one of these pencils is a joy, second only to writing with it.
Idk when cheap pencils flooded the market, but I couldn't stand many pencils in the 90s. Erasures would just smudge. Always cracked graphite. Sharpen and it's broken. Buying pencils at an art supply store is where it's at! You can test them, get diferent kinds and darknesses.
@@bsanchez3563 Tennessee red is one of my favorites, however some of the pencils I have of theirs got fairly splintery when sharpening, you need a nice sharpener to go with it.
Honestly $40 for 12 high quality pencils doesn’t seem like an insane price to me. If your career requires you to use a tool all day every day I imagine you want to have one that feels good to use. It’s like a high quality chef knife for a chef.
The thing is, the professionals moved on to another brands once this pencil was discontinued. I doubt they wasted a tear. The actual model is produced for hipsters thinking that it is the pot that makes you a cook.
As an artist, I love using these pencils. It is not uncommon to go to the art store and buy a pencil for about $2.50 a piece. So $30 for a box of 12 is a sweet spot. These are the best, 99 cent pencils have nothing on these!
Not really all that expensive, high quality colored pencil are about the same. I'm not an artist but I find them useful in construction with the very specific colors you can order individually.
Mitsubishi's are great, just not THAT great, as the Blackwing are. Blackwing provide better precision, which is crazy because they are softer and with softness, you supposed to ;lose the precision, that a harder HB pencil can provide! Blackwing also have 10 layers of lackuer,a decent eraser and an overall quality, that no other pencil can much. IT's the same as cars, all cars have wheels and all can take you places, but Rolls Royce is Rolls Royce and Mercedes is Mercedes,Mishubishis and Hundais, are a different category.@@DrBananananananananananananana
@@MarkTheTreeManVann there is always be bad batches due several variation due manufacturing process, and it's common. In Indonesia, Faber Castel 9000 & Straedler Mars Lumograph 100 is the classic here, and I did have several bad batches from them. Most common bad batches on me were: easily broken leads, the wood is too soft so when saving it went fray, and uniquely several time the leads were detach from the wood and I can pull the lead EASILY from the wood. then I switch to Stabilo Exam Grade, and it was better in term durability & batch consistency, but because it formulated specially for exam, the lead are much more softer but also went darker & smoother on any papers, so you need to learn not to put much more pressure when drawing & sketching; the wood also more grainier somehow, but it was reliable during exam & drawing overall.
What's amazing is a company picked up the brand, and decided to recreate the actual product. Rather than just using the brand, and running it off for quick profits
Their dedication makes my jaw drop. They couldn't fix a machine to attach the eraser so they made their own machine to do that. That's such a boss move. I have only respect for them for all that backbreaking work to get the pencil as close as possible to the original.
Remember the most important two comments this video states, “Just for $300 I Bought the Brand” and “We just want it to FEEL THE SAME, not actually being the same artistic quality, there is an enormous difference as an artist the quality of the mark rather than the FEEL OF MAKING THE MARK….
I've been using the original Blackwing 602 since 1978. I'm a classical musician and my teacher always used it since he played under Toscanini. FYI, L. Bernstein/Percy Grainger, Marvin Hamish and many other composers all used the 602. In the old 'Hogans Hero's' you see Col. Klink using one at his desk. I still have 4 one dozen boxes of the old 602's. I was over joyed they brought back that pencil EXCEPT they first released the black color pencil only called 'Blackwing'....THAT pencil MOST closely feels like the original 602. When they LATER released the BW 602 the graphite is stiffer, not gliding as smoothly as the old 602. If you want the feel of the old 602, purchase the black color "blackwing".... all my symphony/freelance musician colleagues now use that pencil.
Are you referring to Blackwing's Matte pencil? Or are you describing a pencil which is no longer in production. I'm curious b/c I want to try the original pencil.
The new blackwing BLACK color is most like the original...and they released that one first...the old orig. was gun metal gray and had '602' written on it...WHY the new company didnt release that design first, is beyond me...@@kinghenry7058
Yeah I’m surprised to see how many people here haven’t heard of this pencil… but I’m also a classical musician. It must be abnormally popular in our field. Personally, I find Blackwings to be a tad on the expensive side for we do and I love my Mitsubishi 9850s, and while I wouldn’t buy Blackwings for myself I’d happily welcome them as a gift.
The new ones still don't quite match the original 602 from the late 1990's and before....when I use one of them, it just glides SO beautifully.....I cant tell you over those earlier years of my career when a stand partner would grab my old 602 to mark the music, after using it, they would ALL turn the pencil over to see what KIND of pencil it was.....@@Bootus123
A friend of mine went to Japan and brought me back one Blackwing as an in-joke, not really knowing the story behind them-- after using it I hopped on line and immediately bought a full box. They're so great for outline and sketching for the watercolors I do for fun (I prefer to write with a Pilot Metropolitan fine nib fountain pen.) Haven't talked to that friend in a while but I will always be grateful she saw something she thought would make me laugh, and in the process introduced me to the best pencil I've ever used.
@@ellaisplotting Ironically I just bought a Lamy to try out their left handed nib and it's the first left handed thing I ever felt made a difference. The angle at which it hits the paper means I'm not smudging the ink constantly before it has a chance to dry.
FYI, as you wear down the erasure, put it out and lift it out further from the aluminum sheath, crimp the aluminum and stick it back into the gold holder.
I’m an engineer too (chemical/environmental). I don’t really do any engineering that requires a pencil anymore but sometimes I need to sketch something on a site visit. I’m a mechanical pencil girl. I started using fountain pens for writing. I do love a good old-fashioned pencil and may buy a Blackwing or two to sketch and write a bit.
When I was working as a draftsman back in the 1970s, the Pentel and Staedtler were the standards for mechnical pencils and lead. I even tried the 0.3mm pencil, but quickly gave up on it because being so small, the lead was always breaking. Back then, they hadn't put the spring mechanism into the lead holder that allowed the lead to retract slightly if you pressed too hard... The first one with that mechanism that I encountered was when I was in the military and it was made by Skilcraft. Surprisingly, I still have a couple of the "US GOVERNMENT" marked Skilcraft mechanical pencils and they still work perfectly even after all these decades.
Well, as a 45 year+ professional artist I say to you" Welcome, youngster, to the awesome dark side!" you will most certainly notice the difference if you give it an honest try. Enjoy!@@aquaticape2273
Mitsubishi 9800 is a superior pencil, followed closely by the Tonbow 2558. The Mitsubishi woodgrain is so tight, it feels like you could beat a bull elephant to death with it, and the graphite is effortlessly dark.
I've been a fan of the Blackwings, my go-to is the Extra Firm lead. But I picked up some cheap Tombow Monos at a Japanese store and they are way better in terms of lead.
Your comment a few days ago inspired me to order a box of the current Tombows, so I can see if the quality is still good now that they've moved production to Vietnam.
@@gerald5344 Oh, please update me! The Tombows I got were Tombow Mono-R HB pencils in a plastic case. I just got the new Blackwing Volume 2 with the XX-Firm lead and I still prefer the Tombows. I think I'm ready to leave Blackwings behind and explore the Japanese brands.
I vaguely remember a friend gifting a pack of the originals like 10 years ago during highschool, both the friend and pencils are phenomenal, there's probably even a few remaining in the pack!
As a professional sketch artist I use buy boxes and boxes of the Dixon Ticonderoga #2 (HB) pencils for my day to day sketching and projects, but when I am embarking on a serious project or I'm really intent on a piece I actually do go to my Blackwings. There IS a difference, maybe partly psychosomatic wherein you think it's better so you act and work better, but damned if it doesn't make the art feel better! I do believe it's a better pencil.
I remember these pencils from childhood... The silvery grey paint. The funny little rectangular eraser and ferrule. The little aluminum curlicues on the sides. I didn't even know they were discontinued, much less resurrected, or even special. But somebody in my childhood home liked them, because we had more than one.
as an artist who works in pencil.....quality is hard to find, and I hate any pencil that does not live up to my art pencils... I had a Blacking back in the 1960's, and thought the eraser was really cool... I think my dad snagged it from work....... keep up the good work...... and thanks for caring so much, cheers from an old guy in Florida , Paul
people love their office supplies. I never tried an original, but I’m happy to have tried a new release Blackwing! The quality and elegance are unmatched
These pencils are worth the price. It is really had to explain it until you have used one. It's like butter, very little effort is required to draw with these. They silky smooth and consistent. If you are not sure, get try the 3 pack that has the white, gray and black pencils. You will not regret it.
This. I thought they were ridiculously priced. Bought one to really dunk on the hype and then used it up entirely in one week. It’s just a great drawing tool.
I have used Staedler, Faber, Derwent (new ones), Caran Dáche in my drawings. Blackwing is in another league, it's like butter, I don't want anything else.
I remember those pencils from school in the 70's. We had an art instructor that always used them and I liked them so much I started using them. There's probably still a few in the pen & pencil box at my parent's house. In college I started using a Pentel mechanical pencil as it was great for engineering classes. Though I hardly ever use a pencil these days.
Artists trying to be engineers reveals the beauty of their minds. So many misinterpretations of why someting mechanically works, but an indominable spirit to make it work. Really makes for a beautiful story.
@@kniter01 You can replace "artists" by "children" and clearly notice how paternalistic that sounds. "Children trying to be engineers reveals the beauty of their minds. So many misinterpretations of why something mechanically works, but an indominable spirit to make it work. Really makes for a beautiful story."
@@sleepmore8587 of course! Sorry if it came off like I don’t respect different creative processes. I see my own approach to solving their problems with manufacturing and material science, and it would be a lot easier. BUT I wouldn’t make a perfect pencil, I’m not an artist. Their approach to solving problems is geared entirely around the writing experience, and I think it’s really beautiful to create something that way. Very different from my thought process when designing for manufacture.
One pencil for $3.is worth far more when you really need a writing instrument of any kind. It's a fetish... Freedom is grand when you are not afraid to enjoy it. So many people have houses full of unnecessary stuff and don't flinch. Same people will get all messed up on a really nice $3 pencil.
As much art gear as I've collected over my lifetime, how is it I've never even heard of this pencil? I have tons of pencils that I've picked up since the late sixties, always keeping an eye out for a new one. Weird. I think I'm going to visit my favorite art supply shop in the near future...as soon as it gets enough above zero.
They're pretty great. I've been using Blackwing Pearls for about 10 years now. They're a little softer than the 602's, but not as soft as the Matte's. It's been a while since I had a set of varying hardness pencils, but writing with one right now, it feels pretty close to a 2B. I don't have any 602's anymore, but I remember them being closer to a 2H, maybe a little softer. Never tried a Matte.
big fan of Viarco and even their packaging is made with old machines, if i remember correctly. i find it too firm/light to compare it to Blackwing. i do think they are coming up with fun ideas with some of their product lines that i haven't seen many other companies do.
I don't know much about pencils, but I love how people treasure a product that has quality and is a cut above the rest. And it's not just for status, it's because of the pencil itself.
@6:45 She nailed it. It's a tribute! They aren't the original, but you can tell they spent a lot of time and effort to get fairly close. I have a bunch of the new ones, and they have different styles/lead types. The old ones seem to be somewhere between their 602 and their natural. Maybe the next one will be just right.
I can't be critical of people who spent tens of dollars per pencil after blackwing went under. I've spent hundreds of dollars on spectracolor colored pencils (precursor to prismacolor). I am definitely going to go buy a box this morning.
I was thinking that exact same thing while reading these comments. I sold a set of Prismacolors I found thrift shopping and have regretted it ever since - despite the *huge* profit!
Blackwing also produces the best handheld pencil sharpener I've ever owned. It's metal, it sharpens smoothly, it fits well in the hand, easy to empty and reassemble, it's great. I also enjoy their note/sketchbooks, they're great for everyday and throwing in a backpack. They have an elastic pencil loop, come with one of the pencils, have a pocket in the back, and have an elastic band to hold them shut. Overall a great brand.
I have a box of original Blackwings, sometimes I think about taking one out to use, but then I see some absurd prices for them and I figure the Palomino's are a decent substitute while I hold onto them for a little longer. They're not totally the same, but they're close enough.
No, use them! What if you die tomorrow.. My grandma always saved the “better” stuff, after her death we had small museums worth of things, from design glassware sets to nice clothes and shoes, never worn and out of fashion. She wouldve enjoyed these things so much, loads more than we did.. we ended up donating most of it. Use your fancy supplies, treat yourself. I think we all deserve something nice, as the world gets more broken each day.
My dad was a hand pencil drafter. I touched all of his old gear. There is definitely a difference in types, brands and shapes/sizes. Sand paper to hone the edge. Bags of eraser dust to fine wipe the dust off. Very cool. I wish i had it today. he has it in the garage. Cheers I'll check these out and compare to the old. He didn't have black wing, but it was staedler and faber for sure. Different hardness ratings
Dixon Ticonderoga's are classic because those are the pencils you probably used in school. I know I did, and I still love them. Blackwing is good for longer projects (e.g. writing an essay) and I remember in 1998 when they went out of business right before I went off to college in '99 I bought myself a box. That box of 12 pencils I used all throughout college.
Just remember one thing... These are "Tribute" pencils. The originals are still superior at what they did for their original price point. For that matter, modern FaberCastell are leagues better. They didn't make a bad call dropping that line for a niche eraser.
Back in the 80s, we had pencils that would produce these long, graceful curls when sharpened. The wood was so dense and smooth, and those curls were a dream. Since then, I seem to only get crumbles and shards when sharpening a pencil. Whatever happened to the gracefully curling pencils?
The quality of wood, almost in general across the board, is steadily going down. Older trees have been harvested, and replaced in the market by faster growing younger trees.
I like the Black better than the Gray 602 or Pearl. I like the 6B, soft & dark, like a "No. 1 or 0.5" pencil. I also like Mechanical pencils, Fine Point. They never get dull. You NEED the "Long Point pencil sharpener", and buy extra erasers(need replacing after half used). It's like using a fine Carnauba wax on your Classic car rather than Turtle Wax liquid. Life is short. You should have the BEST of something!
I was a bit Blackwing fan in the 90s and early 2000s until they just disappeared. But I moved on to the Mitsubishi Pencil, I have been using their art supply for a while and I did try the new Pearl, 602, and the Matte blackwings recently and wasn't moved enough to pay their premium.
I remember first learning about Blackwing Pencil's from an artist friend who wanted some so badly I got him a box as a birthday present. He eventually gifted me one to try myself and to this day I think about that pencil. I might have to buy myself a box.
6:14 They made a pencil and then called it Blackwing. A blind monkey can tell you that the old and new are completely different. They tried so many graphites and still didn't get it right??? 😬Why even try then. 🙄
I’m a serious amateur pencil artist. I found out about Blackwing pencils just a couple of years ago and bought a dozen immediately. They are now indispensable to me! They truly are different in the best way possible. Not only smooth and bold, they have a certain hue I don’t see in other pencils and I think I may have tried them all. You better not stop making them!
What was the price from the original manufacturer before being discontinued? The $40 is the starting resell price after being discontinued and this new company is selling them for $2.25 which seems pricey but still not too crazy. Doesn't really matter to me since I will always prefer mechanical pencil and those won't have issue with rolling off either.
And if you like these then you'll love the Hagaromo chalk - specifically the dark green one. That one has the smoothest feeling on a chalkboard. Like a wax pencil on glass.
The Pencil: A History of Design and Cirumstance by Henry Petroski 450 pages. Most pencils in desks, tolboxes, etc got thrown away as they preserved the rest of the contents
Many years ago, when I was taking the LSAT, I needed to find a pencil that was thick and could create large circular dots quickly (every second counted). I ended up going to a specialty shop at the local art college to find Palomino Blackwings. It was very expensive for what was only a handful of them, but it gave me the confidence to fill out the scantron bubbles quickly and achieve a 169.
I love the complaining about how hard it was to recreate something that someone already did most of the work for and you could get into the name cheap. And then out source it. Everything is in the marketing, not in the substance.
After I watch this video I went to the attic and rummage my old stuff. I found 8 original Blackwing pencil still unused and 2 used from my college days. Thanks. But I rather used Staedtler, Pentel, Pilot, Uni Kuru, Kaweco pencils now.
I like the Palominos better than the 602s - the Pearls are wonderful too - but (my opinion) any Blackwing is superior to all other pencils. So happy that this company brought back the brand!
I found one of these when I was in junior high school back in the 60’s. I’ve never seen a pencil like this and it was my favorite one mostly because of the unique anti-roll eraser. I now own these in the graphite and white pearl, and they’re the smoothest writing pencils, and I just happen to like the style and vintage. And as for the cost, I’ve had the same 2 boxes for years, and even gave a few pencils as gifts. Sure, I have other types of pencils, but there’s a nostalgic feeling when you write with this pencil that’s hard to explain, but makes it an easy choice when reaching for a pencil.
So if Faber-Castell ended the Blackwing just because of the eraser ferrule - they most likely continued making that Blackwing graphite blend under a different name with a round eraser, right?
6:00 That little aluminium piece is under a cent to get outsourced through a large stamp works though, even the tooling isn't that expensive. Maybe a half dozen operations total?
I love my Blackwing for sketching and drawing, I can see why animators were so obsessed with them - but I've always thought the new ones were just a little too soft for everyday writing, and they don't really keep a point for long.
I've bought about 10 dozens from blackwing over the years and I think only two of those dozens were properly glued on the ferrule. Get better with your QAs blackwing! You charge a premium on these things and they aren't even high quality. I've never in my entire life bought any other pencil and had the ferrule just come off. Also there's the other end of the spectrum, y'all use TOO MUCH glue and the eraser clip doesn't wanna come out.
The comment at the end about are you crazy for selling a box of pencils for $30 the answer is you get what you pay for. It’s a high quality pencil and hands down my favorite and I’ve been drawing for 25 years.
When I was a kid at Disney World in the late 80’s what merchandise did I buy? A box of Blackwings, still got a few untouched. They were $2 per pencil which was 4x the price of a normal high quality pencil.
These are the only pencils I use, will never go back to regular ones. I carry a blackwing pencil, a Lamy fountain pen, and a Muji gel pen with me everyday
My favorite pencil is the Scripto 1.1mm twist top. They also were discontinued in the late 90’s. Several years ago I amassed a pretty large collection. Everyone thinks I’m crazy lol.
The original blackwing matte with the 3 trees was absolutely perfect , It just doesnt feel the same . I switched to my edition 3s but i still have a few of my originals left
In this day and age I can't believe that the "formula" of the composition of the "lead" can't be determined by a chemical analysis of same. Just asking....
According to the video the originals did not have one composition. I find it strange that they went with something closer to an older formulation rather than the most recent. The most recent one should be the one that the majority of current users would have the most experience with and most likely to replicate whatever those users are after.
I’m also confused , they say they make 16,000 a day or so, and they commonly receive daily orders of 100K pencils . Does that mean they are constantly sold out and on back order? Or is something not adding up.
Faber Castell has the original formula their drawing pencils are amazing but so are Dixon Ticonderoga 2HB Soft and being an artist I prefer the latter. The control you get with the Dixon is unsurpassed all you need is the one pencil 2HB Soft. I was drawing and painting before 5 years old and now I am over 70. I use the Dixon 2HB Soft exclusively for all my art projects.
Brilliant. Kudos to the actors, especially the woman playing the pencil historian, she really nailed the "pretentious urbanite valley girl" persona and vocal fry
$2.50 a pencil, not $3.00. Just saying. $30.00 ÷12= $2.50. $2.50 for an item that will give you utilitarian and aesthetic satisfaction for a bit doesn't seem bad at all.
In the latest Coveted episode, a historic lace factory is preserving the dying art of Leavers lace in England: th-cam.com/video/XD2nh75Yz8E/w-d-xo.html
Now this is marketing
How much do you think Blackwing paid for this commercial?
Everything is marketing
Everything? Bold claim. @@timan2039
Now this is podracing.
Yup, hyping a product you never knew you needed.
I know Blackwings have a cult following, but some years ago I tried a bunch of different pencils and found the price-quality sweet spot in a smooth-writing office pencil to be the Mitsubishi Pencil Co. 9850 HB, still made in Japan (I think) and available from Amazon at about $8 a dozen.
Thanks! I'll check that out
I trust the Japanese more than your average American business eager to squeeze out every possible ounce of profit anyways.
Mitsu-Bishi 9850s are super solid for the price. Might even be my preferred.
Ticonderoga black
Ticonderogas are sweet also
I used one Blackwing pencil, i happened to find at work, throughout my 4 years in design school, down to a nub. I keep that little pencil in a box of memorabilia.
I admit, I am weird. I have loved pencils since kindergarten. That love, has made me a snob of pencils. My pet peeve with most pencil makers is they use low grade materials for the graphite core and the wooden jacket. I hate the 'premium' pencils you buy that, that the wood is bendy and gummy, and the graphite core is all busted up because the wood is bendy. So you never get a good point. Black Wings are a true premium pencil, you get what you expect. Its a solid pencil, the graphite is nice and hard and you can take a few pages of notes, the wood is properly cured and tight grained. Sharpening one of these pencils is a joy, second only to writing with it.
Idk when cheap pencils flooded the market, but I couldn't stand many pencils in the 90s. Erasures would just smudge. Always cracked graphite. Sharpen and it's broken.
Buying pencils at an art supply store is where it's at! You can test them, get diferent kinds and darknesses.
How would you say Ticonderoga compares? They're the "nicest" brand of pencil I've used.
Glad to know I'm not the only pencil snob. I love Blackwings.
@@ivy_47imho usa gold, or else the Tenn red eg Tennessee red is the best of them.
@@bsanchez3563 Tennessee red is one of my favorites, however some of the pencils I have of theirs got fairly splintery when sharpening, you need a nice sharpener to go with it.
Honestly $40 for 12 high quality pencils doesn’t seem like an insane price to me. If your career requires you to use a tool all day every day I imagine you want to have one that feels good to use. It’s like a high quality chef knife for a chef.
The thing is, the professionals moved on to another brands once this pencil was discontinued. I doubt they wasted a tear. The actual model is produced for hipsters thinking that it is the pot that makes you a cook.
They said 'a piece's, stop when it was discontinued it was $40 for 1 pencil
As an artist, I love using these pencils. It is not uncommon to go to the art store and buy a pencil for about $2.50 a piece. So $30 for a box of 12 is a sweet spot. These are the best, 99 cent pencils have nothing on these!
I said the same thing. Paying $2.50 sounds about right for a high quality pencil.
Ticonderoga is a good pencil as well.
Not really all that expensive, high quality colored pencil are about the same. I'm not an artist but I find them useful in construction with the very specific colors you can order individually.
lol wow insane I buy Misubishi's for 10 bucks a box all day long and they're not reproductions.
Mitsubishi's are great, just not THAT great, as the Blackwing are. Blackwing provide better precision, which is crazy because they are softer and with softness, you supposed to ;lose the precision, that a harder HB pencil can provide! Blackwing also have 10 layers of lackuer,a decent eraser and an overall quality, that no other pencil can much. IT's the same as cars, all cars have wheels and all can take you places, but Rolls Royce is Rolls Royce and Mercedes is Mercedes,Mishubishis and Hundais, are a different category.@@DrBananananananananananananana
I never thought much about pencils until my most recent box of Staedtler's came out so inferior to what I used in the past.
Really? I love straedler pencils I've never got a bad batch self...
@@MarkTheTreeManVann there is always be bad batches due several variation due manufacturing process, and it's common. In Indonesia, Faber Castel 9000 & Straedler Mars Lumograph 100 is the classic here, and I did have several bad batches from them. Most common bad batches on me were: easily broken leads, the wood is too soft so when saving it went fray, and uniquely several time the leads were detach from the wood and I can pull the lead EASILY from the wood. then I switch to Stabilo Exam Grade, and it was better in term durability & batch consistency, but because it formulated specially for exam, the lead are much more softer but also went darker & smoother on any papers, so you need to learn not to put much more pressure when drawing & sketching; the wood also more grainier somehow, but it was reliable during exam & drawing overall.
@@MattWithTheCat4541 like any corporation, they have to constantly make their product cheaper and cheaper
@@MarkTheTreeManVann My fav right now is Steadtler Mars Lumograph black.
What's amazing is a company picked up the brand, and decided to recreate the actual product. Rather than just using the brand, and running it off for quick profits
Their dedication makes my jaw drop. They couldn't fix a machine to attach the eraser so they made their own machine to do that. That's such a boss move. I have only respect for them for all that backbreaking work to get the pencil as close as possible to the original.
Remember the most important two comments this video states, “Just for $300 I Bought the Brand” and “We just want it to FEEL THE SAME, not actually being the same artistic quality, there is an enormous difference as an artist the quality of the mark rather than the FEEL OF MAKING THE MARK….
I've been using the original Blackwing 602 since 1978. I'm a classical musician and my teacher always used it since he played under Toscanini. FYI, L. Bernstein/Percy Grainger, Marvin Hamish and many other composers all used the 602. In the old 'Hogans Hero's' you see Col. Klink using one at his desk. I still have 4 one dozen boxes of the old 602's. I was over joyed they brought back that pencil EXCEPT they first released the black color pencil only called 'Blackwing'....THAT pencil MOST closely feels like the original 602. When they LATER released the BW 602 the graphite is stiffer, not gliding as smoothly as the old 602. If you want the feel of the old 602, purchase the black color "blackwing".... all my symphony/freelance musician colleagues now use that pencil.
Are you referring to Blackwing's Matte pencil? Or are you describing a pencil which is no longer in production. I'm curious b/c I want to try the original pencil.
The new blackwing BLACK color is most like the original...and they released that one first...the old orig. was gun metal gray and had '602' written on it...WHY the new company didnt release that design first, is beyond me...@@kinghenry7058
Yeah I’m surprised to see how many people here haven’t heard of this pencil… but I’m also a classical musician. It must be abnormally popular in our field.
Personally, I find Blackwings to be a tad on the expensive side for we do and I love my Mitsubishi 9850s, and while I wouldn’t buy Blackwings for myself I’d happily welcome them as a gift.
The new ones still don't quite match the original 602 from the late 1990's and before....when I use one of them, it just glides SO beautifully.....I cant tell you over those earlier years of my career when a stand partner would grab my old 602 to mark the music, after using it, they would ALL turn the pencil over to see what KIND of pencil it was.....@@Bootus123
. Really ? didnt you hear what CW said when comparing them ?
A friend of mine went to Japan and brought me back one Blackwing as an in-joke, not really knowing the story behind them-- after using it I hopped on line and immediately bought a full box. They're so great for outline and sketching for the watercolors I do for fun (I prefer to write with a Pilot Metropolitan fine nib fountain pen.) Haven't talked to that friend in a while but I will always be grateful she saw something she thought would make me laugh, and in the process introduced me to the best pencil I've ever used.
You should reconnect with her. Friends are a special.
@@smokingbeetles5793 Totally agree. Friends and pencils, and cats, are some of the best things you can have for friends in life
@@smokingbeetles5793 all we are is dust in the wind
Pilot Metropolitan, good solid pen! I was looking to get one myself but I upgraded to a Lamy instead.
@@ellaisplotting Ironically I just bought a Lamy to try out their left handed nib and it's the first left handed thing I ever felt made a difference. The angle at which it hits the paper means I'm not smudging the ink constantly before it has a chance to dry.
FYI, as you wear down the erasure, put it out and lift it out further from the aluminum sheath, crimp the aluminum and stick it back into the gold holder.
I'm not gonna be able to afford those pencils but thanks for the tips anyway 👍
I just use a separate erasure. And really, I never erase.
I’ve used pencils as an engineer since the 80s. I’ve never heard of a Blackwing. The Pentel mechanical pencil has been my pencil of choice since 1981.
I’m an engineer too (chemical/environmental). I don’t really do any engineering that requires a pencil anymore but sometimes I need to sketch something on a site visit. I’m a mechanical pencil girl. I started using fountain pens for writing. I do love a good old-fashioned pencil and may buy a Blackwing or two to sketch and write a bit.
…P205 & 7’s are simply magic and superior for what you do
It's more of an artist's or writer's pencil. Far too soft for drafting work.
When I was working as a draftsman back in the 1970s, the Pentel and Staedtler were the standards for mechnical pencils and lead. I even tried the 0.3mm pencil, but quickly gave up on it because being so small, the lead was always breaking. Back then, they hadn't put the spring mechanism into the lead holder that allowed the lead to retract slightly if you pressed too hard... The first one with that mechanism that I encountered was when I was in the military and it was made by Skilcraft. Surprisingly, I still have a couple of the "US GOVERNMENT" marked Skilcraft mechanical pencils and they still work perfectly even after all these decades.
Well, as a 45 year+ professional artist I say to you" Welcome, youngster, to the awesome dark side!" you will most certainly notice the difference if you give it an honest try. Enjoy!@@aquaticape2273
Mitsubishi 9800 is a superior pencil, followed closely by the Tonbow 2558. The Mitsubishi woodgrain is so tight, it feels like you could beat a bull elephant to death with it, and the graphite is effortlessly dark.
Are you beating elephants with Mitsubishi pencils?
I've been a fan of the Blackwings, my go-to is the Extra Firm lead. But I picked up some cheap Tombow Monos at a Japanese store and they are way better in terms of lead.
Your comment a few days ago inspired me to order a box of the current Tombows, so I can see if the quality is still good now that they've moved production to Vietnam.
@@gerald5344 Oh, please update me! The Tombows I got were Tombow Mono-R HB pencils in a plastic case. I just got the new Blackwing Volume 2 with the XX-Firm lead and I still prefer the Tombows. I think I'm ready to leave Blackwings behind and explore the Japanese brands.
That 9800 is definitely a milspec, tactical pencil.
I vaguely remember a friend gifting a pack of the originals like 10 years ago during highschool, both the friend and pencils are phenomenal, there's probably even a few remaining in the pack!
As a professional sketch artist I use buy boxes and boxes of the Dixon Ticonderoga #2 (HB) pencils for my day to day sketching and projects, but when I am embarking on a serious project or I'm really intent on a piece I actually do go to my Blackwings. There IS a difference, maybe partly psychosomatic wherein you think it's better so you act and work better, but damned if it doesn't make the art feel better! I do believe it's a better pencil.
I remember these pencils from childhood...
The silvery grey paint. The funny little rectangular eraser and ferrule. The little aluminum curlicues on the sides.
I didn't even know they were discontinued, much less resurrected, or even special.
But somebody in my childhood home liked them, because we had more than one.
Original 602s?? Uhhhh, you got any boxes of them left over? 👀
as an artist who works in pencil.....quality is hard to find,
and I hate any pencil that does not live up to my art pencils...
I had a Blacking back in the 1960's, and thought the eraser was really cool...
I think my dad snagged it from work.......
keep up the good work......
and thanks for caring so much,
cheers from an old guy in Florida , Paul
Japanese pencils are way better than these overpriced ones
Musgrave Pencil in Tennessee has the best pencils money can buy
@@AryaStarky agree and they are cheap sometiems third the prices
people love their office supplies. I never tried an original, but I’m happy to have tried a new release Blackwing! The quality and elegance are unmatched
These pencils are worth the price. It is really had to explain it until you have used one. It's like butter, very little effort is required to draw with these. They silky smooth and consistent. If you are not sure, get try the 3 pack that has the white, gray and black pencils. You will not regret it.
This. I thought they were ridiculously priced. Bought one to really dunk on the hype and then used it up entirely in one week. It’s just a great drawing tool.
I love mine. A real delight.
I have used Staedler, Faber, Derwent (new ones), Caran Dáche in my drawings.
Blackwing is in another league, it's like butter, I don't want anything else.
I remember those pencils from school in the 70's. We had an art instructor that always used them and I liked them so much I started using them. There's probably still a few in the pen & pencil box at my parent's house. In college I started using a Pentel mechanical pencil as it was great for engineering classes. Though I hardly ever use a pencil these days.
Artists trying to be engineers reveals the beauty of their minds. So many misinterpretations of why someting mechanically works, but an indominable spirit to make it work. Really makes for a beautiful story.
That's a damned good way to put it, I'm gonna use this if you don't mind
@@kniter01 You can replace "artists" by "children" and clearly notice how paternalistic that sounds.
"Children trying to be engineers reveals the beauty of their minds. So many misinterpretations of why something mechanically works, but an indominable spirit to make it work. Really makes for a beautiful story."
You know artists aren't idiots. A lot of us are engineers, architects, mathematicians, doctors.
@@sleepmore8587 of course! Sorry if it came off like I don’t respect different creative processes. I see my own approach to solving their problems with manufacturing and material science, and it would be a lot easier. BUT I wouldn’t make a perfect pencil, I’m not an artist. Their approach to solving problems is geared entirely around the writing experience, and I think it’s really beautiful to create something that way. Very different from my thought process when designing for manufacture.
@@kniter01 thank you❤️how are you using it? Just curious
Great video on the rebirth of a pencil we love!
Was not expecting proko to be here
We love pencils lol@@anr5525
One pencil for $3.is worth far more when you really need a writing instrument of any kind.
It's a fetish...
Freedom is grand when you are not afraid to enjoy it.
So many people have houses full of unnecessary stuff and don't flinch.
Same people will get all messed up on a really nice $3 pencil.
Pen shills everywhere
@@eijonasson Calling it a fetish is a little weird. People love the nicest version of something its just how it is.
As much art gear as I've collected over my lifetime, how is it I've never even heard of this pencil? I have tons of pencils that I've picked up since the late sixties, always keeping an eye out for a new one. Weird. I think I'm going to visit my favorite art supply shop in the near future...as soon as it gets enough above zero.
They're pretty great. I've been using Blackwing Pearls for about 10 years now. They're a little softer than the 602's, but not as soft as the Matte's. It's been a while since I had a set of varying hardness pencils, but writing with one right now, it feels pretty close to a 2B. I don't have any 602's anymore, but I remember them being closer to a 2H, maybe a little softer. Never tried a Matte.
big fan of Viarco and even their packaging is made with old machines, if i remember correctly. i find it too firm/light to compare it to Blackwing. i do think they are coming up with fun ideas with some of their product lines that i haven't seen many other companies do.
You must be a very happy person.
The amount of passion they put into this should be all you need to know in order to see why they are worth it.
I don't know much about pencils, but I love how people treasure a product that has quality and is a cut above the rest. And it's not just for status, it's because of the pencil itself.
@6:45 She nailed it. It's a tribute! They aren't the original, but you can tell they spent a lot of time and effort to get fairly close.
I have a bunch of the new ones, and they have different styles/lead types. The old ones seem to be somewhere between their 602 and their natural. Maybe the next one will be just right.
I can't be critical of people who spent tens of dollars per pencil after blackwing went under. I've spent hundreds of dollars on spectracolor colored pencils (precursor to prismacolor).
I am definitely going to go buy a box this morning.
I was thinking that exact same thing while reading these comments. I sold a set of Prismacolors I found thrift shopping and have regretted it ever since - despite the *huge* profit!
Spectracolors are the best! I just can't justify buying them at this point in my life.
Blackwing also produces the best handheld pencil sharpener I've ever owned. It's metal, it sharpens smoothly, it fits well in the hand, easy to empty and reassemble, it's great. I also enjoy their note/sketchbooks, they're great for everyday and throwing in a backpack. They have an elastic pencil loop, come with one of the pencils, have a pocket in the back, and have an elastic band to hold them shut. Overall a great brand.
I have a box of original Blackwings, sometimes I think about taking one out to use, but then I see some absurd prices for them and I figure the Palomino's are a decent substitute while I hold onto them for a little longer. They're not totally the same, but they're close enough.
No, use them! What if you die tomorrow.. My grandma always saved the “better” stuff, after her death we had small museums worth of things, from design glassware sets to nice clothes and shoes, never worn and out of fashion. She wouldve enjoyed these things so much, loads more than we did.. we ended up donating most of it. Use your fancy supplies, treat yourself. I think we all deserve something nice, as the world gets more broken each day.
@@janemiettinen5176 good point 🤗 ♥️
"Some people still do think we're crazy"
"And what do you say back?"
"Good question"
[long pause]
That moment had me rolling
My dad was a hand pencil drafter. I touched all of his old gear. There is definitely a difference in types, brands and shapes/sizes. Sand paper to hone the edge. Bags of eraser dust to fine wipe the dust off. Very cool. I wish i had it today. he has it in the garage. Cheers
I'll check these out and compare to the old. He didn't have black wing, but it was staedler and faber for sure. Different hardness ratings
Dixon Ticonderoga's are classic because those are the pencils you probably used in school. I know I did, and I still love them.
Blackwing is good for longer projects (e.g. writing an essay) and I remember in 1998 when they went out of business right before I went off to college in '99 I bought myself a box. That box of 12 pencils I used all throughout college.
There comes a time when you want to write with quality, not quantity.
1:40 - She is without a doubt the best looking pencil historian I've seen.
I'm just amazed at the fact that there is actualy a historian for pencils.
Just remember one thing... These are "Tribute" pencils. The originals are still superior at what they did for their original price point.
For that matter, modern FaberCastell are leagues better. They didn't make a bad call dropping that line for a niche eraser.
Red skirt's vocal fry is killing me. She'll get a pencil to the jugular.
Back in the 80s, we had pencils that would produce these long, graceful curls when sharpened. The wood was so dense and smooth, and those curls were a dream. Since then, I seem to only get crumbles and shards when sharpening a pencil. Whatever happened to the gracefully curling pencils?
That's a strange thing to notice
The quality of wood, almost in general across the board, is steadily going down. Older trees have been harvested, and replaced in the market by faster growing younger trees.
I also was in elementary school in the 80s, I remember my favorite pencils were Empire.
I like the Black better than the Gray 602 or Pearl. I like the 6B, soft & dark, like a "No. 1 or 0.5" pencil. I also like Mechanical pencils, Fine Point. They never get dull.
You NEED the "Long Point pencil sharpener", and buy extra erasers(need replacing after half used). It's like using a fine Carnauba wax on your Classic car rather than Turtle Wax liquid.
Life is short. You should have the BEST of something!
I was a bit Blackwing fan in the 90s and early 2000s until they just disappeared. But I moved on to the Mitsubishi Pencil, I have been using their art supply for a while and I did try the new Pearl, 602, and the Matte blackwings recently and wasn't moved enough to pay their premium.
i did the math~
21% dislike the pencil
77% dislike the vocal fry
2% dislike WSJ
at 0:56 the dovetail slides on that machine are hand scraped in the swiss pull scraping style, very cool
I remember first learning about Blackwing Pencil's from an artist friend who wanted some so badly I got him a box as a birthday present. He eventually gifted me one to try myself and to this day I think about that pencil. I might have to buy myself a box.
Wow, just when I think I know at least a little about everything, something comes, comes along and blows my mind about stuff that I never considered
The amount of uptalk in this video is staggering.
6:14 They made a pencil and then called it Blackwing.
A blind monkey can tell you that the old and new are completely different. They tried so many graphites and still didn't get it right??? 😬Why even try then. 🙄
Love the Blackwing - cool to see how it’s made!
I’m a serious amateur pencil artist. I found out about Blackwing pencils just a couple of years ago and bought a dozen immediately. They are now indispensable to me! They truly are different in the best way possible. Not only smooth and bold, they have a certain hue I don’t see in other pencils and I think I may have tried them all. You better not stop making them!
What was the price from the original manufacturer before being discontinued? The $40 is the starting resell price after being discontinued and this new company is selling them for $2.25 which seems pricey but still not too crazy.
Doesn't really matter to me since I will always prefer mechanical pencil and those won't have issue with rolling off either.
And if you like these then you'll love the Hagaromo chalk - specifically the dark green one. That one has the smoothest feeling on a chalkboard. Like a wax pencil on glass.
There is a similar thing happening with Japanese chalk. Quality matters!! ❤
3:43 - gotta love uncentered graphite
6:24 She's like an exaggerated SNL parody of vocal fry.
Awesome Video thank you very much for your hard effort and work
Going to crack open a can of Liquid Death and write a hit with my BlackWing; yup, I’m definitely getting close to arriving.
Well, I have gone for 70 odd years without knowing about the Blackwing 602, now I can die happy!
Solid production here, props to the team who made this vid.
my favorite pencil set growing up. loved drawing with these suckers
"Pencil Historian" there's a career path 😂
The Pencil: A History of Design and Cirumstance by Henry Petroski 450 pages. Most pencils in desks, tolboxes, etc got thrown away as they preserved the rest of the contents
Caroline Weaver, the pencil historian, also ran a pencil shop
Missed opportunity 😂
She’s awesome. I ordered a bunch of pencils from her shop a few years back and she included a hand written thank you note in pencil in the order. ❤
Brainy beauty.
Many years ago, when I was taking the LSAT, I needed to find a pencil that was thick and could create large circular dots quickly (every second counted). I ended up going to a specialty shop at the local art college to find Palomino Blackwings. It was very expensive for what was only a handful of them, but it gave me the confidence to fill out the scantron bubbles quickly and achieve a 169.
I love the complaining about how hard it was to recreate something that someone already did most of the work for and you could get into the name cheap. And then out source it. Everything is in the marketing, not in the substance.
at the end he should've answered: "I'm not crazy my customers are"
After I watch this video I went to the attic and rummage my old stuff. I found 8 original Blackwing pencil still unused and 2 used from my college days. Thanks. But I rather used Staedtler, Pentel, Pilot, Uni Kuru, Kaweco pencils now.
I like the Palominos better than the 602s - the Pearls are wonderful too - but (my opinion) any Blackwing is superior to all other pencils. So happy that this company brought back the brand!
I found one of these when I was in junior high school back in the 60’s. I’ve never seen a pencil like this and it was my favorite one mostly because of the unique anti-roll eraser. I now own these in the graphite and white pearl, and they’re the smoothest writing pencils, and I just happen to like the style and vintage. And as for the cost, I’ve had the same 2 boxes for years, and even gave a few pencils as gifts. Sure, I have other types of pencils, but there’s a nostalgic feeling when you write with this pencil that’s hard to explain, but makes it an easy choice when reaching for a pencil.
So if Faber-Castell ended the Blackwing just because of the eraser ferrule - they most likely continued making that Blackwing graphite blend under a different name with a round eraser, right?
Maybe yes, if they deemed the core to be interesting enough to keep around
@@athmaid Costs time and money to change...
6:00 That little aluminium piece is under a cent to get outsourced through a large stamp works though, even the tooling isn't that expensive. Maybe a half dozen operations total?
Let's just hope Prismacilor doesn't snap this company up like they have every other quality brand, and ruin it as well.
When people say they're crazy for selling a dozen pencils for $30 bucks, they should tell them about the 100,000 they sell in a day.
If the WSJ "gadget guy" says "kind of" one more time, I'm going to scream. Speak like a professional, bro.
u got me paying $27 for 12 pencils, im so excited to get this iconic pencil and start chewing it and taking photos
just say no to uptalk and vocal fry!
yes i noticed that too!
I love my Blackwing for sketching and drawing, I can see why animators were so obsessed with them - but I've always thought the new ones were just a little too soft for everyday writing, and they don't really keep a point for long.
I've bought about 10 dozens from blackwing over the years and I think only two of those dozens were properly glued on the ferrule. Get better with your QAs blackwing! You charge a premium on these things and they aren't even high quality. I've never in my entire life bought any other pencil and had the ferrule just come off. Also there's the other end of the spectrum, y'all use TOO MUCH glue and the eraser clip doesn't wanna come out.
I never use the eraser on the pencil.
The comment at the end about are you crazy for selling a box of pencils for $30 the answer is you get what you pay for. It’s a high quality pencil and hands down my favorite and I’ve been drawing for 25 years.
This was really interesting! Now I want the pencil for some reason
For real. I’ve probably written with a pencil less than 5 minutes in the last 20 years but now I want these.
That's the whole point of this promotional video...
Welcome to Public Relations & Propaganda
When I was a kid at Disney World in the late 80’s what merchandise did I buy? A box of Blackwings, still got a few untouched. They were $2 per pencil which was 4x the price of a normal high quality pencil.
These are the only pencils I use, will never go back to regular ones. I carry a blackwing pencil, a Lamy fountain pen, and a Muji gel pen with me everyday
Nice!!
Have you tried the Schneider .08 pen. It is the best pen that I have ever tried.
I've a Lamy! Gorgeous pens 😊
Try STAEDTLER Mars Lumograph Art Pencils and save a ton of money with a greater variety of lead harnesses. Been using them for 40+ years.
My favorite pencil is the Scripto 1.1mm twist top. They also were discontinued in the late 90’s. Several years ago I amassed a pretty large collection. Everyone thinks I’m crazy lol.
Agree! I still have my high school Scripto Classic from the late 60s and still use it.
So its a 2b or hb pencil instead of 2h
This is not the greatest pencil in the world, this is just a tribute!
Tenacious D! Very nice
Great video WSJ!
Great video! Blackwings are my favorite pencils!
What became of the original equipment, and where was the original factory located?
Never heard of it.
I want a box!
I’ve always loved FC pencils, specifically HB lead.
The original blackwing matte with the 3 trees was absolutely perfect , It just doesnt feel the same . I switched to my edition 3s but i still have a few of my originals left
Pencil historian seems like an in demand job.
In this day and age I can't believe that the "formula" of the composition of the "lead" can't be determined by a chemical analysis of same. Just asking....
According to the video the originals did not have one composition. I find it strange that they went with something closer to an older formulation rather than the most recent. The most recent one should be the one that the majority of current users would have the most experience with and most likely to replicate whatever those users are after.
I’m also confused , they say they make 16,000 a day or so, and they commonly receive daily orders of 100K pencils . Does that mean they are constantly sold out and on back order? Or is something not adding up.
They have limited run and special edition pencils, and they do sell out regularly
Never heard of these pencils, but it’s pretty cool.
Faber Castell has the original formula their drawing pencils are amazing but so are Dixon Ticonderoga 2HB Soft and being an artist I prefer the latter. The control you get with the Dixon is unsurpassed all you need is the one pencil 2HB Soft. I was drawing and painting before 5 years old and now I am over 70. I use the Dixon 2HB Soft exclusively for all my art projects.
Caroline's vocal fry is off the charts.
Brilliant. Kudos to the actors, especially the woman playing the pencil historian, she really nailed the "pretentious urbanite valley girl" persona and vocal fry
If people think $3 for a pencil is a lot, don't get into mechanical pencils or God forbid you fall in love with fountain pens.
$2.50 a pencil, not $3.00. Just saying. $30.00 ÷12= $2.50. $2.50 for an item that will give you utilitarian and aesthetic satisfaction for a bit doesn't seem bad at all.
Great!! and thanks for comeback!. I hope distribute it in Peru
You had me at $40 pencil.
3:15 Why does one of the pencils say "GUITARS" on it?
I never knew I needed this till now 😂