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corniche
July 30th, 2020, 05:39 PM
Hi all,

Aside from the venerable Blackwing by Eberhard Faber (not that horribly gritty and toothy modern imposter); the #600 NEWS pencil by the Musgrave Pencil Company out of Tennessee; is without a doubt, the BEST pencil I've ever used. :)

It does wear down easier than most, but once you use one, you won't care. :D


https://musgravepencil.com/products/600-news-wood-cased-round-pencil-musgrave-pencil-company


- Sean :)

dfo
July 30th, 2020, 05:54 PM
I don't know if I would call the newer Blackwing a toothy imposter. Eberhard made great pencils but not pencil saints. That said, I collect Eberhard Faber Mongol pencils.

My perfect woorden pencil is the Mitsubishi 9850 Pencil with Eraser - HB.

My perfect mechanical pencil is the Lamy 2000 .5mm

corniche
July 30th, 2020, 06:22 PM
Hi DFO,

Well, idk, it's been 35 years since I used one of the originals, but I remember them being far "creamier" than the ones Palomino is making now. I would say their "Pearl" comes closest to the original.

I like the 9850's, too, but prefer to buy locally when I can.


- Sean 🙂

corniche
July 30th, 2020, 06:26 PM
Hi DFO, I couldn't find the Edit button to add this, but thanks for chiming in. 🙂

- S.

Farmboy
July 30th, 2020, 08:20 PM
Toothy imposter compared to the real thing.

The news is ok but would be better if they used OGF cedar.

corniche
July 30th, 2020, 09:00 PM
Toothy imposter compared to the real thing.

The news is ok but would be better if they used OGF cedar.

Hi Farmboy,

I concur. I love the cedar in their Harvest Deluxe, but I dont care for the Harvest's harsh edges and I wish its "lead" was more like the #600's.

I've debated contacting Musgrave to ask about a custom order... make me a few gross of the 600 using cedar wood and put an eraser on it. Then you really would have the perfect pencil... or as close to it as you'll probably get in this day and age. 👍 (Like you, I can remember when even budget pencils were made from California Cedar).

- Sean 🙂

Farmboy
July 30th, 2020, 11:16 PM
You need to make sure they use OGF cedar

suzy01
July 30th, 2020, 11:31 PM
My favourite is the rotring tikky 0.5 but I replaced the hb lead with 2b. Also love the 0.35 version [emoji7] not expensive but really great to use

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Chrissy
July 31st, 2020, 12:12 AM
Hi DFO, I couldn't find the Edit button to add this, but thanks for chiming in. 🙂

- S.
Edit Post is in the grey bar below your post. To quote another member's post click on Reply With Quote in the grey bar below their post
When you click on Edit Post, you also have the option to Delete Post on the edit page that comes up.

Chuck Naill
July 31st, 2020, 03:13 AM
I don't know if I would call the newer Blackwing a toothy imposter. Eberhard made great pencils but not pencil saints.

My perfect pencil is the Mitsubishi 9850 Pencil with Eraser - HB.

I was just going to post about the 9850 being a very nice pencil. The eraser is excellent also. Like the original BW, the 9850 is doesn't require pressure to produce a dark scrtipt. I've read that's why Steinbeck like the original 602's.

Pterodactylus
July 31st, 2020, 03:30 AM
For drawing I prefer the Staedtler Mars Lumograph because of their really dark black down to 9B, so these are my number one pencils.
The Faber Castell 9000 are also not bad.

Regarding mechanical pencils my favorite one is the Rotring 600 (0.5) because of itˋs excellent building quality, itˋs design and it‘s a bit heavier weight (as itˋs a metal one).

corniche
August 2nd, 2020, 09:12 PM
You need to make sure they use OGF cedar

Hi Farmboy,

What is this?? I googled it, but nothing worthwhile came up.

- Sean 🤔

corniche
August 2nd, 2020, 09:13 PM
Hi DFO, I couldn't find the Edit button to add this, but thanks for chiming in. 🙂

- S.
Edit Post is in the grey bar below your post. To quote another member's post click on Reply With Quote in the grey bar below their post
When you click on Edit Post, you also have the option to Delete Post on the edit page that comes up.

Thank you much, Chrissy. 👍

Jon Szanto
August 2nd, 2020, 09:16 PM
You need to make sure they use OGF cedar

Hi Farmboy,

What is this?? I googled it, but nothing worthwhile came up.

Old Growth Forest?

corniche
August 2nd, 2020, 09:18 PM
For drawing I prefer the Staedtler Mars Lumograph because of their really dark black down to 9B, so these are my number one pencils.
The Faber Castell 9000 are also not bad.

Regarding mechanical pencils my favorite one is the Rotring 600 (0.5) because of itˋs excellent building quality, itˋs design and it‘s a bit heavier weight (as itˋs a metal one).
Well, I'm not the artistic type... I wish I was,... but I just dont have it.

I just use pencils for writing.

- Sean 🙂

azkid
August 3rd, 2020, 09:16 AM
Here I thought my Ticonderogas were where it's at. Another rabbit hole to fall into it seems.

I bought some Staedtler Mars Lumographs for drawing ages ago. That I still have them is evidence of how rarely I draw anymore.

For mechanicals, I've tried a few lately but my first pick is still my favorite: Uni Kuru Toga Roulette. Great build quality, good price, and yes the rotating lead mechanism really works (when printing or drawing).

corniche
August 3rd, 2020, 09:31 PM
You need to make sure they use OGF cedar

Hi Farmboy,

What is this?? I googled it, but nothing worthwhile came up.

Old Growth Forest?

Hi Jon,

That's a possibility, but I'd hate to waste old growth cedar for a highly disposable commodity like pencils. I'm hoping it means something else.


- Sean 🙂

corniche
August 3rd, 2020, 09:37 PM
Here I thought my Ticonderogas were where it's at. Another rabbit hole to fall into it seems.

I bought some Staedtler Mars Lumographs for drawing ages ago. That I still have them is evidence of how rarely I draw anymore.

For mechanicals, I've tried a few lately but my first pick is still my favorite: Uni Kuru Toga Roulette. Great build quality, good price, and yes the rotating lead mechanism really works (when printing or drawing).

😄

I know, theres no shortage of rabbit holes. Actually, I hate to say it, but Ticonderogas are only a pale image of their former glory... they used to be a pretty good middle range pencil, but their quality has really slipped in the past 15 years or so.

Mars Lumographs are excellent, but too expensive for general writing... at least from my perspective, but you should try drawing again... never let good pencils... or talent... go to waste. 👍


- Sean 🙂

Jon Szanto
August 3rd, 2020, 09:50 PM
That's a possibility, but I'd hate to waste old growth cedar for a highly disposable commodity like pencils. I'm hoping it means something else.

Old Guy Fetish?

Empty_of_Clouds
August 4th, 2020, 04:58 AM
Mitsubishi Uni and Tombow Mono for me. Consistently good.

Agree with Corniche about not wasting OGF on a disposable, would much more like to see it used to make Native American Flutes. Great timbre (pun fully intended).

dfo
August 4th, 2020, 01:34 PM
Mitsubishi Uni and Tombow Mono for me. Consistently good.

Agree with Corniche about not wasting OGF on a disposable, would much more like to see it used to make Native American Flutes. Great timbre (pun fully intended).

Tombow pencils are top-notch. I forgot about them.

I live near an OGF cedar grove. The trees are massive, but not quite as big as the California Red woods. They would have been harvested long ago except the county government keeps stepping in to stop the logging.

pajaro
November 23rd, 2020, 05:17 PM
I like IBM testing pencils. Nice for crosswords. Sometimes use my 6B drawing pencils.

corniche
November 25th, 2020, 03:09 AM
I like IBM testing pencils. Nice for crosswords. Sometimes use my 6B drawing pencils.


Hi Pajaro,

I like the Electrographic pencils from IBM, but their cost is prohibitive - if you can find them - the NEWS 600 gives very similar performance for a tiny fraction of the IBM's price.

- Sean :-)

welch
July 9th, 2021, 04:50 PM
For those curious about the original Eberhard Faber Blackwings, and how they compare, I have a short Blackwing and one I have not yet sharpened. The used one is harder and dryer than I remember, harder and dryer than a current "Pearl". Maybe I remember them softer than they were, or maybe they have hardened over the last 30 years? I bought a box in the early mid-90s from a stationery store in Manhattan that never reduced their prices on old stock and never threw anything away. Also bought six or ten boxes of EF Mongol #1. I blew some dust and grit off the boxes, which were on higher shelves behind their good-selling things. EF had sold out to Faber-Castell, and I was looking for the old boxes, the yellow and white boxes with black lettering. The dozen Blackwings were $6.00, if anyone is curious.

rkesey
July 11th, 2021, 07:40 PM
Glad to see this thread brought back to life, and thanks for all the recommendations. I just put in an order for a Musgrave Heritage Collection (their 12-pencil sampler) to find a new favorite.

MRusso
October 8th, 2021, 11:10 AM
I have not tried the Blackwing yet, it end up too expensive with shipping. But I managed to get a box of Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 2B from Japan and it's probably the best pencils I've tried. And I've tried many, many brands including Faber, Tombow, Cretacolor, Caran D' Ache, Staedtler, Blick, Utrecth, Bruynzeel design, Prismacolor, Design Drawing, Derwent, etc etc.. and I tell you that the graphite of the Hi-Uni is really, really smooth. It's a different experience. It's a bit smoother than Tombow which is a pretty darn good pencil. Some say you should get the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni, not the Mistubishi Uni which is different but never tried the non- "Hi-Uni".