High-end wooden pencils

[FredRydr]

I thought spending $25 for a box of a dozen wooden pencils was bordering on the absurd. I allowed myself to be swayed while trading vintage pens at an event at Bertram's Inkwell months ago, and bought them from Bert's store.

What was all the hype about? I'm not a pencil collector, so what did I think I was doing? Well, after using them for about five months, I am convinced.

The Ticonderoga pencils in the kitchen continue to suffer graphite falling apart after sharpening, and sometimes the graphite isn't even centered causing one side of the point to be wood. I don't remember these kind of defects in the past, so quality has declined. But these Blackwing pencils are consistent and reliable, and last and last. I still find it hard to justify the price, because isn't that what all pencils should deliver for half that price? But the alternative is too annoying.

The erasers are cool. When worn short, you pull them out for more rubber.

Anyway, I won't have to buy pencils for a long time if these Blackwings continue to deliver.

Time for the sharpener:
70404

[bunnspecial]

A colleague turned me on to these years ago, and they're the only wooden pencils I use(although my MB 172s would be great if I could just find erasers!)

Compared to what a lot of us pay for pens and inks, $2/pencil is nothing(okay, I guess more than that now). I don't use pencils a ton and still have half my first box after giving several away.

Apparently a lot of the pencil people turn up their noses at these and say they are inferior to the original ones. I can't really judge. The same colleague who got me hooked on these had an original in one of the cups on her desk, and I just scrawled a couple of lines with it. The new ones may not be the same, but they are high quality, are just soft enough to be pleasant to use while holding a point well, and more importantly are easy to get compared to originals. So, without a frame of reference, they're a solid win in my book.

[Chrissy]

We had an interesting chat about Blackwing pencils on the Zoom meet from The Lone Star Pen Club last weekend. I'm almost tempted to try one out. :) It's difficult to believe that they could be so much better than regular wooden pencils but everyone seems to think this is the case.

[migo984]

I’m very fussy about my pencils and get through a lot of them, for both drawing and writing. I’ve tried all four Blackwing variants (Matte, Pearl, 602 and Natural). And whilst pleasant to use, none of those come anywhere close to either the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni or the Tombow Mono 100 pencils. They are superbly made; dead-centre leads, top quality casings and flawless finishes. Perfect gradings, with consistently smooth ‘leads’. But then pencils are a very personal thing and I know lots of people swear by Blackwing.

As an aside I have a treasured box of the original Blackwing Palomino 602 from when they were made by the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company. Now those were truly fabulous pencils. It was a sad day when Eberhard stopped making them, back in the late 1990s. Yes, the current manufacturer bought the name, and has tried hard to make a good quality pencil, but it is light years away from the original imho.

[FredRydr]

...whilst pleasant to use, none of those come anywhere close to....
Oh dear, a cedar and graphite rabbit hole. Will I go the next step? Not until my dozen pencils are about gone.

[migo984]

...whilst pleasant to use, none of those come anywhere close to....
Oh dear, a cedar and graphite rabbit hole. Will I go the next step? Not until my dozen pencils are about gone.

It’s more black hole than rabbit hole! Definitely don’t go there. 😆

[christof]

...whilst pleasant to use, none of those come anywhere close to....
Oh dear, a cedar and graphite rabbit hole. Will I go the next step? Not until my dozen pencils are about gone.

Fred

I have tested dozens of woodpencils....

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51061977118_02eefcd542_c.jpg

...to find out that I like these Mitsubishi 9852 best:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48643226108_4b16c2e7d5_c.jpg

they write smother and blacker than Blackwings, and the eraser does a better job.

But with pencils it is like with fountain pens - everyone likes it a little different. What counts in the end is what was written with it....

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50894612077_961ef4c404_c.jpg


:cheers:

ps: ...has anyone told you that you need a high end sharpener for your high end pencils?

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50074766576_1193e1aa86_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51055026772_fe3bafd35c_c.jpg

:cheers:

[Sailor Kenshin]

There was a fancy pen, paper and pencil store in NYC that closed not too long ago, but way before that, a pen pal sent me a nice assortment of high-end pencils. There's a Blackwing among them, but my absolute favorite is a pencil encased in cedar. Don't recall the name, but it,s girthy and wonderful to write with.

I was used to artist pencils, and still have a few. Berol? I think, is one of the makers. The nice thing about drawing pencils is you can select the properties of the lead.

[arrow]

I can`t say I have advanced beyond those Faber-Castell pencils in green lacquer with a touch of gold lines here and there, and at the moment my local store have koh-i-noor pencils, in black lacquer with a bit of gold paint here and there too. I have reserved "high end" for fancy amplifiers and loud speakers, but it is fun to fuss with pencils and find a favorite. I always get B and HB ;- )

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

[Berol] Prismacolor. Beautiful colors. The great art store here in NE Ohio that had aisles of those and other pencils closed.

Thankfully they're available online here (https://www.hyatts.com/art/prismacolor-pencils-1.4809) and on Amazon.

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

While I love the way Blackwing pencils write, the erasers aren't so good.

So I use this one ... bought at Mélodies Graphiques in Paris.70408

Will try the Mitsubishi 9852's.

[migo984]

[Berol] Prismacolor. Beautiful colors. The great art store here in NE Ohio that had aisles of those and other pencils closed.

Thankfully they're available online here (https://www.hyatts.com/art/prismacolor-pencils-1.4809) and on Amazon.

If you haven’t tried them, Caran d’Ache Luminence are stunning coloured pencils. As are Faber Castell Polychromos.

[Farmboy]

I only use old growth forest pencils and original Blackwings.

[FredRydr]

I only use old growth forest pencils and original Blackwings.
How does one recognize an original Blackwing?

[Lloyd]

I only use old growth forest pencils and original Blackwings.
How does one recognize an original Blackwing?
The cost😉

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[manoeuver]

I like the blackwings. A friend gave me a Mitsubishi and it really is a very lovely pencil. Next time I buy pencils I'll probably grab those.

I got a pack of these triangular Maped pencils (they are gray and orange, vertically striped) and they make a fine daily driver pencil.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I thought that name sounded familiar. I have a pack of Maped colored pencils in a wish list.

[migo984]

……….A friend gave me a Mitsubishi and it really is a very lovely pencil. Next time I buy pencils I'll probably grab those.


Mitsubishi pencils are really beautifully made. I’ve never been disappointed with any of their series.

[Kaputnik]

For writing, if I want to use a pencil, I mostly use mechanical pencils. I actually have acquired a collection of those, but I see there's another thread on that.

I do use a lot of wooden pencils, but mostly for drawing. My most expensive ones are Eagle (Berol) #314 draughting pencils. One of my drawing books recommended these, I went looking for them, and discovered that they were no longer made, hadn't been for some time in fact. So I got some vintage ones. I set an absolute limit for myself of $5 per pencil for these, and have usually gotten them for less, some for around $3 each. There's a modern knockoff of these made by General, but they aren't the same, although not actually bad.

Other than that, I like Mitsubishi Hi-uni pencils. In a moment of enthusiasm, I bought their full set from 10B to 10H inclusive. In practice, I mostly use 2B, HB, and 2H, and those are the grades for which I have the most spares.

I have some of the modern "Palomino" Blackwings, and they're nice enough, a step up from your typical office pencil. I've read people's descriptions of how much superior the genuine vintage Blackwings were, but after seeing the prices they go for on eBay, I think I can do without them.

[Chuck Naill]

I use Mitsubishi

[Farmboy]

Original 602s can easily hit 400 a box now. I stocked up so long ago that I can finish out and don't need to buy anymore. They are different than the Palomino copies. Think of it as the difference between a 71 Hemi Cuda and some Cuda that has a Hemi stuffed in it by your Cousin.

Try the Musgrave Pencil Company. They happen to be in Tennessee and sell a pretty good pencil.

Go for the sample pack and the Unigraph (you can select your grade and tipped or untipped). If you want a close approximation to the original 602 choose a 6B.

[Cyril]

...whilst pleasant to use, none of those come anywhere close to....
Oh dear, a cedar and graphite rabbit hole. Will I go the next step? Not until my dozen pencils are about gone.

I have never been there too and I am thinking to get Blackwings and see how to get lost there .

[QUOTE=christof;367022]

...whilst pleasant to use, none of those come anywhere close to....
Oh dear, a cedar and graphite rabbit hole. Will I go the next step? Not until my dozen pencils are about gone.

Fred

I have tested dozens of woodpencils....

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51061977118_02eefcd542_c.jpg

...to find out that I like these Mitsubishi 9852 best:

This is what I noticed by many artists too. It is worth trying to lay my hands on one soon.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Is anyone familiar with these?

https://pics.ourpatioparty.com/images/2022/06/12/15d5bb58bd5922e143af56e2454081e0.jpg

The one next to the eraser reads Bohemia Works Progresso.

[mizgeorge]

The progresso is a Koh-i-Noor - nice pencils (I like their lead holders too).

I have lots of Wolff Royal Sovereigns around - all of them at least as old as I am - and still going strong. Sean Connery as James Bond uses a Royal Sovereign Chinagraph in 1964's Goldfinger.

Can't help on the last one, I'm afraid I know very little about US pencils.

I have to admit, I'm another Mitsu-bishi hi-uni user by choice.

[Sailor Kenshin]

The progresso is a Koh-i-Noor - nice pencils (I like their lead holders too).

I have lots of Wolff Royal Sovereigns around - all of them at least as old as I am - and still going strong. Sean Connery as James Bond uses a Royal Sovereign Chinagraph in 1964's Goldfinger.

Can't help on the last one, I'm afraid I know very little about US pencils.

I have to admit, I'm another Mitsu-bishi hi-uni user by choice.

Thanks! I'm going to test ALL my pencils…one of these days.

[Medievalist]

Is anyone familiar with these?

https://pics.ourpatioparty.com/images/2022/06/12/15d5bb58bd5922e143af56e2454081e0.jpg

The one next to the eraser reads Bohemia Works Progresso.

The black My-Pal is a decent pencil, though not a favorite, from U.S. pencil maker Musgrave Pencils.

https://musgravepencil.com

Not sure that particular pencil is still made; there's a current version of hit here:

https://musgravepencil.com/collections/the-heritage-collection/products/my-pal

It's a "jumbo," designed for kids learning to write because it's easier to hold with small hands. It's a round pencil; I generally am not a fan of rounds, but it's a thick core is is a bit softer and darker than a standard #2.

Musgrave pencils I like:

Tennessee Red beautiful, natural finsih, aged red cedar. Can be tricky to sharpen; go clow or use something like a Apsara hand-held that let's you control the angle a little. It does fine in my Dahle 133.

Musgrave Harvest Pro

Musgrave News 600 one of the few round pencils I like; very soft core.

My favorite Blackwing is the Extra Firm Natural, though I began by favoriting the Matte very soft "MMX"

If I had to pick a single favorite, it would be the Mitsubishi 9852EW "Master Writer," with the Tennessee Red a close second, in part because it is so beautiful.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks, Medievalist. I picked up the My-Pal at a yard sale, along with other art supplies, including dip pen nibs, India ink and a bottle of Pelikan red.

[Dougc]

Uh oh... I have an El Casco sharpener.....

I am doomed

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[Lloyd]

Uh oh... I have an El Casco sharpener.....

I am doomed

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
Photo please.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[Chrissy]

Uh oh... I have an El Casco sharpener.....

I am doomed

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I wanted one of those for a long time but in the end I settled for a different version...

[christof]

Uh oh... I have an El Casco sharpener.....

I am doomed

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
Photo please.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

Here can be seen a photo of mine:

http://https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/24550-Pencil-Sharpeners?p=316503&viewfull=1#post316503 (https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/24550-Pencil-Sharpeners?p=316503&viewfull=1#post316503)

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

There was a fancy pen, paper and pencil store in NYC that closed not too long ago, but way before that, a pen pal sent me a nice assortment of high-end pencils. There's a Blackwing among them, but my absolute favorite is a pencil encased in cedar. Don't recall the name, but it,s girthy and wonderful to write with.

I was used to artist pencils, and still have a few. Berol? I think, is one of the makers. The nice thing about drawing pencils is you can select the properties of the lead.


The NYC store was CW Pencils (https://www.cwpencils.com/). Great place. Grateful for the seven years it was in business.