Blackwing Pearl

I used to swear by the black ones, but these are slightly harder yet just about as dark, and the lines are cleaner. Excellent for writing music, specifically, but also words, and drawing, which people are probably doing more often than writing music with them. Which is too bad. A lost art, writing music. People still do it! I do. To what end, I have no idea. But these are the pencils to waste your life with, if that's your plan! The quality is just spectacular, and the graphite is >chef's kiss<. You really do get what you pay for. Three dollars for a pencil? Worth every penny-cil.

These are hands down my favorite and potentially one of the best doodle/all around sketch pencil out there. While they are certainly pricier, they are worth it. I’ve had my original set for years and I still have 6 pencils I haven’t even touched yet. I knew these would be my go tos for years to come so I bought another set. Different style, but same lead quality as the previous ones I have with the black eraser. Reasons why I live these: 1 lead does not break easily in any sharpener. I only had the lead break once and that was because I really screwed up the angle of the blade to the pencil and was really rough with it. I have been able to sharpen these in electric, Long point, and metal sharpeners along with an X-Acto knife 2. They feel good to hold. Like seriously I feel my brain and hand are more in sync with these pencils and they just help with the work flow of my drawing getting it from my mind to the paper. Easy to hold and control the pressure. Not to mention the way the eraser end is made, it still allowed me to draw with a semi awkward grip even when it was a literal stub (ie no more pencil left and just the pointed part). This allowed me to use it until the last possible moment 3. The lead glides so nickels on all paper types. I’ve drawn in Bristol and papers with tougher textures and the pencil glides so well but still providing enough friction for control. A great all rounder based on the pressure you use allowing you to lightly doodle to drawing darker outlines to even basic shading. All with one pencil. Makes it great as a traveling tool when you want to practice or get tough ideas out. 4. It erases pretty cleanly. The erasers work reasonably well given not as well as my kneadable or vinyl erasers, but for use with just this pencil, they get the job done. The shake of the eraser allows for more control in the size of the area you want to erase and you don’t need to use a lot of pressure. Not to mention you can pull it out and extend the eraser when you have rubbed it down too much. Though depending on how much you erase, they don’t feel they will last the full life if the pencil itself.

Very easy to write with and has a well balanced feel, for a pencil, in your hand; perhaps the "gold" eraser end is heavier than a typical pencil's eraser thus, whilst holding the Blackwing 602 in hand, it feels more substantial, or for the serious minded. The lead writes easily. Perhaps it is just knowing the history of the Blackwing 602 and all the brilliant artist of the 20th century who used the original Blackwing that makes the 602 seem special, or maybe its just the outrageous price for a pack of pencils that convinces the mind that this is a superior pencil in order to justify the cost. Note, these pencils do not last long as the soft lead transfer to the paper so quickly and you have to sharpen more often than you are accustomed to do with other pencils. Therefore it is suggested to buy their plastic sharpener that has two sharpeners for the 602: one to remove the wood; the other to hone and actually sharpen the lead as the first hole leaves the lead in tack, which is a thick end too awkward to utilize for your work. This seeming drawback of constantly sharpening not once but twice per sharpening is a corporate committee's nightmare of inefficiency and seemingly wasted time management, however, for the artistic type, the artists, composers, writers, or simply those brave enough to think outside the box of all the zombies of the world, that is, all the followers who never think for themselves and simply believe what they were told and never question their cherished and most likely outdated beliefs, this constant sharpening is the mother's milk of creativity because it becomes a ritual, the two times sharpening every time you sharpen, and this ritual makes the artist feel like a) he is doing something that must be done other than actually creating, b) whilst sharpening she gives her unconscious mind the rest and space that it needs to dredge up the new, the unconventional, the original ideas that creativity is all about, that is, the time spent sharpening is the time that the creative mind requires to do its work, c) every time the artist has to sharpen it means that he or she went through so much lead, that is, the artist is actually doing so much creative work, therefore the artist subconsciously knows that he is getting a lot of work done because the lead is constantly running low in its attempt to keep up with the artist creative productivity. Lastly, a pencil is a lost art and gives a quiet serenity and focus to a work that it is more difficult to achieve with the laptop simply because there is no email or facebook on the pencil where there is on the laptop/computer screen. The 602 is NOT the original Blackwing from yore, HOWEVER, the Blackwing 602 is designed almost identically to the originals so much so that you need not sift through ebay to pay $200 plus dollars per pack just so that you have bragging rights, the pencil itself is not art though it lends itself well to creating art. This is to say that the Blackwing 602 is the clone of the original out of production Blackwing. Note there are Blackwing pencils being sold but they are NOT clones of the original Blackwings, thus be sure to purchase the Blackwing 602. The now in production Blackwing have a harder lead and slightly different color. Again, there are three Blackwings: the original out of production Blackwing purchasable on ebay for $$$; the now in production Blackwing that is NOT a clone of the original; and finally the now in production Blackwing 602 that is a clone of the original with the soft lead and the benefits as described above.

I have to preface this by saying I am not a big pencil user since most of the time I must use a pen for work purposes, and for legal documents I use a fountain pen. However, I read this neat story about a fellow who ran a pencil company who bought the rights to the Blackwing pencil name. The previous maker had stopped production, likely due to reducing demand. However there have been a very loyal group of pencil enthusiasts clamoring for the Blackwing (Paying up to $10 a pencil!!!) And this fellow went and made a reasonable facsimile. It's amazing how there were online discussions about how great these pencils were and then another group putting them down because they were not exactly the same. So, I decided to test them out. I was actually very impressed with how good they were. I especially like the 602 over the original. The appearance and attention to detail are excellent, and the wide eraser is a good touch (I erase a lot). So I compared the 602 to some of the much cheaper standards like Ticonderoga, Staedtler, Mirado black Warrior (all 2HB). I preferred the 602 and I think it was not just subjective. The lead feels softer than the rest, with a darker line, but wore just as slowly. It feels smoother than the rest with the exception of the Staedtler. So I sent a few to my son who is a middle school teacher this year. He hardly gets excited about much, but he went nuts about these. He really thought they were great. He said it made his week (yikes, over a pencil?) So are they worth nearly 2 bucks each? For me, yes. I wont break the bank by buying a box that will last me years, and when I need a pencil (tax time and conceptual planning) I will reach for these. Update: I still think these are the best pencils available and I found a way to improve them. I erase an awful lot and sometimes I just don't have a separate block eraser. The included eraser is much bigger than the usual round eraser. If you are good with a razor you could measure the size of the removable stick eraser and cut out a replacement from something like a Pentel polymer or a black pearl eraser and keep in erasing with a partly used pencil. All in all it's still worth the price.

These pencils work perfectly for sketching. They make crisp, sharp lines while still being very erasable and the perfect balance between softness and hardness.

If you are looking at the Palomino Blackwing series, my recommendation is that you just buy one of them and try it. I looked at these for a couple of years, tried other pencils, then tried these. This series of pencils is the best pencil, but perhaps not the best value. By series, I mean the whole Blackwing series: the 602, the Pearl, and the regular Blackwing. The Blackwing 602 has the hardest graphite lead of the bunch - close to a regular HB but a bit softer. The Pearl has an even softer lead. And the regular Blackwing itself is even softer than the Pearl. I use pencils to write and edit documents all day, and the 602 is the only one of the Blackwing series I can really use. The other two are too soft for my taste. They all produce a beautiful, even line. How do the 602s measure up against my other favorite pencils: the Palomino HB Palomino Graphite Pencils - HB Eraser Tipped Blue - 12 Count], the Mirado Black Warrior [[ASIN:B00443G2JC Mirado Black Warrior Pencils - HB #2, Black Matte Barrel, Dozen(sold in packs of 3) , the Palomino Forest Choice ForestChoice Graphite #2 Pencils - 36 Count and the Staedler Rally Graphite #2 Staedtler Rally Graphite #2 Pencil, 12-Each (9122-2B12) ? The Mirado Black Warrior has a harder feel to the lead than the other ones, closest to the HB pencils used in a school. All the others are a bit softer. The 602s are the easiest to write with and, even though I have to sharpen them frequently, the graphite holds up a bit better than any of the others - even better than the Black Warrior. I think the 602 just sharpens easier. The eraser on these pencils is also better than what I find on the other pencils. Is it worth the money? Ah-ha. It's up to you. The closest competitor for my tastes is the Palomino HB. It's half the price but 80% as good as the Blackwing 602. If I were buying a gift, I would go for something in the Blackwing series, but I would probably check out the entire selection of pencils and gift boxes available at pencils.com. The price is about the same but the shipping is more reliable. Whoever packed my recent Amazon shipment just threw the Pearls and the 602s in a bigger box with my other items with no extra wrapping. Come on - it's an expensive item, folks! A rubber band would have been nice, if not a piece of plastic wrap. The box for the Pearls was crushed by another item and every pencil was outside the box and somewhat damaged in the shipping. I'm sure Amazon would have graciously accepted a return, but it would be nice to just have it shipped properly to begin with to avoid the hassle. Since the Pearls were too soft for my taste anyway, I ended up passing them on to a starving artist friend who eagerly accepted them.

These pencils are awesome. Yes, they're expensive.But I like them a lot. I only use them for special things.

I did not believe the hype on this pencil. I mean, how great can a simple pencil be, right? Pencils are pencils. Then, on a lark, I tried it. And now I believe the hype on this pencil. Taking this thing top to bottom, first is the eraser. Now, I will say you can't pop an eraser top on this thing because of the odd shape. It will just split after a little use. However, you don't need to. These erasers are replaceable. You just pull the thing out and put in a new one. The eraser is pretty long -- most of it is inside the pencil -- and you can just pull more out to lengthen it until you need to replace it. For an exact length, the eraser fills the metal on top for as far as the metal is flattened to its shape, aka about 7/8 of an inch. I took it out and measured it. The only downside is the unusual shape of the eraser means it won't fit into a standard pencil extender. The barrel is faceted, which makes it easier to hold and less likely to roll off the table. It has a warm wood and feels nice in the hand. It has a good grip. No special care is needed in sharpening these, which is good because I can't seem to sharpen the ones that do need special care (6B and softer or soft charcoal) without loosing a good inch on them. These I just stick in a mechanical sharpener, a twist sharpener, whatever, and they come out fine. The lead is softer than a typical HB pencil, but not by much. The line is a smidgen darker, when exactly the same pressure is placed on both, but there is more difference from pressure than from pencil. That is, a standard #2 can make a darker line than this with a heavier hand and this can make a lighter line than a #2 with a lighter touch, but the lightest this makes isn't quite as light as the lightest a #2 can make and the darkest this makes is darker than the darkest a #2 can make, if that makes sense. I'd put it as a B maybe, just one darker than an HB. It matches my Faber Castel B for line anyway. But these designations vary brand to brand. The line erases well enough with a light hand, but is tricky to erase if you press hard, which is, I guess, typical of pencils. This is their premier writing pencil, but I use it as a sketch pencil to get the basic lines in before darkening with the Blackwing. Warning, these pencils are addictive. Once you start writing or drawing with them, you won't want to stop.