It would be difficult to deny that the reputation of the Blackwing 602 has been somewhat over-aggrandized, due in no small part to the fact they were discontinued in the late 1990s. And despite the recent attempt at copying the pencil, marketing them using the same name, and the riding of coattails (attempting to co-opt 65 years of Blackwing history in the process), there remains an allure in obtaining a genuine Blackwing 602 knowing that it is part of a dwindling, finite supply.
At some point there just won’t be anymore, or at least so few that those who have them may be less likely to use them (much less share them). Toward that end I thought I would post a partial list of pencils that seem rather similar (to me, at least) to the Blackwing. Please chime-in with your own suggestions or share any impressions you may have about the following pencils:
Blaisdell Special Grade Calculator 600
The Blasidell Calculator 600 is as singular a pencil as the Blackwing, in my opinion. It is slightly softer and a little bit darker, but it is unmatched in terms of smoothness. This is a member of the “Steinbeck Trio”; it’s no wonder he enjoyed this one as much as the 602. If I could only keep one, I would be hard-pressed to choose between this pencil and the Blackwing. Of interest is the designation at the end: “MADE U.S.A.”
Faber-Castell Contak 440
This pencil was originally manufactured by Eberhard Faber, but made its way to Faber-Castell in the late 1980s along with the Blackwing, Mongol, et al. I’ve read that the lead formulation is supposedly closest to that of the Blackwing, but contains less wax.
This seems like an accurate description to me. It crumbles a little bit—instead of a “waxy” smoothness, it has a fine, “powdery” smoothness to it. But when used on the right paper (something heavy and smooth) it’s an excellent writer.
IBM Electrographic
I learned of the IBM Electrographic through Pencil Talk. It wears much like a No. 2 pencil but is noticeably smoother than most. Its lead formulation was developed by IBM for optimized use with machines that utilize optical mark recognition.
Mitsubishi 4B Penmanship Pencil
As you can see, this triangular pencil has a thick lead but it is incredibly smooth. This picture gives the false impression that it is larger than most pencils, but it’s not—it fits well within the circumference of the average round pencil, making it very comfortable to hold. What’s remarkable about this pencil is that it writes differently than a Hi-Uni 4B, which means that the artisans at Uni-Ball created a distinctly different pencil, one for the specific purpose of handwriting. I hope that they might consider issuing the Hi-Uni in this form factor; it’s probably the most comfortable triangular pencil I’ve tried, and the finish is top-notch.
added 9/28: Here is a picture of the hex version:
California Cedar California Republic Palomino HB
Among the Japanese-made pencils available today, the Palomino HB is one of my favorites. It’s smooth, holds a point very well, and has a great lacquer finish. Even the eraser-tipped pencils have an excellent eraser (I swapped the ferrule on this pencil—this isn’t how they are sold). It is ironic that this HB more closely resembles the Blackwing in performance than both the first and second attempts made (by the same company) to copy it. Of course, these sorts of impressions are entirely subjective.
Pentel Black Polymer 2B
The polymer lead in this pencil is remarkably smooth, and performs more like a mechanical pencil. While woodcase pencils in general aren’t very heavy, this pencil is extraordinarily light. The imprint on the barrel leaves a bit to be desired in terms of quality, but in the end it’s an excellent writer. Thanks to Gunther for sharing some of his stash with me.
Berol Electronic Scorer 350
The Electronic Scorer 350 might have been Berol’s answer to the IBM Electrographic, and they are very similar. In fact there were quite a few pencils and lead refills available with these characteristics. It holds a point very well and writes smoothly on a variety of surfaces.
Dixon Film Marker 2225
This pencil is a bit of an oddball, but no less worthy of inclusion in this list. If I’m not mistaken, the lead was designed to allow for writing on acetate, but I don’t know if that was its sole purpose. It’s not some kind of grease pencil—it writes just fine on paper; dark and smooth, though a little bit soft.
This isn’t an exhaustive list. There are others, such as the DeoJon B and the T-Prime B (thanks Matthias), the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni, Tombow Mono 100, the Microtomic, Craft Design Technology HB, as well as several others. With the exception of the Calculator 600, I’ve never really found a pencil that was as unique as the 602. But, for want of a Blackwing, those on this list will do just fine.
Blackwing Pages 
The sad thing is, the majority of these alternatives to the Blackwing are also defunct and in some cases even harder to find than the original 602, such as the amazing Calculator or the IBM Electrographic (which I’ve never tried). I agree 100% about the Calculator, which I tried thanks to you. I think it is the only pencil ever that might actually be superior to the 602 in smoothness and darkness yet with very good point retention. It is a breathtaking pencil in its own right. I would rate the Microtomic a close third to the 602 and the Calculator.The Contak is good but it feels thinner to me somehow, like a less substantial pencil, and I experienced some point-breakage with a number of different Contaks.
I do use the two versions of the Blackwing evocations by CalCedar, and I think they are very good pencils, but they fall short in multiple ways—the CalCedar 602 approximates the look of the original rather well, and improves point retention, but is far from dark enough and must really be considered an excellent no.2 grade pencil, not a Blackwing; the first Palomino Blackwing has an impressive velvety smoothness and darkness, but poor point retention and, well, questionable looks.
Among available contemporary pencils that I would list as good daily-use stand-ins for the rare or expensive ones mentioned above are the dark and smooth Musgrave HB and the Field Notes round-barrel pencil, also pretty dark. Musgrave’s test-scoring pencil is quite dark and smooth of graphite—some have actually compared it to the 602— but it is just plain ugly, poor thing…
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The 602 is like a classic car. Cars from 50s and 60s evoke a lot of memories of a different time. Using one today gives continuity to the past and I think a lot of people want that connection. Nostalgia kicks in. Being unique and discontinued helps add to the desirability. There may be more at play here than just the markings the pencil can produce on paper.
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Great post. I am looking forward to trying some of the pencils you mentioned. Chiropractors have used the Dixon’s for decades to mark x-rays. I wrote a post on my search for a replacement here: http://spinalalignment.com/2009/08/27/for-doctors-dixon-x-ray-pencils-discontinued/
While I love the IBM’s, Pentel made a modern version called the Mark Sheet that was in a B hardness that was much nicer. Besides Berol and IBM, several other companies made electrograph pencils. I have some from Richard Best that are nice also. Unfortunately, the Musgrave test-scoring pencils just aren’t as nice as these others.
I have to agree with adair, in that while Palomino Blackwings have been a disappointment, I’m also a big fan of Musgrave’s HB, Unigraph HB and 2B just because it is such a quality pencil for the price point. (I have not been happy with any of the B pencils, I think something got messed up at the factory). To be fair, the Palomino 602’s are a nicer pencil than the Musgrave HB, but I still reach for the Musgrave first.
Another one that I think is similar to the Blackwings are some yellow Van Dyke Microtomics. These are actually smoother than the later grey versions.
I recently got over 70 antique pencils. I had a favorable first impression on some soft Election pencils. I can’t remember the brand, I don’t have them with me now, but I plan on spending some time with them later this week and see how they compare to my favorites.
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I have to disagree with chainoil. They did something right with the old 602’s. They really have a nice balance of smoothness and hardness that I haven’t seen replicated elsewhere. Probably the second nicest pencil that I’ve tried are the Hi-Uni’s, but they just wear quicker.
Palomino came so close with their first version of the Blackwings, they are very smooth, but unfortunately are useless as a writer because they are so soft. With their second version, they erred on the opposite end of the spectrum and I just find them uninspiring.
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Thank you for an excellent post. I have tried to do the same, „what if my favourite pencil was discontinued thing“ ;-). Sadly: nothing I can buy locally would really do.
I’m a very light writer and still totally in love with the first Palomino version of the Blackwing, – and I can (at least now) not find any other pencil still in production which matches it. If it were to be discontinued, it would be a black day for me.
As I don’t own an original 602, I’ve used the Palomino 602 for reference instead.
Here is my addendum:
General’s semi hex HB soft
Stabilo greengraph 6003 HB
Koh-i-noor Hardmuth 1500 2B
Maped black’peps B
Lamy plus 2B
Staedtler’s Noris 122 HB (Which still has a pink eraser BTW)
Impega HB
The HI Uni pencils are close to – in B and 2B.
Regards
Henrik
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I only have Koh-ı-Noor 1900 2B it is far from being smooth or dark, when I read 1500’s description on CW Pencils, I think they are not different. They said:
Grade: 2B but feels more like a B or an HB
Anyway 1900 is a very nice, high quality pencil I will try 4B and higher grades.
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Thanks, everyone, for your replies.
jankdc: thanks for the info about the film marker! Mystery solved. Does the pencil actual show-up well on darkened areas of an x-ray? And, I agree with you about the Microtomics.
Adair: Yes, the Musgrave hit a few branches when it fell from the Ugly Tree. The test-scoring pencil tends to break when I use it. I think your description of the Contak is spot-on.
Chainoil: Yes, I agree that nostalgia can play an important and influential role, but only on those who used such pencils when they were available. For example, I learned about the Blackwing after it was discontinued, so I can’t count myself among the people who miss being able to pick up a few dozen at their local store. But I understand what you mean. I think even if nostalgia isn’t playing a role, pencils somehow still tell a story even if you weren’t around when it was first told.
Henrik: Thanks for your list…now I’ve got some new pencils to hunt-down. 🙂
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Very exciting! The lettering on the Blasidell Calculator is amazing, especially the word “CALCULATOR” slanted to the left.
I’d be happy to send you the Stabilo, Maped, LAMY and Impega pencils for your test.
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Very nice, herrn Gunther 🙂 in addition, I could supply the General’s, the Hardtmuth and the Staedtler 122 – I guess the hunting is off then…
regards Henrik
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Sean, because the Dixons are graphite and not black, they show up silvery on the dark parts of the x-rays. They really are a perfect tool for x-rays. Fortunately, Stabilo All 8008 Graphite does the job just as well and they are still being made.
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Sean, what an engaging review!
I don’t know how rare the 602 is – though expensive, they seem to be consistently available on eBay. But perhaps if the Contak had the same price and attention (and a dedicated Contak blog), market forces would result in constant availability. Some of the other pencils you mentioned are truly rare – I doubt many of us have ever seen them offered for sale.
A pencil’s formula is often seen as being a result of the blending of graphite and clay, but all these pencils emphasize the other parts – the waxes, oils, and binders.
In terms of modern pencils with a waxy element – I think the WOPEX has something going on in this realm. It of course does not look or feel like the classic pencils shown on this page.
And, you’ve really nailed the pencil photos.
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I think it’s interesting you mention the WOPEX, as I too felt that the lead was quite interesting compared to that of conventional pencils. I rather wish it were available in a wooden casing, as I find the composite barrel material rather problematic to sharpen with my good rotary sharpeners.
Staedtler could be on to something with the WOPEX beyond just the green marketing and pencil spinning videos, but I’m not sure they’re fully aware of it.
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I like the smear-proofness of the HB WOPEX’s lead, but I also found it didn’t agree with my rotary sharpener — it doesn’t engage the autostop and sort of gums up the cutters as well. I should probably just suck it up and start using a handheld sharpener again, but I’d miss the long, needle-sharp points too much.
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I’ve been jealous of Sean’s pencil photography abilities for a long time — I want to see a video tutorial! Y’know, in all of his spare time.
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Thanks Andy and Stephen. To be honest, it’s about 10% me and 90% editing in Photoshop!
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Great Post. if I may I would offer 3 pencils that arent on your list but are still in production. These wont have the cache and uniqueness factor but they are easily found alternatives that in my opinion offer similar performance, at least in writing orchestral scores. First I ought to mention that i liked the original 602 mainly for it’s performance and personally like the first Cal Cedar Blackwing design and lead better than the original. People who use pencils for the written word tend to like the original better or so I’ve gathered. any way when I ran out of EF blackwings I went to the local stationary shop and bought about 30 types of pencils for comparison. The one’s that best suited my purposes were Tombow mono pro 4b, Mars Lumograph 4b and while i did get a turquoise to try(sanford was touting them for a bit as a replacement) I found that the Castell 9000 4b is a closer match. Palomino is already on your list but those won the contest. On the whole I agree with the list you posted( and i miss my IBM’s) but since a good portion of them are just as hard to find as an EF Blackwing I figured I’d mention these. These may be from the big names and easily obtained but they are still great pencils and much much better than the #2’s I used to use.
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Thanks MJD. I’m still curious to try the JG Music Writer.
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Both the Pacific Magic Writer and the Judy Green Music Writer have almost zero visibility on the web (googling “jg music writer” brought up comments to this post as the second result!), which is a shame considering they seem to have a dedicated following. Their distribution seems poor as well — only sold in a handful of online stores in the US, and none elsewhere. One of these days, I may try to order some and see if they’ll ship overseas for a reasonable price. I just hope USPS stays solvent long enough, because UPS and FedEx are *much* more expensive.
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you’ll love the lead, it’s a wonderfully smooth, dark writer. the shape is a true hex so depending on your writing style it may get uncomfortable and it’s almost guaranteed to leave creases in the hand. I personally cant use them for more than a page or 2 without needing to switch to something else. now if you could get the lead in a slightly slimmer semi-hex shape they would be perfect. Still it’s one of those pencils I think everyone should try at least once. I try to always have a few around even if I dont use them all that often.
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Great and interesting posts! I have not posted before, I am a composer and am wondering if anyone has tried the Magic Writer pencil which is available from Pacific Music Papers in California. Jazz composer Bill Holman was a Blackwing 602 user when they were readily available and switched to the Magic Writer. I would be very interested if anybody has thoughts on these. I don’t know if they are the same lead as the JG Music Writer, but somehow I don’t think so. Just curious.
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Thanks for the tip, Dave, I’ll have to try that out. I’ve seen the JG Music Writer compared to the Musgrave Test Scorer. I wonder who is making the pencils for Pacific Music Papers. I’d love to be able to browse their store…
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I’m just reveling in this post Sean and all the intriguing comments. Thanks everyone.
While the One True Pencil may no longer be in production, for those who care it is comforting to know “magical” pencils are still being manufactured (with the exception of Musgrave just not here in the U.S.). I have used a great many of the substitutes you all have suggested and wholeheartedly agree that they are Magic Pencils in their own right. It is my opinion that the Mitsubishi Penmanship pencils are criminally underrated. They came in 4B and 6B hardnesses with your choice of a triangular or hexagonal profile (apologies if I’m mistaken Sean but I believe your picture is of the hexagonal version of the 4b not the triangular version you find so comfortable to hold).
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Thanks, Jacques. Your mentioning of today’s ‘magical’ pencils is enough to give pause when we might get too caught up in bemoaning what’s no longer made.
The pencil in the picture is actually a triangular pencil. You can tell by the pattern left by the sharpener, and also by the shape of the opposite end. The light reflection off the side does give the impression of it being the hex version, but it’s the triangular version.
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As mentioned at the end of the article, the Craft Design Technology HB pencil is fantastic. It also looks really slick and I think they are available in the US now.
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It is a really wonderful pencil, though it’s listed as “Discontinued” on Bundoki and Pencils.jp, so I’m not sure how long the stock will hold out. It seems to go out of stock and then come back into stock quite frequently, so there must be a significant amount of them still in the supply channel. How long that stock will hold out those is anyone’s guess…
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Heh, of the eight pictured pencils, I only have experience with three. Makes me feel like I should hand in my membership card. Living in East Asia, I don’t get to see American pencils very often, and though I’ve got some great pencils here, it’s hard to shake the feeling that I’m missing out.
I am glad to see the Uni Penmanship getting some love. I think it’s still my favorite soft pencil overall. For more normal writing purposes, I don’t know if I have any confidence in a favorite anymore. There are a bunch of good pencils. My WOPEX 2B feels totally unique on coarser paper, while I’m a big fan of the PBW602 and Hi-Uni on Rhodia, and the Mono 100 on Maruman Mnemosyne and some others. Most of the time I don’t notice anything really special about them, and I worry that I take the fact that I’ve got some great pencils for granted.
Thanks for sharing some recommendations! I wish I could come across more of them in the wild.
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How do you find the Uni Penmanship for writing with? Last time I ordered from Pencils.jp I was tempted to chuck a few in there, but I was dangerously close to my maximum value to avoid import duty and I was worried about the very thick core rendering it a bit of a waste of time for general writing.
If I was you, I wouldn’t feel too left out — barring Staedtler, Faber–Castell, Musgrave, and General, there isn’t much happening in western pencil-making. Asia (and especially Japan) seems to be the place to be for high-quality pencilling these days!
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re: the Penmanship pencil, it depends on your hand pressure I think. Lately, I’ve been trying to lighten mine and the 4B isn’t too soft where the repeated sharpening becomes a burden. Keep in mind though that the design of the long soft lead is, in part, to allow the writer to be more expressive through line-weights. This only really matters if you’re a calligrapher or if you’re writing in a pictographic language such as Japanese, or Chinese, etc.
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Like Sean, I find that the Uni Penmanship shines with a light touch. The softness to me is comparable to the Palomino Blackwing (original), though the lead feels more lubricious and less powdery (more like oil/wax and less like talc powder). It’s specially formulated to have a special, slippery feel and a pleasant sound when writing, as do some of Mitsubishi’s other special offerings (Super-DX 8B, Fude Enpitsu 10B, the Penmanship 4B/6B, and the Artis 2mm leads all seem to fit into this category). Of all the wooden pencils I have, it is probably the slickest overall (on most types of paper). However, I find it just a little too soft to use for long-form writing, unless I have a sharpener handy and I force myself to use minimal writing pressure.
The thick core isn’t really an issue, since the point angle is dependent on the sharpening, and it’s actually surprisingly strong with a very acute point. I’m sure you can do some interesting things with a wider core, but I never take advantage of it in writing in English or Chinese.
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I’ll have to try them out then. I’m generally quite a soft writer anyway, so the Penmanship should work okay for me. I like the sound of them as waxy-smooth rather than talc-smooth; I found the original Palomino Blackwing too powdery in feel for my tastes.
Even with Robert’s comments about angle of sharpening being more important than thickness of core, I really would prefer that sort of lead in a core of regular thickness. That, maybe, would be my perfect pencil, if such a thing could ever exist.
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The Uni Penmanship is fantastic. It reminds me of another “out of print” American pencil: the old Eagle “Draughting 314” pencil. It has about the same thick size graphite core and the same dark smoothness. Many users consider the Eagle “Draughting” to be on the same legendary level as the Blackwing.
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At last, a rare and out-of-production pencil I actually have in my collection! The Eagle Draughting is a great pencil, and its followup — the Sanford Draughting 314 — is nowhere near the quality or smoothness of the original. It perhaps lacks wax, because it seems more “powdery” and “drier” in use than the original. Further proof of the old saying “they don’t make them like they used to”.
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I’m curious now about the Magic Writer but the site seems not to be up. I also happen to love Bill Holman’s arrangements (his were the best Stan Kenton pieces ever!), so his association with the Magic Writer is especially appealing. I must find some of these pencils…the hunt begins!
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I was quite excited about the Palomino Blackwing 602, then slightly disappointed when I actually got them in my hand. They’re nice pencils, but they’re nothing spectacular — smooth, but not hugely, and the seem like a nice HB rather than something that needs half the pressure for twice the speed.
I’ve never actually used an original Blackwing (I could never bring myself to lay done $30 for a single pencil), but I the Black Polymer HB or CDT always felt like I *imagined* the original BW would — they’re both wonderfully smooth and seem to have the glide that I pictured the original to have. I have about 30 of each stockpiled, so I try to be a little sparing in their use. (As an aside: I never understood why people considered the Black Polymer’s finish “substandard”. It may not be as nice as the CDT or Mono 100’s, but it’s still a handsome pencil, and cheaper than either of those.)
My mainstay pencil now is the US-made Mirado Classic in № 2. I have a largish stockpile of them that I got very cheap, so I should be set for years to come. They’re more slate than black, but they’re very smooth, especially considering I got them so cheap. The US-made Mirado Woodtone is darker and just as smooth, but wears down faster. Much better eraser than the Classic as well, though that may be due to them not being such old stock. There’s a seller on eBay with a large stockpile of them selling them in batches of 48 for not much money.
As for pencils that are still being made, the Tombow Mono 100 in HB/B/2B is a wonderful, smooth writer, and the Mitsubishi 9800 HB is much smoother than I expected for such a cheap pencil. I don’t think it’s made from cedar, because it smells different when sharpened. The Tombow 2558 is a nice pencil for those who want something smooth and cheap with an eraser.
I’m keen to try the Mitsubishi Gokaku and uni Nano Dia, as well as the Tombow Marksheet and Pacific Magic Writers, but haven’t had the budget to place a big enough order to justify the shipping yet. (And Royal Mail’s excessive £8 “customs processing fee”.) I’d be interested in trading some pencils for one or two of them if anyone fancies it.
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That should read “It may not be as nice as the CDT or Mono 100s”. Stray apostrophe that I’m going to blame on typing too fast.
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The Mirado Classics and Mirado Black Warriors available in US stores today are really pale reflections of those once excellent American pencils…I assume Koralatov that your stock of them is vintage. Alas, yes, the Palomino Blackwing 602 is a really good, even superior, HB or No. 2 pencil, but not at all similar to the original Blackwing. Thank you Koralatov for your mention of the Mitsubishi 9800, a really wonderful pencil that has only been spoiled recently by the introduction of a bar code on the lovely green barrel. As for the Tombow 2558, I am a fan of that pencil also, especially in B grade; it is nice and dark and smooth for a standard yellow pencil—it reminds me of the old American Venus Velvet.
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They’re not particularly vintage — Papermate Miradoes, made in the USA, so probably manufactured somewhere between 2005 and 2008. They’re not the same excellent quality as the late ’70s Eagle Mirado I tried, but they *are* very nice, and I like them a lot. The lead is much smoother than the newer, Mexican-made ones, and doesn’t have grit in the lead. The Woodtones are actually even nicer: darker and a little smoother, with better erasers.
I never had the fortune of seeing the 9800 before it had the barcode, but even so, it’s a handsome pencil and of excellent quality — very smooth, especially consider that they appear to be akin to the Noris in terms of price.
As for the Tombow 2558, I’ve only ever tried the HB, but it’s a superb pencil, and the eraser is top-notch. Sadly, I can’t seem to source any of the softer grades; Pencils.jp only stocks the HB, and I wasn’t even aware they made it in any other grades!
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Thanks, everyone for all of the responses; it’s been great reading your suggestions. Perhaps I should do a “Part II” of this post. I want to try and keep it from just listing some favorites, but, there are quite a few that have been mentioned that deserve their own post.
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I have always called to order the “Magic Writer” pencils. It is more of an “old school” company. They always ship fast. I can find the phone number if you need it. Actually, legendary composer and valve trombone player, Bob Brookmeyer first turned me on the the Magic Writer during one of my first lessons. He said that Holman turned him on to them. I used them for quite a while before I got a few 602’s. I am not an experienced pencil tester and would be curious about what you think compared to all of these pencils-many I’ve never heard of and am now curious. My first composing pencil was the King Brand ‘Electro-Score’ which I think was the same lead as the IBM Electrographic. They were very dark, but if I remember right, seemed to smudge easily. I still have a few of them around here somewhere…
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What an exciting discussion! I haven’t heard of the “Pacific Magic Writer”, the “Judy Green Music Writer” or the “King Brand Electro-Score” before.
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Coming from the pencil backwater of Australia where the Staedtler Tradition, Esselte Columbia “Copperplate” 700’s and Faber Castell Goldfaber 1221 are the staple fair of big box stores, I’m just blown away by these mainly US pencils, most of which I’d never seen or heard of before. I do have the Palomino, Palomino Blackwings and Palomino Blackwing 602’s which I find are all superb pencils – I think some of the commenters here are a bit spoiled because of the history of American pencils. Without the original Blackwing to compare I’m just astounded at the Palomino versions. Just finally, I think the Palomino brand is a bit confusing now with Palomino, Palomino Blackwing and Palomino Blackwing 602 – with peoples tendency to abbreviate names, the “Palomino” name is already starting to be used for the Palomino and the Palomino Blackwings. The original Palomino should have another moniker on it seperating it clearly from the two new Blackwings. Great post and photos by the way.
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Thanks, Kevin. Regarding Palomino Blackwings and American pencils, I think it may have less to do with taking things for granted as it does with the somewhat dubious way those items made their way into the world and are currently marketed, so-to-speak, which may be coloring the commentary here and elsewhere. I agree that the Palomino and “Blackwing” lines have become increasingly confusing and diffuse, but it doesn’t seem there is any going back at this point. More’s the pity.
Maybe we could pool our resources and get an international pencil care-package sent out to Kevin. Memm? Adair? Stephen? Lex?
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Sean, (…and Gunther) thanks for your kind offer – I’m sitting here “beetroot” faced with this undeserved attention. I will kindly decline your offer as I do what most Australians do and that is pay through the nose for shipping from USA, Europe and Japan. So I do have a reasonably wide range of current models – Faber Castell 9000, Hi-Uni, Tombow Mono 100 and Staedtler Lumographs etc. but those beautiful vintage? US models just stir up a passion in me. I might add I normally use my pencils for sketching purposes and some writing. I find most of my good quality pencils write beautifully on good paper such as premium laserjet stuff but when I use them on medium/rough tooth sketch type paper they lose their points very quickly and thus I find a Faber Castell 9000 in B or HB is the best for point retention. I hope I can contribute in some small way to what is an excellent blog.
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I assume that “Lex” refers to me 🙂 Yes, count me in! I will happily send Kevin some pencils.
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After looking at and using old and very old pencils it become clear to me that not the quality is the most appealing aspect of certain pencils but the certain extra that was given to them: Some had a specially designed lettering, an additional layer of lacquer, one more decorative lacquer ring, symbols that enclosed the name of the pencil and its manufacturer, a slogan, a small but recognizable image (e. g. of an animal), a slightly larger diameter and the like. Most of these details are now lost, mainly because they are considered expensive: Pencils are thinner now because ten instead of nine pencils are made from a sandwich, show fonts that are available on almost any Windows box, printed differently with inferior results etc. The reason for these changes is understandable but to me many pencils have lost their soul during that process. Other pencils get a treatment that may please the marketing but put off pencil aficionados: Why do three of six sides of the Faber-Castell 9000 have imprints? And why do these imprints contain the website address? (What about renting that space to advertisers? The closer to the ferrule the more expensive a square millimetre). What has happened to the classic A.W. Faber scale that was so brilliantly designed and executed? To me, the knights sometimes resemble a squashed fly. Not so long ago the gold colour of the imprint and the cap were almost identical and have nicely corresponded – but now? So much for today’s rant 😉
Today I am using a STAEDTLER Noris 120 with a thicker barrel, a letting in capitals (and Helvetica), the “S” mark, a rhombus that separates “2” and “HB” and neither bar code nor EAN 🙂 I am very happy that STAEDTLER still makes the great Noris cap (that was introduced in 1963, by the way).
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Thanks, Gunther. I think you have summed-up some feelings a lot of us have about this topic. I don’t know much about Staedtler products, but I can say that the older 2886 Lumographs are as captivating to behold as they are to write with. The girth of both the EXB and EX-EXB just seem to make you want to write with them. Do you know how scarce they might be? I don’t see them for auction much and would like to hunt down some more. Do you tend to see them available more often in Germany? Does Staedtler have any large pencils currently available?
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Sean, I don’t know how scarce they are but since I haven’t seen them at eBay etc. yet (the few I have were a present) I assume that they are quite difficult to find. – No, Staedtler don’t have large pencils in their current range. By the way, there must have been at least two variants of the EX-EXB since I have them in two different diameters.
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Ouch! I had a blackout 😉 Of course Staedtler Germany have large pencils:
* Dicker Schreiblernstift: http://www.staedtler.de/schreiblernstift.Staedtler (the former Eberhard Faber Tricki Dicki)
* Mars ergosoft 151: http://www.staedtler.de/Mars_ergosoft.Staedtler
* Noris Club jumbo: http://www.staedtler.de/Noris_Club_triplus_bleistifte.Staedtler
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Sure, I’ll be happy to send some American pencils to Kevin!
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Gunther, I agree 100% about the extra details that make a pencil special beyond its actual effectiveness in terms of graphite. The sensuous, tactile responses to a pencil play an equally decisive role. I also agree about the printing of the website on the barrel, which I hate even more than the bar codes—these aspects lessen the beauty of the Faber Castell 9000, even though it continues to be an excellent pencil. The tone of green and the lettering on the A.W. Faber versions were far superior.
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Adair, of course I didn’t mean to put the 9000 down – it is still an excellent pencil and one of the best one can get in the world. Besides that, I also have old pencils that are utter crap: warped, crumbling, off-centred lead, split wood, smelly lacquer etc. so there is no reason to glorify the old pencil days. However, there have been excellent products, and these would still be excellent even for today’s higher standards but the manufacturers have messed with them. Of course this is also a matter of taste and personal preference but in view of the knowledge and technology we have today it is a shame that there are so many disappointing pencils (and products in general).
Regarding the colour: When officer Alexander Graf von Faber-Castell designed the 9000 in 1905 he wanted the pencil to be green like his regiment. I don’t know if that “military aspect” (so to speak) has later been considered disagreeable but I wouldn’t be surprised if the change in colour has something to do with that past.
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Gunther, you weren’t putting the 9000 down; you were just pointing out its recent changes, and how many of us prefer the older version. That’s a fascinating fact about the green color! I never knew that. I happen to like military green, as well as so-called “British Racing Green.”
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Good – at first I was afraid that I have been a little too harsh.
I prefer the old green too for yet another reason: To me it was a more identifiable colour compared to the new tone.
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Gunther (….others) – do you know what the design is on the FC9000 that sits between the SV and CASTELL stampings and the same design in reverse between the CASTELL AND 9000 stampings. This mark has always intrigued me and even under a 8 x Loupe I can’t make out what it is. Gunther if you want a FC 9000 with only two sides stamped get the ones from the Malaysian facilty which also don’t have the country of origin stamped on them nor do they have a website address on them.
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Kevin, that image can also been seen in that 1915 ad in my weblog (click the image to enlarge); I assume it is a stylized castle.
Thank you for the detail regarding the Malaysian variant of the 9000!
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Brilliant…thanks Gunther, the intrigue appears to have been solved. The castle turrets? I always thought was the letter “E”.
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Pingback: Updates | Blackwing Pages
I still have a few old original Blackwings that had to be special-ordered by my stationery shop before they became unavailable. Now I have discovered my new best pencil: Ticonderoga Black HB2, in black lacquer with a cool black eraser that really functions. To my hand, the lead has the writing qualities of the old Blackwing and is a pleasure to use. The pencil has a hex shape, which makes it easier (to me) to hold. Has anyone else used it? I’d love to hear some other opinions.
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My latest fave is California Republic’s Palomino 6B. Unlike the Palomino 2B, I have not noticed the 6B to be crumbly, just deliciously dark and smooth, offering beautiful variation in line weight. Writing with a light hand the lead is impressively dark and retains its point better than one would expect. I’d say its performance is quite reminiscent of the Uni Penmanship pencils. Unfortunately, looking around the web, the 6B gets no love.
Hasn’t anyone else tried one?
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Jacques:
I was very intrigued by the 4B and 6B Palominos, but I failed to include a few in my last order. I was curious about them when they were initially announced, but they have yet to receive any real attention. It could be that they are sleepers in CalCedar’s lineup.
Sadly, I do not have enough in my PayPal account to justify another set of purchases at the moment, but I do hope others will chime in with more information.
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I think California Republic painted themselves out of the picture for 4B and 6B by making the HB so strangely dark (closer to a 3B or a FC9000 4B) that there is little need for these newer Palominos. On the Palomino darkness scale I wonder whether the 6B is closer to a 8B or even 9B?
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Or perhaps, painted themselves into a corner. Especially when it comes to the branding. When I mention a “Palomino” to someone, it’s often necessary to qualify it with something like “a regular Palomino” to differentiate between it and their “Blackwings”. Plus there’s two “Blackwings”. What?! Now there is a “Blackwing” notebook. Huh?!
I’m sorry to say—and to see—how this great, historic pencil is being sullied by such lack of awareness; by this cash-grab. And now diluting the name even further by making notebooks. It makes absolutely no sense to me. Sorry to be this harsh, but I think some troubling things are going on; a name and reputation have to be earned, not licensed.
I wonder if we can look forward to the Palomino Microtomic? Or perhaps the Palomino Mongol? Maybe the Palomino Black Polymer…
What’s so ironic to me is that the original Palomino is a great pencil. Wish they just stuck with being original.
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I doubt if you will see this Kevin at this late date, but I think your suspicion is well founded. I’ve been comparing my darkest pencils, and the Palomino 6B’s graphite core is miles darker than Derwent’s Graphic 9B and noticeably darker than Faber-Castell’s 9000 9B.
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I agree with your objections against that practice.
It may sound very negative but to me it looks like they are going to make as much money as possible from it before the brand is watered down beyond recognition. After all, they make a living from it so that may be understandable. In contrast to that we can afford the luxury to enjoy it as it is, research, test, explore, present and preserve without being dependent on its market success.
To me there was one major problem from the very beginning: The Palomino Blackwing (with or without “602”) with always be #2 no matter what they do. I am pretty sure that even if the Palomino 602 was better than the original 602 it wouldn’t be the #1 Blackwing.
There is the saying “Everyone is born as an original but most die as a copy” so even when the Palomino 602 is forgotten the memories of the Blackwing 602 will live on.
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As my grandfather often said, “Measure twice and cut once”. So far, CalCedar have measured once, cut twice, and still haven’t got it right.
I agree with you, Gunther: CalCedar do seem intent on milking as much as they can from the brand whilst it still has some small cachet attached to it. As Sean says, it comes across like a blatant cash-grab, and one that does them no credit. If they were really intent on reviving the Blackwing, they should have done it right first time.
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Indeed, and besides that they should have confined themselves to a pencil.
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For once, I will allow myself to disagree.
I do not have the “collector perspective” on pencils – I’m mostly a user, but I appreciate a well made pencil, and I can understand the appeal of finish, lacquer and imprint – not to mention erasers and ferrules. And the history of a brand of course..
That’s why I read this blog (thanks Sean).
But I’m a user, so the question is: „ but how does it write?“ That is what matters most to me. The Palominos write like no other pencil, I know of. The PBW soft has „something“ which I cannot find anywhere else – so I would naturally like the brand to stay in business.
The fact, that two versions of the Palomino Blackwing exist, could be seen as the aficionado’s fault. The pencil community’s disappointment with the first version was the apparent reason for version 602.
And business is business – I don’t think there is anything wrong with a „Blackwing notebook“ etc. Without mentioning any names, I object much more to brands, who manufacture expensive extenders, which will only fit their own brand and only make pencils in one grade of darkness, 🙂
Besides, I don’t think Eberhard Faber would have overlooked any possibility to make more money on the Blackwing, or the van Dyke back then, if…
BTW the original Blackwing was licensed too, and only later earned its reputation, so what will come of the PBW still remains to be seen.
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“The fact, that two versions of the Palomino Blackwing exist, could be seen as the aficionado’s fault.”
This is nonsense. No “aficionado” forced CalCedar into this enterprise. CalCedar chose for itself to copy someone else’s work. The problems that happened with the first version, in my opinion, have a lot to do with hubris. Why call the pencil a “Blackwing?” I’m not disputing their pencils qua pencils, I’m questioning the appropriateness of CalCedar insinuating itself into a legacy and reputation they have absolutely nothing to do with.
“BTW the original Blackwing was licensed too, and only later earned its reputation,…”
I think you may have misunderstood me, and what you’ve said here doesn’t make sense to me. How can the PBW, a pencil whose name, shape, and spirit were copied from someone else’s design, earn an honest reputation of its own? This pencil’s reputation isn’t its own to earn. One has nothing to do with the other. CalCedar doesn’t make the Blackwing. It threw some money at a company to try and copy it not once, but twice. They make pencils with the name “Blackwing”. My beef is, why not just think of something original on your own? Why insinuate that because Sondheim and Steinbeck used the Eberhard Faber Blackwing, that people should then buy the PBW? It’s outrageous! Why take the hard work and reputation of someone else, pay for the right to use the brand name, and stick it on the copies you’ve tried to make, if it wasn’t to make more money? What would have happened if they never called them “Blackwings” They’d still have some nice pencils, and they could have tried to build on the solid reputation that their Palominos have made.
No, the Blackwing hasn’t been “revived”, it’s been hijacked.
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I agree that it appears CalCedar has taken a few pages from the Moleskine playbook, and I wished they had not gone the direction of milking it the way they have done. I’ve stumbled across a number of sites that claim that the PBWs (including the Palomino moniker) were discontinued in 1998. They then go into the standard name-dropping associated with the EFBW, as if the current version is in some way related to those individuals.
This ambiguity and confusion is largely the result of laziness among the third-party writers, but I get the feeling CalCedar is quite content to go along with it. It is a rather slimy practice, and though I like the new 602 as a pencil when separated from the legacy it pretends to, I almost feel a tinge of regret for supporting it by ordering a few dozen.
Had the PBW been an honest attempt at reviving the EFBW, I think it would have been justified in getting the press it has. When the first PBW was released, I assumed that it was a different enough product to be clearly distinct from the EFBW in marketing. Too bad that they went that way anyway–especially after the 602 version.
I, like Sean, kind of wish they had just built on the Palomino brand. They already had something going for them, though their marketing of it was a bit flat. Now, improving or diversifying the Palomino brand just feels like muddying the water even further.
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Ouch! Sorry Sean if I stepped on any toes – that wasn’t my intention. I’m also sorry to read, that it doesn’t make any sense.
I was just expressing a user point of view and was trying to say, that the pencils have been a positive experience – as pencils.
When I read the blogs etc. back then, it sounded like “the pencil community” on the www actually liked the idea – and it looked like Calcedar was trying to meet a demand, but of course I could be mistaken.
The legacy and reputation: I haven’t given that so much thought, but I guess, you’re right – a “pegasus” would have to stand on its own merits. If it were to be, what the PBW soft eventually became, I would have bought it anyway. That it would look like a Blackwing wouldn’t be important to me.
regards Henrik
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Robert: I agree completely, and wish I’d said it first, because that was the feeling I’ve had for a long time. CalCedar don’t seem as interested in standing on their own pencils’ merits as they do selling it off the back of the original and its famous users. That may have worked for Moleskine, but I don’t think it will work for pencils — real Blackwing fans will be alienated, and the other leadheads seem too rational to fall for such blatant marketingese.
Sean: Good pencils or no (and the original Palomino HB and PBW 602 are good pencils), “hijacked” is about the right way to look at the whole effort. The orange and blue Palominos felt like the work of people who genuinely loved making great pencils; the PBWs feel like the MBAs are in charge and trying to maximise revenue with no thought for the long-term.
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Regarding the Moleskin: I have always found their marketing plain stupid and the quality of their notebooks inferior to e. g. the ones from Leuchtturm1917.
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Sorry to be sounding so harsh…I think Robert M’s description is very similar to how I view things. And I’ll say again that I think CalCedar makes great pencils, Blackwing or no, it’s just the way this has all unfolded (and continues to do so) that has left a bad taste.
But, after all, it’s just pencils that we’re talking about. 🙂
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As a quick example of the kind of slimy marketing I mentioned above can be seen on the Levenger website:
“Pencil aficionados from John Steinbeck to Thomas Wolfe have sung the praises of the Palomino Blackwing 602 pencil, which was originally created in the 1930s by Eberhard Faber.”
Reading that kind of copy makes me feel a bit guilty about having and using CalCedar’s products.
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Oops, sorry about the html mess!
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I have to ask, how did you detach that ferrule from the Palomino Blackwing and affix it on your Palomino HB? Do you switch it to the next pencil when you use up a Palomino?
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Pingback: The Wood Cased Pencil Addiction (Pt. 2) | wilhaus
Hi,
anybody knows if the current blue Palomino HBs similar to California Republic branded ones ?
Thanks in advance.
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