Collections (5)

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Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602

Continuing on with readers’ collections, this one is from Ali Serra. Ali writes:

My introduction to the Eberhard Faber 602’s came by way of studying art and animation. As someone who dabbles in illustration and animation, I always knew of the EF 602’s history given that many artists in the early years of that industry used them. However at the time I was never in a position to afford one. Fast forward past college, I grew out of touch with the analog world in favor of the newest digital tech.

As I grew older and found my voice as an artist, I realized that my creative process was heavily reliant on the tangible analog process of fleshing out concepts and ideas with pencil and paper. I have gone through many different pencil brands over the years; and then I was gifted a used EF 602. Literal game changer. I used every ounce of that pencil until it was no more.

That magnificent little pencil was the catalyst for a love affair with past. A few years back I began collecting EF 602’s in any condition and any length as I use them regularly in my rotation. It is difficult to articulate the connection I feel when using an EF 602. I believe it is the combination of the timeless aesthetic and the smoothness of the lead which creates an inspirational sense of nostalgia for me. A glimpse of the past.

Here is something that might appeal to readers—not even the shavings go to waste:

Thanks to Ali for sharing his collection with us.

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Collections (4)

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Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602, Eberhard Faber Company

This collection, belonging to Harry Welch, contains several examples of Faber-Castell Blackwing pencils and boxes:

Harry adds:

I’ve managed to snag this collection over the last couple of years and on occasion (when I feel bereft of musical ideas) I perpetrate the most expensive pencil sharpening imaginable.

I’m not sure it’s the graphite or the simple beauty of these pencils that has hooked me, but I feel a palpable connection to the past every time I hold a genuine Blackwing. A much needed blessing in our modern, digitized world.

Thanks to Harry for sharing his collection with us.

Collections (3)

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Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602

This collection belongs to Andy Welfle. Andy writes:

I don’t smoke cigars, but I love cigar boxes. At one point years ago, my mother gave me this gorgeous matte black Frank Sinatra-branded cigar box, and when I started to learn about Blackwings, I realized it was the perfect container for them.

Over the years, my loose supply of Blackwings have dwindled a bit, either through usage or trade. I have three unsharpened pencils (two EF and one F-C) and one sharpened one. I also have this Hackwing that Sean made out of a Palomino HB, years before they ventured into Blackwing territory themselves, and a decade or more before the idea of “hackwinging” took off (Check out a friend of mine on Instagram with the handle @hack_wings).

Also of note is my boxed dozen of Boston Athenaeum Blackwings. I have whipped those out a few times to show people or to post in our Facebook pencil community, but other than that, I haven’t had the guts to sharpen one up and break up the dozen.

Thanks to Andy for sharing his collection with us. And if anyone else would like to share a photo of their Eberhard Faber Blackwings—from a single stub to a brag-worthy collection—get in touch at blackwingpages {at} gmail.com

Collections (2)

Tags

Eberhard Faber, Eberhard Faber Blackwing, Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602

Photo courtesy of Stephen Watts

This collection comes from Stephen Watts. Stephen writes:

Over the last five years I’ve bought and sold a number of individual Blackwings and boxes and have obtained versions of all the box types I’ve seen. My collection of the various Blackwing versions continues. I discount references to a definitive number of versions because it all depends on how you differentiate. In my accompanying photo, I have 18 of what I consider to be independent versions of the Blackwing 602. I’m counting, for example, misprinted Boston Athenaeum and different length “no ferrule” pencils as different types.

I do have the only metal-capped red tip Blackwing I’ve seen. Exactly why and how it came to be likely will remain a mystery.

My most interesting acquisition was two boxes of “Steven Spielberg Blackwings” purchased from a seller in the United Kingdom. He didn’t say anything about the story behind the boxes until I had already made the purchase. Only then, almost in passing, did he mention that Steven Spielberg had given him the pencils in 1991. I had to go back and forth over e-mail a couple of times to get the rest of the story. The seller had been an artist at Spielberg’s Amblimation studio in London. On one of his visits, Spielberg brought boxes of Blackwings and handed them out to the artists, telling them these pencils were the “crème de la crème.”

I remained skeptical until I did more research on my own and discovered the timing, place, and seller’s name all matched up. Steven Spielberg imported Blackwing 602s which he then personally handed out to his artists at Amblimation studio in London. Nearly thirty years later I’d acquired two of the boxes before I was aware of the backstory.

I only have one arrow-stamped ferrule and it’s on a sharpened pencil. I’m on the hunt for an unsharpened example and I know there are some out there with black arrow-stamped ferrules. I occasionally find them for sale but the prices have gone through the roof. The hunt continues . . .

Thanks to Stephen for sharing his collection with us.

Collections (1)

Photo courtesy of Michael Leddy

Many of you likely know Michael Leddy from his blog Orange Crate Art. His photo features a Blackwing box from the lesser-seen Faber-Castell era. He writes:

More a stash than a collection, it’s a box of Blackwings I bought when any office-supplies store with the right catalogue could order them. I have a few stubs as well.

Something I never noticed before taking this photograph: the gap between “Woodclinched” and “Blackwing.” Perhaps the photo first showed the Eberhard Faber name, later scratched out for Faber Castell.

Thanks to Michael for sharing his stash with us.