Original Post Date: July 27, 2005

I began using Blackwing 602 pencils as an art student years ago and have never found another pencil to compare with the richness of the lead. They give a deep dark black without being overly smudgy, and all the silvery range of greys are there too. The feeling that comes to mind is "smooth" and it is a pleasure to put this pencil to paper.

Below is a rough sketch done using the Blackwing 602 in my Moleskinei sketchbook. The sketchbook paper in the Moleskine notebooks has a very high finish to it, but a small amount of tooth is still there, so the combination of pencil on the page is very satisfying. The cream color of the page nicely compliments the shades of grey produced by this pencil.

The Blackwing 602 has come back into style lately, or maybe for the first time, since they were never very well known to begin with. They were originally produced by Eberhard Faber, and then later by FaberCastell who stopped making these in the late 90's. This has made them somewhat of a rarity, and I have been watching with strange fascination as single pencils sell on eBay for prices ranging from $20 - $35 each. I am happy to have a good supply on hand so that hopefully I won't succumb to the need of having to pay so much for a pencil that must have originally sold for less than $1.00 a piece. I can understand how many feel that $20 or more is not too much to pay for a good writing instrument - look at how much money people spend on fountain pens! For now I have enough to still feel free to use and enjoy them without the concern of their being extinct hanging over my head as I draw.

One curious aspect of the Blackwing 602 is that it is a pencil with a motto: "Half the pressure, twice the speed." Do other pencil manufacturers market their pencils with mottos? It seems like an interesting concept for such a common item and I imagine it contributes to the developing legend surrounding the 602. FaberCastell currently sells a similar pencil the NOBLOT INK PENCIL 705 and it has a motto too - "A bottle of ink in a pencil". But in this case the presence of a motto is not enough. Sadly, this pencil is not the reincarnation of the Blackwing, and the lead, although capable of some very dark lines, does not compare with the smoothness of the 602. It has a rough and scratchy feel to it and is no where near as satisfying to use. When all the Blackwing 602s are sharpened down to their stylish ferrules, or else under glass in a pencil museum (if there is such a place), all I will have left will be my box of NOBLOTs and fond memories of the best sketching pencil ever made.