Pencil Review: The Original (Palomino) Blackwing

October 18, 2017

Few stationery items have drawn more attention - and fueled more late-night internet bickering - than the Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602. In recent years, the Blackwing “legend” has taken on a life of its own in popular culture, due to a combination of (1) the scarcity of the original vintage pencil; (2) the mythology surrounding the pencil and those who used it, fueled by internet stationery obsessives - seriously, who are these people!?; and (3) the 2010 release, to much success and acclaim, of a highly regarded series of pencils in the style of the original Blackwing by CalCedar, a California-based pencil manufacturer that purchased the Blackwing trademark once it expired.

The original Eberhard Faber Blackwing dates to the 1930s, and became a favorite pencil of various writers and artists such as Stephen Sondheim, Chuck Jones, John Steinbeck, and others. From the time of its discontinuation in the late 1990s to the re-release, enthusiasts were known to hoard boxes/grosses of the original pencil, paying hundreds of dollars for a dozen. Vintage Blackwings continue to sell for ridiculous premiums. Personally, I’ve never owned a vintage Blackwing 602, and regardless of how cool it would be to have one, even I can’t bring myself to shell out $50 for a single pencil. I’m primarily a user, not a collector, and that $50 will buy more than two dozen “modern Blackwings” that perform (for my purposes) just as well. You can read further on the history of the Blackwing pencil here. The 2010 relaunch was covered by media outlets such as the New Yorker and BoingBoing, and wasn’t without controversy.

Three Blackwings, Three Different Pencils

This review takes a look at one of the three “new” Blackwings, namely the original pencil that was released in 2010. Blackwing currently makes three versions as part of its standard lineup, each featuring a different graphite core. The original features extremely dark “soft” graphite, and is marketed towards artists. The Blackwing 602 - designed to more closely resemble the original vintage pencil, including the "Half The Pressure, Twice the Speed" slogan - features a firmer core supposedly geared towards writers, and the Blackwing Pearl is a white pencil with “balanced” graphite that sits between the other two on the hardness scale. (Note: Blackwing does not assign a “grade” to its pencils, such as “No. 2,” “No. 1”, “HB”, etc. I have found all Blackwing pencils, with the exception of the “extra firm” core released in certain special editions, to be softer than a standard HB/No.2.)

Palomino-Blackwing-Original-Pencil-Writing-Sample

As someone who’s primarily a writer - not an artist - why is the original my favorite of the three standard Blackwing cores? Because for whatever reason, despite the soft graphite, this pencil writes well and maintains a writeable point longer than the “harder” Blackwing 602 or the Pearl, which get pushed as the pencils “for writers.” Here’s what I mean by maintaining a “writeable point”: while the Blackwing won’t keep a super-sharp, KUM-Masterpiece-style point forever, you’re able to write with it longer both because of the darkness of the core and because with such soft graphite, you can fairly easily “sharpen” the point yourself by rotating the pencil as you write. Your personal mileage may vary, but I also experience very little smearing with this pencil - rare for graphite this dark.

Note the improvements to the imprint from the 2010 original (top) to the present-day imprints from two Blackwing Volumes editions (bottom).

My Blackwing pencils shipped as part of the original manufacturing run, and are seven years old! Therefore, they look a lot different than the pencils Blackwing sells today. For one thing, as Blackwing has consolidated as it’s own brand under the CalCedar umbrella, the "Palomino" branding has changed, the pencil no longer has a gold stripe below the ferrule, and now sports a black eraser. The finish on the modern pencils has also improved. The standard Blackwing still features the matte black coating with gold imprint, but the original run had an issue with gold flecks spilling outside the lines a bit. While the core hasn’t changed, once I kill this box (less one pencil for posterity) it will be exciting to pick up a new batch and compare.

Blackwing's distinctive ferrule and square eraser.

A note on manufacturing and sourcing: While the modern Blackwing pencils are manufactured by CalCedar, an American Company, they aren’t entirely a “made-in-the-USA” pencil. CalCedar (sustainably) sources its pencil slats from California and Oregon, and the graphite in the Blackwing pencils comes from Japan. This isn’t a knock against Blackwing - the graphite cores used in Japanese pencils are among the best in the world. CalCedar is one of the largest suppliers of pencil slats to the global pencil industry, so what you have is a quality pencil, made using the best available components, by people who know what they are doing. If you’re interested in learning more about the background of CalCedar and the development of the modern Blackwing pencils, I highly recommend that you listen to Episode 79 of the Erasable Podcast, The Pencil Man Cometh, featuring Charles Berolzheimer of CalCedar.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

The original Blackwing is currently is my “go-to” woodcase pencil. I keep three or four of them sharpened at all times on my desk at work. They aren’t inexpensive (roughly $20 per dozen, and they hardly ever go on sale), but unless you’re one of those people who churn through a dozen pencils in a week, you should get a lot of mileage out of that $20.

Blackwing original (center) with the Blackwing Volume 1138 (top) and Volume 73 (bottom).

If the matte-black finish or gold trim doesn’t do it for you, Blackwing periodically features the “soft” core in its limited-edition “Blackwing Volumes” pencils. The recent Volume 73, with a blue “Lake Tahoe” theme, is still available as of the time of publication from both Blackwing and retailers who still have the pencil in stock. In the coming weeks I’ll be offering my thoughts on the other Blackwing pencils. In the meantime, you can check out my previous review of the Blackwing line of notebooks.

As of 2024, The Gentleman Stationer is now an authorized retailer of Blackwing, so you can purchase directly from us and show your support!

Ink Review: Five More New Colors From Monteverde

October 14, 2017

I recently reviewed four inks from Monteverde’s updated ink lineup: Moonstone, Chaorite, Mandarin Orange, and Napa Burgundy. Without exception, all four performed well, and all have seen a lot of use in my pen and ink rotation since then. I immediately put in a request to Pen Chalet to try a few more: Olivine, Topaz, Red Velvet, Fireopal, and Caribbean Blue.

From the top: Monteverde Caribbean Blue, Fireopal, Red Velvet, Olivine, and Topaz.

So what’s the verdict on these? With one exception, I found these to be good inks, but of this batch, Fireopal and Topaz are probably the only colors that will make a regular appearance in the future. A few specific thoughts on each:

Olivine. I don’t usually like to start with the bad, but let’s get this out of the way because of these five inks, Olivine was the one that disappointed. I love dark green inks, and normally greens are relatively low-maintenance inks that perform well in any pen. While Olivine is a great color, this ink crusted on the nib and clogged pens to a degree that I’ve never experienced before. I found it essentially unusable, and would recommend Callifolio Olivastre or Sailor Epinard or Tokiwa Matsu as alternatives.
Topaz. Another ink from the “Gemstone” collection. Monteverde Topaz is a bright yellow-orange similar to Sailor Apricot. This ink wrote well, though I probably prefer Monteverde Mandarin Orange as the darker, and therefore more legible, orange ink. Topaz does shade some and would look great in a broader nib.
Red Velvet. No performance issues with this ink, but I’m just not a Red-Brown type of guy. I found the color to be a bit “muddy,” and with so many ink options available Red Velvet isn’t something I feel that I'll use going forward.
Fireopal. A nice bright orange-red that grows on you. No performance issues. As I mentioned above, it's a pretty color, and I'll probably hang onto this bottle.
Caribbean Blue. Like Red Velvet, this one didn’t have any performance issues, but I found this ink to be too washed-out for my taste. It won’t replace Montblanc UNICEF Blue or Lamy Turquoise / Pacific Blue anytime soon.

Takeaways and Where To Buy

In my opinion, Monteverde inks tend to be one of the best price/value propositions on the market. Monteverde offers a wide range of colors - I just checked and it’s now up to 43 (!!!) - and the ink comes in both 30ml ($8) and 90ml ($13.50) bottles. If you really like a color, that 90ml bottle is an exceptional deal.

Many thanks to Pen Chalet for sending these bottles over for review. Pen Chalet carries the full range of Monteverde inks, as well as a wide selection of Monteverde pens.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Paper Review: Engraved Notebooks by Crane & Co.

October 11, 2017

One of the United States’ premiere stationery manufacturers, Crane & Co., has decided to get in on the notebook game, and graciously sent me some samples for review.

The large A5-ish notebook compared to the smaller, pocket notebook.

As you would expect from Crane, the presentation is outstanding. Crane & Co. makes luxury stationery, and if you decide to pull the trigger and shell out the money, they make every effort to give you what you pay for. I have several sets of engraved Crane correspondence cards that I use on occasion, and it’s excellent stationery that is pleasant to write on, has held up over the years, and will take any fountain pen or ink you can throw at it.

Crane sent me one sample of each of their notebook designs.

My notebooks arrived in Crane's signature navy blue box, carefully wrapped in tissue paper, just as my correspondence cards did. The notebooks themselves feature several attractive engraved cover designs, and I received one of each of the following: “Engraved Starfish on Beach Glass,” “Engraved Queen Bee on Pink Blush,” “Engraved Vintage Airplane on Espresso,” and standard “Notebooks” in both a medium A5 and smaller pocket. Apart from the engraved covers and the fact that they contain Crane paper, the design of these notebooks should appear familiar: Both the A5-ish version and the pocket-sized notebooks contain 48 pages, feature rounded corners, and are “saddle stitched,” which is just another way of saying that the pages are folded over and stapled through the cover (like Field Notes, Word, etc.). All Crane Stationery is made in the U.S.A.

Let me start by saying that the 24 lb., 100% cotton-rag “Crane’s Crest” paper used in these notebooks is extremely tactile, with a hint of tooth, and offers a very pleasant writing experience. The cotton-rag paper also does a fantastic job of containing feathering, even with the wettest fountain pen nibs. When I first saw the rag paper with all those fibers, I expected fountain pen ink to feather like crazy - I shouldn’t have worried, as the paper performed fantastically in this regard. I was a bit surprised, however, to see pinpoint spots of bleed-through and show-through on the back of the page.

Certain low-maintenance inks, such as Waterman blue in my Edison Glenmont with a gushing broad 14kt nib, had no issues. However, as I tested out different pens, including a Montblanc 146 with a medium stub (Robert Oster Fire & Ice), a Visconti Homo Sapiens with a Masuyama needlepoint (Montblanc Burgundy), a Pelikan M800 with a Masuyama Cursive Italic (Franklin-Christoph Spanish Blue), the same didn’t hold true. I even had a hint of bleed and show through with a rollerball refill, though you have to look pretty hard to see it.

Granted, as you can see in the photos, this is far from terrible bleed-through that certainly wouldn’t prevent me from using both sides of the page, and it doesn’t impact the functionality of the notebook. Some might file this away as a minor annoyance and not care or think twice about such things. But, as I’ll discuss further below, at the price point Crane is asking for these notebooks, I personally don’t believe it’s unreasonable to expect absolute perfection, especially when those of us who don’t mind paying a lot for stationery tend to use fountain pens, and the pens and inks I used to test the paper weren't anything crazy in terms of width or wetness. While the paper performs relatively well for 24 lb. stock, and Crane was probably limited to using 24 lb. paper in order to constrain the thickness of the notebook etc., I can’t help but wonder how Baron Fig has figured out a way to make it work using similarly textured paper in the Vanguard and Confidant, while at the same time keeping to a lower price point. A luxury stationery company like Crane shouldn’t necessarily compete on price, but when you’re pricing the product this high, it raises expectations in terms of versatility and performance.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

As with most Crane products, these notebooks are high-quality and beautiful, but expensive. The “Notebook” engraved 5.5" x 8" (A5-ish) book, which is my favorite of the bunch, costs $12 for a single 48-page book. The smaller, 4” x 6” notebook runs $9 for a single 48-page pocket notebook. That’s steep, and if I’m going to pay this much money for high-end stationery, I personally expect to see no bleeding or even show-through. I’m sure Crane will find a market for these notebooks in Crane enthusiasts and the gift market - probably the intended targets - but the price point likely prevents them from becoming a “daily driver” for most people.

You can purchase these notebooks directly from Crane & Co’s online store. Since I do love the look and feel of Crane’s paper, I’d be interested in seeing whether they release a larger notebook or journal with the 32 lb. stock and more pages. Based on my past experience with Crane stationery, I’d gladly pay a premium for that.

Disclaimer: Crane & Co. sent me these notebooks free of charge for review purposes.

Pen Review: Retro 51 Retro Collection Desk Set

October 7, 2017

Regular readers of this blog likely already know Retro 51, the maker of the “Tornado” line of rollerballs, fountain pens, and pencils. Their special editions - including the most recent “Zodiac” pen - sell out quickly, and fuel a lively sub-group of Retro 51 enthusiasts and collectors within the larger pen community. For today’s post, I’m going to take a look at a pen from Retro 51 that doesn’t receive the attention it necessarily deserves: the vintage-style desk set.

Retro 51 has clearly modeled the vintage-style desk set after the classic Esterbrook version that became a fixture at banks and post offices in the mid-20th century. While this modern desk set features a rollerball and not a fountain pen, it maintains the “vintage” look and truly does class up your workspace. Plus, it’s a Retro 51 product, so the build quality is solid.

The dark black cherry lacquer is gorgeous. I'm a sucker for anything red-black, so when I saw that this color was available... you know the rest. The only branding on this set is a small imprint around the pen holder on the base.

My desk set has been beautifully finished and looks great on my desk. Per the manufacturer’s specs, the base is made of poly resin and coated with polished lacquer, which on this particular desk set is "Black Cherry," a dark red-black color. The bottom of the desk set sports a felt pad, so it won’t slide around or scratch your desk. The pen itself is made of metal and coated with the same lacquer as the base - I would guess it’s aluminum, given the extremely light weight. Despite the metal barrel, the pen is not noticeably heavy, and in any event the length and tapered design lends it exceptional balance. Since I received this pen in the mail, I’ve alternated between it and the Inventery Machined Pen as my tool of choice for working things out on my Baron Fig Mastermind desk pad. Both sport the same excellent Schmidt liquid-ink rollerball refill, and also accept the Schmidt Easyflow 9000 ballpoint refill.

Takeaways and Where To Buy

I’ve dabbled with collecting vintage-style desk pens over the years, and this has piqued my interest once again. You can purchase the Retro 51 Desk Pen from our sponsor Goldspot Pens. As with all Retro 51 Pens, the pricing is well below what I would expect for an item of this quality. Typically priced at $60 for the desk set, Goldspot has them on sale for $48, available in Turquoise, White, “Chalkboard Black” (matte), Stainless Steel, and the Black Cherry version reviewed here.

retro_51_-_retro_collection_desk_set_-_rollerball_pen__base_-_turquoise_1_1024x1024.jpg

Disclaimer: Goldspot provided me with this item free of charge, for review purposes. Many thanks to Goldspot for sponsoring the blog.

Pen Review: Aurora 88 Minerali in Azurite

September 30, 2017

One of the more interesting trends emerging over the past year has been the way in which Aurora has emerged to fill the void left in the Italian pen world by the demise of Omas, the suspected impending demise of Delta, and the leadership turnover at Visconti. 2017 saw Aurora launch a very well-regarded series of limited editions, including the 88 Nebuloso, the 88 Anniversario with the new “flexible” nib, and the 88 “Sole.”

The numbering of each Minerali pen is included on the cap, and done in a tasteful, understated way.

Through the end of 2017 and into 2018, Aurora will release five new limited edition demonstrators featuring a different color Auroloide trim on the piston knob, cap finial, and barrel. Dubbed the "Minerali" Collection, the first pen is the one featured here, the “Azurite” blue, with a new pen to follow each month. Other colors will include green, orange, purple, and red, and Aurora says that each version will be limited to 388 pieces, so it’s a true limited edition.

I also love that there's not much branding on this pen, other than the standard "Aurora" engraving on the cap band.

Build Quality

The 88 Minerali is one of the more attractive fountain pen demonstrators that I’ve had the opportunity to handle. The polishing and finish have both been immaculately executed, with no visible flaws in the clear acrylic. The blue “Auroloide” (Aurora’s proprietary name for their cellulose acetate material) really brings out the clarity. I was prepared to be underwhelmed by the pen, especially at the expensive price point, but now I want one.

A close-up shot of the blue Azurite material. I actually prefer the understated look of the demonstrator with Auroloide accents, to a pen made entirely of this material. I think this will be especially true with respect to the orange and purple, as … — A close-up shot of the blue Azurite material. I actually prefer the understated look of the demonstrator with Auroloide accents, to a pen made entirely of this material. I think this will be especially true with respect to the orange and purple, as both the Sole and Nebuloso contained a bit too much color for me.

I’ve heard some grumbling that the “Minerali” line is just a way for Aurora to maximize their return from the spare rod stock that they used in previous limited edition Optimas and 88s. (For example, it appears that the purple and orange will feature the same material used in the Sole and the Nebuloso.) I definitely didn’t get the sense that Aurora created this pen as an afterthought, much less a “spare parts” piece. And, even if that’s the case, if they can make a pen that looks this good in the process, I really don’t care.

I do enjoy the scrollwork on Aurora nibs.

The fine nib wrote exceptionally well out of the box - moderately wet, with just a touch of the tooth for which Aurora is known. The line width and wetness fit my writing style perfectly, and I could use this nib as an all-day, everyday workhorse. Did I mention the scrollwork is beautifully done?

The one nit I can pick with Aurora’s pen design is their piston, and how difficult it can be to clean behind the seal, especially in a demonstrator pen. (I noted the same issue in my prior review of the Aurora Optima Nero Perla.) It takes a LOT of flushing, shaking, and blotting to clean Aurora pens out completely. If I purchased one of these, I’d be leery of using any ink remotely capable of staining, and would probably stick to Aurora Black, Blue, and Blue-Black.

Where to Buy

Many thanks to Cary and the team at Kenro Industries for sending this pen over for review. You can purchase the Aurora 88 Minerali limited editions from any Aurora retailer, including site sponsor Pen Chalet. At $795 MSRP, it’s not an inexpensive pen by any means, but retail tends to be a bit lower and Pen Chalet always has excellent prices. If you’ve been waiting on an Aurora 88 demonstrator, and the Azurite trim appeals to you, act quickly before this one goes away. As I noted above, I’m personally holding out for one of the orange or red Minerali pens (the names of which are still unannounced, to my knowledge).

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.