The three pens on the left have sold via Instagram. Starting on the fourth from left, (1) new Parker Urban; (2) Cleo Skribent Classic Piston Filler; (3) Cleo Skribent Color; (4) Delta Rediscover Pompeii; (5) Delta Journal; (6) Montegrappa White/Ruthenium. Check the "For Sale" page for pricing details.
I didn't make quite as much progress as I thought I would cleaning out my drawers and closets, but I have an initial batch posted for resale now (all fountain pens). Check the "For Sale" page over the next week or so, as I plan on adding some inks, pencils, paper, and potentially more pens.
Thanks for all your support!
The Blackwing Pearl is the third and - so far - final iteration of CalCedar’s Blackwing revival. Ironically, this was the Blackwing release that I was most excited about, yet it’s also the one that was the biggest letdown in terms of performance. On paper, the Pearl should be my favorite pencil. I love the pearlescent white lacquer, and white pencils are uncommon. Per Blackwing’s description, the Pearl also features “a balanced and smooth graphite core that is softer than the graphite found in the Blackwing 602, but firmer than the graphite found in the Blackwing.” In other words, a dark pencil like the original Blackwing with better point retention for writers. So what gives?
Multiple people have observed that the graphite core in the Pearl smears more than the core in the original Blackwing, despite being firmer. I’ve had the same experience, and for that reason alone I prefer the original Blackwing and/or the 602. I have a thing about being able to write on both sides of a piece of paper, and a pencil that smears and ghosts drives me crazy.
A writing sample of all three Blackwing pencils, plus a "one pass" smear test. Notice the Pearl at the bottom,
That’s not to say that the Pearl is a bad pencil - far from it - it’s much less smeary than a lot of other pencils, but if I’m shelling out $22 for a dozen Blackwings, and can get a darker line and less smearing and ghosting with the original and a perfectly adequate dark line with the 602, that leaves the Pearl as the odd-pencil-out. (I can actually tell very little difference between the point retention on the original Blackwing pencil and the Pearl, by the way, though the Pearl is slightly harder.)
The three Blackwing finishes, from top: (1) Blackwing original; (2) Blackwing 602; and (3) Blackwing Pearl
As with their other pencils, Blackwing recently revised the design of the Pearl, which now differs from the pencil pictured here. While the Pearl still features the white finish, Blackwing has changed the imprint from black to gold and swapped in a white eraser. I’ve not seen the “new Pearl” in person, so I can’t say for sure how I feel, but this seems like a mixed bag. The white eraser looks nice, but the gold imprint…? I think I might prefer the black.
Like the other pencils, Blackwing has featured the Pearl’s “smooth and balanced” graphite core in its series of limited edition “Blackwing Volumes” pencils, including the recently released Volume 1, a tribute to the singer-songwriter Guy Clark, and Volume 725, the initial limited edition Blackwing with a “sunburst” finish, based on Bob Dylan’s electric guitar at the Newport Music Festival. For some reason, the Pearl core has appeared in the music-themed editions. Intentional?....
As of 2024, The Gentleman Stationer is now an authorized retailer of Blackwing, so you can purchase directly from us and show your support!
The Pearl (top) compared against the Blackwing Volumes 1, which is a round pencil with a gray wash.
This review is the third installment of an anticipated multipart review of the various Blackwing pencils on the market today. If you liked this post, please check out Part I - my review of the original Palomino Blackwing with some background on the revival of the brand, Part II - my review of the Blackwing 602, as well as my earlier review of the Blackwing line of notebooks.
Disclaimer: I purchased the pencils featured in this review with my own funds, for my own use. This post contains affiliate links.
Several weeks back Ron at Pen Chalet reached out and offered to send me a pen from a new line out of Taiwan, “3952,” for which Pen Chalet is the exclusive U.S. distributor. As always, I quickly agreed, since I’m ever on the lookout for pens from brands that I’ve never tried - something that’s rare these days.
3952 is a division of BonArtek, a Taiwanese writing instrument manufacturer. I have no prior experience with any pens by BonArtek, and to the best of my knowledge, until the release of the 3952 pens, they have not sold any pens under their own mark or the “3952” brand in North America or Europe. “3952” derives its name from the height of Mount Jade, the highest peak in Taiwan at 3952 meters high. The initial batch of 3952 pens includes three models: a rose wood pen with a metal cap, an abalone shell model, and the X800, which is a larger black and chrome metal pen featured here.
3952 has done a nice job with the presentation and packaging on the X800, which looks high end without appearing ostentatious or wasteful, and is appropriate to the price point of the pen.
The pen itself definitely has that a certain “metal pen look”, which you either appreciate or you don’t. The barrel feels like coated brass with an engraved “twist” pattern, and features a smooth chrome section. My pen appears to be very well-machined, with none of the dings, chips, or manufacturing flaws that you see on cheaper metal pens. The smooth section itself is quite comfortable to grip and I haven’t had any issues with it becoming slippery. (As I think I noted in a previous review, one of the ways in which I’m trying to improve my handwriting and overall penmanship is by loosening my “death grip” on the pen. As a result, metal sections haven’t bothered me as much because my hand gets much less sweaty/oily, but I digress.) The pen does post, but the hefty metal cap will make this pen too unbalanced for most people, save those who have very large hands. While I prefer to be able to post my pens, the X800 has a nice balance to it unposted, with the metal section front-weighting the pen.
My favorite feature of the X800 is the cap and magnetic closure. Many modern pens use either a threaded cap, which screws onto the barrel and takes time to deploy, or a friction-fit “snap” closure, which often utilizes a plastic inner cap that can loosen (or even crack) over time. 3952 has chosen to use a magnetic cap that closes very securely with a quarter twist. I also appreciate how the clip is incorporated into the overall design of the pen, similar to the Karas Kustoms Ink. The clip itself is tight with very little wiggle, while still allowing you to slip the pen into a shirt pocket or clip it to a pen sleeve in a bag.
The clip is integrated into the design of the cap. It's not coming loose anytime soon.
3952 Pens use a cartridge/converter filling system with stainless steel Bock nibs, which are generally smooth and reliable, but they won’t show you much in the way of line variation or overall “character.” I personally tend to find steel Bock nibs slightly dry. This one was no exception, though skips or hard starts were rare, coming mainly after I had left the pen sitting for over a week.
Factory standard medium nib and section. If you look closely, you can see how 3952 incorporated a curved metal "lip" at the base of the section, which serves as the "threading" for the twist closure.
Out of curiosity, I pulled the stainless nib and swapped in a Bock titanium nib and feed from another pen, which worked perfectly and now this pen is what I would call an insanely good writer. This, of course, is entirely a matter of personal preference, since I prefer more ink on the page than most steel nibs offer "out of the box" and lean towards moderately wet gold nibs for most of my writing. (I typically modify my steel nibs to write wetter than the “factory setting.”) Though 3952 does not offer nib upgrades (at least not yet), you can pull the nib from the X800 and swap in another Bock nib and feed "borrowed" from another pen or purchased separately from a source like fpnibs.com.
If you want to swap a Titanium nib into this pen, you probably will want to use the feed that came with the Ti nib unit, since Titanium nibs generally have heavier flow and the feed channels are cut differently.
3952 makes a solid fountain pen. The X800 is a comfortable, well-balanced writer with a reliable German stainless steel nib from a reputable manufacturer. The magnetic twist closure on the X800 is probably the trait that most distinguishes the pen from its competition, and one I wish that other pen companies would incorporate, given that slip caps tend to loosen and/or crack over time.
As I mentioned above, through the end of the year you can purchase 3952 fountain pens from Pen Chalet as the exclusive U.S. distributor. The MSRP on the 3952 X800 is $187. Street price, after incorporating standard discounts/coupon codes, is around $135, which places the X800 in the same price bracket as brands such as Faber-Castell, Diplomat, and Otto Hutt. One pen that the X800 might be comparable to is the Diplomat Excellence. Diplomat pens use JoWo nibs, and the 3952 pens use Bock. JoWo and Bock both make a good nib, but they do have a different feel to them, with Bock nibs typically writing slightly drier out of the box, in my experience. While the X800 holds its own in terms of quality, I suspect that 3952 may gain the most traction with their other offerings such as the Rose Wood and Abalone Shell fountain pens, which are somewhat unique designs at this price point and have received good reviews.
Disclaimer: The pen featured in this review was sent to me by Pen Chalet for review purposes, free of charge. This post contains affiliate links.
A year after the relaunch of the Blackwing, CalCedar found themselves in the position of having to choose between forging ahead with their new vision for the brand, reflected in the “non-traditional” design of the first Palomino Blackwing pencil, and appeasing the Blackwing purists, who were clamoring for a more “authentic” pencil in line with the vintage Eberhard Faber original.
The result was the Palomino Blackwing 602, which catered to both constituencies by incorporating new design elements while maintaining a “vintage” look. Most notably, the new pencil featured a pearlescent gunmetal lacquer similar to later iterations of the vintage Blackwing, and also reintroduced the classic slogan “Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed,” on the barrel. While some find the tagline nonsensical (and apparently there was some internal debate over whether to revive it at all), it may have its origins with stenographers, who appreciated the pencil for its ability to make dark, legible notations while still maintaining a decent wear rate. CalCedar tweaked the original design somewhat, using a black eraser instead of pink, and omitting the black stripe from the ferrule.
Blackwing 602 with the black eraser swapped out in favor of classic pink. And, no, I don't chew my pencils. The "teethmarks" are from the excellent Carl Angel-5 sharpener (also marketed as the Classroom Friendly Sharpener).
Just recently, Blackwing again changed the design of the 602 to bring it even closer to the original vintage pencil, switching the default eraser color from black to pink. Previously, the only way you could get a Blackwing 602 with the “vintage pink” eraser was by purchasing a pack yourself (sold separately) and swapping them out, or by purchasing the Chuck Jones special edition Blackwing 602 (now discontinued).
The Blackwing 530, one of the limited Blackwing "Volumes", included a black stripe on the ferrule - a design element that appeared on some, but not all, vintage Blackwings. I love the look of the ferrule stripe.
In addition to different aesthetics, the Blackwing 602 uses a firmer core of Japanese graphite, designed to maximize point retention while at the same time sacrificing as little smoothness and darkness as possible. Personally, I think CalCedar succeeded. The 602 doesn’t have Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood-style point retention (and that pencil is borderline too hard for me), but two Blackwing 602s, freshly sharpened to a long point, will get me through an hour-long meeting at work with heavy notetaking. Someone who writes with a lighter hand than I do might squeeze out even more mileage.
While I love the original Palomino Blackwing, if I had to stock a classroom or an office supply closet with the best Blackwing for most people - I can dream, right? - my choice would be the 602. The Blackwing 602’s combination of point retention, darkness, and looks makes it an excellent choice for everyday work situations, such as when I’m going into a meeting and won’t have access to a sharpener.
As I mentioned in last week’s review, the original Blackwing pencil remains my favorite simply because it’s somewhat unique to find a pencil that makes such a dark line while remaining usable for writing for any length of time. The Blackwing 602, however, runs a close second, and sees a lot of use at my desk.
As with the original, Blackwing regularly features the 602 core in the Blackwing Volumes special edition pencils, including Volumes 211 (John Muir); 344 (Dorothea Lange); 205 (Jade); 56 (Joe DiMaggio).
As of 2024, The Gentleman Stationer is now an authorized retailer of Blackwing, so you can purchase directly from us and show your support!
I own two of the Blackwing Volumes editions that featured the 602 core: the Blackwing 211 (John Muir) and the Blackwing 344 (Dorothea Lange). The Blackwing 344 features the most recent logo and branding.
This review is the second installment of an anticipated multipart review of the various Blackwing pencils on the market today. You can check out Part I - my review of the original Palomino Blackwing with some background on the revival of the brand - here, as well as my earlier review of the Blackwing line of notebooks.
Disclaimer: I purchased the pencils featured in this review with my own funds, for my own use. This post contains affiliate links.
Visconti’s “Van Gogh” Impressionist Collection receives scant attention, at least as compared to the Italian company’s other flagship pens such as the Homo Sapiens and Divina. That’s a shame, because of all the Visconti pens I’ve had the opportunity to test out, this might be my favorite. (Sorry, Homo Sapiens Dark Ages.)
Each pen in the Van Gogh series is cast from an acrylic resin specially mixed to match the palette of colors found in a Vincent Van Gogh painting, in this case, Vincent’s Chair. (Pens based on the works Starry Night, Shoes, Irises, and one of his self-portraits are also available, among others). Each piece is unique, and even those pens based on the same painting will still feature different swirls and patterns in the acrylic.
The Van Gogh packaging includes a reproduction of the original artwork on the inside flap of the leather box, so you can compare the colors in your pen to the painting that inspired it.
This particular Van Gogh features a very nice steel nib - actually, one of the best Visconti nibs out of the box that I’ve used. As I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, Visconti nibs can be supremely frustrating because the company’s quality control is all over the place. These pens sit at a very high price point, and of the three Visconti Pens that I’ve reviewed (Homo Sapiens Dark Ages, Rembrandt Back-to-Black, and this Van Gogh), all three required some sort of nib adjustment out of the box. Not exactly what you would expect when you are shelling out anywhere from $150-700 for a fountain pen.
The stainless steel nib on the Van Gogh is quite attractive, with the crescent-shaped breather hole and scrollwork.
In the case of this Van Gogh, the “nib work” required to get the pen in writing order was fairly minor: the tines were misaligned but I was able to easily push them back into place with my thumbnail after straightening out the feed. After this ten-second adjustment, the pen wrote exceptionally well: a wet medium line with no hard starts or skipping.
Note: I’m experienced with fountain pens, and consider a tine adjustment to be “minor” and something I can handle myself. I recognize that someone spending $200 on their first expensive fountain pen might not be so brave. For that reason, I generally do not recommend Visconti as a brand for beginners. Regardless, if you are considering purchasing a Visconti, purchase from a reputable retailer (like Goldspot) and specifically ask them to inspect the nib for you prior to shipment to avoid any problems on the front end.
The Van Gogh pens feature the patented Visconti clip, and have the name of the painting that inspired the pen engraved around the cap band.
So what keeps bringing people back to Visconti, despite the temperamental nibs? The design, which always has a lot of personality to it and inspires strong opinions (positive and negative), particularly surrounding Visconti's larger clips. Those who enjoy Visconti design, however, demonstrate exceptional loyalty to the brand, and Visconti collectors/enthusiasts are well-represented in the pen community. Personally, I like the Visconti “Bridge Clip,” and the polished version here works especially well on the smaller, faceted Van Gogh pen. Yellow pens also tend to be hard to find, and I found this color combination on the “Vincent’s Chair” pen, with its swirls of blues and greens, especially attractive on the faceted barrel. The silver trim also sets off the acrylic nicely.
The Van Gogh also features a secure magnetic closure on the cap, and is compatible with Visconti’s “My Pen” personalization system, if that’s something that interests you.
The Van Gogh might end up as one of my preferred Visconti models. The compact size, light weight, and excellent nib (once adjusted) combine to form an extremely comfortable daily writer. The pen also posts well. While the pen has a metal section, I didn’t end up with a slippage problem, and this is something that bothers me less and less as I learn to not grip my pens so tightly.
You can purchase this Visconti Van Gogh Vincent’s Chair fountain pen, as well as the other pens in the Visconti Van Gogh Impressionist Collection, from Goldspot Pens. The Van Gogh sits around the midpoint of Visconti’s pricing scale at $289, which admittedly is on the high side for a steel-nibbed acrylic pen. That said, the effort required to mix and pair each resin with a particular Van Gogh painting likely took work and drove up the cost, so when viewing these pens from a cost/value perspective, it’s probably more appropriate to compare them to a custom pen like an Edison or a Newton, which sits around that same $300 price point.
I've posted this pic before I know, but to give you a sense of the size, here's the Visconti (far right) compared against (from right) a Pilot Vanishing Point, a Ryan Krusac Legend L-14, and a 3952 X800.
Many thanks to Goldspot for loaning me this pen for review. Overall, I’m sad to have to send this one back, but a Vincent’s Chair and/or Starry Night pen might be making its way into my collection in the future.
Disclaimer: Goldspot loaned me this pen free of charge for review purposes.
