I’m not sure what it was, but today I was reminded of the reaction a good friend of mine had when she first tried a Blackwing 602, and in particular, what she said. Writing on Clairefontaine music paper (which is the same stock as their Triomphe line), she immediately paused after the first letter, incredulously examining the tip of the pencil—as if what she was feeling didn’t correspond with what she was seeing. She resumed writing and as she did, said: “It’s like it’s writing before I do.”
I’ve wondered since then if the expression “It Writes Before You Do” couldn’t have been a nice slogan for a smooth-writing pencil, in a mid-20th century kind of way.
(Is it just me, or does this photo have a slight optical illusion, as if it has rotated slightly clockwise? It seems more pronounced if you tilt your head to the left.)
Every time I see a post extolling the writing virtues of the Blackwing 602, I get out my Blackwing stub (thanks Sean) and scribble a few precious words and put it safely back in its place again. This process has seen my anxiety levels rise as the stub is now half of what it was. But hey I’m lucky, at least I’ve had the privelege of experiencing this great pencil. The photo … it looks more like the pencils are sitting on a gently curving surface…different strokes..
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Yes, but, *you’re* looking at the picture from the southern hemisphere, so…I’m sorry. Your vote can’t be counted. 😉
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correct Sean, and living in the southern hemisphere means we always have to look up to people in the northern hemisphere…very demoralising.
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Well, you’ve still got that whole toilets-swirl-the-other-way thing going for you. It’s not all bad. 🙂 (In case the smileys aren’t enough, I’m just kidding…)
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I’m just kidding…)..so was I.
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Great slogan “It Writes Before You Do”. I´ve been thinking about to merger the two old classic brands, Conté-Hardmuth and offer the Mephisto “It Writes Before You Do” as an alternative (If, may I said this?) to Blackwing “Half The Pressure, Twice The Speed”. Well, if I get this a reality in the future, may I count with the slogan? I really liked.
Today, I couldn´t see the optical illusion (The one from PS), but… maybe…
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