Tag Archives: exemplars

The Faber-Castell Blackwing 602

10 Wednesday Nov 2010

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When the Blackwing is referred to by its full name, it usually reads like this: “The Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602”. For the vast majority of this pencil’s lifetime it was manufactured by Eberhard Faber, but there was a relatively brief period of time—from 1988 to 1994—when the Blackwing was produced by Faber-Castell.

This excerpt from the 1989-1990 Faber-Castell catalog looks like a collector’s wish-list: the Blackwing is in good company with the Mongol and Black Velvet. The overall look of the pencil is the same—graphite-gray lacquer, oblique logo, and extended ferrule—but “Eberhard Faber” has been replaced with “FaberCastell” and the imprint does not have the same metallic appearance found on previous versions.

In terms of marketing, the Blackwing remained positioned as a smooth-writing pencil. Faber-Castell described it in this manner:

Compare that description to this copy for the Blackwing ca. 1940:

Perhaps the most distinctive change was in the packaging. Colorful boxes and logos were replaced by stark, Helvetica-inspired compressed typography for the company name, a halftone image of the pencil, and a mono-chromatic spine.

This version in bright blue—which has a fleeting connection with older packaging—though it was eventually replaced by a less-inspired version in brown:

When the Eberhard Faber catalog changed hands again in 1994 this packaging style was retained, except for “FaberCastell” changing back to “Eberhard Faber”.

Knowing nothing of corporate turnover, my questions are probably naïve. But, when the brand changed hands in 1988 was it merely a change in company letterhead while the factories and employees remained the same? Or was it more dramatic, where entirely different plants began making the Blackwing 602 from scratch? The changes in appearance and packaging lead me to choose the latter, but at the same time it seems hard to believe Faber-Castell wouldn’t have acquired the plants along with the brand rights. Then again, I have no knowledge of how such things work, so it’s all speculation on my part.

Eberhard Faber Pencil Stand/Blackwing Eyrie

30 Saturday Oct 2010

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At first, this piece seems better-suited for product advertising rather than being a desktop pencil stand. I can picture this in stores—on top of counters, filled with samples or product for sale. The patent for it dates back to 1923, and Lothar W. Faber is credited as the inventor.

This is the sort of thing you don’t see anymore. Sure, there are acrylic stands and expensive modern aluminum extrusions, but I wonder if 80 years from now whether they will have acquired the same sense of timelessness. As this stand approaches official “antique” status (purportedly 100 years, but there is no shortage of mitigating factors), it’s no less functional. Dated, perhaps, but in the best sense.

The Boston Athenæum Blackwing 602

22 Friday Oct 2010

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The decision to label this as a separate example rather than as a sub-version of the late-model Blackwings, was based on two factors: the imprint and the date of manufacture. This Blackwing 602 is unlike any other in that the imprint reads nothing of Eberhard Faber, instead it is custom designed for the Boston Athenæum. On three separate faces it reads:

THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM
10 1/2 BEACON ST.
BOSTON, MA. 02108

(Pity there was no capital ash, i.e. “Æ”.) It is stamped in the familiar gold foil, though the typeface differs from those found on ‘standard’ Blackwing pencils.

It is not unusual for pencil manufacturers to offer custom imprinting. What seems unusual to me is that it was available for the Blackwing, but as we have come to learn this was for a special occasion, which leads us into factor #2: the Blackwing was about to go extinct.

A benefactor of the library who worked in the office products industry made arrangements to purchase the last run of Blackwing pencils from Eberhard Faber (purported to be 1,100 dozen). If this is so, then the Boston Athenæum Blackwings represent the last original Blackwings ever produced, made more special due to their custom imprint.

I’m unaware if during the 50+ year history of the Blackwing whether custom-printed 602s were produced. It doesn’t seem implausible, but I’m not familiar enough with the industry to know whether custom labeling was typically available for any stock the customer wanted. Perhaps  it was the failing status of the Blackwing pencil, together with the august standing of the Athenæum, that coincided to produce this special run of pencils.

Blaisdell 600 v. Blackwing 602

19 Tuesday Oct 2010

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How often does the name “Blaisdell” creep into pencil-related blogs? Not as often as Faber-Castell, Staedtler, or Tombow to be sure, yet the Blaisdell Pencil Company of Philadelphia—now a part of Sanford—has a rich and storied history. Known for their Ben Franklin line, they are also purported to have been the first to produce paper-wrapped pencils, such as China markers, as far back as the early 1890s.

I came across one Blaisdell pencil rather by accident. Inside a box of half-broken misfits, chipped and sans ferrules, was a Blaisdell 600 Special Grade Calculator pencil. Even without a ferrule, it looked sharp with its jet-black lacquered finish. It is a round pencil, which suggests it was made for tasks that take a bit of time (such as tests)—its tendency to roll off a desk mitigated by its comfort.

After trying the rest of the pencils—all scratchy and hard—the 600 was remarkably soft and dark, but it didn’t seem to wear in proportion to its darkness, a quality ascribed to the Blackwing 602. However, this pencil does wear more quickly than the 602.

This writing sample compares the 600 to the 602.

I don’t know the dating of this pencil, but the ferrule has a white band that seems to be hand-painted, suggesting a time when this process was not yet automated. The design and striping of ferrules—or of the ends of pencils in general—was once akin to heraldic devices announcing their manufacturers and each particular brand. As it was something easy to duplicate, ‘counterfeiters’ would attract unwary consumers by mimicking the marks and stripes of better-known (and more expensive) brands. You can find A.W. Faber himself imploring the public by way of printed packing materials, to be sure of his brand before purchasing pencils.

Though I’m not looking to replace the Blackwing 602, especially with another pencil that is no longer made, still it’s fun to find something that approximates the experience of writing with a Blackwing, and the Blaisdell 600 does so quite nicely.

I wonder what could be determined by the similarity of their product numbers. Probably coincidence.

The Blackwings of Boston

05 Tuesday Oct 2010

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Judy DiCristofaro is the assistant controller and Curator of Writing Instruments at the Boston Athenæum. Judy was kind enough to send along some pictures, as well as a narrative regarding Athenæum’s association with the Blackwing 602.

Blackwings

What do a movie producer in Maine, an attorney in New South Wales, a woman on Rodeo Drive, a businessman in Orlando and a designer in Bethlehem NH all have in common?  The all love Blackwing 602 pencils and have purchased them on eBay from the Boston Athenaeum.

The Blackwing 602 pencil has been out of production since 1998 when the machinery used to produce them failed and a decision was made at Eberhard Faber not to repair it.  Boston Athenaeum Trustee Lionel Spiro owned a business that sold office supplies and purchased the last run of these beloved pencils for their faithful users among the Athenaeum membership.  They were the pencil sold at the front desk.

These legendary pencils promise “Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed.”  Collectors collect them.  There is an American Pencil Collectors Society complete with an annual convention.  More importantly, writers love to write with them and artists love to draw with them.

When we heard that these pencils had a following of devotees and were selling for up to $20 a pencil, I must have said “isn’t that interesting?” twice because the task of getting a pencil auction going fell to me.  I set the Athenaeum up as an eBay seller in July 2004.  On August 4, 2004 we sold two dozen pencils for $540.  The pencils went to Monmouth Junction, New Jersey.  I have shipped more pencils to New Jersey than any other state

The buyer left eBay feedback, “The fastest, most professional service I have had on the net, Thank you!”  In the ebay world, feedback is important.  It lets buyers know that other buyers have found you good to deal with.  And of course, I liked the compliment.  Probably all of the potential buyers who have contacted me are familiar with The Boston Athenaeum and write favorably of us.

In between fulfilling my accounting duties at the Athenaeum, I have listed pencils for sale on eBay as time allowed.  I have had interesting correspondence from all over.  The lawyer in New South Wales writes that he is going to sell the family silver to buy some more pencils.  A man with an eBay “screen name” that is a variation of Alfred Hitchcock writes each time I list the pencils with questions and states a desire to buy all we own but has yet to purchase any. There is a self described starving artist in Chicago who calls regularly wondering if I’ve lowered the price yet.

I have listed them on eBay and had had them not sell.  I have listed them a watched a bidding war in the final minutes of the auction.  After the bidding war, eBay lets you make a “second chance offer” and the losing bidders are given an opportunity to make a purchase at the winning bid.  Of course, this requires that you have additional items to sell.

As I tell my colleagues and friends tales of pencil sales I hear, “but they’re PENCILS!!!” They are, but they are sought after, the absolute favorite pencils of many.  Most of my buyers tell me why these are the best pencil they’ve ever used and how sad they are that they are out of production.

As I sat writing about the Blackwing 602 pencils, I received notice that my latest listing on ebay of six dozen pencils sold for $720.  And yes, I wrote the first draft of this with a Blackwing 602 pencil and it is a very fine pencil to write with indeed!

Judy DiCristofaro

Assistant Controller
Curator of Writing Implements
Director of eBay Sales

A Blackwing By Any Other Name

15 Wednesday Sep 2010

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A popular topic for discussion among Blackwing fans—especially for those whose precious reserve has all but evaporated—is whether some other pencil could equal the Blackwing 602. Before making comparisons from without, I wanted to explore an oft-repeated statement, that the Blackwing core lived on in the Microtomic 603, especially the 4B. Is this statement true to a chemical certainty? I have no idea. It took quite some time to acquire the samples I needed—both a 4B and a 3B—and the results were stunningly close.

I’m not a big believer in publishing writing samples as a definitive means to otherwise “prove” something about pencils; there are too many mitigating variables. But I’m posting a picture for the sake of illustrating what I did.

It’s hard to tell by this picture, but it’s equally as difficult to see much of a difference in person. There are only very slight differences in these three pencils. It’s too hard for me to say whether the 3B or the 4B is closer in terms of degree, only because the slightest change in hand pressure could create a significant change. I think under “normal” writing circumstances, the 4B would be the closer of the two, but just barely.

The Tactile
I wish it were possible to truly put together a blind test (perhaps I will one day using pencil extenders), but being as objective as possible the first thing I noticed was how things sounded. Yes, you read correctly, how things sounded. There’s a reason for this: as a musician, it’s not unusual to notice subtle differences in timbre, especially when those differences (in a musical context) can bring with them profound changes in interpretation. Now, let me state very clearly that listening to pencils is not part of my evaluation process—personal or professional—in any way. (In fact, I hope that’s true of just about everyone.) I’m mentioning it because something very noticeable occurred. The degree to which the Microtomic pencils were at all scratchy seemed more pronounced than with the Blackwing. But there’s an explanation for this: the Microtomics are essentially one piece with a small metal cap whereas the Blackwing has a pronounced ferrule and eraser, which would dampen vibration throughout the pencil. This prompted me to start again and focus completely on how things felt, since my ears were sending me competing information.

I still think that the Blackwing is smoother than the Microtomics, but it is so negligible I’m not sure it’s worth mentioning. Could it be then that the Blackwing core lived on, at least for a time, in the Microtomic line? It seems plausible, just as I could see adopting the 3B or 4B for regular use.

Oh yeah. They stopped making those, too.

Update 7/18/11: Apparently, how a pencil sounds was important enough to Eberhard Faber that it was part of a 1940s ad campaign. Note how the young lady has some paper wrapped around the pencil in order to amplify the sound (and that you can get a “sound tester” for free!).