Gliding with ease, the Eberhard-Faber Blackwing was one of the most beloved instruments in the artistic community. It had a cult like following with its sleek design and deliciously smooth 4B lead, and its famous slogan, “Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed” was no exaggeration.
The last of a line of pencils featuring a distinctive rectangular ferrule with a unique, replaceable eraser, the Eberhard- Faber Blackwing was a favorite tool among artists, designers and writers. Chuck Jones notably favored Blackwings and once said. “A pen is filled with ink, a Blackwing is filled with ideas.”
The Big Draw (chuckjones.org)
Eberhard Faber was sold to Faber-Castel (USA) in the 1980s and then to Sanford in the 1990s. A few factors influenced the company’s decision to stop making this pencil in 1988, one of which was the machine used to make the unusual ferrule broke. During the last years of production, the company made only about 1100 dozen Blackwings annually. The same facility produces more pencils than that in a single hour! Can’t erase the facts that the demand had slowed, and that plus the cost to repair the machinery brought an end to the Blackwings.
Over time the Blackwing mystique grew, as devoted fans were not willing to accept any substitute. The price rose from $.50 to a sky rocketing $20 per pencil. One box even sold for $384 on Ebay!
The New Blackwing 602
Rejoice – the sleek and silvery, fast-moving and easy to sharpen pencil has been reformulated by Palomino Pencils and is available once again!
The new Blackwing is a tribute to the original, not a replica. Palomino is part of the California Cedar Products Company, run by sixth-generation pencil maker Charles Berolzheimer II, whose family began manufacturing pencils in Bavaria in the 19th century. It is safe to say that the new Blackwing embodies the rich history of crafting a pencil with art and science to exacting specifications.
Attracted to the velvety feel, dark lines and the unusual shape, I found myself favoring them when selecting a writing tool from my crowded pencil cup. My mother, always on the cutting edge of what’s cool in design had them on display in her office. I wonder now, did the grey metal decor match her carefully sharpened pencils or were the pencils her inspiration?
So with Palomino’s new Blackwings, I quickly snatched up a box to display on my desk (and another as a gift for mom), but not before sharing the history of the Blackwing with the ‘youngsters’ at the store. Come in and take it for a test drive, you won’t be sorry. They are $1.95 each.
