Worn & Wound
The Enduring Appeal of the Blackwing Pencil
How many of you are using a lead pencil regularly? The old-school variety, I’m talking about. The kind that maybe you used on a Scan-Tron test in high school, but perhaps not since then. The reality is that, for many of us, a pencil isn’t the first writing utensil one grabs for when it’s time to jot down a note. While a mechanical pencil makes it easy, its wooden cousin has a few complications that make it not ideal for the everyday user – you have to sharpen it, the lead can easily dull after a few minutes, the line size tends to be a bit broader. While all of this is absolutely true, it’s hard to not enjoy the hand-feel of a proper wooden pencil dashing across a page. For me, I’ve slowly become a convert to the simple beauty of a pencil. I’m sure it’s part nostalgia, but there is also something more satisfying when scribbling with a pencil versus the almost-too-perfect gliding of a pen. Now, that’s not to say I’m a full-time user – but more and more, you’re likely to find a few pencil shavings littering my desk. And this is due, in large part, to finding the perfect pencil. For longtime readers of mine, you may know I try to stay away from hyperbole. But when it comes to the Blackwing 602, it’s hard to not exaggerate the writing ability, graphite quality, and overall performance of this pencil versus, say, your run-of-the-mill yellow #2 variety. For those who are unfamiliar with Blackwing, you’ve undoubtedly seen the distinct shape creep up ...
