We talked about travel-ready sketching, we talked about paper and sketchbooks and I was ready to dive into actual sketching…until a quick stop at Blick Art pulled me into the Blackwing vortex. There they were: the legendary Blacking 602s. I couldn’t resist. I have just a couple left at home, and my son’s eyeing them for his SAT next weekend.
Why the obsession? It’s the legend, the marketing, and most of all, the joy of writing with a Blackwing 602. These pencils are tools and also a piece of art history.
The Blackwing 602: Icon Status
The Blackwing 602’s story starts in the 1930s with the Eberhard Faber company. The original 602 was beloved for its smooth, dark core, iconic finish, and the rectangular ferrule with a replaceable eraser. John Steinbeck swore by them, and when production stopped in the late 1990s, prices for old stock soared up to $40 a pencil.
Cal Cedar (now Blackwing) purchased and revived the brand. And those with a keen memory of the original gave it a wholehearted thumbs up. You know the rest–the legend lives on. The current 602 features “firm” graphite, which is great for writing, line work, and sketching. It feels like a #2 pencil but makes a darker mark and has better point retention.
Also, it works on a standardized test.
The Blackwing Pearl: The Belle of the Ball
Then there’s the Palomino Blackwing Pearl. With a pearlescent white finish (but also oddly now sold in pink and blue—maybe for gender reveal parties?), it’s the ballerina of pencils. The Pearl uses Blackwing’s “balanced” graphite. It’s softer than the 602, but not as soft as the Matte. It’s versatile: dark enough for sketching, but hard enough that you’re not sharpening every five minutes. On the traditional scale, it’s closest to a 2B.
I know you’re wondering… yes, it works on a standardized test.
The Graphite Scale, Simplified
Quick refresher: pencils are traditionally graded from H (hard, light) to B (black, soft). Blackwing skips nineteen degrees of imperceptible difference and labels pencils as “Extra-Firm,” “Firm,” “Balanced,” and “Soft.” The 602 is “Firm,” the Pearl is “Balanced,” and the Matte is “Soft.”
The result? Even Blackwing’s hardest pencil is darker than most standard pencils.
The Blackwing Volumes Series: Collectible and Creative
Since 2015, Blackwing has released quarterly limited-edition “Volumes” pencils, each with its own theme, story, and sometimes unique graphite core. These releases have become cult collectibles. Please stop reading now if your cash is precious.
My first Volume was the #24, Tribute to John Steinbeck. It’s a beautiful thing to behold with a black laquered piano finish and matching black glossy ferrule. I gave them away to workshop attendees. If you happen to have one, unsharpened, it’s worth $60. I will not confirm nor deny that I have any left.
My favorite, though, is the Bauhaus (Volume 155): bold design, soft core, and a tribute to creative innovation.
Why I Keep Coming Back
In the end, I love Blackwings because they’re beautiful, thoughtfully designed objects.
Not because you can use them on a standardized test. But you can.
On-budget Pencil Recommendation:
If you want a long term investment, opt for a Mars Staedler Lead Holder and a stack of drawing leads in 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B. If you purchased those in the 1990’s for a college drawing class you would still have some left.
