How Blackwing Pencils are Made [video]

tkgally•about 1 hour ago

A couple of months ago, I went with my daughter and six-year-old grandson to the Kita-Boshi Pencil factory in eastern Tokyo [1]. He is a first-grader at a public elementary school in Yokohama, and he is learning to write using wooden pencils.

We had watched many times a similar video [2] showing pencils being made at the Kita-Boshi factory. The production line wasn’t operating the day we went, but we still got a full introduction to the history and manufacture of pencils from the company chairman [3], who is very enthusiastic about the pencil business. The other attendees were all elementary school children and their parents or grandparents.

There used to be dozens of pencil factories in Tokyo, but Kita-Boshi is one of the few remaining. The larger Japanese pencil brands, such as Tombow and Mitsubishi, now source most of their production from places like Vietnam or China.

We came back home with a bag full of Kita-Boshi pencils that I bought there. I don’t use pencils much myself anymore, but when I tried writing with them they felt smoother and easier to write with than the wooden pencils I used as a child in the U.S. sixty years ago.

[1] http://www.kitaboshi.co.jp/pencil-lab/

[2] https://youtu.be/Lk_57TP6RFk

[3] https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/tokyo23/feature/CO100007/202...

leonidv•about 2 hours ago

I have a box of 120 Blackwing pencils of all types. They look nice, expensive, but a bad tool.

(review -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CrD5KRnuLnh/?img_index=2&igsh=cD... )

They are not suitable for fine drawing (too waxy and soft) - those are either STAEDTLER, FaberCastell, or Tombow (Japanese brand).

The fancy tip eraser is also not very useful. The metal around it is so soft, it can't hold any pressure. Also extremely not child friendly, as the small metal part inside just fells out.

Tombow Mono - de-facto standard eraser.

encode•1 minute ago

They're not really targeted at artists but for writing and taking notes. In my opinion, they have a nice smooth feel and work well for this purpose. But they're on the expensive side, so if you don't care about the looks, there are many other—wallet-friendly—options out there!

The eraser is infamous for being terrible. But it looks cool.

linguae•23 minutes ago

I also enjoy my Blackwings, though my normal pencil of choice is the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni HB, which is cheaper than the Blackwing but is still an awesome pencil. I think my supply of pencils will last at least a decade. I take a lot of handwritten notes when doing research, and I prefer pencil over pen when working in computer science and math.

noahbradley•13 minutes ago

I don't know, they've always seemed nice to draw with.

disce-pati•about 1 hour ago

Even the Blackwing sharpeners are not that great. A pencil plane works just fine for almost all pencil sharpening I've ever needed to do and making your own isn't very hard.

kashunstva•34 minutes ago

Terrible tool for drawing possibly; but among musicians they are widely considered the standard for marking scores. There’s always a Blackwing on my stand.

xtajv•about 1 hour ago

I consider them terrible for drawing but excellent for taking handwritten notes that will scan well.

zcw100•36 minutes ago

I can't help thinking of David Rees. This guy is hilarious https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KabOfnbS4TQ&t=139s

lolc•about 2 hours ago

More companies should do this kind of advertisement.

WillAdams•about 1 hour ago

I remember using these when I was young, and being quite disappointed when the local store quit carrying them.

Glad to have them back for note-taking and sketching.

ktallett•about 1 hour ago

They aren't the same since they were brought back.

How Blackwing Pencils are Made [video]

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