The ‘best pencil ever made’: a short history of the Blackwing 602

by Lesley Sampson Freelance Writer

It might be hard to believe that a single black pencil could develop a cult following and a global fan base, but over the last eight decades the Blackwing 602 has done just that.

The original Blackwing 602 pencil was introduced in the 1930s by Eberhard Faber. Initially sold for 50 cents each, which was considered expensive at the time, every pencil was made from cedarwood with wax added to the lead. Faber’s slogan for the 602 was ‘Half the pressure, twice the speed’, and this was printed in gold onto the side of the pencil. A unique ferrule was used for the 602, allowing for the eraser to be replaced.

Part of the Blackwing’s fame is in the number of famous writers and sketchers that brought their ideas to life using the iconic black pencil. Cartoonist Chuck Jones created Bugs Bunny and many other Looney Tunes characters with a trusty 602, and the authors known to have used the pencil include Vladimir Nabokov and Truman Capote.

Faber-Castell USA bought the Eberhard Faber company in the 1980s, producing the Blackwing 602 under their own name alongside the original version. They were subsequently bought by Sanford Corp during the following decade.

Production of the 602 stopped in 1998. The most popular urban legend surrounding the story is that the pencil was discontinued because the machine used to make the special ferrule broke down, and the company wasn’t prepared to fix it. Another theory offered by fans of the 602 is that the machine had broken long beforehand, and that as the stockpile of aluminium clips to hold the eraser ran out, the company thought it unprofitable to fix the machine and to put the pencil back into production. As supplies started to dwindle, Blackwing lovers got desperate: there are reports of eBay bidders offering up to $40 (almost £25 today) for a single pencil.

California Cedar’s first attempt at reviving the Blackwing was in 2010, with a tribute version that had several differences. Eventually, after requests and pressure from pencil fans, CEO Charles Berolzheimer stepped in to help personally. He used his supply relationships and connections to bring the 602 back to life as the Palomino Blackwing 602. The Palomino edition is made in Japan, from renewable Californian cedar, and long-standing followers of the Blackwing have found a new pencil of choice in the updated version.