Bring Back Jumbo Pencils as a Standard Stationery Item!

Or, at the very least, make good ones more available. Over the years, I’ve written several different posts about my love for jumbo and “mini-jumbo” pencils, ranging from humble school pencils such as the beloved Ticonderoga Laddie to the more exotic (and now discontinued) Caran d’Ache Black Wood. Why do I love these oversized pencils so much? It pretty much comes down to comfort.

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A well-made round or hexagonal jumbo pencil offers one of the most comfortable writing experiences around. The problem seems to be (1) availability and (2) the fear of looking like a little kid writing with a giant pencil. IMHO, these two things go hand-in-hand. If the only jumbo pencils on the market are designed for, and marketed to, kindergartners, well, that’s going to affect perception and negatively impact demand. I’m doing my best to change that.

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What sharpener put that point on the Black Wood? It’s the Classroom Friendly Jumbo Sharpener, which I’ve previously reviewed. While you may pay a premium for the smooth Caran d’Ache graphite, the pencils have excellent point retention, and my Black Woods have lasted me a long time.

Five years ago, Swiss Brand Caran d’Ache sold a hexagonal jumbo pencil called the Black Wood, which I mentioned above. The Black Wood packed an oversized core of high-quality, Caran d’Ache HB graphite into a sleek black pencil which, to me, became the ultimate pencil for journaling and drafting longer pieces of writing by hand. Even ardent pencil lovers appreciate how a standard hexagonal pencil can get uncomfortable if you’re writing for hours, and this larger format offered both bigger facets and softer edges to grip. I bought a half-dozen or so, and as luck would have it, when I went to procure a larger supply, they had been discontinued.

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This is one of the better pictures I’ve been able to take, in terms of duplicating the Klein Blue pantone on a screen.

This fall, Caran d’Ache announced a collaboration with the estate of French artist Yves Klein, known for his signature shade of ultramarine, “Klein Blue.” Caran d’Ache reissued a number of products from their catalog in this color, including a jumbo pencil! Of course, to my chagrin, when I went to order the line for the store, the jumbo pencil was the one item that sold out immediately. A month or so later, Caran d’Ache apparently decided to release more, because I was recently received a few dozen of what they refer to as the Klein Blue “Maxi” HB Pencil, which appears to be a Black Wood reborn in a Klein Blue barrel, featuring the same smooth oversized HB core. (I might have put a few aside for myself this time. We do need “shop testers,” after all.)

A size comparison for jumbo pencils, from lower right: Caran d’Ache Klein Blue “Maxi” HB, Blackfeet Indian Pencil (a vintage classic from my childhood), Caran d’Ache Black Wood, Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood, and the Klein Blue Fixpencil, which is now sold out but standard versions are in stock.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

To summarize: I think jumbo pencils are great, but there’s a paucity of quality ones on the market. “School pencils” such as the Ticonderoga Laddie and “My First Ticonderoga” that you see at Target and Wal-mart are certainly available - and the Laddie is an excellent cheap pencil for everyday use - but the quality can vary wildly. A safer, more consistent choice for an inexpensive jumbo, in my opinion, is the Musgrave Cub.

When they’re available, Caran d’Ache offers the ultimate jumbo pencil experience. I have a decent stock of the Klein Blue “Maxi” pencils currently available for purchase in The Curated Shop, but my understanding is that this is a limited run and these pencils will not be available as part of the standard lineup. That’s a shame, because based on what I’ve seen to date in terms of demand, Caran d’Ache could sell a lot of these pencils and I would love to have these as an option for everyday writing. Maybe if we make enough noise they’ll bring back the Black Wood? One can dream.

The Gentleman Stationer Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of Caran d’Ache products. Sales through The Curated Shop, the TGS Patreon Program, and affiliations with other sites and retailers are how I fund The Gentleman Stationer. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Can You Write With a Leadholder? I do!

Lead holders or “clutch pencils” are an overlooked and under-appreciated category of stationery, sitting in a strange twilight zone between woodcase and mechanical pencils. Despite many different options on the market, these pencils have garnered a reputation as artist’s or draftman’s tools, unsuitable for writing. That’s actually not the case at all, and I keep several on hand that I use regularly (and almost solely for writing).

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Nearly all leadholders use a “clutch” mechanism to hold the lead, meaning that you depress the knock to release the button and the lead drops out via gravity, as opposed to a traditional mechanical pencil in which the lead advances a predetermined distance after each click. After sharpening the lead, you must reopen the clutch and push it back in.

A key difference between a lead holder pencil and a standard mechanical pencil is the diameter of the graphite. Lead holders typically use either 2mm or 3mm leads, whereas your traditional mechanical pencil uses leads with a much smaller diameter ranging from .2mm to .9mm, with the most popular sizes being .5mm or .7mm. If you write with heavier pressure, and find yourself constantly breaking standard mechanical pencil leads, a larger-diameter lead holder pencil will likely suit you better. I also prefer these larger leads because they offer the line variation and legibility of a woodcase pencil. (I’m often told that my handwriting degenerates into an unreadable scrawl when I write with mechanical pencils.)

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.2mm lead refills. You refill a lead holder by feeding the lead into the front of the pencil. Most hold one lead at at time.

The downside? The clutch mechanism is a bit clumsier than a standard mechanical pencil, and you need to sharpen a lead holder much like you need to sharpen a woodcase pencil. You typically use a “lead pointer” instead of a standard pencil sharpener, with some lead holders, such as the Caran d’Ache Fixpencil, incorporating a sharpener/pointer into the nock or button. While you won’t have to deal with a large volume of wood shavings, the graphite dust from lead pointers can get messy very quickly. I always try to sharpen directly over a garbage can.

And, yes, some brands make blue and red leads (but these are used mainly for drawing and drafting).

Another consideration when choosing a lead holder is shape and weight. Those intended strictly for drawing and drafting tend to be heavier, and often feature metal knurling on the grip that some find uncomfortable when writing for longer sessions. For this reason, I gravitate towards lead holders that mimic the look and feel of a round or hexagonal woodcase pencil, including Caran d’Ache’s iconic “Fixpencil” pictured above. Fun historical fact: the Fixpencil was originally created as a replacement for standard woodcase pencils due to wartime materials shortages. The idea caught on, and the product has remained in the company’s lineup as one of its longest-running products.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Despite their niche status, leadholders are fairly easy to find. Your local art or office supply store will likely stock leadholders from brands such as Mars and Alvin. Rotring even makes a lead holder version of its Rotring 88 pencil. I currently have three in my personal collection: a Sierra “Slip-On” that I purchased at Kinokuniya in NYC, the “Sostanza” Kickstarter pencil from a few years ago, and a Caran d’Ache Fixpencil.

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Because I find them more versatile and among the most comfortable to use for traditional writing, the Fixpencils are my favorite, and for that reason I’ve chosen to stock them in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. I have both the standard matte black Fixpencil with a black, red, or blue button, as well as the Fixpencil 884 or “JR”, which is the same size and comes in blue, red, and green. The different Fixpencil versions are priced at $24.50 and $22.00, respectively. Refill leads are also available in HB, 2H, and 2B.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized reseller of Caran d’Ache products, as well as any other products featured in the T.G.S. Curated Shop.

Gone But Not Forgotten: The Twist Bullet Pencil Revisited

In a niche industry admittedly dominated by hype and FOMO, products come and go. Something launches on Kickstarter, people buy the product in an initial rush, maybe it sells briefly at retail, and then it disappears. I can think of a few candidates, but the Steel & Flint pen and the Twist Bullet Pencil are the two that come to mind because I miss them the most. While I still have two Twists, the pencil has been out of production for a couple of years now, and no third-party retailers appear to have any left in stock. I hesitate to carry my Twists as much as I’d like because it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to source a replacement if lost.

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The brass “bullets” on my Twist pencils have aged nicely, developing quite the patina.

You can read my original review of the machined aluminum Twist Bullet Pencil here. The product itself impresses with the quality of construction and the way in which the designers took the bullet pencil, a classic piece of Americana, and modernized it for today’s stationery enthusiast. While I purchased several Twist pencils over a two or three year period, I only kept two in my collection. I suspect the primary reason behind the discontinuation of the Twist was that it was a niche product targeted to pencil/pocket notebook enthusiasts and the Erasable Podcast crowd - enough to support an initial Kickstarter project and product launch, but maybe not sustained production because even woodcase pencil enthusiasts don’t necessarily have a need for multiple bullet pencils.

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My favorite iteration of the Twist was the wooden “Timber Twist” model. It’s incredibly light.

Regardless, the Twist remains a great tool to have, and I’m sad to see a general lack of modern bullet pencils currently available for purchase. Neither of the Twist co-creators are still in the pencil business, from what I can tell. Jay Smith (“Huckleberry Woodchuck”) still maintains an active site, selling handkerchiefs, facemasks, and Begleri beads, and his site confirms that the Twist is officially out of production. Metal Shop CT, co-creator Jon Fontane’s machine shop, which actually manufactured the Twist pencils, no longer maintains an active website, though there was some chatter on Instagram last year about possibly resuming production at some point.

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My red and brass “Ironman” version.

Are There Any Viable Bullet Pencil Alternatives on the Market?

As I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t find many modern iterations of the classic bullet pencil currently on sale. You can always acquire vintage bullet pencils on Etsy or eBay (Seller “Barnstar Treasures” seems to have a lot of interesting options), but I’ve been hesitant to dive back into the vintage market due to the pain in sourcing replacement erasers, and the inherent fragility of using a pencil 70-90 years old as an everyday writer. Elegant Utility makes the brass “Pencil Pal,” a more modern machined brass take on the classic bullet, and there’s always the Traveler’s Company version, though it’s currently hard to find in the U.S. If you are aware of any other alternatives currently on the market, please let me know! [Update: I managed to source the Traveler’s Company bullet pencil and now have it available for sale in my shop! It has an excellent authentic vintage vibe, and even uses the same bullet style as some of the vintage pencils in my collection.]

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Maybe the solution is for Pokka to design a “pencil” insert for their recently released “Pokka Jakket” aluminum cap?

In my opinion, the true “spiritual successor” to the bullet pencil is probably the ultra-portable Pokka Pen - even though it’s a ballpoint pen and not a pencil - because it not only follows the “bullet” form factor but is inexpensive and designed to be used in a workaday scenario where you’re not necessarily afraid of losing a prized possession. As I posted yesterday, you can now “upgrade” your Pokka barrels to provide additional durability, if you so desire, and there’s even a keyring dock (pictured below) to make it a more integral part of your EDC. Maybe the solution is for Pokka to make a pencil insert for the Pokka Pen? We can dream, right?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I purchased the bullet pencils featured in this post with my own funds, for my own collection. I am also a retailer of Pokka Pens, and additional details can be found in The T.G.S. Curated Shop.

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A Hot Streak for Blackwing

A few weeks back I wrote a piece on my top 10 Blackwing Volumes editions, but I may have spoken too soon because, wow, since then I’ve had an opportunity to get my hands on some really good pencils. Technically, two editions I plan to discuss today aren’t part of the “Volumes” subscription program. Rather, they’re either special releases Blackwing has issued with select retail partners (i.e., the Philadelphia Museum of Art) or a special “throwback” edition released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Blackwing’s revival (the “Blackwing Eras” pencil).

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From top: Blackwing Volume 840 (“Surf”); Blackwing x Philadelphia Museum of Art (“Diana”); Blackwing Volume 3 (“Ravi Shankar”); and Blackwing Eras

The Blackwing Eras Is Now My Favorite Blackwing Released to Date

Yes, even more than my beloved Blackwing 344 (Dorothea Lange). With the “Eras” release, Blackwing set out to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the brand’s 2010 “revival” by releasing a pencil that pays “homage to the past and celebration of the future of Blackwing”, borrowing throwback design elements from vintage Blackwing pencils. The Eras feature a dark grey barrel, the “iconic dark grey ferrule with gold stripe,” a darker gold imprint, a red eraser reminiscent of a vintage Pink Pearl, and the extra-firm graphite core. To be perfectly honest, I prefer the look of the Blackwing Eras over the look of the current Blackwing 602, from the darker lacquer and ferrule to the slightly different tone on the imprint and eraser. The extra-firm graphite has become a favorite, and by including it in the Eras edition, Blackwing is apparently confirming what many have said: that it’s the closest approximation to the graphite formulation used in the original pencil.

If you’re a Blackwing fan, get yourself at least one pack of these pencils. While I personally would love it if Blackwing replaced the current 602 with the Eras (or at least updated the 602 to incorporate the retro design elements of the Eras), this pencil is billed as a limited edition. The pencils have not hit retailers yet, but you can order directly from Blackwing.

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Other Recent Releases Aren’t So Shabby Either

At the time I published my “Top 10” post, I was still awaiting the arrival of Blackwing Volume 3: the Ravi Shankar edition. The matte yellow finish (“turmeric”, according to Blackwing) showcases an overlaid pattern inspired by the design of one of Ravi Shankar’s sitars. While this pencil might not be exactly what those clamoring for a yellow Blackwing were expecting, I found the execution on this pencil superb, and it also features the popular extra-firm graphite.

I found two other recent arrivals very well done pencils, but they do feature the “balanced” (i.e., Blackwing Pearl") core that people either love or hate. I’m ambivalent - the balanced core isn’t my favorite, but I don’t hate it either, especially when it’s packaged in great looking editions like the Blackwing x PMA Diana from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Blackwing Volumes 840 “Surf” edition. The Diana pencils feature a monochromatic gold scheme inspired by August Saint-Gaudens’ sculpture of Diana housed in the PMA’s Great Stair Hall. It’s a standard edition that can be purchased from the Philadelphia Museum of Art online or in the museum gift shop. The sea green and gold “Surf” pencil, inspired by surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku, is unfortunately no longer available directly from Blackwing, but some retailers still have remaining stock, and Blackwing is still selling three-packs of the Volume 840 “Clutch” Pocket Notebook Set.

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A Note on Blackwing’s New Packaging: Bring Back the Flat Pack

One thing I’m NOT crazy about is Blackwing’s new retail packaging, which I saw for the first time at the National Stationery Show back in January. As part of a recent brand refresh, Blackwing discontinued it’s “flat pack” box in favor of new “vertical” packaging that was plainly designed to make it easier for brick-and-mortar retailers to display the pencils. While the box looks great on a shelf, it’s less convenient for the customer who purchases multiple boxes, because storing these things takes up more space than the old flat box, which packed perfectly into drawers. Most enthusiasts have had a similar reaction to the new packaging, but given how much Blackwing has invested in the rebrand, I’m not sure anything will change. You can’t have it all!

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On the other hand, if you want to keep an entire box of Blackwings on your desk, the new box does serve as a nice pencil cup.

Disclaimer: I purchased the pencils featured in this review with my own funds, for my own collection. I was not compensated in any way for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.

My Top 10 Blackwing Volumes Pencils

Most stationery subscription services haven’t stuck with me. Around this same time last year, I wrote an article titled “Are Stationery Subscription Services Worth It?” in which I looked at the pros and cons of having a steady stream of new releases automatically coming to your mailbox. Personally, nothing much has changed since then in terms of my own situation. I still subscribe to both Blackwing Volumes and C.W. Pencil Enterprise’s “Pencil Box” subscription service. Though I considered resubscribing to Field Notes in light of the great releases they’ve put out over the past year, I don’t use enough pocket notebooks to justify it. (Anyway, now that I’m both a Field Notes and Write Notepads retailer, this isn’t such a big deal, as I have an endless supply of notebooks if I see an edition I like or I somehow run out. In many ways, the problem is worse, because I have this constant temptation to raid the store inventory for my personal stash, but that’s a story for a different time.)

So what keeps me coming back to Blackwing Volumes? It’s not as though I’m using up a dozen of each release on a monthly, or even an annual, basis. Honestly, it’s more about supporting the brand’s creativity and guaranteeing that I’m able to enjoy each of the releases, which can sell out quickly. If there’s one I don’t particularly like, or if the pencils pile up to the point where I can’t use them all, pencils are easy to give away, and I have a school-age child.

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It’s easy to see which Volumes get the most use.

What I realized while waiting for Blackwing Volume 3 (Ravi Shankar) to arrive, is that I’ve never done a deep dive and talked about my favorite Blackwings, and with so many special editions having been released over the past few years there are some exceptional pencils to choose from. As a relatively long-term subscriber, I have most of the editions in my personal stash, with the exception of the very early ones. Here are my favorites:

1. Blackwing Volume 344: Dorothea Lange. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I have a half gross of these tucked away. The combination of the deep red burgundy barrel, red imprint, and bright red ferrule - well, other than maybe the upcoming Volume 3, I’m not sure there’s a pencil that’s a better fit for my personal taste.

2. Blackwing Volume 211: John Muir. I don’t have many 211s left, but I honestly prefer the standard release Blackwing Natural, with it’s grey eraser and extra-firm graphite. (I actually think I only have a single 211 left, and I couldn’t find it, which is why the Natural appears in the photo at the top.)

3. Blackwing Volume 10: Nellie Bly. An underrated release that doesn’t get enough love. The simplicity of the matte grey finish, inspired by newsprint, makes this a pencil I could use everyday.

4. Blackwing Volume 73: Lake Tahoe. The raised texture on this pencil gets me. Plus, this one features Blackwing’s softest graphite found in the original Blackwing MMX (now the “Blackwing Matte”).

5. Blackwing Volume 24: John Steinbeck. I love this pencil not only for the blacked-out color scheme, but because it’s the first Blackwing pencil to feature their “extra-firm” graphite, which is an excellent choice for drafting and long-form writing. I sometimes swap out the black eraser for a pink one, just to add a little contrast.

6. Blackwing Volume 16.2: Ada Lovelace. I’m not a computer programmer, or even that technologically adept, but I love the combination of the white barrel and black ferrule.

7. Blackwing Volume 1: Guy Clark. The first (and to date, only) Blackwing Volumes editions to feature a round barrel. While I’m a Nashville native, and maintain some familiarity with country music, I’ve never been a huge Guy Clark fan, but I certainly appreciate how they pulled this one together.

8. Blackwing Volume 155: Bauhaus. Of course this one was going to make the list. My collection of Bauhaus-inspired writing instruments increases yet again.

9. Blackwing Volume 530: California Gold Rush. The second Blackwing pencil to feature the extra-firm graphite, this model was a tribute to California Historical Site No. 530, where gold was first discovered. The banded ferrule added another unique touch to a pencil that’s a favorite for many.

10. Blackwing Volume 4: Mars. Volume 4 was somewhat controversial due to the gritty texture of the paint, but the combination of the dark orange barrel, gunmetal ferrule, and the soft MMX graphite keeps this one in my rotation.

All pencils pictured here are from my own personal collection. As of 2024, The Gentleman Stationer is now an authorized retailer of Blackwing, so you can purchase directly from us and show your support!