The Erasable Facebook Pencil Community

/ Andy Welfle / Leave a comment

Because 90 minutes once every other week isn’t enough time to talk about pencils, Johnny, Tim and I set up a group on Facebook! Check it out.

It’s at about 175 members right now, and is growing every day! I’m amazed at what sort of things emerge from the group members — pencil swaps, buy/sell requests, information requests, or even just pictures of interesting pencils they found on vacation. Charles Berolzheimer from Pencils.com is a member, and he’ll occasionally pop in with really interesting industry insight. It’s a private group; only so posts don’t show up in everyone’s regular feed — as Tim put it, it’s a safe place for people to let their graphite freak flag fly (try saying that ten times fast).

Come request to join! Someone will approve your request shortly thereafter.

The Blackwing Slate: The pencil-optimized notebook

/ Andy Welfle / 4 Comments

It’s a really exciting day today, folks. It marks the ninth anniversary of my friend Johnny Gamber’s first pencil review on Pencil Revolution! He wrote about Pencils.com’s ForestChoice pencils.

It’s speculated by Pencils.com’s Fearless Leader (and CalCedar president and CEO) Charles Berolzheimer, this is the first pencil review, ever, on the internet. (And to celebrate that, Pencils.com is having a one-day-only sale on ForestChoice products — 25% off!)

Congratulations, Johnny! Long live the Revolution!

Blackwing Slate

Yesterday marked the first day the Blackwing Slate was available for purchase. If you get emails from Pencils.com, or have been reading the blogs at Pencils.com and Blackwing602.com (there’s a lot of websites nowadays in this franchise), you may have seen teasers for this product. It’s a Moleskine-like notebook, but improved for co-branding with the Palomino Blackwing. And, in my opinion, way nicer than a Moleskine.

It seems that the devil is in the details with notebooks nowadays. The Baron Fig, reviewed here back in April, excelled in the little design choices that set it apart from its rivals. The same thing applies to the Slate — there are numerous little improvements that really make it stand out.

The Exterior

Its size is quite similar to the Palomino-branded journal line at 5” by 8.25”. The cover is a bit thicker and softer,though, and very matte — more of a shark skin feel to the harder, shinier Palomino hardcover. I’m not sure about this softness — I hope that it means it won’t scratch easily. Only time will tell. Besides that, it’s quite nice to touch.

Blackwing Slate Cover Closeup

It has a really nice thick elastic loop on the spine for a pencil, which is a great feature. This isn’t a dinky little piece of elastic either — this thing looks like it’ll hold its stretch for years.

Blackwing Slate Spine

Speaking of spines, the really innovative thing (in my opinion) about the Slate is the spine. because there’s a pencil strapped close to the spine, the two thick covers stop at the edge, and then are bound together with a substrate (I think I’m using that word correctly here). Essentially, the spine is reinforced, not with an extension of the cover board, but with the cloth that binds the cover to the signatures of pages inside.

It results in a very flexible cover — the first time I opened it, it wasn’t stiff at all. And I can even open it with the pencil still in the loop, which is great. It seems like it might make the notebook less durable — if the cover’s not protecting the spine, will it tear easier? Again, time will tell.

The Paper

Writing in the Blackwing Slate

Man. I love, love this paper. It boasts a 100gsm paper, compared to the Palomino luxury notebook’s 90gsm and Rhodia’s 80gsm paper. It’s so thick and plush, you guys.

It’s available in both lined and plain. Since the guys at Pencils.com know I am not an artist, they sent me a lined one to try out. The grey lines are set apart 0.25” on an off-white paper. The paper is smooth, but not as smooth as Rhodia paper. It has a little tooth on it, specifically engineered — I hope — for pencil. It’s the perfect amount to grab your graphite but still feel smooth.

Closeup of Palomino Blackwing 602 writing in Blackwing Slate

I tried it out with a medium-nib fountain pen, just to see how the paper held up to ink (though it would be sacrilege to use anything but pencil in this notebook!), and it worked great! No bleeding of note at all on the opposite page.

Closeup of a medium-nib fountain pen ink in Blackwing Slate

The opposite page from the fountain pen wriiting. As you can see, there is virtually no bleed-through! This is some thick paper.

The opposite page from the fountain pen writing. As you can see, there is virtually no bleed-through! This is some thick paper.

The Details

Besides the spine, this is what really gives the Blackwing Slate its distinction, and contributes greatly to those details I mentioned earlier. It has all the Moleskiney amenities, but all a bit nicer than the Moleskine’s — a satin bookmark, an elastic strap to keep the cover closed, a paper pocket in the back to hold stuff.

There are two different pockets in the flap in the back!

(That pocket is interesting — it’s actually a double pocket, with a small flat on the front for small things like, say, a driver’s license or credit card, and a wider one behind to hold things slightly smaller than the cover)

It even comes with a shiny new Palomino Blackwing 602 pencil tucked in the pencil loop on the spine!

It’s the details.

The Price

The Slate sells for $22.95, a full $9 more than a Moleskine Classic notebook sells at Barnes & Noble. The included pencil is worth about $2 of that price, so at $20.95, is the notebook worth it?

Depending on a lot of factors, of course, in general, I’d say that yes, it’s worth it. I’m not trying to bash Moleskine here (we actually had a discussion on the most recent episode of Erasable about how it’s become fashionable to look down on Moleskine), but the Slate is much better constructed, the paper is so much heavier and nicer, and for a pencil user like me, that elastic loop on the spine is wonderful.

Go check it out!

The Blackwing Slate | $22.95 at Pencils.com

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me, free of charge, for review purposes. No monetary compensation or additional direction was provided to me.

 

New on Kickstarter: The Bullet Pencil ST

/ Andy Welfle / 1 Comment

There’s a new Kickstarter campaign that launched last week that I really, really want to share with you all.

It’s funny how things get into the collective consciousness of the internet. At some point late last year, I and a few other bloggers started writing about bullet pencils. Speaking only for myself, I couldn’t shut up about them for months.

That’s why I’m super excited to see this hit Kickstarter. Amidst all the campaigns for customized pens (seriously, folks. There are so many of them), we have a tribute to the bullet pencil.

Check it out: the Bullet Pencil ST.

The Bullet Pencil ST on Kickstarter

Jeff Grant, the creator, is responsible for a few other successful campaigns, like the Field Assistant, a titanium carrying case for Field Notes, and the very popular Metal Comb Works custom metal comb, which ended at more than 500% of his goal.

Like his other products, this pencil is a modern take on an old product. At $33, the pencil (model name: TT) includes a pocket clip, a Palomino Blackwing stub, and a hole in the top specially designed to fit a Blackwing eraser! And, at the $39 level, he takes the modern interpretation even further and includes a capacitive stylus tip on the opposite end of the wooden pencil, so when the BPST is closed, the user can use a smartphone or tablet with it.

The Bullet Pencil ST: Stylus View

Jeff says on his Kickstarter campaign page:

I decided to create a writing instrument accessory that would allow me to use my favorite writing instrument, the trusty No. 2 pencil. A device to protect the pencil tip while in a pocket, backpack or bag…but also a useful tool for today’s smart phones, tablets and touch screens.

I thought back to what my grandfather would carry in his pockets and on his person. For sketches and note taking he would always carry a No. 2 pencil behind his right ear or his shirt pocket. This wasn’t any old pencil, he used a “Bullet Pencil” that he undoubtedly got as a giveaway at the local hardware store he frequented.

The original intention of the bullet pencil is lost in this interpretation of the product; this is too fine a product to give away at the hardware store or as souvenirs at, say, the Niagra Falls gift shop. But Jeff is honoring the functionality of it — a handy, protected little pencil that will slip right into your pocket. The handiness is extended just a bit further for this era with the stylus.

Not having had the opportunity to try it out, I can’t comment on the design and construction of this device in any great detail. There are a few things I’m hoping will change between the design of this prototype and the final production model:

  • It looks like the stylus/pencil holder piece fits into the sheath via friction. I imagine that after some wear, that will become looser and looser. Unlike an old bullet pencil that can be bent slightly to tighten up a loose fit, I doubt this is as pliable. Perhaps a couple turns worth of screw threads can solve that.
  • The Peebs is just a tiiiny bit larger of a diameter than a standard hex pencil, right? (Please, correct me if I’m wrong about this.) I wonder if I’ll be able to use other pencil stubs in this pencil.
  • Since he’s using the Peebs eraser, Jeff has the opportunity to correct a small design flaw that the pencil itself has — the fit of the eraser. The Blackwing Ferrule itself fits the eraser clip loosely enough that it can be removed with ease, but in doing so, it’s hard to keep an extended eraser in place when erasing — the pressure and friction on the paper just pushes it back down inside the ferrule. The BPST could correct that for itself.

I love the fact that this weighs less than half an ounce, and that it’s just under 5 inches long when closed. I like that the eraser is replaceable — unlike many of the old, midcentury bullet pencils — as is the stylus tip.

I even like the “Ancile,” available at the basic pledge level of $22, a pared-down version of the BPST. It works as a point protector (or a shield — an ancile!) for a pencil.

For a smaller pledge of just $22, you can get the Ancile ST, a shield for your pencil point.

My Erasable co-hosts and I are excited to see how this Kickstarter goes — at the time of publishing this post, it’s at 42% of its $8,900 goal, with 25 days left to go. There’s another prototype bullet pencil we’ve been watching on the horizon, too, though I don’t want to talk about it too much until it’s ready. It seems like we’re in a bullet pencil Rennaissance right now, and that’s really exciting.

To see more photos, a video, and to pledge on this Kickstarter, go to the Bullet Pencil ST Campaign page.

Episode 10 of Erasable: “The Graphites of Wrath”

/ Andy Welfle / Leave a comment
Erasable: A podcast about wooden pencils

Click the image to visit Erasable’s episode 10 page. Or, subscribe on iTunes!

I’m not particularly good at podcasting. I like to talk, and I like to prep for these shows, and I even like the techy stuff, like recording, editing, compiling show-notes, converting them to HTML, et cetera. But I’m not good at it.

In spite of that, Episode 10 of Erasable turned out really, really well. Even though about halfway through, I realized I wasn’t recording. My fantastic co-hosts Johnny and Tim were game for a second round, as was our equally fantastic guest, Ana. And despite some further echoing problems, and Johnny’s drinking problem (no, no, he doesn’t need an intervention; I’m talking about the ice clinking in his glass), we had great fun, which I think is really what marks a good episode.

I learned a lot about indelible pencils. I had no idea that the Sanford Noblot pencil was so rare! It fetches up to $40 on eBay, similar to an original Blackwing (and at this point, even a little more).

We also announced that the next episode will be a pen crossover episode! Since Brad and Myke from the Pen Addict podcast are going on hiatus as Myke transitions away from 5by5, we figured their listeners might miss Brad’s lovely voice, so he’s coming on Erasable to talk ink! (In the meantime, you should listen to their last show on the 5by5 network.)

Pocket Department Notebooks, reviewed

/ Andy Welfle / 5 Comments

I’ve been spending a LOT of time thinking about paper, folks. But sadly very little time actually writing about it. It seems like no matter how many different brands I try out, Field Notes always takes the lead. Whether that’s because of their gigantic fanbase or because of their creative limited edition notebooks, I don’t know, but my papery rabbit holes always seem to lead back there.

That’s why it’s a breath of fresh air to talk about a couple other pocket notebooks I’ve been using lately, by the Princeton Architectural Press. Through a collaboration with the Brooklyn Art Library, this collection, “Pocket Department,” has a unique format. From their website:

Pocket Department is a line of sturdy notebooks inspired by vintage stationery and designed to fit every pocket: back pocket, shirt pocket, backpack, and messenger bag. These custom-tailored notebooks are ideal for capturing ideas, composing thoughts, making lists, or sketching on the go.

JetPens, a fantastic online shop with pens, pencils and paper galore, was kind enough to send me a couple varieties of the Pocket Department notebooks they stock: The Shirt Pocket notebook, in green, and The Back Pocket in yellow.

Pocket Department Notebooks

The Shirt Pocket

Pocket Department Shirt Pocket notebook

At a pretty standard 3.5” x 5.5”, The Shirt Pocket notebook is not sized significantly different than an aforementioned Field Notes cahier. It does indeed fit easily into a shirt pocket:

Pocket Department Shirt Pocket notebook in shirt pocket

I really like the design: the color, the simple font choice on the front and the plainness of the inside. I love that the lines on the paper match the green cover, and the paper itself is smooth. It takes anything from a pencil to a felt-tip fine liner perfectly (I didn’t try it with a fountain pen, I’m afraid).

Pocket Department Shirt Pocket notebook writing test

I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of the binding. Instead of a saddle stitch like so many pocket notebooks do, they opted instead to make it perfect-bound. That results in a much cleaner spine and keeps it closed flat, but when you’re trying to write it in, it’s very tight and hard to hold open.

It seems like it’d be a great format to offer something Field Notes, Word., and other pocket notebook stationers don’t: perforated pages. I’d love to use this thing to scribble a note, and then tear out for later. Alas, it’s definitely not a perforated book.

The Shirt Pocket notebook is available in a pack of three for $12.50 at JetPens.

The Back Pocket

Pocket Department Back Pocket notebook cover

This was a fun one to review! At 4” x 4”, this perfectly square notebook is unlined, perfect for quick visual notes, a sketch, or just for writing words that can’t be contstrained to lines.

Pocket Department Back Pocket Notebook paper test

Oh, just so you know, I am the WORST at drawing. I should have given this to a more artistic friend to try out.

It has the same binding as the green notebook, but the size made all the difference — because there was more width to each page, it was much easier to hold open. I also appreciate the size in that I can flip the page up, like a reporter’s notepad, if I wanted to.

The Back Pocket notebook is available in a pack of three, also for $12.50 at JetPens.

Other Sizes

The Pocket Department has a couple other sizes that I’d love to try that isn’t unfortunately available at JetPens — There’s The Messenger Bag, sized at 8.5” x 5.5”, and The Backpack, at 6” x 6”. They’re not so much formatted for a pocket on a piece of clothing than a pocket for a bag, so they’re much bigger.

I found a website at PocketDept.com that seems to tease out different colors being available, like grey, white and a natural brown paper sack color, but the site is either broken or not entirely built yet.

All things considered, this is a fun little notebook series. I haven’t used it enough to tell how durable they are, but once I figure that out, I’ll definitely report back.

Find out more information about Pocket Department notebooks at JetPens.com.