Enjoy a single Blackwing Volume pencil with it's unique character. Choose from three of Blackwing's limited edition pencils.
Volume 55
The Blackwing 55 celebrates the Golden Ratio. It’s a reminder to slow down and savor the beauty around us. Each pencil contains our balanced graphite and features a design inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers that approximate the Golden Ratio. The width of each color block is the sum of the widths of the previous two color blocks: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, & 55. We designed it in millimeters and then scaled the design up to 1:1.175 ratio to fit the canvas of the pen
Volume 3
In June of 1966, George Harrison met maestro Ravi Shankar in Bath, England. Harrison asked Ravi to teach him how to play the sitar, a task Ravi agreed to only after considerable hesitation. Their collaboration resulted in an explosion in the popularity of classical Indian music and culture in the United States and around the world.
The Blackwing 3 is a tribute to Ravi Shankar on his 100th birthday. It features our extra-firm graphite and a matte turmeric finish accented with a pattern inspired by one of Ravi’s iconic sitars. The pattern prominently features the ॐ (Om), a sacred Sanskrit symbol with three phonetic components that correlate to the waking, dream, and unconscious states of being.
Volume 7
Our Blackwing Vol. 7 pencil is a tribute to animation and how it revolutionized the way we tell and view stories.
From the earliest recorded cave paintings in France dating back over 30,000 years to becoming a sacred Saturday morning ritual across TV screens, drawing has been a key way for us to communicate with one another and with the world around us. Animation has been used for education and entertainment in many forms from the Magic Lantern used in the 16th century to mastering computer-generated imagery in the 21st.
Animation itself operates as an optical illusion that uses a series of images shown in quick succession that tricks our brains into seeing a continuous motion picture. The human eye can only process up to 12 individual frames per second. The earliest analog animation devices explored different ways to create this illusion.
The Blackwing Vol. 7 is inspired by this analog evolution in storytelling and utilizes an animation trick called Picket-Fence or Barrier-Grid popularized in the 19th and 20th century. This animation-type is created by taking illustrated frames and turning them into an interlaced pattern that looks like a series of lines when seen with the naked eye, but turns into an animated design when viewed with a striped overlay.
Volume 200
One such example was Caffè Lena in Saratoga, NY. Opened in a former woodworking shop in 1960, Caffè Lena remains the oldest continually running coffeehouse in the United States. That longevity has allowed it to host countless creative icons from the Beatniks to members of the Folk Revival, and established Caffè Lena as a cornerstone of the creative counterculture in America.
The Blackwing 200 is a tribute to coffeehouses like Caffè Lena and the creative culture they help cultivate. Each pencil features a metallic copper design inspired by classic copper coffee roasting machines found in many coffeehouses during the ’50s and ’60s. The roasting process begins when the internal temperature of a coffee berry seed reaches 200 degrees Celsius, transforming it into the familiar coffee bean. These pencils also feature our firm graphite core that is perfect for finding inspiration in a local coffeehouse.
Volume 17
Gardens have long been a place for meditative contemplation. They provide us with an escape from a world that constantly demands our attention.
Gardening has been proven to uplift spirits and lower stress and anxiety. It provides us with an opportunity for new growth, a meaningful routine, and a template for nurturing other aspects of our lives. Just as there are 17 essential nutrients for healthy plant growth, there are many essential “nutrients” for a fulfilling life. Keeping a garden allows us to tend to ourselves with love, happiness and purpose.
Blackwing 17 examines the mindful practice of gardening. Each pencil features an earth-toned color palette: olive green finish, dark brown ferrule and imprint, and burgundy eraser. Each pencil also sports our balanced graphite and a 10cm ruler stamped into its barrel you can use to chart the growth of seedlings in your plant log.
Volume 2
In 1973, art found itself at the forefront of a cultural shift. The United States military had just pulled out of Vietnam after nearly two decades and midcentury optimism had given way to uncertainty. Art, even when created for mass appeal, took on a darker tone. 1973's highest-grossing movie - The Exorcist - and top-selling album - Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon - gave us a glimpse into the cultural landscape of the time.
The following year, a new wave of art - films like Chinatown and albums like Bob Marley’s Natty Dread - shined a light on a broken system. And gave us the tools to understand it. Art reflects the world around us and helps us process complex issues so that we can move forward. Leonard Cohen once said “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Art creates cracks in the world’s darkest places, letting in the light of knowledge.
Fifty years later, the Blackwing 2 acknowledges art’s role in bringing about change. Each pencil features a cracked glow-in-the-dark design that plays on the duality of art and the challenging realities that inspire it. Each pencil also includes our firmest graphite yet - a special 2X firm graphite formulated specially for this release.