Culture Desk: My Life in Pencils

Devotees of the Blackwing had been paying up to forty dollars apiece for them after they were discontinued, in 1998. I received a box of twelve Blackwings, and I got hooked. The lead is ungraded, but it is definitely softer than a No. 2, and very expressive. The Blackwing motto is “Half the Pressure, Twice…