Blackwing Palomino "volumes", John Steinbeck Edition

[mk2579]

Blackwing Palomino “Volumes” John Steinbeck Limited Edition 24.

Appearance: The packaging on this John Steinbeck Edition is very simple and elegant. Basically the same as the regular 602’s, but with the simple edition of a slip of onionskin detailing the concept behind this limited edition.

Lead: I find the lead on these is lighter and harder than on the regular Blackwing Palomino Pencils I have (Blackwing Pearl White 602), which I find to be very soft and closer to charcoal. So much so that I think they are not so useful as a pencil, but more suited to drawing instead, with their shading and smudging capacities. I much prefer the firmer graphite of this John Steinbeck edition to the regular edition.

The pencil’s themselves, unsharpened…

The onionskin/ tracing paper/ baking paper detailing the concept behind the John Steinbeck Edition…

Verdict: Simple, modern and classic. The best a pencil can be in 2016. IMO

Edited May 4, 2016 by kunju123

[migo984]

Verdict: Simple, modern and classic. The best a pencil can be in 2016.

Well I'd have to disagree with you on that. The Palomino Blackwing Volumes series is attractive but not "the best" by a long way, IMHO. For example, the erasers on the end are very poor. Of course, it depends if you're just using them for scribbling or quick notes; then they're perfectly acceptable.

[FOUR X FOUR]

You nice folks at ERASABLE PENCIL PODCAST will get schooled by the nice folks, here at FOUNTAIN PEN NETWORK in a debate on pencils. The guys and gals around here really know their stuff.

[mk2579]

I had a look at erasable.com- they seem to rate Blacking Palomino's quite highly. Not the Steinbeck edition in particular, but the regular 602's which I also have, and are quite similar...

[calhoun tubbs]

I like the Vol 24 Palomino Blackwing, but it isn't really a "new" Palomino pencil. I bought a box of these and I could not distinguish them in performance i.e. the firmness or smoothness of the lear, from the Palomino Imagine series. I like these pencils, but I really don't think they're anything but the Palomino Imagine pencils with a Blackwing ferrule and a stamp on the barrel.

[mk2579]

If I'm honest I prefer the firmer, lighter lead of Graf Von Faber Castell! LOL

 

For one they need to be sharpened far less frequently.

 

I love the aesthetics of Blackwing, the neat little boxes... I could see myself collecting these for the boxes as much as the pencil's themselves. Ah, I see they have a subscription service...