21–30 of 51 posts
Wait they didn't show how they insert the graphite into the wood. That's the only reason why I was watching this.
they did... it's inserted into a groove, and the two pencil halves are glued together, at 4:45 https://youtu.be/fow-LsdaH2E?si=bOIb8Q01_4V04uQ2&t=285
I have a box of 120 Blackwing pencils of all types. They look nice, expensive, but a bad tool. (review -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CrD5KRnuLnh/?img_index=2&igsh=cD... ) They are not suitable for fine drawing (too waxy and soft) - those are either STAEDTLER, FaberCastell, or Tombow (Japanese brand). The fancy tip eraser is also not very useful. The metal around it is so soft, it can't hold any pressure. Also extrem…
What does a pencil have over a mechanical pencil? Mechanical pencils never need sharpening, infinite supply of lead of various type and and they seem more environmentally friendly (assuming you keep using the same for many years).
A couple of months ago, I went with my daughter and six-year-old grandson to the Kita-Boshi Pencil factory in eastern Tokyo [1]. He is a first-grader at a public elementary school in Yokohama, and he is learning to write using wooden pencils. We had watched many times a similar video [2] showing pencils being made at the Kita-Boshi factory. The production line wasn’t operating the day we went, but we still got a full…
How do you go about scheduling a visit to a factory?
The page says to contact the factory by either email or fax (!) to reserve a spot. If you write to them in English, I suggest you preface it with a translation of your message in Japanese by ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. If you prompt the LLM with an explanation of how you plan to use the text you want translated, it should produce a decent translation.
The explanations at the factory were entirely in Japanese, and I doubt if any interpreting is available. The chairman did tell me, though, that they get occasional visitors from outside Japan, and he seemed to welcome them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What does a pencil have over a mechanical pencil? Mechanical pencils never need sharpening, infinite supply of lead of various type and and they seem more environmentally friendly (assuming you keep using the same for many years).
In my experience, mechanical pencil tips broke too easily. I've had cheap wooden pencils where it felt that the let was shattered inside which meant the sharpened tip kept falling out. That's how I felt about pretty much every mechanical pencil.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What does a pencil have over a mechanical pencil? Mechanical pencils never need sharpening, infinite supply of lead of various type and and they seem more environmentally friendly (assuming you keep using the same for many years).
In my experience, mechanical pencil tips broke too easily. I've had cheap wooden pencils where it felt that the let was shattered inside which meant the sharpened tip kept falling out. That's how I felt about pretty much every mechanical pencil.
I have a box of 120 Blackwing pencils of all types. They look nice, expensive, but a bad tool. (review -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CrD5KRnuLnh/?img_index=2&igsh=cD... ) They are not suitable for fine drawing (too waxy and soft) - those are either STAEDTLER, FaberCastell, or Tombow (Japanese brand). The fancy tip eraser is also not very useful. The metal around it is so soft, it can't hold any pressure. Also extrem…
What does a pencil have over a mechanical pencil? Mechanical pencils never need sharpening, infinite supply of lead of various type and and they seem more environmentally friendly (assuming you keep using the same for many years).
They aren't the same since they were brought back.
For those HN readers who are not stationery junkies: The “real” Blackwing pencils went out of production... I don’t know when, but it must be at least 15 years ago, probably longer. (I have only been watching this from the outside, so don’t ask me for details. =) ) Those sold now come from a different production line at a different company, even though the maker is trying to make them as close as possible to the orig…
I have a box of 120 Blackwing pencils of all types. They look nice, expensive, but a bad tool. (review -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CrD5KRnuLnh/?img_index=2&igsh=cD... ) They are not suitable for fine drawing (too waxy and soft) - those are either STAEDTLER, FaberCastell, or Tombow (Japanese brand). The fancy tip eraser is also not very useful. The metal around it is so soft, it can't hold any pressure. Also extrem…
I also enjoy my Blackwings, though my normal pencil of choice is the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni HB, which is cheaper than the Blackwing but is still an awesome pencil. I think my supply of pencils will last at least a decade. I take a lot of handwritten notes when doing research, and I prefer pencil over pen when working in computer science and math.
I started using them a couple of decades ago, but things escalated once my kids started school, seeing as I just sent them off with a couple of Hi-Unis.
Teacher noted she hardly ever had to help my kids sharpen their pencils, wondered why, asked me if I could get her those for the entire class...
Next thing I knew, I peddle in the pencil business - currently bringing in ~240 pencils a year...
(The lead is nigh on unbreakable, and it holds its point very well.)