Blackwing 602 pencils, box of 12

Best. Pencil. EVER. I know what you're thinking: how good can one bit of wood-encased graphite be over the next? But these are legendary. The wood casing is beautiful, and with a good sharpener with a sharp blade, the pencil will peel in one long snaky strip without flaking everywhere. And (perhaps less important, but still noteworthy) the muted scent of that peeling is *gorgeous*! I've seen artists compare the graphite core of the 602 Blackwing to 2B, 4B and HB, but the 602 isn't graded beyond "firm", and it will lay down dark or fairly light depending on how hard you press, and what kind of paper you're drawing on. On hot press paper, it seems most like a firm 2B or soft HB to me. The pencil draws smoothly, with no graininess, scratchiness, or graphite dust, and blends or smudges smoothly with a tortillon. It's a nice width to hold, and the finish is a lovely, smooth but non-slip matte. The eraser at the end is a nice touch and quite handy (its comparatively large, squared-off shape is more convenient than the little round erasers that other pencils have), and looks very chic. Delivery was quick, and the pencils were well-packaged, and included a handwritten note, which was a lovely personalised touch :) x