When I was a teenager, I had a favorite brand of pencils.  That probably sounds silly; a pencil is a pencil, right?  Well, sort of – but not really.  See, the pencils I preferred (while still #2 pencils like “everything” else) had a softer lead.  So I could get a much darker line with much less pressure.  That saved my hand from cramping!

Those pencils were unfortunately discontinued (as best I can tell) a long time ago, and I’ve been missing them.  So when I heard about Palomino Blackwing 602 pencils, I was eager to try them.  They’re touted for exactly that same thing – laying down a good dark line with little pressure.  I was blessed to have been sent a sample set so I could try them out…

…and I love them.

I actually had one of my old favorite pencils left, which is what I happened to be using when I did my comparison.  And these are even better!  The lines below were both written with exactly the same pressure; I just used two different pencils.

There’s a pretty big difference!

Now, as pencils go, these are pretty pricey, so I wouldn’t recommend giving them to students who are prone to losing their supplies.  But for a student (or, ahem, Mom) who can keep track of it, these are really worth the increased price, for the increased quality.  (And, seriously, I still have that same favorite-brand pencil from high school.  So as long as you keep up with it, your pencil can last a while.  Probably not 25 years, unless you have a large package of them.  But a while.)

The erasers on these are a bit unusual, too.  (My daughter said they look “weird.”)  Rather than being round, they’re sort of a flat rectangular shape.  This actually makes a lot more sense to me, given the way we erase.  You can use the broad edge if you’re erasing a large chunk, or use the narrow edge if you need more precision.