In 1998 Blackwing, the pencil that was an indispensible tool for creative giants John Steinbeck, Chuck Jones, Stephen Sondheim and Frank Lloyd Wright was discontinued after sixty years of production due to a combination of low volume and a breakdown of the machinery that created its iconic ferrule. Twelve years later, sixth-generation pencil manufacturer Charles Berolzheimer embarked on a mission to revive what had become known as "the best pencil ever made," the Blackwing 602.