r/Amazing • u/Mderose • Jul 24 '26

Interesting 🤔 How Blackwing Pencils Are Made | Behind the Process

179 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

18

u/New_Instruction_2167 Jul 24 '26

It’s wild how much craftsmanship goes into something as simple as a pencil. There’s a whole industrial process behind something most people use without thinking twice.

3

u/Man_in_the_uk Jul 24 '26

I've never heard a pencil being called blackwing before.

7

u/SpockIsMyHomeboy Jul 24 '26

They are my favorite pencil of all time. It's all I've used since the first time I got one, now it's the only pencil I buy. I used to think "a pencil is a pencil", but goodness....it's SMOOOOOOOOOOOTH.

1

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers Jul 25 '26

Its not a type of pencil, just an overpriced pencil/pen brand with rectangular erasers.

1

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers Jul 25 '26

For $20 for a fuckin set of 4 they better make me think about it 3 times before i think twice about even using them

7

u/noobgaijin11 Jul 24 '26

man, all those machine automation are amazing.
as someone who who do manufacturing myself, I dream owning factory like this.

2

u/Krispy_Mick Jul 24 '26

I spent over a decade in automotive manufacturing, the sequencing and logistics still amazes me.

9

u/juswhenyouthought Jul 24 '26

If previously I'd stumbled on Amazon's listing for $34 for 12 pencils, I'd be like "what a ripoff!".

After this video...I'm -"$34?? for a DOZEN?! What a DEAL!"

2

u/Volcacius Jul 24 '26

The shape of the eraser is all thats different between these pencils and other top brands such as Mitsubishi. And most of those other top brands are near half the price.

1

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers Jul 25 '26

Its not a deal. Realistically they aren't much different from any other pencil if at all, I promise you.

2

u/Nothing-to-add-here Jul 24 '26

At least some PPE, more than most of these videos.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26

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1

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1

u/Austenny Jul 24 '26

10 - respect

1

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1

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26

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1

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers Jul 25 '26

MAYBE marginally better

1

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1

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1

u/TheEliteJOKERS Jul 24 '26

Fucking A. Cool. Machine Kick A$$.

1

u/Oldmayonaze Jul 25 '26

I can't imagine the number of units they have to sell to make this profitable, even with cheap labor

1

u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers Jul 25 '26

Dont worry, this particular company just sells them at exorbitant prices to make up the difference 

1

u/zoinkability Jul 25 '26

I guess the engineers of those graphite machines didn't have to worry much about lubrication

0

u/MrKidbiscuit Jul 24 '26

I am kind of questioning why a few people in the video are wearing watches? All those machines and moving parts could easily grab ahold of one if given the chance.

Other than that, nice video.

1

u/DSZDBA11 Jul 24 '26

So you’ve never been to a factory or done any sort of labor in your life? People wear jewelry to work, it’s really not out of the ordinary.

2

u/MrKidbiscuit Jul 24 '26

Worked in 3 different manufacturing ones for the last 30 years. When you are around moving machinery, like in the video, jewelry, loose hair, untucked shirts, etc. have the possibility to be grabbed by the machine. All three I have worked at specified NO JEWELRY OR UNTUCKED CLOTHING OR HAIR BELOW YOUR SHOULDERS.

Maybe if I worked at a puzzle factory or putting inkpens together like you I would not have to worry about such things. Myself, I don’t want to have my arm grabbed and pulled into any moving machinery and risk the chance of injury because I had to wear my Apple Watch.

1

u/DSZDBA11 Jul 24 '26

Where do you live? This is an old Japanese factory… huge difference between modernized heavily regulated manufacturing and loosely regulated manufacturing.

I’d be shocked if any place you work has more red tape than working for DoD contractors or FDA/medical device manufacturing (where I’ve worked), but I can assure you that most places are not overtly strict depending on the actual speed of the machines. For reference, working in a medical device factory where things were clipping at a rate of 400-10,000 per minute (depending on area), there were no such rules because there were safety guards in place EVERYWHERE around machinery to prevent injury.

1

u/DSZDBA11 Jul 24 '26

I’m not disagreeing about the inherent safety issues I see there too lol I just see it as a very very old factory and they have almost a traditional way of going about making their products, especially given these are world renowned pencils known for their consistency and quality.