ORIGINAL POST DATE: October 7, 2005

I recently acquired some Blackwing 602 pencils to add to my small collection. Writing with one of these pencils in a Moleskinei notebook is a particular pleasure, and I spent some time mooning about it in an earlier post HERE. I have decided to make a limited offer to readers of my blog to allow them the opportunity to experience this for themselves through a combination set of a Moleskine notebook and an authentic Blackwing 602 pencil. In my mind only one Moleskine notebook is up to the task for such a special combination, and that is the Moleskine Museum silk covered notebook. In this combination of items Blackwing provides the smooth, Moleskine provides the silk.

The Moleskine Museum Van Gogh Colours notebooks are a special edition Moleksine that were created in league with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in the spring of 2002. These pocket size Moleskines have covers made from silk shantung in bright colors inspired by Van Gogh's paintings, instead of the usual black oilskin cover material. Silk Shantung has a very tight, fine weave with occasional occurrences of thickening of the strands, called slubs in the world of fabric, as part of the weave. They have gone to great care to match the color of the elastic closure with the silk fabric on the cover, and even the expanding back pocket features the same silk on the accordion hinge.

The Blackwing 602 has a growing reputation among writers and artists as the best pencil ever made. Production ceased on the Blackwing in the 1990's, so these are now collector's items, selling for a premium on eBay. The Blackwing features a larger than average ferrule with a flat eraser that can be adjusted outward as it is used. The Blackwing slogun of "Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed" attests to the smooth writing experience they offer.