How Blackwing Pencils Are Made

Written by: Kaleena Quintero

Published on July 22, 2026

Last updated on July 22, 2026

Time to read 2 min

While most commercial pencils are designed for mass production and consumption, Blackwing has spent the last sixteen years building relationships with some of the world's most skilled artisans and craftspeople to produce its beloved pencils. See how Blackwing pencils are made in this short film:

Kofu, Japan—Graphite Formulation

The intricate graphite formulation and manufacturing process begins with powdered graphite and clay, which are combined in different ratios to create varying levels of hardness. This allows us to produce our four graphite formulations: Soft, Balanced, Firm, and Extra Firm. More graphite makes a softer pencil, while more clay makes a firmer one.

Water is then added to the graphite and clay mixture to form a paste. The amount of water used also varies depending on the desired graphite hardness. The hydrated mixture is poured into an extrusion machine, where it is formed into long graphite logs. These logs are pressed into thin strands, wound onto spools, and cut to size before being baked in slowly rotating metal canisters, allowing them to dry evenly without sticking together.

Once dried, the graphite cores are placed into carbon-lined boxes and fired in a furnace at 1,000 degrees. After baking, they are soaked in hot wax, giving Blackwing graphite its signature smoothness. Following a final quality inspection, the finished graphite cores are shipped to the woodworking facility.

Tokyo, Japan—Pencil Assembly

The next stop is the woodworking facility in Tokyo, where the pencils are assembled and lacquered. Slats of sustainably sourced incense cedar are fed into a grooving machine that cuts channels for the graphite cores. The graphite is placed into these grooves, and a second cedar slat is glued on top, creating a “pencil sandwich”.

Once the glue has cured, the slats are sent through a shaping machine, where they are cut into Blackwing's iconic hexagonal shape. Each pencil stick is inspected to ensure the graphite core is perfectly centered before being prepared for painting and printing.

At the painting facility, lacquer is custom mixed for each production batch. After the first coat is applied, the pencils are carefully dried before receiving additional coats. Every pencil requires multiple coats of lacquer, and some designs require more than ten. A final matte or pearlescent topcoat is then applied to achieve the pencil's finished appearance.

Finally, the Blackwing imprint is applied using heat and pressure, bonding the signature foil stamping to each pencil.

Stockton, California—Pencil Tipping & Quality Control

The journey concludes in Stockton, California, at Blackwing headquarters. Here, each painted pencil is loaded by hand into Blackwing's one-of-a-kind machine, where it's fitted with our signature flat ferrule and eraser. Our small in-house team closely monitors every step of the tipping process to ensure each pencil meets Blackwing's quality standards.

Before leaving our headquarters, every pencil undergoes a final inspection and is carefully quality-checked. Our team then packs each box by hand before making its way to writers, artists, collectors, and creators around the world.

Watch the Blackwing manufacturing process.

Read the Blackwing Manifesto at blackwing602.com/manifesto