WOULD YOU PAY $75 FOR ONE?

The Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602 is considered by many people to be the last word in pencils. Nothing else compares. The trouble is, it went out of production in 1998. You can find one (or a box like this) on eBay. But watch out, it can cost as much as $75 for each pencil. Apparently, there are Hollywood screenwriters who cannot function at all without this pencil. “There is no way I’m writing that screenplay without a Blackwing 602,” they scream. And it has to be the original (alternate shown below), or they’re going home.

I’m happy with the modern version, the Palomino Blackwing 602, which has been around since 2008. I’m not too freaked out by the change in the eraser color either. But some people…