hey guys welcome to planning with crystal so today's video is a review of the black wing
starting point set we're going to have a look at everything that comes in the set and we're going
to try everything out so black wings are pretty popular in the pencil world and this kit is a
great way to start with the brand so i'll put the prices on screen there's different prices in the
us and the uk but they're fairly easy to come by if you know where to look and i'll put some links
underneath so in this particular set we're going to be looking at the four different pencils in the
blackwing range and they are soft balanced firm and extra firm graphite which i'll explain in more
detail as we try them out and go through them then here we've got two point guards in gold and black
and they are essentially a little metal tube that you put on the end of the pencil to
protect it from damage then we've got the black long point sharpener and this uses a two-step
process to first sharpen the wood before precision sharpening the graphite and this is definitely a
more affordable way to get all these different products by buying them together so you can see
it's got the black wing branding on there and then it opens here to get in and clean out any kind of
sharpenings and things and there is where you put your pencils in and both sharpeners seem to be of
the same kind of a thickness and everything and then it's just got that little stopper
there on the end and then in here we've also got replacement erasers in black and in white and you
get 10 in each so essentially one thing that the black wing is fairly kind of famous for so one
of the things that's pretty unique about the black wing is the fact that you can remove the eraser so
it has a little clip that just slides out like that and then you can take out this eraser and
swap it out for another color or obviously once you've used it you just put a new one in and they
come in a variety of colors and things but in this pack we've obviously got black and white
and then it just slips in like this so if you need to you can replace that eraser at any time
so now i'm going to get everything out the box and we're going to start sharpening and trying out the
pencils okay so we're going to start off with the sharpener and we're going to see how they sharpen
so your pencils will always come unsharpened your black wings see one thing that's great
about this set is like i said it gives you one of each of the four different designs of pencils
and we'll talk about the differences and what they're best used for as we go through
but usually you would have to buy them in a box of 12 i believe they're not allowed to be sold in
anything less than a box of 12 unless they come in a set like this so this is definitely a great way
to try them all out and work out which black wing or black wings are best for what you are doing so
we're going to start off with the black wing mat so it seems that you start off with the bottom one
so that bottom one is just to sharpen the kind of outer bit of the pencil
and then the top one is actually to sharpen the lead
ah so there we go so you can see it had that sort of weird effect but now it seems uh a lot better
these pencils just a quick note on the pencils themselves the average pencil is
actually 7.4 inches so if i just grab the average pencil with an eraser on the end
they are slightly smaller these are 7.4 inches and the black wings are actually 7.9 inches and
part of that is to do with the distinctive faroo and the eraser clip and eraser there at the end
okay so we're now gonna go and sharpen the pearl again starting at the bottom
i've only done two pencils and this sharpener is getting really quite
full so i'm gonna have to go and empty that in just a second
i've just cleaned out the sharpener and you can just see i've got two spare blades that are here
so you can replace them when needed then we're going into the 602 and finally the natural
okay and the sharpness all nice and full again okay so we're talking about the little point
protectors so you can see we've got a fairly sharp point on there so you can just pop it in here
and it actually protects it because the way it's shaped the actual pencil will only come to here
so it's not going to end up up here and actually damage the end of the pencil because that would
be pointless and that is the little b for black wing at the end and they feel nice and weighty
it also goes nicely with the actual aesthetic of the pencil as well it's nice and weighty but not
overly heavy it just feels like the perfect weight and the black wing and the actual um
name of the pencil itself is actually kind of embossed in there so it's not like going to
wipe off when you're using it and things so yeah it's a nice little set this and then the black
particularly looks nice with its matching black pencil and would that be there on the end
and you can actually buy the point guards individually as well but it's
generally better value to get them in a kit like this and like i said these are just
standard erasers in black and white that fit the pencils perfectly so now let's try out the pencils
so we're starting off with the black wing mattes so this one is actually the softest
and darkest of the blackwing pencils they've got quite a soft like buttery color very similar to
like a 4b lead they're especially good for art because they can make quite light marks when you
use it with a light touch but they're typically quite a dark pencil they don't crumble with use
because they're obviously black wings and they are very consistent and they will obviously sharpen to
that fine point so this one features a matte black body with a gold colored farool and black eraser
so this is with like a light touch and a kind of heavier touch
and you can of course write with them they are pencils after all but ultimately
this particular one lends itself more to drawing next up we're looking at the pearl so this is
a little bit harder than the regular black wing but it's still quite dark and soft so
this lead is around about a 3b grade and it does tend to stay sharp a little bit longer
so if you like a smooth pencil but you don't want to keep sharpening them all the time then this
tends to be a good one to go for it's also got a nice sort of balance of darkness and hardness
and it's great if you just want a pencil that writes well and also draws well and so this is the
pearl and it's got a really lovely pearlescent white finish with the gold for rule and the white
eraser but again if you get this kit or you have other black wings you can also swap out
your erasers as you like so just giving it a light touch quite a heavy touch
then we've got the blackwing 602 so this one is the one they say is the most ideal for writing
it's actually a little bit smoother than your typical pencil but it resembles more of a b
lead and this is the closest to the original black wing so this one has got
a pearlescent gray finish with a gold for rule and pink eraser and this graphite is
firm
and in honor of the original it actually says on the other side half the pressure twice the speed
and then we're on to black wing natural so this is actually the newest pencil that blackwing released
in terms of their core range and the natural pencils kind of offered the hardest graphites
so it's an extra firm graphite which is quite close to like a hb leaded pencil and although
they are the hardest of the black wing pencils they're still quite smooth so they're still quite
nice to write with so these are crafted from an intense cedar wood with a clear matte finish
so you can really like see the pattern of the wood and the natural color
and the writing on this is obviously the nice gold again which really kind of lends itself
to this particular design and it's got the gray eraser there at the end
so these are the pencils side by side as you can see we've started with the matte which
is the softest core then we've gone for pearl on the balance core the 602 which is your firm
core and the natural which is extra firm so there's not a huge difference you can
probably see it a little bit better with a drawing rather than writing but i'm no artist
i'm just really enjoying these pencils and i really like the history behind
black wing and i just think the aesthetic is gorgeous and i love the fact that you can just
swap out erasers when they run out and things like that so i just really love that about it
i'd love it if you'd leave me a comment and let me know which is your favorite blackwing pencil
and what do you use it for i hope it's been helpful in kind of getting an inside look at
what's actually in the starting point kits and whether it's for you and i just think it's the
perfect introduction to black wings so if you are thinking about them this is definitely the
way to go to figure out which of the pencils is right for you so i hope you've enjoyed watching
this video i'd love it if you give me a thumbs up it lets me know you're enjoying the content
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