Eberhard Faber, Blackwing 602

Another exemplar of the Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602. It’s an older version, but one that brings new questions:

This Blackwing belongs to what I call the “early” group, that is to say, those with a shorter overall length and whose imprint doesn’t have the stylized oblique logo. The gilt ferrule with black band suggests it was made a little later, but there is something unusual about it: a small notch at the end on both sides, which makes it a little easier to pull out the eraser:

This is the only Blackwing I’ve seen with this ferrule. In fact, I haven’t seen any other clamp-style ferrule with this notch in it. When was it made? I don’t know, but my guess is the 1940s based on the packaging, and that the clips which hold the erasers are consistent with the oldest versions. The imprint is unusually bright and foil-like…