Scrawl over the place

We often wax lyrical about Blackwing around here, for all the usual reasons; they write well, they are some of the longest pencils you'll ever come across, and the special editions are the absolute business.

Now, usually the specials are dedicated to an artistic individual or an interesting moment in history, which does the job. But this time, the subject of celebration is another firm with a curious USP. Scrawlrbox provide interesting sets of artistic materials on a subscription basis - not entirely unlike Nero's own enthusiast packages, actually - and reasonably enough, they wanted something extraordinary to offer their fans. Nero managed to bag a few too, and if you ever wanted an especially groovy Blackwing with a turquoise eraser, now's your chance!

Good value for money these may be, but after this sort of investment you'll probably want to avoid constant blunt ends. On the picture above the solution is readily visible; Blackwing's very own point protector. Officially, it's a Point Guard, but that perhaps sounds a bit OTT. As befits the brand, this handy topper is expertly machined in Taiwan and doesn't come cheap, but it does what it claims to - and doesn't it look terrific?