A Dissonent Pair - RevEng Object Selection



This Blackwing pencil was once coveted as an out-of-production legend. Now, it's back on the market and everyone who indulges in beyond-staples stationery (and have also moved beyond their Moleskine) knows about this tool. It's known because of it's discontinuation and revival, but mainly because it was made famous by the legendary award winning artists, musicians, and writers who have praised it throughout the 20th century. 
It's revival also comes with a product line expansion that I feel is incongruent with the anchoring product (the pencil), and it's unique qualities. In particular, with daily use of the two-step long-point sharpener that was made for the pencil, I'm bothered that it and the pencil don't feel like a cohesive pair in terms of form. Also, the lid broke on my sharpener and now shavings go everywhere in my pencil case. 

The Blackwing is iconic because of the unique shape of the ferrule and eraser system - in fact, it was the expensive machine used to make the clip that broke that became the catalyst for the pencil's eventual discontinuation. 

  



I want to model both the sharpener and the pencil (particularly the ferrule) to hopefully take this project one step further and re-design the case for the sharpener (and maybe even 3d print it?!!). That would be awesome. 

To understand the objects a bit more, I sketched the pencil and did a quick breakdown of the pencil and sharpener. It seems like the ferrule is a rounded rectangular prism, and could be turned into a cool case for the sharpener just by increasing the scale. The plastic case of the existing sharpener can't be taken apart into each wall, but when I remove the cast-metal sharpener (when I find a small screwdriver) I anticipate the shape is made up of walls glued or joined together.


It can be taken apart fairly simply into the clear plastic lid, screws, blades, wood+graphite pencil shavings (a little detail that would be great to do), and the cast metal sharpener compartment with holes for the pencil. The curvature of the case will be a unique challenge and the raised embossed type would be cool to know how to build and render.  





Another option if this sharpener + pencil is too simple (as it has no movable parts), would be the librarian-like date-stamp that I use to stamp my notes with satisfaction daily...unabashedly basking my lameness. 



-SP

Comments

  1. Bryan Cera15 October 2017 at 17:36

    I am thrilled about the time and care you put into this post. LOVE the sketch study. I think this will make for an excellent pair of objects for the assignment!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summit - Vinyl Production

Image
Producing this presented me with both more and fewer challenges than I expected. I suppose that's just a way to say it could have gone worse. Here it is: This notebook that I carry with me every day now represents me. It's a nice feeling. The design is reminiscent of an islamic pattern, organized and abstract. I see it as a set of interesting stairs, representing the hurdles I have overcome and also the ones that still lie ahead.  The emotional-rollercoaster-process:  Step 1: Enter Thing Tank. Turn on this mac.... It took me FOREVER to figure out there was a small button at the back in the bottom left corner.  Step 2: Set up SureCutsALot and load file, press cut.  Step 3: Panic. Everything was peeling up when it was being cut. I re-started and made sure to slow down the cutting speed on the machine.    Step 4: Chill.  The beginning was still catching but things started to work themselves out Ste...
Read more

The Process Is A Processs - Vinyl Design

Image
Designing a Vinyl Object Tattoo: Step 2 The reality of designing something real that will exist beyond the ephemeral digital universe feels a bit paralyzing - and I wasn't expecting that. Where I left of last week was with my top 3 approaches shown below: (unfolding cube, typographic play, and woven islamic patterns) Continuing from my last post I also explored what I didn't pursue last week: abstracted architectural lines from architects that inspire me. But, I found these to be too illustrative and not shapes that utilize the tools we are working with in a powerful way.      I went back to the geometric approach that could become a pattern, and I thought it would be cool to use the vinyl and incorporate the quality of light and how it plays with the pattern when casting shadow. Two ways I thought of doing this: a lampshade and a window.  The critique from peers in the class was encouraging and they felt a patterned geometric approach ...
Read more

The Eudaimonia Castle - Building in Rhino

Image
Welcome to my first post for CAD and Digital Fabrication! I've been listening to Cal Newport's book, Deep Work, intermittently for the past few months as I felt it would help me prepare for the increased workload that would hit me in September. It turns out, I started listening to part two at the perfect time. Cal begins this section by explaining the Eudaimonia Machine, a theoretical place specifically designed to facilitate a state of maximum human potential. One such place was designed by architecture professor David Dewane and described in the book. So, naturally, I thought I could have some fun with this castle and turn it into the ideal place for working deeply. I began by researching castles and looking for inspiration while trying to consider the sort of forms I learned how to build in Rhino during class.          I was inspired by the use of a site with cliffs - isolated yet prominent, and the simple, striking geometry of islamic architec...
Read more