Blackwing Volumes

What's in the box: Each quarterly box holds a gift-boxed 12-pack of the newest limited edition Blackwing pencil, a sealed archive pencil and some subscriber-only extras.

Blackwing Volumes is a quarterly subscription from the Blackwing pencil brand. Four times a year Blackwing releases a limited edition pencil honoring a person, place or event from creative culture, and subscribers get a 12-pack of each one. Recent editions have honored the culinary arts, basketball great Bill Russell, Native American art designed with artist Chris Pappan, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Each design pairs a themed finish with one of Blackwing's graphite grades, such as soft, firm or balanced, so the drawing feel changes from one volume to the next. The subscription costs $125 plus shipping for a year and renews automatically. Each shipment comes in a gift box with a sealed archive pencil for collectors and some subscriber extras. The main draw is guaranteed access, because these editions can sell out. Blackwing says $5 of each subscription goes toward children's music and arts education. There are trade-offs for artists. You can't choose the graphite grade, so some quarters may bring a core that doesn't suit your shading style. Twelve identical pencils every three months is also a lot for a casual sketcher. Cancellation only takes effect at the end of the current term, and there are no refunds mid-cycle. The site gives two different starting points, Vol. 143 and the Q1 2026 release, so check which edition will arrive first.