Retro 51 2024 Spooky Season Editions

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Every year I look forward to the Halloween themed Retro 51 drops and I've collected them faithfully--only missing one years ago, the elusive glowing zombies. I won't ever let that happen again. Which means I jumped on both spooky releases this month!

First up, I picked up the Dracula Rollerball Tornado Popper from Anderson Pens. This might be a top five edition for me. Maybe even top three. I love it. The pen body is, of course, blood red, with the illustration laid over it in black. The illustration shows our buddy Dracula surrounded by a swarm of bats. To the side, a gothic castle, graveyard, and a man with a fatal stake raised in his hand (could be Van Helsing, could be Jonathan), and to the other side, a lovely lady with a mysterious smile (Mina or Lucy?). The hardware is all in glossy black, and the finial is blessed with a fabulous image of fangs.

There is a ton of detail in this design. Every time I look at it, which is a lot because I can't stop looking at it, I see even more. It's a great homage to Stoker's novel and an excellent addition to my spooky Retro collection.

The pen comes in the classic pen tube, with the name and design in red foil on the outside. This edition is limited to 1031 pens, so grab it while you can!

Next, I grabbed the Goldspot exclusive Boo-roque Fright Night Rollerball. The fun thing about this edition is that it comes in three colors, and you don't know which you'll get till you open it. Great Pumpkin Orange is the most common, with 505 pens or a 50% chance. Paranormal Purple has 313 pens, a 30% chance. And Poisoned Apple Green, which glows in the dark, has 213 pens, or a 20% chance. While the underlying color varies, the black overlay is the same for each. As you can see, I got the Paranormal Purple! I'd have been happy with any of them--they all look great.

The black overlay design is an opulent Halloween theme, with jack o' lanterns, bats, spiders, webs, ghosts, and skulls. Be still my heart. All are interspersed with gothic flourishes. This one also has black hardware, and the finial has a grinning Jack-o-lantern. The pen tube is black with a preview of the design on the label.

This pen really screams Halloween, so I've been keeping it clipped to my shirt collar as a seasonal accessory.

It's pretty exciting to get two Retro 51 Halloween releases this year. Having two did hurt the budget a bit, as they're costing around $59 these days. That's steep for a rollerball, but these are exceptional. Not only do they look amazing, they have that classic Retro 51 refill that writes a sturdy, thick line of saturated black ink. They write so smoothly that they're a joy to use, and when you're not writing, you can just stare at them.

Someday I hope I'll be able to complete my spooky retro collection and find the one I missed, but until then, I'll keep making sure I don't miss any more. And if you feel the same, be sure to grab these ones while you can!

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Posted on October 10, 2024 by Sarah Read and filed under Retro 51, Pen Reviews.

Musgrave Pencil Co. Tennessee Red Review

Why has the Musgrave Pencil Co. Tennessee Red become one of the must-have pencils for the more graphite-inclined among us? For starters, have you seen it?

This is one of the most beautiful pencils on the market, without question. The natural look isn’t everyone’s favorite - I do love a colorful paint job myself - but the way this one is executed sets it apart. The way the cedar slats are produced and assembled gives each barrel a unique look, which is then topped with a clear matte coat to really bring out the color. To seal the deal, the gold ferrule, white eraser, and red imprints bring the entire package together.

Eastern Red Cedar was originally used by Musgrave up until the 1970’s, when the company transitioned to the more common California Incense Cedar. Only in 2020 were they able to bring Eastern Red Cedar back into the lineup in small batches for the Tennessee Red.

I think the Tennessee Red is the softest, but the Blackwing Soft and Balanced cores may be darker. It’s close. I will say that the HB of the Mitsubishi 9850 is nothing like the Tennessee Red “HB.”

As awesome as this cedar is, and as good as this pencil looks, the graphite core and writing experience is really the only thing that matters with any pencil. The Tennessee Red is sold as a #2/HB pencil, but almost anyone who uses them will tell you that these cores are soft and dark, making them feel like at least a B, if not softer. And honestly, that’s what kept me from using them for the longest time.

Below: Before, and after. Decent point retention for such a soft core.

Tastes change, and like how my reliance on Extra-Extra Fine fountain pen nibs has morphed into a comfort zone more in the Fine range, my pencil choices have moved from the H side of the ledger to B. It’s not because I am old and have bad eyes (allegedly,) but that I get more enjoyment from seeing the marks, colors, and shapes that wider and darker lines provide.

That said, if I were taking pages of notes with a pencil, the Tennessee Red would not be my first choice. It’s a bit too soft for me in that scenario, but for notes, lists, and doodles? Absolutely.

Some cores are slightly off, but not too far to prevent their usefulness.

One interesting thing about the Tennessee Red is the challenges Musgrave has making them into the perfect, consistent pencil that we all expect. To their credit, they own those challenges up front:

Most of our reviews of this pencil have been overwhelmingly positive, but it hasn’t been immune to production challenges. Getting the pencil slats uniform is ideal for running them through the machines, but this was difficult as our supplier wasn’t used to prepping slats for pencils. For perfectly aligned cores, it’s crucial that each slat is cut perfectly symmetrically. As such, you may notice in your packs some slightly off-center cores. This won’t affect the ability of these pencils to write beautifully or to sharpen. But we do note that if perfectly aligned cores are of the utmost importance to you, this pencil may not be your best choice.

I appreciate this so much.

Quality blades, like in the KUM Masterpiece, had no trouble with the Red.

The other interesting fact they mention is that the preferred method of sharpening a Tennessee Red is with an electric sharpener. The what now? Am I some kind of heathen over here? To their point, Eastern Red Cedar is a denser wood, so you might have more of a challenge with smaller hand-held sharpeners. I use desktop hand-crank sharpeners, like the Uni KH-20, and have no issues putting a good point on the pencil.

All Natural.

At $14 per dozen directly from Musgrave, the Tennessee Red is almost in the instabuy category for those who love classic pencils. Your boy here loves them so much, he travelled to England and paid over twice that price for some of that good stuff. And I’d do it again.

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Posted on October 7, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Musgrave, Pencil Reviews.