The film follows one pencil across two countries: graphite and clay are formulated and pressed into cores at a facility in Kofu, Japan, then shipped to a Tokyo woodworking shop where slats of incense cedar run through a grooving machine that cuts channels for those cores, followed by several hand-applied coats of lacquer. Final assembly happens 5,000 miles away in Stockton, California, where each pencil gets its ferrule, an imprint, a quality check, and a hand-pack. Blackwing released the film in July 2026, its first in-depth look at the process.