Got a burning question about fountain pens, ink, or paper? This afternoon at 2:22 pm EST, Brian Goulet will be logging on to Ustream and doing a live video chat with anyone who’s interested. Last week, about 30 people joined him to discuss Brian’s writing box prototypes, ink flow with cartridges/converters, and his own personal background. He also did a couple of paper tests and comparisons, and discovered that Exaclair packing paper is fountain pen friendly (who knew?!).
This afternoon, Brian will cover some watercolors he’s been doing in the Clairefontaine Graf it sketchbooks, the J. Herbin Creapen, his personal custom pens, and whatever else people are curious about. To listen in or participate, just follow this link.
On another note, unless you’re reading this post on an RSS feed, you’ll notice that things look a little different around here this week as we launch our new design! I’ll call out some of the new features and functionalities in a separate post. In the meantime, if you have any trouble with anything on the site, please let us know.
Let me preface this by saying that nearly everyone keeps a variety of different notebooks, made by different brands, in regular rotation. We know that. We endorse that. And we all have different needs/preferences in terms of writing instruments; fountain pen users love our heaviest, 90g paper, while others need nothing more than a few pages of lightweight 64g to receive their gel pens and rollerballs and pencils.
But Karen and I were nonetheless intrigued to see pen maker Brian Goulet’s recent vlogs over at Ink Nouveau. As you may remember, Brian likes to subject the notebooks and stationery that his company sells to various acts of ink-related torture. A couple weeks ago, he put a Habana, a Webbie, and a Moleskine to a head-to-head bleedthrough test with a couple drops of J. Herbin. That video’s embedded above, so you can see the results for yourself.
Brian’s since done more detailed comparisons of Moleskine vs. Habana and the Moleskine vs. Webbie to discuss size, thickness, price, and all the other factors that help determine which notebooks best fit your needs. In a world where you can’t always try before you buy, they’re great tools to aid your decisions.
To learn more about Brian and his pens, check out this profile at Rhodia Drive!
Like many people, I often have ideas about work or writing projects right as I’m falling asleep. I know I won’t remember them when I wake up, so I keep a little notepad and pen next to my bed to jot them down.
Here’s the thing: If I use a regular pen, I run the risk of not being able to decipher my groggy, sleep-blind scrawl when I wake up. I thought I’d solved that problem a couple years ago at the Museum of Natural History gift shop, where I found an inexpensive ball-point pen whose barrel had a light in it. It was perfect—it gave me just enough light to see what I was writing without disturbing anyone or jolting me awake.
But the light bulb broke after a couple of months, and since nobody had any idea where I could replace it, I ended up consigning the pen to daytime use and buying another like it on eBay. That pen, too, has since fallen apart, despite my best efforts to keep its inexpensively made pieces in line.
In the age of cheap manufacturing, is there anyone out there who makes a high-quality version of this pen? I realize it’s a novelty item, and it’s not like I’m about to shell out big money for it. But I can’t, in good environmental conscience, buy another cheapie with the expectation that it’ll last a few months or a year, then break and be thrown in the trash.
Stephanie forwarded a link to this terrific post at A Penchant for Paper about deciding what to do with a new Habana notebook.
Should I just keep it for the future? … Perhaps it would be better suited to a pocket-sized, portable sketchbook? Or perhaps I could use it to write poetry in. Or perhaps to keep notes on the books that I am reading, and lists of books I want to read in the future. Or perhaps…
I often purchase notebooks for specific purposes — a Bloc No. 8 to use as a reporter’s notebook (fits handily into back pockets), a Steno pad to keep on my desk for work-related to-do lists (the red line down the center helps divide essential from inessential tasks). But there’s something really lovely about getting a notebook without a specific task in mind. There’s the sky’s-the-limit joy of speculating about potential uses, and the joy of experimentation, then the joy of discovery when you find the use that fits…
Mind you, I’m not trying to endorse mindless consumerism here (buy now! think later!). I just think it’s nice to be open to possibilities.
Today marks the first edition of the Nifty-organized Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper, a traveling monthly collection of the best blog posts about notebooks, pens, pencils, and paper products!
Check it out for an offbeat selection of topics and posts, and to find out about writing-related blogs that aren’t in your personal orbit.
For more information about the Carnival and how it works, click here.
The Pilot Varsity is a strange animal indeed: a so-called disposable fountain pen with a stainless steel nib that sells for a couple of bucks, which is just about what you’d pay for a decent rollerball. I came across it by chance when a pen aficionado I know (who restores vintage nibs in his spare time) gave one to me to play with; they were, he explained, a sort of guilty pleasure.
For that amount of money, you might not expect very much, but I was pleasantly surprised—to a point.
We got an intriguing email the other day from a reader in Arizona:
I have recently been charged with the task of scribing my great-grandfather’s biography, which includes both World Wars and a Medal of Honor, to keep as a family heirloom.
To this end, I would like to ask your opinion as to which pens, inks, and paper would be most ideally suited for this task. I should also mention that my own personal script is quite unique and legible, but somewhat small.
Also, I’ve been inspired to begin writing some of my own memoirs, stories, & letters to keep and share for many, many years. However, I feel the need for a more inspiring medium than the dull life of a notebook and ballpoint. I would like a pen, ink, and paper that could be used as often as everyday, resist fading, and that would also provide a distinguished style and flair.
Karen already suggested he post his query on the Fountain Pen Network, and make sure to use acid-free paper. But we figured you guys would have many more helpful suggestions… So how about it? What writing supplies would you use to tackle a task like this?
Did anyone else see this wonderful clip from Kids in the Hall on the Pen Addict the other day? Hits close to home, as he says, at least for those of us who happen to be picky about pens… In fact, a friend of mine really did call someone up back in college to demand the return of a pen he’d loaned them earlier. (It was only half in jest.)
Calling all West Coast pen enthusiasts: The L.A. Pen Show starts today! It’s open to the public on Sunday, February 15, though it looks like they’ll be running a bunch of cool seminars (pen repair, pen collecting, etc.) on Saturday the 14th for a small admission fee.
We recently got a very helpful tip from a reader named Ellie:
I have always had a problem with using pencils in planners because the lead rubs off onto other pages and it just looks messy. However, in some situations you don’t want to use pen because things change so much. My solution to this predicament was using Frixion pens, which come in a variety of colors and are completely erasable.
According to Ellie, JetPens.com has a big selection of Frixions and other erasable (and non-erasable) pens. “Some critique the Frixions for not having the strongest colors,” she writes, “but I don’t really mind. They also make highlighters, which I’ve recently tried and really like.”
Personally, I use ordinary ink and the oh-so-sophisticated scratch out method, but the Frixion certainly sounds like a tidier idea. Anyone else have suggestions? How do you ‘pencil in’ your appointments without, well… penciling them in?
