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?
Image via Fimb.
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.)
And get a load of that pocket protector!
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.
Check it out if you can!
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?
When was the last time you wrote with an actual pencil—the wood-and-graphite variety, not mechanical—the kind you have to sharpen? If you’re anything like me, it’s been a while, perhaps since middle school, even. (I don’t even use mechanical pencils very much anymore, for that matter.)
Well, Karen sent me a couple of Rhodia pencils the other day, and it’s more fun than you might imagine, all thick lines and nostalgia. The bright orange exterior and black wood (it’s dyed linden) were pleasingly distinctive, and the softly triangular shape fit perfectly in my hands.
Unsurprisingly, there are pockets of pencil enthusiasts on the Internet—at the excellent blog Pencil Revolution, for example, Pencil Talk, or at Pencil Pages, a website run by pencil collector Doug Martin.
