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Journal Xerithane's Journal: An Engineers Lust. 29

Journal by Xerithane

Those who know me well know I have two fascinations. Well, more than two, but I'm writing about two. Pens and notebooks. I can scribble ideas down never ceasing unless interrupted. Stupid designs, doodles, intelligent designs, clever algorithms, and such nonsense.

The pursuit of a good pen is like finding a good cigar, assuming you like cigars. Or perhaps wine, or maybe a really nice girlfriend. You can find one that works out ok, you get along, but you always feel the urge to grab another pen when you are in an office supply store and just "test it out."

Notebooks are just notebooks. Just kill some trees, print some small squares on it, and hand it to me. Pens, oh no, Pens are sacred.

The whole point of this is that the other day my wonderful girlfriend hands me a pen to jot something down, and instantly I felt the euphoria surge through my palm and into my heart. She then ripped it from my clutches...

As of last night, I talked her out of donating one of her pens (she has 5 of these wonderful pens) to the better cause of science and doodling. They are 0.3mm pens, which is really hard to find in the US. It also writes at virtually any angle that the ball can come in contact with the paper, without skipping. I say virtually because I haven't gone through actual measurements yet.

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An Engineers Lust. More

An Engineers Lust.

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  • Still makes my heart go 'pitter-patter'.
    It's the grand-daddy of the roller ball and I swear one day I'll just write a novel accidentally with one of the things.
    Since I misplace them so frequently, though, I rarely make the investment (although this one has been with me for 6 months -- best I've done in a while).
  • I have my Lamy Swift [www.lamy.de]. (I lie, I have three: blue, red and black ink in silver, gunmetal and black pens respectively).

    I have boxes of the foil wrapped* refills dotted around my home so that I'm never more than a few paces from a refill when a pen runs out (and I carry a couple of spares of each colour in my back pack too).

    Is this a geek thing? (BTW, I'm the same about my wristwatches and time keeping) Or is it just me, and I'm wandering a merry path to a life of OCD [ocdonline.com]?

    Anyway, I digress, I firmly comprehen
    • I'm not obsessed, but I am picky: Pilot fine point, black. That's all I ever willingly use.
    • Is this a geek thing? (BTW, I'm the same about my wristwatches and time keeping) Or is it just me, and I'm wandering a merry path to a life of OCD?

      That's the exact opposite of me. I generally have a good idea what time it is, but I don't care. I also hate watches. I get a lot of that, "But you are a geek, shouldn't you know what time it is?" (Then usual slander about having calculator watches, etc.)

      Anyway, I digress, I firmly comprehend your situation. Murder may be your only option :) Of course, thi

  • I love pens. Pencils. Pads of paper. Post-it notes. Ball-point pens, fountain pens, felt-tip pens. Graph paper, notebook paper, colored notebook paper. Mechanical pencils and wooden pencils.

    Whiteboards and whiteboard markers -- thin line, thick line, dual-ended -- and Sharpies -- fine, medium, and thick-line -- 12 different colors? oh my...

    At least I'm not the only weirdo whose heart races when they find the right pen. ;)

  • pens (Score:2)

    by Triv ( 181010 ) *
    3mm pens tough to find? Bah. You should work in a library - I've got a box of them on my desk ranging from 8mm (that's the LARGEST) down to .5 mm. Archival ink never fades, runs, bleeds or deteriorates, and is acid free.

    You can get a selection of them here [gaylordmart.com] or individual sizes here [gaylordmart.com]. (I know the url points to "gaylordmart.com". Trust me, it's completely safe. You can karmabomb me if it's not. :)

    Triv
    • ok, all those pen sizes are off by a decimal place - sizes range from .8mm to .05mm. Don't know what I was thinking.
      • 50 microns? That's really freakin' tiny.
        • yes, it is - the tip is still visible but just barely - you feel like you're going to break it if you but any pressure on the nib at all. It's a pen I'm actually scared to use; I think I'll break it.

          Triv
    • I love roller-balls, that's the thing. Marking pens are great, but they just don't have the feel that I'm looking for.

      0.3mm rollerballs are the hard ones to find. I found a Pilot that was 0.3mm but they only sold red ink with a champagne case... that's just goofy to me.

      Of course the pen I snagged from the Lady is green... *shrug*
    • Is that a ballpoint?
  • does ink color matter to you? i like black ink. blue ink is loathsome. i prefer pilot precise v7 pens for writing and v5 pens for drawing. i will use whatever black rollerball pen i can find, but the pilots are my favorites so far. the only thing i don't like about them is that they are prone to leaking if they experience large temperature changes (like in a car) or go for a ride on an airplane. i need to find something with that same feel that is a little more robust.

    what's the magic pen you love?
    • what's the magic pen you love?

      Hi-Tec-C 0.3mm. This pen is so damned cool.

      Ink color doesn't matter so much. Green, Red, or Black I'm all fine with. Blue is cool, but I'd rather have the other colors. Pink is right out.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • The best pen... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by heliocentric ( 74613 ) * on Thursday May 29, 2003 @02:26PM (#6069908) Homepage Journal
    is a fountain pen. My current favorite everyday writer is a Hero Model 64 in Jade Green [hisnibs.com]. I have made an adapater to use Cross ink with the pen, I love how Cross ink flows very nicely and their black is the deepest richest black I have ever found. Right now I'm using the Blue/Black from Cross since I really need to get out and get some more refills of black, and this color has equally good flow.

    You just have so much more control with a fountain pen, and your interest in the right paper will grow more with a fountain pen as the paper's ability to soak ink (or have it bubble on top and get smeared easier) is more evident when using a fountain pen. Also, your strokes obtain a new depth as portions of your writing contain more ink than others and new hues are created due to the amount of paper that remains un-dyed.
    • I agree with you when it comes to fountain pens, but I've got a bit of a problem: I'm left handed. Anything I've ever written with a fountain pen has either been smudged beyond all legibility or has given me hand pains from writing awkwardly. bah.

      Triv
      • I agree with you when it comes to fountain pens, but I've got a bit of a problem: I'm left handed. Anything I've ever written with a fountain pen has either been smudged beyond all legibility or has given me hand pains from writing awkwardly. bah.

        I am somewhat ambidextrous. Not to the point where it's the same or such, but numbers and pictures I can do both hands just fine. I choose to use my right hand because it is so much more convenient... When I started learning Japanese, I actually found it was ea
      • I agree with you when it comes to fountain pens, but I've got a bit of a problem: I'm left handed. Anything I've ever written with a fountain pen has either been smudged beyond all legibility or has given me hand pains from writing awkwardly. bah.

        Ah, but I'm left handed as well!

        A major reason I like the Cross ink I listed earlier is that it dries faster than any other ink. In my non scientific reasoning I think it's due to more dye and less water in the ink, since it is so much darker and richer and se
        • Sweet, another lefty. I wonder how many of us are...

          I, too, love pencils (with the occasional pen) and get all giddy when shopping for supplies. I figure that I will die of lead poisoning from all I've absorbed through my hand over the years. And I learned how to write quite legibly right-handed so that I could write on a chalk/whiteboard with no smudging. Drawing a graph in front of the class with two hands was such a fun and subtle way to show off ^_^
    • I have a few nib pens, none with continuous ink supply... the old fashioned dip method. They are great for somethings, and I use it to ink diagrams and drawings. Then I have preference for papers, but when I'm doing quick drawing and design I can't stand using fountain pens.

      I tend to spatter too often when writing quickly, and never got down to writing at a decent pace with them.
  • I rarely write down my ideas until they have gone through a thorough germination process in my own brain. Thus, I don't write down very much -- in the early stages of an idea writing seems intimidating, and seems to constrain my ideas -- but I know when I write something down, it's serious.

    Having said that, nothing in the world beats the Pilot Hi-Techpoint V5, extra fine tip, and a pad of graph paper like they sell at the university bookstore.
    • Having said that, nothing in the world beats the Pilot Hi-Techpoint V5, extra fine tip, and a pad of graph paper like they sell at the university bookstore.

      Yeah, I like the Pilot V5s. I just found out that this pen is made by Pilot Japan... maybe they do sell an equivalent in the US. I can only hope...

      Graph paper is the only way to fly.

  • Any of these four will be acceptable [worldlux.com]. Black with black ink. Reminds me, I need to get some refills. I don't think I've purchased a pen since getting that one... Geez, in 1996.
  • ...the Levenger [levenger.com] catalog. Lots of cool stuff, especially pens [levenger.com].

    I have a couple of Waterman fountain pens (one bought by my daughter when she visited Versailles) that I like quite a bit.

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