Stationery Haul: Pen Part

Seriously – paper and pens and paper and pens!! Nothing gets me more spiced up. MM!

If you follow my blog – the outpouring of crippling depression, awkward social interactions and silent screams of help – you probably know I have few people to “talk shop” to. This is why I live tweet.

And blog.

I happen to love pens and paper. I worked retail stationery for about four years? Maybe three. I have no concept of time.

Pens – shut the front door - I love a good pen. I was perhaps fortunate enough work in a store that had many pen vendors who would offer short sessions on the workings of their pens. I could also play with them and learn about them and the type of hand and/or writer who should be paired with them. I always liked writing and normally wrote by hand so the form and function of everything from the Mont Blanc to the Retro51 was very interesting to me.

I learned that I actually always loved a rollerball.

Hate Brings Us Together

So, this adventure starts tragically enough with me talking about a subject very close to my heart – my hate of ballpoints. Where was I talking about this? A work-dinner with my coworkers and director. It’s better when I have someone around to shut me up.

Anyhow, I gave them the primer on the four types of ink pens:

• Fountain Pen: Most of this was lost on them. There are layers of techniques that is largely lost on the masses who don’t understand the FP.
• Rollerball: My favorite type – no paste in the ink. It might run out faster than a ballpoint and can smear (depending on brand) but you don’t get ink boogers. You also get a smooth, solid line.
• Ballpoint: @#$%ing boogers. Ink and paste are mixed together to make a cap less system of ink delivery that doesn't smear, last longer (due to the paste thinning out the ink) and leave you with ink boogers. The line is rarely smooth.
• Gel: Gel roller or gel point, whatever. The modern ink. I do like a good gel roller. It’s smooth, doesn't dry out as much as a rollerball and often doesn’t bleed through the paper. 

Onward we talked with this shared information. I was sort of surprised I wasn't made fun of or something - maybe told that everyone emails these days or something. Which is true. I love my texting. I'm going to text right now. . .

My director mentioned he likes a super-fine line and if we had any of those pens. Well, in office supply stores it’s often hard to find the right nib. Most are medium so that some people are happy and the rest are equally unhappy.

People are use of purchases BIC pens (nothing wrong with what you like, if you like it) and tossing them when done. Why don’t we invest in pens? Well, cheap, fast and easy is the name of the game. Not quality, comfort and. . .niceness. These ballpoints and under-a-dollar disposable pens are just what we need in our fast food, electronic world.

What about specific, beautiful and customization?

Understanding the Pen
The pen is the body. The pen is the temple. You got to start here – like any relationship. What do you like to own? Not that you own relationships or people. What suits your style? Classic, funky, artistic, emotional? You can probably find it.

A refillable fine pen is more than ink. It is a balanced tool of intimate communication.You need to understand yourself and your own style first.

Do you grip a pen like your life depends on it? You should probably stop that, but, having a thicker pen would probably be better. Do you hold your pen lightly? Then a thinner model might be better. The best way to learn about these things is to find out. So few people have been exposed to different pens they don't even know.

They don't even know.

Pens can be very heavy or very light. The way the pen feels in your hand can make your writing much easier and relax your hand.

A key tip here is to understand you are not judgeing the ink. You are judging the pen in your hand. You can always buy a black or blue or colored ink in any point size. But, that means nothing if you don't like how the pen feels.

A good pen can make it a delight to write. And maybe you will feel like writing a couple notes.

Ballpoints
I don’t buy ballpoints. I dislike when I have to use them, as well. You’ll have to go elsewhere for advice on how to deal with them.

Rollerball
I have the Acme Fingerprint Rollerball which is a very heavy pen for my hand. I normally write with the cap off else it gets too heavy and I feel my hand being pulled backwards. Probably if I really wanted to press down hard, this would help me stop. If I wanted to stop. You don't know me.

Anyhow, I love it. I love the size of it in my hand and how relax it keeps my grip. I love the designs. Once you get an Acme pen, you are going to want another one. They are very collectible - the limited editions are a must-grab if you like the pen as once they are discontinued, they will go up in value - often dramatically.

For me, I'm not a collector. I like to use my pens. It's just nice to know.

I also have a Waterman Hemisphere Rollerball which is slimmer and lighter. I believe Waterman is on this kick with "Blue Obsession" because I can't find my finish anywhere. Ihave it in the lovey cognac finish.

Anyhow, this is a pen that feels designed for my hand. I write with the cap on and I couldn't be happier with it, honestly. I find the Waterman is both a great gift and a useful one. They are handsome pens fit for both men and women.

Other types of brands that I don't own by always like where Retro51 and Parker. While each company has different models of pens, I don't think you can go wrong with either depending on your personal tastes and budget.

Fountain Pens
Writing with a fountain pen is not like writing with any other type of pen - you don't write, you glide. You don't press down, you don't struggle - you don't even pause. Cursive and a fountain pen dance together on a page - even if you aren't good at it. It might inspire you to brush up on it, if you did learn cursive (do people still learn cursive?) Even if you print, a fountain pen makes you do things with your soul.

I have two fountain pens. 

My first one was a Lamy which I think is a fantastic pen company. It is super light because it is plastic and the nib is normally steel or carbon which makes it very hard to break. It's such a great travel fountain pen or something to use without worrying so much about having something super-valuable that could get lost.

I happily point out the Safari for people wanting a durable, colorful fountain pen. Or even the ABC to help kids learn now to write. It's just - good, inky fun!

I got the Lamy Joy as a gift and it’s actually a 1.5 nib, which is a calligraphy nib. And it’s a lot longer.

I have a vanilla Visconti van Gogh which I won for having the highest sales if pens one month when I did work retail. Else, I wouldn't have had the money for a $200 pen. I totally fell in love with this little pen and the Visconti brand.

To me, once you hit this price point you want a pen that is beautiful and artful and makes a statement to you - a pen that is like art to you. And also a pen that functions correctly.

Get a fountain pen. I suggest a Lamy, of course. But most pen companies will offer a line with a ballpoint, rollerball and fountain pen - if you like the feel of a rollerball (or, yes, a ballpoint) in your hand, check out the fountain pen.

I really want to get a Conklin and strongly recommend this as a pen for people who love American history. Mark Twain was a famous supporter of the Conklin Cressent Filler pen - which allowed you to fill the pen without unscrewing anything and prevent it from rolling off the table. One of his pens is on display - and it is a Conklin. It's a delightful bit of history.

Ink for the Balls
Now that you found a pen you like, you can turn to ink. Sometimes a ballpoint (if it has a cap, probably) and rollerball refill can be interchanged. Most of the time, the ballpoint is a twist or clickable, so, just use the ballpoint refill.

Now that you found a pen you like, you can turn to ink. Sometimes a ballpoint (if it has a cap, probably) and rollerball refill can be interchanged. Most of the time, the ballpoint is a twist or clickable, so, just use the ballpoint refill.

Ok, just, keep the rollerball and ballpoint ink separate.

Normally, you best bet is to buy the ink made by the company that made the pen. You don’t have to. I am a big fan of Monte Verde ink and how it fits most pens. I also like Waterman ink. Sometimes this depends on what ink is available to you, as well.

I always keep my refill from the pen manufacture – this is a good practice because you can take that refill to an office supply store and match it to the refill they have. If it will fit, it will work. Most have a little image on the side of the package where you line up your refill to make sure.

I do know for my Acme pen, I have to chew off the back of the Monte Verde refill for it to fit. We do crazy things for love.

Ink for the Fountains
Minus some outliers which you will learn if you purchase something like a Conklin Crescent Filler – fountain pens come with a converter and will accept most size cartilages.

The converter works like a little syringe – you dip the end into a bottle of ink and twist the other end to suck up ink into the device and then snap it into your pen. As a bonus, you can fiddle with the converter to get the ink flowing to the nib without much of a wait.

The cartridge is pretty simple, you just put it in the pen the same way you put in the converter. Once it, you give it some time and the ink will flow down to the nib. Fountain pen mechanics are based on slow bleeds. Sometimes slower than others.

It is advised you only use one type of ink in your fountain pen. Okay. But, you should also clean you fountain pen. This is super easy – you run it under water. Well, you unscew the nib section and run that underwater to clean out the ink. You want to make sure you don’t leave the pen unused for so long that the ink dries up in there. Then you will have an issue with ink flow. Always take good care of you fountain pen.

The Future
Oh, I will be getting more fountain pens. My next purchase will probably be the Acme converter kit so I can get a fountain pen for like $38 bucks and still use my Fingerprint pen.

As far as others, I do still love a good office supply run and I recommend the Pentell Energel X Rollergel. I have the full color pack and I love them.

Happy writing, people. Take some time to reconnect.

Image Credit
Watermen image if from monstermarketplace.com
Visconti from thepenplace.com