Writing of the nondigital variety

It’s a normal clicky mechanism. You twist the grip to extend or retract the lead sleeve. It’s intended to let you follow straightedges more easily, but it also lets you get a comfortable writing angle without extending too much of the really fragile lead. The little ring in the window adjusts how much lead comes out with each click, and crown has a lead-grade indicator that goes from 4H to 4B. It also has an eraser underneath. It’s basically a Transformer.

I just use a Safari and some Noodlers Blue-Black, which is a dark teal that goes blue if you thin it out or cry on it, and there’s a nice slight grade in the color within each character
http://cdn-tp1.mozu.com/6639-8588/cms/8588/files/1d5f907f-d74a-4838-844d-48d31ff42046

Takes a bit to dry, otherwise it’s great. The pen writes super smoothly with basically no pressure required.

I’ve also got the Noodlers Bay State Blue, which is kind of alarmingly blue and prone to staining. I use that in whatever free pen you get with the bottle, the only fault of which is that it leaks like the dickens if you screw the top on

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Sweet.

I have a cheap Jinhao fountain pen.

Anyone try the Uni Kuru Toga line of mechanical pencils? The rotating mechanism looks pretty cool.

is it true i can’t use these because i’m left handed

alternate thread title: Um Writer Lamy

Looks pretty neat, but if you are locked to a particular pen, that would be a dealbreaker for me

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Yeah the pen is a very specific size, so you’d be locked to it.

I’m usually pretty self conscious about showing people the contents of my notebooks, but I guess it’s safe to post a few choice cuts from my "random stuff "booklet. It started with ambitions of being a proper design notebook, but ended up being one where I just doodle random crap and test different inks.

As you can probably tell, it’s very random crap. I like this page, though. Useful notes for web design:

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continuing on from the hobonichi talk elsewhere, I found them at a shop today and became a little obsessed. they had this mother 2 cover


I decided to buy a hobonichi for myself, as a kind of late christmas present—I dislike christmas and this would a present to congratulate myself for coping—despite not really ever having any plans and probably feeling some anxiety about what is reasonable to include in the planner. do you write about dentist appointments, or just times when you visit different interesting places

my thinking is this: perhaps a kind of alchemy will occur. if I have a planner, I might make plans, simply in order to fill up my planner. changing my simple life into a life of endless possibility. all because I have a planner

I did not buy one today though. even though I was ready to. the japanese language planner came with a cover, as a set. I liked the pink cover with the brown interior. unfortunately the english version came without a cover. of course I want a cover. they did not sell covers separately. I asked. the staff told me to buy one online

I almost just bought the japanese one, but my japanese is not at all good enough to read the daily quotes at the bottom of each page, which rather sours the milk for me. the quotes are perhaps a little twee and rather earnest, which is what I like in a quote. I read a couple as I flicked through the pages and I felt that they would be a nice thing to read every day. apparently they are pulled from itoi’s daily website. they might inspire me to get up early and do something with my life

I will look again for one tomorrow at a different place~

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I got a replacement Muji fountain pen for Christmas and things are good.

Also, recently I got one of these Pentel pocket brush pens. They take cartridges and have actual (plastic) bristles instead of the felt-tipped brush-style pens I am more familiar with. It is real fun and cool. I didn’t realize they also make a metal-bodied version for a few dollars more.

Also picked up a matching water pen and a Sakura fine white paint pen and the trio has been fun.

One day when I am gifted a large sum of money maybe I would like one of these Rotring “lava” multipens they seem good.

check out all of this boy’s toys

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Ah that metal brush pen looks neat. I have the one in plastic and its fun to use.

I hear those water brushes are really good. Unfortunately unavalable here. They only have the overpriced Caran D’Ache ones in pen stores.

thinking of getting a kaweco perkeo because it is named after this guy who I thought was really cool when I was 12

I’ve been reading reviews for a long because I am stupid, but my hand gets tired of writing and I have to take enough notes that it’s worth a try. the pens I tried at meetup were definitely better than my ballpoint or rollerball whatever it is. that said, it’s hard to know what pen style will be best for me. I liked big grips and high weight to reduce finger fatigue when writing with a ballpoint, but maybe these don’t matter as much when you have better ink flow and less need for pressure.

Gary was that a “medium” or “broad” nib in your safari? it was ghastly and way too wet… so I gotta know. Shrug your pens were good but I think I want colored plastic instead of metal. there is a store near here in “atx” where if I go and there is a ~$30 pen I’ll cop it otherwise I order from jetpens

a teacher is insisting I buy a notebook I like because I said I know which one I’m getting but haven’t gotten it yet and since I am finally biting the bullet and purchasing something that is not MEAD brand why not spend more and more money on a pen

I don’t have firsthand experience with Kawecos but if an european Lamy medium was too wet for you, consider trying some japanese pens. Their nibs are slightly finer than the european ones. The medium nib of the Pilot Metropolitan is about the perfect everyday writer for me. Not too juicy but not too thin. I really dislike fine nibs but you may have some luck with a japanese Fine or even going for an Extrafine.

At the end of the day, though, the nib is just one of the factors of the writing performance of a fountain pen. The other two being the ink and paper obviously. Different degrees of fluidity interact with different absorbency of the papers. It can feel really different to write on one paper than other even with the same pen and ink.

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It’s a good old Lamy Safari Fine, unclear if it’s a characteristic of the pen or the pen-ink combo I’m using (Noodler’s) but I think it was about the same with their standard cartridges.

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what on earth, it was so juicy

pilot metropolitan weird brushed metal cigars are so ugly i definitely don’t wanna get one but as far as cheapo pens go it’s the only one where people don’t seemingly complain about inaccurate nibs or whatever

the way “thinking about my new thing” goes from exciting to agonizing as reality and money get introduced is so predictable for me, it’s why I know about every guitar pedal on earth but only own like 3, or why I know about every type of plywood and insulation for my dumb house.

Anyway this is the notebook I’m getting

https://www.jetpens.com/TRAVELER-S-COMPANY-TRAVELER-S-notebook-Refill-019-Regular-Size-Free-Weekly-Planner-with-Memo/pd/13645

even tho the leather travelers notebook thing looks so ugly. gonna see if I dig this layout (seems way better than vertical because I do not have so many hourly commitments but gives plenty of space to write in the accompanying memo page, also it’s not a gigantic notebook) and get the dated one or a hobonichi weeks for 2019

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Noodlers is known for being a v. wet ink, I think. I also use noodlers! But the plastic pen I threw down was a pilot Kakuno with a fine nib and japanese fines are like euro extra-fines. The metal one is an american pilot but it trends pretty fine, too.

In my (now somewhat outdated) lamy experience their actual nib size isn’t that consitent. I could get pretty dramatically different results with the same ink out of the same model with the allegedly the same nib, with a trend toward broader/wetter. Lamy nibs trend big + wet, across all price points.

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Pilot Kakuno looks so good. I love that little smiley face.

It slightly beggars my belief that we don’t have a single graf spraying butt here

We have pretty opposite tastes I guess. I really like the Metro design --and it feels great in the hand!–
I also had a Traveler’s notebook leather cover (the passport size, though, that unfortunately got stolen) and I really liked it!

Love this thread.

I’ve been practicing my penmanship recently but don’t have any pictures to show yet (maybe later). I’m dropping in here to send everyone this neat blog I came across the other day.

https://thepostmansknock.com/

It’s a site for calligraphy/lettering enthusiasts and it has video tutorials and practice worksheets you can print out.

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