In the comments to this post, my rocket buddy Rich wrote:
Books... made of paper? Interesting. Next you'll be telling us how you've taken up writing on stone tablets!
Well, no, not quite that far back. I have mentioned that I've relearned the forgotten art of written correspondence and now have pen pals from the USA and Canada. I also mentioned that I've rediscovered the retro-wonderfulness of fine fountain pens.
Three pens that I have at work every day are the Lamy Safari. I have the yellow with an extra fine nib (and usually blue-black ink), a red one with a fine nib (and red ink), and a "Vista", which is clear, that I keep filled with red-black ink (medium nib). The Lamy's are the personification of German engineering: all function over style. Extremely reliable and comfortable to write with for long stretches, but possessing the gentle good looks and friendly lines of a u-boat.
I also have a Reform 1745, which was a common pen used by many students in Germany in the 50's-80's. Someone found a bunch still new in the box and was selling them cheap. This one is my daily writer at my desk at home.
The rest of my fountain pens are Chinese economy pens, a couple of which I've reviewed on FPN (Hero 78 and Picasso 903).
For Christmas, daughter Robyn and Son-in-law Henry got me a bottle of highlighter ink and an eyedropper pen with a felt chisel tip. Basically, you use an eyedropper to fill the pen with ink, and then use it like a regular highlighter. Except that it's refillable. Very cool. Very neon yellow.
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3 comments:
My preferred writing instrument is a pencil, and it has nothing to do with being able to erase mistakes. I guess graphite just feels smoother than even my best-flowing fountain pen. (And not all #2 leads are really the same. When I was a kid, a local 5&10 sold these wooden pencils from some no-name company that were the absolute perfect darkness without smudging or getting too dull too fast like soft leads do. I hoarded those pencils...I'd love to find them again.)
And not about pens or pencils: hope you and the family have a wonderful Christmas!
Yeah, fountain pens are cool. I'm looking at a Lamy Vista (clear demonstrator) in a medium nib, but I am concerned about staining with some of the more saturated inks. I believe the Vista is the same as the Safari, just transparent so you can see its innards. Glad to hear you enjoy your Safaris so much Ted. And Nic, you sound like a fellow lead-head, have you ever visited the most excellent blog www.penciltalk.org? Happy New Year fellas.
Barrel Of A Pencil
Yep, the Vista has the same basic shape as the Safari, but I think the screw threads are on the opposite part of the pen.
I use my Vista with the Lamy converter and haven't noticed any staining. Then again, I wouldn't use something like Bay State Blue in any clear pen (if at all).
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