Guest Post: Notebook Love

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1986. A “Wuzzles” notebook and pencil. My first session at The Brownies. I took notes. 
1987. A blue, A5 hardback lined notebook. Torquay, Devon on a family holiday. I wrote poetry. 
1989. My cousin’s pale green typewriter from the late sixties and handmade paper fashioned into a book with punched holes and string. I wrote a horror story.
1993. A petite flower print, cushion covered journal with cream lined paper, each page edged with gold. I wrote secrets.

Just a few of the pivotal writing books I encountered on my journey from childhood to adolescence. They set in stone a path I continue to follow to this day. You might call it an addiction; Or perhaps an obsession? If Paperchase were a person I’d be a stalker. Sometimes, when I know I don’t have the money to buy, I’ll avoid going in, but walk past it several times and gaze longingly at the sale section near the front. If Waterstones were also a person,  I’d probably be in jail, on account of the times I simply go there to wander the bookcases, trailing my fingers over the many covered stories and breathing in the heady smell of paper filled with words.
My obsession ensures I now have a pile of notebooks; all different sizes, shapes and types of paper within. Some are lined, some are not. There’s a selection of A5 and A6 ones that are perfect for handbags. 

You never know when you might get the urge to let the pen take over. The hardback maroon and gold one is good for tales of adventure, because it looks like it may have been designed in some far off ancient land. The A6 one with the dolls on and the plastic cover, that one’s good for writing introspectively. Probably because the dolls are all identical; Many versions of one girl but although they look the same, they could be very different underneath.  The purple one has glitter crushed under the plastic cover. I like a bit of sparkle. That one’s for the stories that have a bit of sparkle too. 

Every Christmas and every birthday I ask for more. They are probably the one thing I know will never go to waste, because I will always write. Part of the writing process that I enjoy the most, is opening a book and staring at a blank page. The possibility; the promise. The feel of the paper, and how it might feel to someone else one day, when they find my notes and stories and poems and say “this is an original D A Pegg piece!”, because yes, one day I intend to be a fully-fledged writer whose work attracts attention. 

I will walk into Waterstones and see my name on the shelves and I will watch as others come in and buy my stories. And I’ll still go to Paperchase, maybe in disguise, to buy more notebooks. More pads and pens. 
I’m the one who in a service station or newsagents, will always check out the notepads and envelopes. I’ll hold the queue up picking out 1 black Bic, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 green and a 15cm ruler; Things to go with my nice new, clean notebook. 
Nowadays we have laptops. Tablets. Desktops. Even phones to record our thoughts, and yes, I do use them, but I still find the best writing always begins on paper.

2013. The poet’s notebook, soft, thin black card cover. Cream watermarked pages with quotes decorating headers and footers. Quotes from poems. I wrote the opening of a masterpiece. If it doesn't turn out quite as I hope, there’s always the next new notebook to fill.

Thanks to Danielle Pegg, a published writer who also loves sparkly things, poetry and lots of lovely things, why not check her out www.apeggortwo.webs.com

Pens in the wild - Tratto 1

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A new theme of posts, possibly, lost/discarded/abandoned pens.
This inaugural post is of a Tratto 1 twist action Biro, very much like a standard Bic Biro we all know and use, but with a twist action to extend the nib. 

A nice little design touch I thought,  rather like the look of this pen, no idea what it writes like, so please leave a comment if you have used these or any of their extended range, all of which can be found here www.fila.it (english page link).
They seem to have a very nice range of disposable and refillable pens, as well as a large range of arts and crafts materials and also make up, bit out of leftfield there.

NATIONAL STATIONERY WEEK!

Yes, that's right, it's National Stationery Week here in Britain, ran in conjunction with Royal Mail and The National Literacy Trust, supported by Sheaffer, Uni-Ball, Faber-Castell, Letts and Filofax.
There is a great competition to enter and a list of participating retailers who will be running special promotions and other activities as part of the campaign.
Why not have a look and join in, I certainly am.

@NatStatWeek

W.H.Smith Euro Cartridge Mini Rollerball

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W.H.Smith is a UK retailer of books, stationery, magazines and much more besides.
A great national chain of shops for fetishists like us, admittedly their prices are higher than online shops but I do believe it's good to patronise them for some things and to check out new stuff before buying.
These pens I bought a long time ago, having only recently got round to using them properly, I was so very excited and intrigued by them but ultimately disappointed, let me explain.

 They are unusual in that they are rollerballs that are;

1. Refillable and,
2. Accept a Euro cartridge, just like a fountain pen.

They are/were sold in a twin pack with the standard 2 cartridges free, one each of blue and black for a nice change, instead of the usual blue only. Each having a colour corresponding ring on the barrel/nib end connection.

They are a "mini" variety of pen, more of which later, as you can tell from the size of the lid in relation to the unposted pen length in the above picture, comprising a cartridge accepting barrel and standard style rollerball veined delivery system.

The clip is suitably strong enough to work with any pocket, a nice clear design appeals to me and gives a nice look in general to the pen, as well as aiding viewing of ink levels of course.

The writing nib is very fine, something I like, but of course that is all up to personal taste, the written line is very fine and precise, consistent and great for those who like a very small letter size, ideal for pocket notebooks, or so I first thought.

Although the written line is very fine, it is very easy to control and still lays down an even and useable thickness, a very strong fine line, some fine line pens are too fine to be usable and result in skipping and faintness of letter. (apologies for the cropped scan).

Here we can see the disassembled pen, clearly illustrating the comparable size of lid, barrel and nib/ink delivery section, further highlighting the "mini" size of the pen, another reason why I initially thought the pen would be ideal as a daily "pocketer".
I find them very difficult to write with for one main reason, when the cap is posted to the end of the barrel the length is very comfortable and perfectly acceptable for extended writing or quick notes, what isn't is the behaviour of the cap when posted. it simply will not stay on teh barrel, it doesn't fit far enough down the barrel to retain a secure fitting, the slightest movement will dislodge the cap, sometimes even popping of itself without any encouragement, meaning that it's almost impossible to use (for me) as the barrel without a posted cap means the pen is too short and "falls" into the hand, wobbling about without the bracing against the hand option.

And here is the Euro cartridge accepting nibe section at the business end as it were, pushing onto the cartridge accepting post is very easy and retains cartridges snugly and securely without any danger of leaking or coming loose in normal use and transportation, but there is still a let down coming...

The pen in normal, everyday use and transport is very wet, in that it leaks a lot, not from the actual writing nib, but from the junction of ink delivery veins and surrounding barrel, so much so that after every use the pen leaks ink all over the fingers gripping it, more than is acceptable and tolerable, both pens exhibited this behaviour. This got to such a point that I had to dispose of both pens, sadly, I was very optimistic and excited with these pens.
One last point, W.H.Smith no longer sell these pens and for a long while I didn't see them or anything similar for a long time, until I came across these...

These form Paper-Mate are virtually identical to my eyes, bar the odd design difference and packaging variation, hopefully from an international maker the leaking will not present in these as much as in the test models above, full test and review coming soon.

WINNER!

Won £50 voucher with Artifolk to spend on their site.
I am ridiculously pleased, why not check out www.artifolk.co.uk for great products at great prices.
In weeks to come there will be posts on results of all the lovely stuff I have bought from them with this voucher, keep checking back.

Wilkinson Gel Roller Ball

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Wilkinson is a UK department store (click for more info) that usually has a very good range of stationery at the budget end of the market branded as their own make as well as branded makes, here.
This particular pen is sold as a pack of 5 for a very reasonable £1.15 ($1.76/C$1.79) in a plastic wallet in the standard blue and black, all of which are a fine nib.

As you can see it is a very basic looking pen without frills or ornamentation, what else can you expect or want for the price? It is in fairness a nicely balanced pen and a very robust construction, it is not refillable.

As I have found with most Gel Rollers the inked line is very wet and susceptible to smudging and wiping, but this could be down to my writing style as much as the ink wetness. The line laid down is a very pleasing solid black wiht little or no skipping, writes from first use consistently and evenly.

Posted or capped the pen is nicely balanced and not overly long or short, the crip part of the barrel is covered in a soft knurled rubber cover which stands up to use for the writing life of the pen, more on this later, the cap has a pocket clip denoting ink colour but it does nto hodl the pen in pocket very firmly on thin pockets or material, the clip also comes away form the lid easily, perhaps due to the breathing hole designed into the lid.

The lid does cap with a reassuring click and stay on the pen barrel well in transport.

Other than the comments above there is not much more to say about the pen, but there is one final point to make which I believe is vital, and that is the writing life span.

When using this pen solidly for note making on an A5 writing pad the pen only lasted for 4 or 5 pages, I've used two now over 10 pages, admittedly the full page was covered in writing, but I feel that a pen of this size should last longer, does anyone else have any thoughts or comments on the writing life if ink in pens of this sort? But in fairness what can you expect for the price, some pens of the same style and ink cost 2 or 3 times more for just one. In closing I can't really fault or criticise the pen any more than above, I think they write very nicely, have a reassuringly black line and are very reasonably priced.

*UPDATE*

Just finished another pen, this one lasted a bit longer, 6 and a half pages, but not much more. The pen and ink do write consistently until the very last letters, no skipping or reluctance to write evenly, so you do get to use every last drop of ink. I'm still undecided f these are a bargain or a waste of money, if only the refill was larger/lasted longer, I would gladly pay more as the pen itself and nib are very nice for the current price.

Paper Mate Flair Nylon

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So here we have the ubiquitous Paper Mate Fibre Tip writing pen, again I have issues with manufacturers stipulating what pens should be used for, surely it's up to the user, but I guess they have to discern their intended use for design, ink properties etc.
Personally I like these pens a lot, for writing they are effortless to use, for quick notes on the 
post-it notes etc (how I usually use these for) they are ideal, as well as for marking up labels and discs etc where permanence is not needed or wanted, the ink I have found can easily be washed away from smooth surfaces easily, although i agree not everyone may have such a specific need or use in mind.
They do bleed through heavily on many papers, even heavy ones, they are in my opinion quite a "wet" pen all be it a fibre tip, the nib I have found over time does wear on the writing side and find it advisable to rotate the pen over long writing or marking sessions to avoid heavy wear on one side, if not the nib becomes very flexible and approaches a level of wear such that it is rendered unusable.

As you can see the pen itself is a very basic affair, a solid colour plastic barrel with the maker's mark only appearing on the metal pocket clip, a sticker is usually placed on the barrel with barcode when bought singularly, though these can be bought in multipacks, of single colours of various colours, I have seen the black, red & blue versions everywhere but other colours are available, such as purple & turquoise which I have only ever spotted in Staples.

As you  can see the line is very black and wide, even though the tip can be rather fine when new the line from first writing is a Bold thickness, over time the line widens with use to the point of almost writing like a brush pen. Although the ink lays down wet and can show through on most paper types feathering is not too much of a concern, the paper used for test is standard 5" x 3" index cards and very absorbent, the line draws rapidly despite these characteristics. Paper Mate assure the ink will not bleed through, so maybe I should clarify that it "shows" through more than bleeds through, it is after all a very black, thick line so draw your own conclusions on where and when you should or shouldn't use it, I personally would not use it in a pocket notebook or on any papers less than 100gsm if you intend to use both sides. Be aware also that over time, considerable time admittedly, the ink does yellow and exhibit a rainbow corona, especially if ever exposed to dampness.

Here's the nib in it's new state, and the ever present bar code, as you can see the point presents a nice writing size for those who prefer a more Bold line than a fineliner, the cap i sery long in retrospect which does make for a long posted pen to write with, some prefer this some don't, which ever way you like it I find it very easy to write with posted or not as it is a very light pen and does not exhibit and back heavy ness when posted or feel to short when not.

The pocket clip does stand up well to use and carries the pen firmly when used on shirt/thin pockets, but it does fatigue quickly when it has to stand up to any sort of abuse or exuberant fiddling, I actually de-clip these pens when I intend to use them for any length of time, I just find it a more aesthetically pleasing look without the clip.

Available almost everywhere.

I've been drawing...

Chavs, a British word for ... well, I do not know what American, Canadian and rest of the world calls them. All done with a Zig Memory System Millenium 01 (review comming soon) drawing pen from Cultpens

Apologies for low quality, scanner is out of order, back soon!

Blog Roll round-up

My favourite posts of late from the sites I follow:

• Nice notebook review from write me often! of an Ecologic Notebook Review / Ecologic Defter Incelemesi
• Another nice review of a Pilot Petit1 Mini Fountain Pen over at A penchant for paper.
• And for all you ink fans, like me, check out he last post from Inkophile of Noodler’s Purple Martin.
• For all you pencil fans, hers a little tip from Bleistift that may just save you some money, the e+m Motus Pencil Lengthener.
• Economy pens are a lot after my own heart, I love a reasonable pen as much as the higher cost end of the market, they have a nice review of a Platinum mini ball point .5.
• Gourmet Pens have a review of a lovely looking ink I have never encountered, Sailor Jentle Ink.
•  A pen I have always wanted to a own, the Montblanc Starwalker as review by Palimpset.
• Peacable Writer has a nice post idea regarding notebooks, something I would like to do one day.
• Exhaustive and great read reviews from Pencil Reviewer.
• Too many to list, but these are all great post by Pencil Revolution, it's not just pencils.
• I love a mechanical pencil, it's not all about pens, and so does Pencil Talk, check out their review of the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto multipencil, I must get one of these!
• Pocket Blonde has some great give aways and posts, especially this back to school special.
• Stationery Traffic, so informative, especially this special on Ikea pencils.
• Penaddict also does podcasts as well as reviews, like this on Noodlers Romes Burning.

Pilot V5 Hi-Tec point 0.5

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Here we have a Pilot writing pen, although in my opinion I like them for a multitude of other uses to which they are very suited, more of which later.

What to say about this? Well, its very much what you see is what you get, there is no fancy over designed additions or build in the pen itself externally, barrel, cap and pocket clip are all there are, it does not come apart and is not refillable, but what it does do is endure, and write very well from start of ink flow to finish, a solid black line with no skipping or missed curves. As you can expect from the 0.5 on the barrel, the nib and the written line is very fine, but still strong and very legible, if you do not have terrible handwriting like I do. 

The ink itself lays down very well and drys quickly, no discernible smudging or wetness is left on the page when writing. This is in contradiction, for me anyway, to the pure liquid ink advertised on the barrel, I would have expected a very wet line to be laid down with care haign to be taken to avoid smudging, but happily I was very wrong in my initial expectations.

And here is the nib itself, as you can see it is fine, a needle point in my opinion, but surprisingly robust and stands up to a lot of abuse, I'm a bit heavy handed when writing and I have not had any issues with the nib or the writing performance.

What, precisely, the pure liquid ink is supposed to benefit or deliver I'm not too sure, but I suppose liquid ink flows smoother and more consistently than other inks, on reflection the ink flow is rather like fountain pen ink and the line when writing does have that feel to it, so I guess the intention is give the best of both worlds in a fine nibbed rollerball.

The pocket clip is very springy and firm when slipped over over pockets, especially thicker material ones, the clip itself is very robust and stands up to a lot of abuse, so much so that if the spring on the clip is not enough it can be gently bent to provide a stronger grip.

Further to the comment in the opening paragraph, I really like drawing with these pens, a great use for them I think, the pen and the nib suits my style and drawing technique, if they came with artist grade ink, permanent, lightfast etc I think they would be come my default and go to pen for drawing, especially with a range of nib sizes offered. And yes, that is my representation of Leon played by Jean Reno in the film of the same name, the remake anyway, one of the very few examples where the remake is as good as the original, possibly. 

Parker Lanyard Pen

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So here we have a Parker Rollerball pen, a lanyard version.
There is really not much to say about this pen, it's a Parker and comes with a lanyard to wear it aroudn the neck, I have never found pens to be comfortable or indeed all that more accessible when worn on a lanyard  usually just getting in the way, but i do know people who think they are invaluable when they can be attached or worn to lanyards and the like.

The lanyard (I have lost mine, that says something about lanyards or me, not sure which) attaches to the top where the writing nib comes out, it is also retractable the push part being the green section visible there and like all retractable pens I have encountered the barrel has a little play in it when the nib is out.

Here the writing nib/rollerball can be seen protruding ready for writing, the lanyard attaches over the pointed section of the pen seen here, it does fit securely and with a "click" when attached.

Here is the pen disassembled showing the refill, a standard Parker rollerball refill, this one happens to be blue, why do all new pens come with blue ink?

Other than the above there is not much else to say about the pen, the ink flows OK  typical Parker quality and easy to refill, here comes the test, remember the test always includes a literary quote, see if you know it and comment what it is from if you know it, just for fun and your own pleasure there are no prizes or rewards.

Staedtler Lumocolor Fine Permanent

So here we have a permanent fibre tipped pen from Staedtler called the Lumocolor, that american spelling again, COLOUR! that is also lightfast and waterproof.
What exactly "Dry Safe" is meant to tell us about the ink qualities of the pen I'm not entirely sure, so if you do please leave a comment and let me know.

Anyway, I'm not really one for using fibre tipped pens as everyday writing instruments, even when fine nibbed as this one is, though they do of course have their place, in most cases (if not every) the ink bleeds through really too heavily on most papers except the thickest, not the sort you would want to use for notes/writing etc.

As you would expect the pen lays down a very definite and solid line throughout the cursive turn, in other words there are no skips or blanks when writing any letter, and is very black, in a nice way though, a nice assured and authoritative line, but again, unless needed and used on the correct medium, not an everyday general writing pen.
Having said that the Lumocolor is a great pen for other uses, I have used them for all sorts of applications  disc labeling (but only on ones with a print surface, permanent markers can "burn" though discs), art applications, label marking for technical work, pretty much anything where you need indelible writing with a fine point, to my mind I actually prefer them to Sharpies for this sort of thing, but to their detriment they do not come in as large a range of colours, black being the only option, but there is a range of nibs.

The nib being fibre does have anice flow across the surface and never feel liabel to flex or bend when writing, I do know through personal use that the nib does wear and spread, although I put a lot of that spread down to being used on rough surfaces and with unnecessary pressure when writing with it, we all know a heavy handed writer!
There is really not that much more to say on the writing experince, it feels pleasant in the hand, does not skip while writing and the barrel feel s sturdy enough, I would personally have preffered the pen to be a little wider in the barrel, just for comforts sake during prolonged use, but agian this is down to personal taste.
So, down to the construction, the pen is not refillable unlike the Pilot V Super Color (there's that missing U again) of which there is a post review in the coming weeks, apart from size and colour range, but it is a completely different type of marker with different intended uses.

As you would expect from Staedtler and a permanent marker the top fits snugly and securely to the barrel, a very reassuring thing with permanent markers, and the pocket clip is very sturdy but I would have licked it to be a bit more springy and hold tighter than it does.

There are fine tip (the classic according to Staedtler), chisel tip and an extra soft tip for CD/DVD marking versions available, ranging from 0.4mm for the extra fine tip up to 2/5mm for the chisel tip, depending how it is held and used, the writing pen is a 0.6mm line.

Faber-Castell - Textliner & Jumbo Grip - Multi-Post

Faber Castell Textliner 1148

So here we are with a 3 pencil post, all from Faber-Castell, grouped together because i think they are all the same use of pencil, although Faber-Castell think differently going by the names given to them

First up is the Faber-Castell Textliner 1148, I presume the number derivation must be for the colour, the Textliner is essentially a Jumbo Grip (more of which later) but in luminous orange and also available in fluoro yellow.

 The Textliner is at the top of the picture here, the orange one, next to two Jumbo Grip pencils, all from Faber-Castell, as you can see they are all exactly the same except for the names.

The Textliner itself is a very bright luminous orange when used on plain paper, understandably the lead is soft, no rating given by Faber-Castell, as it will have to put down it's colour easily without much pressure, presumably to avoid damage to paper used on, as this could well be textbooks and similar I think it's a good thought on their part when designing and conceptualizing the pencil.

 Above is the standard test card scan, this time it didn't come out very well, but does give some idea of the line when used for writing, not that I would ever do so or expect users to use it as a writing pencil, although I guess there are times when you would want to.
Because of the scan issues below is a photo of the same card, as you can see it is a very vibrant and "highlighter-esque" orange, why I did a timed smudge test I do not know, but it's there if it is of any use, rest assured thou' that the line put down is resilient enough to stand up to what the intended use of the pencil would have to go through.

And just to prove that it does highligh text, here is an example.

It may have been the quality of the paper that the book used, but i would have expected something more like above, a brighter, more vibrant laying down, but as it is I think its acceptable for a non-bleeding source, possibly especially useful for borrowed books or when paper is especially thin in textbooks, as some are, at least with a pencil highlighter you should be safe from bleed thought to reverse of the page.

After the above tests where carried out, the nib from a sharp point was as in the picture below, a fair and reasonable amount of were I would say, expecially on a pencil that is over 6 and half inches (17 cms) when new, plenty of life and service in these. I bought these in Gerona, Spain, (the Spanish love a stationery shop, watch out for a post on these in the months to come) for about £1 each, that's about $1.49 four our American readers, Canadian readers that's about the same for you too, C$1.53 to be precise, all at today's exchange rate mid March 2013.

All 3 pencils are finished with the standard Faber-Castell nodules on the shaft to aid grip, a hob which they handle as well as can be expected, I do get very swreaty hands when using a pencil over a period of time, so maybe it's just me that finds them just a little too ineffective.

I would personally prefer a larger and more substantial nodule, but, hey that's just me. Tell me what you think is the best anti-slip/gripping addition on a pencil you have used, use the comments box below. 

All 3 pencils are of triangular construction with no ferrule on the top end, not that I can imagine anyone would even attempt to erase the pencil line from these, but I would say a putty eraser would be the best to attempt that.

And here we have the Gold and silver tests, like the orange Textliner the gold line does not seem to have scanned very well, so see below for a photograph  I'm putting this down to some sort of fluorescence in the lead to achieve the bright and metallic finish, although the silver has transferred very well in my opinion so maybe that is another terrible theory.

Again the lead softness is as the Textliner, wear and line thickness etc being the same also.

Personally I think the silver gives a more definite line, and better colour representation when laid down, but it depends on your own view and which colour you actually need or want.
These gold and silver pencils are labelled as Jumbo Grip, but either are any different in size to the Textliner, I would expect a pencil with this moniker to be of a considerable size, perhaps a fist clench size pencil, but I guess Faber-Castel thought they may be getting into the novelty pencil market if they where any bigger.

Remember each test features a literary works first line, if you know it pop it in the comments box and a short review of the book.

804 views since posting? WOW! but no comments?