Sanford 20/20

I have always been a fan of sign pens, I know that basically they are just good black markers, but for some reason, I can't get away from them. Back in the day (like March before I started the experiment) if I was on the phone I would always grab a sign pen and a notepad and track my calls/to do's with them.

Doing a little research this pen- is used pretty extensively in the medical world as seen here (here) for people with bad vision. I am not really sure where I bought this or why I have it, but its not bad for what it is... a black fine point, non-bleeding marker. I am also not sure why the directions on the side say "do not shake" and I haven't yet to see what happens. If a genie pops out I will be really pissed that I missed it.

It is Friday which means tomorrow is Ink Link day on The Pen Addict (yeah!) and that somehow another week has slipped by. I will be at the Elmo Makes Music live show if anyone needs me (don't ask) and back on Monday with a fresh pen! I promise to get to the comments/questions and emails this weekend. Enjoy it.

Parker 51 Down!

My evening got really bad, really fast. I was just working on some notes from today and I felt my nib get a little squirrely and next thing I know there is a small chunk of my 51 separated from the hood. I do not think I have to tell you that it was not meant to be a 2 piece hood.

It's not quite devastating, but it hurts. I can find a replacement hood or I heard there are people doing some really cool things with the plastic. It's just that I really liked this pen as it is. I know people have had serious damage from just dropping a fountain pen so I guess I am lucky that this happened when I was writing and not using my 51 as a lever to pry open a jar a peanut butter.

It still writes fine, It didn't crack far enough up to effect things. But it's just the point of it. Luckily the New England Pen Show is right around the corner and looks like I am adding one more thing I need to my list.

Wing Sung 612

Last night on Twitter, DIYSara asked about the fountain pen only experiment and I told her my heavy hitter today was my Wing Sung 612. I kept Bay State Blue in this for a while and I am pretty sure it stained the plastic. (click for larger view) I have not tried to polish and remove it yet, but it's definitely there. No Biggie.

There are a ton of Hero pens similar to this on Ebay and at a really good price. I got this one un-inked as a present a few years ago.
It's been in heavy use since then. The packaging makes me think that one was a little older, but I am not sure of the date. I have no idea
how they date these (if they do at all.)

Believe me, this is really cheap paper with Private Reserve ink and I could use this combo all day long without a bleed or a feather or a glob. It's a Parker knock off and I don't try to pretend it's a 51. It's an honest pen that puts an honest line of ink on the paper and to me, that is refreshing.

Pilot Silver Marker (EF point)

Paint markers are pretty cool right? They are usually willing to just dump large amounts of paint anywhere you like and on any surface. I am sure I bought this for an art project or for something very specific, but I have not managed to finish it yet. Oh yeah, and it produces a ton of nib creep. Remember my paint swab from the other day? (Recycling!)

They also offer this in a gold marker as well. This is one time when it says EF and I really do not mine that it writes about a .9. You sort of get what you get on this one and I did not expect anything finer.

Here is my biggest issue with this pen. It does not post. And believe me, the last thing I need is an open container of silver paint marker rolling around my house.

In the "Great News" department Muji is now selling their pens online. This is a really good thing! My order is already in even though I went to their store last month. this could be trouble.

The Sarasa Stick 0.4

I really thought I reviewed this pen before, but looking back, I didn't see anything in the archives. The Sarasa Stick is definitely a Good Pen. This one has a light blueish-black ink and I really like that combo here. I love when pens say they are a .4 and they actually are what they say they are. It's sort of refreshing!

In fact, anything with Sarasa in the name makes me happy... Here it is on my Foray. And I wont lie... I use Foray notebooks almost daily for work. I have to use an EF if I am down with the fountain pens, but for most of my gel pens, the Foray's are perfect. I have had a system for years and it works for me.

I also use about 10,000 other notebooks but the Foray is my main one if I am working on a to do list. .
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It's good to be back from traveling. I know I need to catch up on some comments and emails so hang tight if I owe you something. Thanks,.