Multi Pen Hell (and new contest tease)

I own at least three multi pens. I do not love any of them. There are some things that can be combined nicely. For example:
1. Mp3 player and a phone--Check -I use those.
2. Baseball and peanuts (der)
3. Bacon and Everything. -awkward silence- (Sorry, I just wandered off for a few moments for a stroll down Bacon lane.)

The problem is that I am picky about individual pens and when you add the opportunity for multiple bad pens in one pen housing. I suddenly lose interest and wander back to the pens I know will write red when I ask. Did my friend George S. Parker back in the day as he was about to put the finishing touches on a Parker 51 say "you know, we should add a stylus to this?" No. he. did. not.

It's also sort of a pen lotto when I click the button to see which tip might pop out. I don't even own anything that uses a stylus anymore. I know there is a new breed of multi-pens out there and I probably should give them a shot and I might one day. But these three are going back into the drawer neatly labeled "Do not talk about."

Ok, sorry for the rant. There will be a new contest coming this week or Monday latest with some fun new rules in place (as soon as I think them up) and a cool prize. More to follow.

Esterbrook Advanced Flo-master

Happy Presidents day (belated). As most of you know I take holidays off on Good Pens but wanted to pass along a little knowledge to you.
Did you know that President Harding wore size fourteen shoes? He had the largest feet of all the presidents. It's true. Feel free to tell all your friends.

Remember back in the day when markers first came out? Yeah, I don't either. But my pen collection has an old reminder and here we have the Esterbrook (That's right I said Esterbrook) Advanced Flo-master writing thingy.

I have a deep love for my Esterbrooks, although the love sort of stops here. I guess the idea of a refillable felt tip pen full of lead based ink appealed to some people in the world in the 50's. You still see these in the marketplace every now and then, usually for a ten spot or less and I am not sure anyone is actually doing anything with these other than staring at the Esterbrook marking on the cap.

It does have a good look to it, parked here on top of my Storm I could see carrying this around. I understand there were different tips and colors you could purchase. I will stick to my Sharpies (which first showed up in 1964)

Pilot G-6's. The Happy Couple

Here's the happy couple now, hanging out together like they always do on a Thursday night... watching Grey's Anatomy and waiting for another day of use. Although this couple sports a dark secret. Both of them are hiding Sarasa .4 refills under the hood.

That's right, from day 1, I tossed the .7's and put in my version of dual carburetors. I love the bodies, but the .7 tips? --- Not so much. I wrote about the black one before, but with Valentines day right around the corner I wanted to showcase the duo that is almost always together and in use.

The .4 gives the precision needed for my fine line journals and in the moleskins. These two are very popular with the 3 by 5's as well.

Ahhh, there they are, getting ready to end their night.... I am going to leave them alone and hope that there is a little Pilot waiting for me in the morning. ;)

Finally a few of you have asked, I did not charge Nrepose for working on his pen. I was happy to do it and he sent along some awesome journals as a way of saying thanks. Perfect transaction!

Have a great long weekend everyone.-
Seth

Not Another Wearever Fountain Pen

First off...my fellow pen blogger Nrepose over at Unposted put up some great shots of some work I did on his Sheaffer Cartridge. I have been doing a ton of repairs lately and it was a pleasure to get that pen back in writing mode for him. Post and pictures here!
He's running a great blog so be sure to keep an eye on it. Good Stuff.

Now to my pen and yes, it's another Wearever, in a few prior posts I went over my love for these pens and this one is no different. I think this one is the Wearever Supreme from the 60's... and supreme it is. This one also has a surprise...

Click the picture, yes that section has a clear feed on it. Lucite I believe. I cleaned it up here for your viewing pleasure. All shined up... it looks great, inked it looks like a clear feed with some ink on it and there's no getting around that. This one now has a fresh sac and is ready for another 40 years of use.

The paper was not a great choice here, but the pen does write very well. With a little Rose Cyclamen J. Herbin we are good to go. I love that they put a hood over the nib copying the styles of the times. It does class the joint up a little bit and we all can use a little of that every now and then. Good Pen. Have a nice Thursday!

Sheaffer Cartridge Fountain Pen

So yesterday I inked up an old Sheaffer cartridge pen on a whim and literally did not put it down since then. Usually my choice in pen wanders more than a clown in a 4 ring circus, but I have been sticking to my guns on this one. I wrote about a similar pen back in December, but it needs repeating.

Part of my joy is in the 304 (which I believe Sheaffer considered a fine, (and the 305 was the medium version) nib. It's smooth as silk and with a little twist...

A normal fine 304 nib writes a little finer upside down. You have to be a little gentle, but it works. The ink is Levenger Ravens Black, the paper is just your everyday note pad and the pen is one I not ashamed to use it.

I know tomorrow I will probably wander off a bit, but this simple little pen has been a star lately. These little pens are right up there on my list of solid writers.
Good Pen.

Oh, and without doing a ton of math, I believe today is my 6 month anniversary of a pen a day. Wow. Time flies..

Penn State University Cross Pen

So here's another pen that I have no idea why I have it or where it came from. Yes, it's true, I have family in PA but as far as I know, no relatives that went to PSU and I was never a huge fan of these thin Cross rollers.


(Go Lions!?!) Wikie says that "At age 82, Paterno is coaching his 59th season on the Penn State coaching staff in 2008, holding the record for most seasons for any football coach at any university." When I am 82, I hope I can somehow manage not to add orange Juice to my oatmeal let alone handle an entire football team.

During the writing sample, in the larger picture you can see where this one gave up the ghost. It also might have been a case of not being written with for a decade or so. Unless I run across a deal on refills, this one will probably go back in the vault.

Some people emailed me about the drying thingy I was talking about for fountain pens. Here it is in all its glory- by glory I mean paper towels jammed into a pickle jar. I just put them nib down and let gravity do its work.

Office Supply Geek posted his recent winner here Congrats! The post inspired me enough that I am putting together another giveaway. (And no, you won't have to guess how many pens are on my desk this time) Good Pens.

Sheaffer Cadet Tip-Dip

I have been slowly and methodically collecting and falling in love with this line of pens. Some of you may call them the poor man's Craftsman, but to me, they are just incredible pens. The have a touchdown filler with a sweet hole on the underside of the nib to draw the ink in.

I have a few F1's (fine's) but this one is a Medium that make me happy. There's a 1 beside the M in this one. I believe the dates are somewhere around the 1950's and I think they sold for around $3.00 at the time. Don't hate the player...but I actually bought this for less than that the other week.

Sleek! They made a version of this called the 23 that was gold and rumor has is a little flexy. Still on the lookout for one of those.

I am not afraid to use this as a daily writer and I do on occasion. Inks up easy, writes smooth and looks good sitting on an avocado. Gotta go, Iron Chef is on.


Thanks for all the great feedback over the weekend. I appreciate the comments and emails, keep them coming.