Pour a little ink out on the ground

Last night I went to work on a drawing and grabbed a handful of the usual suspects and went off to work. 5 Minutes in, my cherished Edding 1880 Drawliner 0.1 pen decided to move on from this life to another. I have had this pen for a long time. A bigger view will show you how beaten up it is. I have no desire to even try to refill this one, or dip it in an inkwell to see if I can get a few more lines out of it. It sort of feels like 6 day old chili...it's just time to go, You were good...but sorry. Your time has come. Services will be held at 8:45 this morning, with an over the back toss into the trash can at 9:00 sharp. Good night, good pen, may your next life have bubbling rivers of Campo Marzio-Roma Fountain pen ink

A wise man changes his mind...

Click for bigger, badder views. Unless it was out of a bottle, I rarely ever use blue in a pen. It seemed like cheating, like an amatuer, the Scarlet letter of cheap pens. Black was always the color for me. But then two seperate groups of words were put together. "Extra Fine" and "Blue". Sounds good, count me in. I present the Pilot PreciseGRIP Extra Fine. Now that I think about it, "Precise Grip" actually has nothing to do with the way the pen writes. (which is sort of dreamy) (Did I just use Dreamy in a sentence?) Crap. It should have been called the "Precise prettyfriggingoodwriter." Come on Japan, we Americans have a sense of humor. I would use that pen everyday. Untill then, I will use this pen, a lot.

Parker #3 and a linkorama

The good news is, my light box is built but I am still tweaking the settings on the white balance, so bear with me a bit,. As always, click for better larger views. I have only written with this Parker 51 once as a dip pen to check the tip. The diaphragm is gone in it and I would really love to get this restored by someone good. I might give the http://www.fountainpenhospital.com another try. I love my Parker's but openly admit I have not done the research on all of them to determine the exact year. On a few I have just because I knew they were something special (teaser) but not all. I am pretty sure this is my exact model http://www.vintageparkerpens.com/ProdDesc.asp?id=pk0759 but whatever. I just want to get it writing. I totally stole an idea from the pen Addict http://penaddiction.blogspot.com/ and started a Flickr group called "Good Pens" Hope he's not mad. Right now I am the lone member, so feel free to join if you like. Ciao

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs

Click for better views, I present the Pentel Sign pen. In black of course. Used heavily for note cards, post-its and to do lists. It's a thinking mans pen/marker. I know I can leave it uncapped while my mind scurries about and if I ever come up with something terrific to write, I know it will be ready to go. This pen actually gets better for me the more the point gets worn down a bit, this one looks brand new though. There's a stationary store in NYC somewhere on 72nd over by Columbus I pick these up for about a buck each when I am in town. I should try the other colors, but black just works for me on this. Oh, and my trusty moleskin is included as well.

Spot on....The Pilot Super

I love 3"x 5" cards. Sometimes they might be an excuse to use pens, but I pretty much overuse them if that is possible. This pen feels like it was made for the 3 by 5's. I picked this one up on a whim my last trip to Kinokuniya Bookstore in NYC. I am sure it was only a few bucks, but I now will start looking for more every time I am there. With the cap on the back, it's almost 6.5 inches long (a full inch longer than the Lamy from Friday.) so it has a great feel. By the way, Post-it makes 3x5's with a sticky back that I must have on my desk at all times. Larger/better view by clicking.

Pilot G2 0.38 at Staples?

Just a Saturday note:  If you are close to a Staples anytime soon,  FYI!  Yesterday I saw a 5 pack of Pilot G2's in the .38 version.  I actually made a "huh" sound when I saw them.  About 6 bucks for them.  It's a bloody steal.  Except you can't got to my Staples,  I bought all they had.  Seriously.  I bought 3 packs and I am considering going to the other Staples a few towns over this afternoon.  I am not sure if this was an ordering mistake or they are starting to carry the finer tips.  Regardless,  it makes me happy.