Top 10 of 2010 #3 Waterman 92

There's a couple reasons why this is so high up on my list. #1 is that I rescued this pen from an antique store where it was sitting there with a ridiculously low price tag on it. The sac was as dry as they come but the nib was something beautiful. A quick shine and it was a thing of beauty once again. #2. It makes me want to use it. Nope not for a journal or a calendar, but to just flow and create. #3...it looks pretty sweet.

This is all you need to see. The 92 stamped on the butt. In 1892 Sad Sam Jones, the Major league pitcher was born. In 1992 I was living in Japan surfing my way through the islands. That was a good year. This is a good pen.

I will never need therapy. All I need to do is find a nice clean sheet of good paper, some nice ink and I can doodle my troubles away. Unless I ever lose this pen, then I will need therapy.

Well...it is New Years eve and it has been a fun year. I had a new baby, I took a few months off, I picked up some good pens...and I am glad to see that after a break you guys came back. 2010 should be a blast.

I know I still owe you #2 and #1 there will be out shortly. Have a great night, stay safe and see you Jan 1.

Seth

Top 10 of 2009. # 5 and #4

#5 is simply...Pens in wrappers.....Sing along... These are a few of my favorite things.

A pen in a wrapper means something special to me. It's not a fancy box or a felt bag---but it means "pen goodness". It's rare that I find a pen wrapped in cellophane that isn't a favorite or in my rotation. You find these buried in the best part of the Japanese stationary stores and chances are I have worn a hole in the carpet from standing there staring at the various ink color and other selections. (Tester pens almost made this list as well.) These pens are made to be ripped from their plastic and used as soon as possible.


#4 The Pilot Hi-Tec -C 03 in black

I love thin-lined paper and a fat honking medium point anything will not cut it for me there. I need a pen that if I am not careful will poke through the paper like a needle. This will poke nicely.

It's thin, but it's not delicate. One of my reviews is here if you are interested. I need to have this pen close to me when I am working, I am one of those people who writes in my books (they are my books, leave me alone) and these are perfect for a quick note on the edge to remind me or to highlight something.

Yes, that is a normal sized dime. Click for a better view, this is how I like it to use it. Small and Neat. Tidy.

It's just right for me and I thought about moving this up 1 notch, but if I am going to have to write a ton of stuff, this might not be the first one I would grab. But it has it's purpose and it is a staple pen of mine.

3, 2, and 1 are coming right up!

Enjoy

Seth

Top 10 of 2009. # 6 Pilot G-3 Gel .38

These might all start to blend together for me. From 6 on down it will be tough, but I am getting them to you before the end of the year, so hold on to your hats and get your fingers inky.

I have reviewed these once or twice and it truly is the one pen that I don't mind pulling a cap off of. I can clicky-clicky with the best of them, but for this kind of writing perfection, I would drop down and do 20 push-ups every time I had to write if needed. Wow, not going to do that anytime soon, but feel free to if you dumped a little extra gravy on your Christmas mashed potatoes. Gravy Free in 2010 is the new anthem.

Yee-Haw. There's a pretty nice shade of blue that is also available in this pen, but I tend to use the black the most. The pen actually feels like it weighs a little more than it should, which to me.. is a good thing. By the way, the same rule applies to a watermelon, they are 98% water so when you pick them up, they should feel heavier than they look. That way you know they are ripe.


I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday and I am looking forward to an outstanding 2010 and getting back to proper reviews.

Cheers.

Top 10 of 2009. # 7 Tombow 4B

I imagine the gasps...and the coffee getting spit coffee all over your desks...a Pencil? Der..of course a pencil. Man cannot live on ink alone. There has to be a delicate balance. Days where you do not feel like spilling a bottle of ink on your carpet or getting blue fingers. These times call for a pencil..but a really good pencil.

As always, click for better photos. I have always been a fan of these pencils. I keep trying to like cheaper ones, but they end up failing for me. So, I spend the money on a 12 pack of these and try to not plow through them too fast. Not easy, they sharpen to a pin point and hold it pretty well.

I still need to find a REALLY good sharpener. I know they are out there, I just haven't upgraded yet. The eraser is an upgrade and if my list went to 11 this eraser would be on it. I do draw a little with these, but I use them more for notes than anything. Sharpening a few of these to start the day is a great tradition. It just gets you in the correct frame of mind. Sort of like wet-shaving (don't get me started.)

It does make sense that because I love my Japanese pens so much that I would also hold these pencils in high regard. It's not worth doing a writing sample... I think everyone knows how a pencil properly sharpened will write.

So I should have #6 tomorrow, take Christmas off and finish out the year with the rest of the list. Have a great day everyone and keep those pencils sharpened!

Seth

Top 10 of 2009. #8 Pentel Sign Pen

In terms of pure numbers, for me...this pen was probably the one that was bought and used the most this year. I would wager that I went through about 15 of these so far. Not because I lost them, or gave them away, but because I use them. Heavy. You can read my old reviews here and here if you haven't yet.

I am a list maker and I like the titles of my lists to be BOLD. That's where the sign pen comes in. I also have a heavy addiction to Post-its and these are perfect for making a quick note, sticking it up on the board and then knowing what I was supposed to remember.

The tips of these get better and better with every use. Out of the box they are long and sharp- but as you write with them, they just seem to wear perfectly. Never mushy, never dull. Creating a perfect point that stays there until the well runs dry.

I am not sure why this one is number 8. It seemed fair to put it there.. I use it a ton, but I don't really "write" with it or use it in my journals-- but it does get heavy use and I would have a hard time trying to replace it.

It's a good pen. The Christmas shopping is done, I did manage to buy 1 pen for a friend. That number is way down from last year. As a pen lover, it is really hard to give pens as gifts. You just never know what people will like, but I think I nailed it. I will give the details after the Holidays.

Cheers!

Number 9. The Parker 51

Choosing # 9 was not an easy decision. It wasn't my most used pen this year, but this 51 did see some heavy use. You can do a search for numerous Good Pen reviews on these, but it's true: the 51 is a classic all around. The only reason it dropped down to #9 is because there are so many pens that I need with me at all times and truthfully, I don't drag this one out to the grocery store when I need to check Desenex Antifungal Athlete's Foot Spray Powder I mean...milk off of the list.

But when it comes time to sit down and enjoy writing- this one is my ideal pen. Sure, the paper/ink combo has to be pretty good, but I don't even mind a little bleeding with this baby.

Here's the business end. I have mentioned a few times...but, I need to say it again...George S. Parker- Thank you. Thank you sir for this pen.

Get it? There's a nine in this quote. This 51 is loaded with Sailor Black right now and it's a good ink for me. Some may want the carpet to match the drapes and try to put some sort of Blue/black ink in this one, but for now, I like the black.

Is anyone else putting their top 10 together? I would love to see what I am missing. Feel free to comment and have a great weekend!

Seth

Top 10 of 2009. #10

In the 6th grade I had to quit learning the Saxophone for a number of reasons...my sax was on back order- so I was late in learning the notes... I had a cold- so I couldn't really play that well oh..and my rhythm sucked. Looking back, I really just wanted to go ride my bike. (Some things never change.) That was a pretty hard decision to tell my instructor that I no longer was able to continue taking lessons. Now, I am kinda glad I didn't toil away precious hours drooling into a piece of brass.

That was a long introduction into another difficult decision...picking my top ten pens/writing instruments/related pen thingy of 2009. The next 10 posts will be a rating in order of the stuff I have used the most this year. Simple right?

My best Casey Casem voice ..."Coming in at # 10, the Zebra Sarasa Clip .04 in Blue-Black." (OK, back to the normal voice now) If this pen were an alarm clock, it would gently wake you up with cute little whispers, put some almond butter on a piece of toast and make you a perfect double espresso. It's that good. My original review is here if you are curious.

As always, click for better pictures...Seen here on a nice Rhodia 5x5, you can get an idea of how fine that .4 is. It's just a little insane how good this ink/roller combination is. The kicker is, you can get it from Jetpens for less than that double espresso would actually cost you. Buy one here if you are interested.

I have given these pens away to people and said "trust me, you will love this pen" and I don't have a negative thing to say about it. I have bought these 10 and 20 at a time and have never regretted it once. It's a good pen and an early prediction is that this one will be in my top 10 for a long time. Oh, and it's good to be back, thanks for all the comments and emails everyone.

Seth