The Holy Grail

No one will be able to guess what I found earlier today in Copenhagen.  Hint:

1. Pen related (directly)
2. Everyone thought they were gone
3. They are a hot topic on the blog

Still confirming authenticity...but I will post about them over the weekend.

Any guesses?  First person to answer correctly wins one.

Seth

Oh and if you are doing the math... it's 1:19 a.m. and I haven's even thought about sleeping yet.

William Henry Studio Pinot Noir Pen

Coming up on a big posting milestone (teaser) and this is the first article about a pen that I don't own or haven't written with (unfortunately) but I felt the need to spend the time on this one.

I received a press release last week about the new RB8-Eyrie pen and it caught my eye.  So here's the gist...someone had the brilliant idea to make the fancy pen parts out of American Pinot Noir grapevine wood.   Grapes are to wine as pens are to paper... so really, it's a natural move.  I had had a few memorable bottles of wine in my life and this seems perfect.

You had me at wine...and pens.  I set a meeting up and spoke with Dave Boeckel, The CEO of William Henry Studio and he offered some insight into the background on this beast. Please click on the link to the press release  for all the juicy details.

First of all, here's the pen:

Nice, Right?

And Here's the interview..


Who's idea was it to create this pen?

My friend Jason Lett of Eyrie Vineyards showed up a couple of years ago with a pickup full of what looked like small tree limbs and asked if I wanted it.  When I found out it was some of the original Pinot vines I said yes immediately.   We then spent 2 years drying it before we tried to even make something (in reality I got a little impatient and had the studio make a proto pen for myself last summer to see what it would look like and if it would hold up.  I have carried it ever since).  So you can really say the idea came from both of us.

What was the number one factor in deciding on the details of the pen?  Function, style, uniqueness? etc?

Matt Conable (our owner and designer) has an amazing fantastic eye for material combinations.  He chose all of the details in order to make the pen beautiful and really celebrate the pinot vine.  No matter what materials we choose we always insist that function is never compromised.  He is also the designer of everything we make and is responsible for the Wave-lock closure system that we all like so much.

Side note-we spent months working with Swarovski who supplies all of our gems finding the perfect Pinot colored topaz. 

Has anyone ever built a pen like this before?

Not to the very best of our knowledge.

Do you think this pen is meant to be used or put on display?

We truly hope that everything we make is used by this generation and passed on to the next to also be used.  We understand that some items are owned and admired simply for their beauty, but we strive to create items that become even more treasured when used for their intended purpose. 

Mightier than the sword?

Tough one.  I own lots of pens and lots of knives and there are times when one or the other is a better choice for the task at hand.

Follow up:  what's the determining factor?

Strictly what I am doing at that moment, but I must admit that I have opened a number of packages in airports with my pen (since I can no longer carry my pocket knife when flying) and I have never written a note with my knife. 

Any thoughts on making this type of pen into a fountain pen?

Absolutely

Are you a pen junky? 

I owned lots of pens before we ever started to make them (Montegrappa, Delta, Mont Blanc, Marlin, Faber Castell, Pelikan). That whole form and function thing really appeals to me.

Own any fountain pens?

A couple, but I mainly carry and write with roller balls out of convenience.

Ok, pop quiz.. your desk is on fire,  you can grab one pen before you leave the office what is it? (other than the pen we are talking about)

I have another Proto that I am testing.  My crew would not be happy after all the work they put in on it if I let it go up in flames.

Do we even discuss Merlot? Yes or no?

These are amazing pens, but the new closer system on the rb8 and f8 cabernets are much cooler.  Simple answer-No

End of Interview... back to my rambling.

I see the real challenge with creating this type of pen.  Aesthetically, it needs to be near perfect, but it also needs to appeal to the pen aficionado who might feel the need to fire this up and write things down.

The bad news... I don't think that I will be the owner of the 100 of these that are being produced..  The good news.. there are still artists and craftsmen that appreciate the need for a high end heirloom type of pens and create them out of love.  


Here's the link to view the pen on their website.http://www.williamhenrystudio.com/product-detail.cfm?knife_id=1970#

Big huge plans in the works for Good Pens. A contest, did I mention a milestone? and more pen reviews.

Enjoy your day.

Seth

Technology vs. the Pen and Paper

iPad vs. Journal?

Everyone remembers the Vegas post  from not too long ago right?  Here's the summary in case you dont feel like clicking the link...sad times in Nevada...no the Bunny Ranch wasn't closed...I realized that I had become an iPad user, by that I mean heavy user, by that- I mean... pens were being thrown in drawers and forgotten about.

Technology had overwhelmed me and I had left my true love behind.  However... I flipped the switch and built back my stable of pens and posts and here we are.

So.. you didn't think that I had thrown that iPad2 in the trash in Vegas did you?  No way dude.  It's really all about wants and needs. I want to use a pen and paper.  I need to use Keynote and play Angry Birds. (Gack, I said it.)

Frankly,  no one even questions when I waltz into a meeting carrying an iPad and a Journal. (iSad.)  I don't think too many people actually correlate between ONLY having an iPad or using paper. Both still seem ok. Interesting.

Sidebar:  Thank you for all the Journal suggestions in the prior posts..but the perfect journal fell into my lap and I couldn't be happier.  Is there anything better than a lined journal that's leather bound and can hold up to fountain pen ink?  Don't answer that without really thinking about it... I am saying no.  Crane and Co. got it right...Deliriously in love with this journal. I don't deserve it. But thank you.

Ok,  back to the post...now...it's the best of both worlds.  On one hand- I have an INSANE journal, on the other hand I have a world of games, emails and .ppts and on the other hand- I can still use all my favorite pens.  (yes, I realize that is three hands-did you?)

So here's the real question...Where do these worlds collide in my day to day activities?  For me- it's simple...my Journal is a list of all my scrapbooking projects and the names of all my imaginary kittens.

 Kidding...I use it for Getting Things Done. Work stuff,  to do's and things I am waiting on...I can't go home at night until my inbox is Zeroed out and the iPad  and the journal help in between meetings to crunch that out. When I see inbox's with 727 unread messages I get twitchy.

So, it's all about balance.  Find your happy place.  Don't give in to one thing or another: embrace your inner geek,  but don't forget about the history of people putting pen to paper and making magic.  Oh, and file some of those emails... geez.

So a simple question and feel free to comment.  Has technology kept you from writing as much as you like and how do you respond to that?  When do you put down the keyboard and pick up the pen?

The next post is a great interview I had with a company doing some cool pen stuff.  Stay tuned.

Seth

Surprise...Morning Glory Mach 3

Everyone loves surprises right?  Good surprises are better than bad surprises also.. right?  I guess it depends on the outcome. Certain things are good- like... a call from an old friend, finding a few minutes in your day you weren't expecting, a dry diaper (sorry...potty training in the Good Pens household...it's where my head is right now.)  But there's also bad surprises... The Red Sox Tanking, Braves Missing out, wisdom teeth needed yanked etc.It's like luck and here's one of my favorite stories about this:

There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had a horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and, when all the farmer's neighbors sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'
A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, 'Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?'
Then, when the farmer's son was attempted to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'
Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

There are variations of the story, but you get the idea.  Any-who...let's talk about pens. 

The other day I met a friend for dinner at an awesome little place called the H-Mart.  Think Asian Grocery Store slash Asian Wal-Mart. You get the idea...usually, I am there for the food, but I popped over to a little store that had just about every sort of Hello Kitty product ever made in it.  There is  a tiny sliver of a pen aisle and I couldn't resist. 

I looked down...and here where these little munchkins in between the Pinky erasers and Hello Kitty scissors. Quick mental rundown of the situation: 3 pack, .38, multiple colors and only $5.99...Check Please!

Two minutes later I am telling a story and MUST pull one of these out to draw a graphic and I stop in my tracks...It really is a .38.  -it's not bleeding on the receipt like a stuck pig and I do like the blue color. What.The.Hell?  Surprise!  I have seen the pens that say "Extra Fine" or "Super Fine" and generally they crank out more ink than a tattoo parlor. 

These are made in Korea and Morning Glory is the manufacturer.You can buy them here:  Who Knew?  And Googling shows me The Office Supply Geek reviewed a similar pen here.  Surprise! 

A couple days later and I am still pretty amazed by these things. they have stayed on my desk and my old pens are staring at these guys like they are cutting into their territory. (Sarasa's can be so sassy.)  The ink stays crispy on most paper and I while I doubt that I will ever really use the red one- the blue is growing on me.  

Clicking makes the picture bigger and clearer.  This is recycled paper and I had very little faith the pen would hold up here.  I am very happy with this set...good price, nice lines, unexpected quality...and that is a good surprise.. or is it?

Update Jetpens also sells some pens from this manufacturer.  Surprise!

JZ Designs Key Pen

Lately,  even as much as I love my #dailyarsenal-- that I admit has some disposibles in it....I have interests in the not so traditional pens.  The ones that you have to seek out to own or to gift or to write with and this one fits those bills perfectly. The more permanent the better.  It's a fun trade off... carefully spending the extra money wisely on items that you want to keep and maintain and enjoy vs. buying crap that you could care less about.

This gem is one of keepers. Welcome the key Pen from JZ Design.  I have said it before,  but pens that designed to be kept and used and cherished already rank a lot higher to me than the traditional trash it and forget about it as soon as it starts skipping plastic pens.  This world can use things that are not at all disposable. I hate losing things and there are certain things that I make sure I want to keep as close as possible because I don't want them to go away.

I know I shot this pen backwards,  it should be reversed so that the JZ logo is facing the correct way,  Sorry...but old habits die hard.  By the way, I do appreciate the thought that went into this.  Did you know that the little dangly piece that goes into the lock is called a Bit?  Now you do. Nice touch.

More Bits

I also like a pen that you can "unbox." In this case...two refills and those are very much appreciated.  There's just a pile of stuff here that adds up to a quality pen built right and ready to go.  Too often a gift pen gets forgotten about about because a refill can sometimes be too hard to order a refill. Odd right?  Including them saves time and keeps this one used more.

Voila,  with a twist of the Bow (that the loopy part on the far left) out spins the writing portion of this pen. (You are so much smarter now for even reading this post.)  It's called research and it's all for you. 

Key..get it?  I try.  I admire a designer who takes the time and the energy to put together a solid product with a bit of thinking behind it. Fun to write with, fun to shoot and a Good Pen.

SG

A Sheaffer Fashion Ballpoint....For the ladies.

Don't take any offense.  Some pens are designed for female hands, or guys with really slender fingers.  I do not have sausage fingers but I do wear a large glove. (Please remind me not to blog on Saturday mornings after killing an entire French Press of the good stuff, this could get personal and rambly.)  I cant help but think of the man hands episode from Seinfeld as I write this.

There are certain weight watcher pens that I like.  The Le Pen is one and that's really all I can think of now that my heart has hit the caffeine induced targeted rate for the day.  But generally I like my pens fatter (and usually full of drippy ink.)

I do respect the fact that this one still has the factory sticker on it. It's nice to know someone had the restraint to not reach up and scrape this one off and the white dot still screams Sheaffer.

This one still has the original Sheaffer refill in it. I am pretty sure if I wanted to I could still find a replacement fill for this one.  Unfortunately,  if this one runs out during the writing session of this post it might remain dry forever.  It's just not my type of pen. Why you ask?

OK, here's the scenario: Business meeting, Friday afternoon, high powered execs just trying to crank through this last meeting in order to get closer to that bottle of Ketel One. "We need a pen!" comes a shout from across the room,  apparently the contracts are agreed upon and it is time to sign,  I reach into my Brooks Brothers Regent Stripe 1818 Suit (so fancy) and pull out a pretty little baby blue ballpoint that slides out of every one's hands because it's too thin and then a fight breaks out and the world ends. Wow. Bad pen choice.

No cheating...did you notice what this pen doesn't have?  Did you notice?  That's correct. No clip. No dress shirt means no reason for a clip.  Good thinking Sheaffer.

Don't sue,  I borrowed this image from Vintage Paper Ads. Yep, that's mine in the center.  The ad from was from 1984 so assuming this one is dated close to that.  It was 12.50 back then which seems kind of high to me, but whatever.

I am convinced every pen has a person that loves it, this one just isn't for me.  It has so many strikes against it that it's not funny but it is a Sheaffer and that is a plus.. Man hands... still funny.

Have a great day.
Next post:  It's not your handwriting, it's your pen.

Doodles

Pen people are also doodlers correct?  You have pens,  you have paper...naturally you want to use the two items together.  Drawing for me is a normal part of my day.  If my phone rings- I grab a pen to take notes, but inevitably- I will cover the paper with drawings and 1% phone call related content.  I am listening.. I am just also doodling. (trust me.)

10 times out of 10 they hit the trash can.  A few years ago I was riding a train about 3 hours a day and was cranking out some decent doodles and saved some of those, but normally my stuff gets tossed aside. I have done some pieces for people and really enjoy them (there's a pointillism AK-47 hanging up somewhere in Boston that I loved to create.(don't ask)

Sometimes I get inspired by something...like a house:

Or a song: This one has been clanging around my head for a few days now.  Powerful stuff.

You only need to go back a post or two to hear about my Bon Iver addiction. To me, music eases the mind, I can think and draw and listen to music and don't expect perfection from my work.  I also generally don't care about paper, just that the pen puts down the line or a dot I need.  I never expect to need any sort of archival quality anything.

Click for bigger views.  Not perfect, and not a care. I did it for me and that's all really.

For this one...sometimes I grabbed a ruler, or just free-handed it.  The pen is a Pentel CeramicMicron 500 II 02.  The paper is normal typing paper that I just tweaked a bit to look a little more antiqued in the photos. And no,  I am not saying you need to go doodle to relax. Some people juggle, some people close their eyes and imagine themselves dancing  in a sea of dolphins being played piano to by Yanni. (Freaks.) 

Seth