A quick pop in before I study. Over at Ink Journal, a compact pocket size notebook that makes it easy to log all the different inks. Loving notebooks as much as I love pens this one piqued my curiosity. I like the structure,organization and layout this little guy provides. I ordered a set of three notebooks to try them out. It is  made of 100% recycled paper which is great for the environment, not always so great for fountain pens since the ink tends to bleed. I am hoping that will not be my experience. The designer is an ink enthusiast over at Goldspot; I imagine he had to take that into account while choosing the paper for the notebook. I will let you know if it lives up to my expectations when I receive the package of three notebooks. I will use them to share the different inks I have been playing with. I am so excited!!! Is the mail here yet?

Guest Blog

I am very excited to invite you over to The Gents Place Blog to read my guest blog about refills for Rollerball and Ballpoint pens. I really enjoyed writing the material. I plan to write a post here on information regarding fountain pen refills and all the fun you can have with inks. Also, I purchased a green Safari Lamy extra fine nib fountain pen. I am a huge fan of the Lamy Safari line This pen is no exception.

There is just so much I want to share with you all. So stay tuned!
Namaste

Namiki Vanishing Point Fountain Pen

I have always been fond of beautiful utilitarian objects.;Common things like drinking cups, notebook, paper and linen. These items are a part of our personal space, and I find it is a shame for them to be drab or unlovely.

One of the things I use most often in my day is my Namiki vanishing point fountain pen.Fountain pens can be pricey and complicated to use, but I love them none the less. When I decided that I wanted to gen a pen, I looked at a lot of pens in a lot of stores before I found the Namiki. The Namiki was pretty, the right size, and weight. My pen is navy blue with silver accents on either end. Oddly, this fountain pen didn't have a cap, like every other fountain pen I had ever seen; the pen was retractable, similar to a simple ballpoint.This amused me, because the Namiki contradicted the traditional notion of a fountain pen. A typical pen cap often has a clip to attach to your pocket; however, the clip on the Namiki is on the barrel down near where the writing nib is so that when it is clipped to your pocket the barrel is nib side up. The pen design may sound counter intuitive, but over the last five years I have come to appreciate it more and more. This pen's unique clip keeps the pen from leaking.

When it comes to filling my fountain pens, I usually prefer to use the prefilled ink cartridges because they are quick and clean. This pen takes cartridges and has a converter if you want to fill it with another ink. Though I love beautiful things, I do need them to be somewhat practical. Even though I do have to load the ink cartridge, it is nice that it only takes a short amount of time to do so. I can grab one ink cartridge from the pocket of my planner and refill my Namiki in about 20 seconds.I haven't found cartridges with waterproof ink.

The writing tip of a pen is called a nib. Nibs come in various widths. Most people prefer medium width, but you can find them in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium and Bold. I use an Extra Fine point because I like my handwriting to be narrow and precise.

The ink flow is consistent and I do not have any issues with it skipping or dispensing too much ink so that it blots the paper. The ink will show through paper. How much depends on the type and thickness. It works wonderfully on Moleskine and Rhoda notebooks.

Ballpoints and rollerballs do not care about writing quirks, or how you hold your pen, that is not the case with the nib on a fountain pen, they were designed to wear into your hand forever. Whether you hold your pen perpendicular to your paper, or nearly parallel, whether you choke the barrel in a death -grip near the nib, or hold is loose like a wand, nibs flex and wear down in unique,identifiable ways like a gun barrel or a typewriter keys hammer.

I use different pens for different reasons. I own over 200 pens and only 12 are fountain pens. I am excessively fond of pens, a pen fanatic. Many people who have never used anything but a disposable pen think that if a pens costs more than $1.25 it is a waste of money. I think these folks are missing out. A nice pen that gets to know you is kind of like dressing nice for work: It improved your attitude and performance. It makes you feel good about yourself. When I write a list or a note in my planner,when I doodle or copy quotes into my notebook, or when I write a letter I use my Namiki. Why? Because I am in love with this pen.

I am reminded of E.B White's "Here is New York" which describes writers honing their craft. I imagine many of them  (like the members of the Algonquin Round Table)with a proper pen in one hand, a drink in the other (even though most of them probably use typewriters). When I see someone else using a nice pen I feel like we share a common aesthetic.

We use so many tools in our daily life, why should they not be beautiful? The smaller details in life matter precisely because there are so many of them and we deal with then day in and day out.

Namaste

  

Hello and Welcome

I am a self professed pen fanatic. I am obsessed. I have my quirks. For example, I refuse to use a ball point pen. I use a fountain pen every day. I prefer college ruled lines like in the Moleskine notebooks and graph paper. I diligently use my planner; for years it was a Franklin Covey (which I still adore) and have recently switched to a Circa Notebook because it was new and I had to try it. I like an extra fine pen tip no point sevens for me. Though there is a time and place for a thicker point. My philosophy is you should love the things you use; they should make you feel good and happy. Notebooks, paper, pens, pencils etc are to me what candy is to a four year old, a delightful, giddy pleasure.

Namaste