Cow Print Pencil Display Box

I have a fondness for old wooden boxes, cigar boxes especially. My favorite thing to do with them is to convert them to pencil boxes. Not just an empty box in which to toss pencils into, but a box with pull out trays that hold the pencils in elastic, separating them and thus keeping them safe. I like to do something similar with nylon covered CD wallets and similar type cases. It's fun to create something, rewarding too, especially when I can do it for a lot less that I can buying similar items from eBay.

Some time ago I was gifted a broken down wooden cigar box. The top was split and the sides had come loose and the bottom was split. Both the hinges and clasp were in bad shape as well. So I glued the box back together intending to make a pencil box out of it. I replaced the clasp, but really wasn't happy with it. But I decided to go ahead and make the inserts that hold the pencils. The first incarnation were 2 panels that fit inside the bottom of the box that held 13 pencils each. They were made of corrugated cardboard, 1 ply thick, black cloth and some black elastic. This is how the box stayed for months. But I was never very happy with it.

The second incarnation came about when I bought some cow print fabric that I intended to use to cover some panels for another project. I used some translucent plastic sticky back shelf lining material as a template and traced out the cow print pattern onto it then cut it out with an X-acto knife. I then painted the box flat white. Once it had dried I placed the template onto the box and spray painted the black patches using flat black paint. Once it had dried I sprayed it with a gloss clear finish. The gloss finish soon was covered by a clear flat finish. I replaced the brass hinges and clasp with stainless steel ones. upgrading both as I did. The inserts remained the same until recently.



The third incarnation of the box occurred a few days go. I decided to remake the panels and cover them with the cow print fabric and to use thin round elastic instead of 3/4" elastic. But for some reason I cut the cardboard just a tad to little leaving the panels a bit loose inside the box. This is on no real consequence because the panels both fit into the bottom of the box. The box holds 24 pencils.

To make removing the panels easier I attached a strip of double folded black satin 1/2" ribbon to act as a pull. The bottom of the top panel is backed by a sheet of craft foam sheeting. This protects the pencils beneath the top tray! The bottom tray is backed by a thin sheet of card stock. Since there is nothing to protect beneath it, this is all that is necessary.

However. I was dissatisfied with the loss of 2 pencil spaces so on the last incarnation I redid the existing panels so now each panel holds 13 pencils for a total of 26. (Not shown).

It was easy converting the cigar box to a pencil display box and a lot of fun to boot! All you need is a wooden box, a few materials, a few tools, time, and enough skill to carry out the project!

If you are interested in making your own pencil display box send me an email asking for the instructions.

Pen And Pencils July Giveaway

Hello, Tommy!

"Hello, Geezer!"

Hey, everybody! It's Tommy Turquoise!... Say, Tommy, what have you got there?

"It's a Pentel EnerGel 0.7 mm Needle Point Liquid Gel Ink Pen."

Oh, one of the ones I reviewed recently.

"Not exactly, Geezer. It's the unused pen that was in the package, remember? They came two to a pack and you only used one in the review."

Sure, I remember. What are you doing with that one?

"Well, I thought that it might be a good candidate for the Pen And Pencils July Giveaway, Geezer."

That's a great idea, Tommy! Why don't you tell the folks how to enter the giveaway.

"Gladly, Geezer! To enter this months giveaway and have a chance to win a brand new Pentel EnerGel 0.7 mm Needle Point Liquid Gel Ink Pen all you have to do is is leave a comment to this post, please, one comment per person, telling us what you think of me, Tommy Turquoise! The contest will stay open until midnight on July 5th when it will be closed. Between midnight and 1:00 AM on July 6th The Old Geezer will use the Random Integer Generator to generate a random integer between one and the total number of comments made, inclusive. The winner will be announced in the comments section to this post after 1:00 AM on July 6th so be sure to check back then."

"The rules are simple, just one entry per person. Duplicate comments by the same person will be ignored. If you sign in anonymously, please leave either a screen name that you use elsewhere or an email address (one that you don't mind the public seeing) so if you are the winner you can be identified! The prize can't be sent to an unknown person. Once a winner has been chosen they will have 3 days in which to contact The Old Geezer via email at theoldgeezer@live.com with a name and mailing address. If the first round winner has not contacted Geezer by midnight, July 8th then the count will be reduced by one and another winner will be chosen."

Thanks, Tommy, that was great!.. So hurry up and post your comment! Times a wastin'!

A Herd of Zebras

The Zebra F Series is renowned for it's smoothness and sub 0.7 mm line but for the longest time I was only aware of the Zebra F-301 ballpoint pen and it's companion 0.5 mm pencil. Only recently did I discover that there has grown up an entire series of ballpoint pens based on the F-Refill. I am not a fan of ballpoint pens, preferring rollerballs or gel pens over ballpoints. But every now and again I'll come across a ballpoint pen, or rather it's refill, that I am impressed with. One is the Parker Jotter refill which has become a standard in the industry. Another is the Papermate refill, and not least of all the Zebra F-Refill. I like it so much that I have adapted other pens to accept the F-Refill!

I was first introduced to the Zebra F series in the form of a blue pen and pencil set while I was in high school. While I liked the set I was not fond of the thinness of either device. However that did not stop me from buying 2 more black pens and a replacement pen and pencil set, in of all colors light turquoise-green, when I lost the pencil to the blue set and later the pen as well. It is interesting to note that the turquoise-green set was made in Japan while the current Zebra line is made in Indonesia. The little Zebras were always my "go-to" pens whenever I needed a ballpoint for any reason. Then they sort of fell by the wayside when I was introduced to good gel pens! But lately I've rediscovered the F-301 and it's bigger brothers, the F-402 and the F-701.

All three pens incorporate stainless steel in some amount in their construction. The F-301 the least and the F-701 the most with the F-402 somewhere in between. The only thing that keeps the F-701 from being completely stainless, at least on the outside, is a black plastic ring that keeps the pocket clip in place. This is a little odd because the F-402 has an identical ring but it's made from stainless steel! To me both pens would have looked better had the stainless ring been on the F-701 and the black plastic ring on the F-402. But then no one consulted me on the designs! The 2 pens closest in appearance of the three are the F402 and the F701. While they may look similar they are entirely 2 different pens. And both differ considerably from their elder brother the F-301.

Some stats: The F-301 is approximately 8.5 mm in diameter and approximately 131.4 mm long. The F-402 is approximately 9.7 mm in diameter and approximately 133.1 mm long. The F-701 is approximately 9.7 mm in diameter and approximately 133.7 mm long. Unfortunately I could not find a reliable weight for the pens, not even on the Zebra web site and I do not have a gram scale. I can say that the lightest pen is the F-301, and the heaviest is the F-701 with the F-402 a close second to the F-701. The F-301 sports a plastic grip while the F-402 a rubber one. They both are removable. The metal grip on the F-701 is an integral part of the pen. The texture on the F-301 is a square cut pattern while that of the F-701 is a diamond cut pattern. There is no texture on the rubber grip on the F-402. The F-701 features a quiet "soft clicking mechanism" while the mechanism of the F-402 is a bit louder and has a hollow or metallic sound. The Mechanism of the F-301 has a solid "click".























All 3 pens take the Standard F-Refill yet the only one to come with it is the F-301. A slimmer plastic refill came in both the F-402 and F-701. It has the same 0.7 mm ball stainless steel tip thus the line it makes is the same as the F-Refill and the feel of the refill when writing is the same. Refills come in both black and blue. Black is the standard refill for the F-402 and F-701 while the F-301 has an accent color to match the refill ink color, so the pens come in both black and blue.

The pens all disassemble/assemble in different ways. The F-301 has a stainless steel tip with internal threads. The removable grip has external threads at both ends. The threads are slightly different so the grip can not be turned around. The weakness here is that you have metal nut on a hollow plastic bolt. If the tip or grip is over torqued guess which one loses!

The better design is the external threads of the F-402's tip. But here you have a metal bolt and a plastic nut! But because the threads of the nut are internal and deeper there is a far lesser chance of stripping the threads. The same design is used on the F-701 only here you have a metal bolt and a metal nut! A much better execution of the design!

As mentioned above the F-Refill is known for being a smooth writer. Traditionally ballpoint pens are considered the least smooth of all the pens. It has the thickest ink and to get a smooth writing ballpoint the ball has to be fairly large. This is why "medium*" ballpoint refills abound and "fine*" and "extra fine*" refills do not, though available for some pens. Normally a refill to write as fine as the F-Refill the ball would have to be smaller. But the smaller the ball the harder it seems to me to write with and it gets scratcher! The thick ink of the ballpoint just doesn't like the finer tips. But I think that the ink has a lot to do with the Zebras smooth writing. It appears to my eyes that the ink is a tad thinner than normal ballpoint pen ink. This would allow for the use of larger ball in the tip. The Zebra F-Refill writes as fine as A Pentel R.S.V.P Fine, but does so with less effort and a smoother feel because it has a slightly larger ball in the tip and I'm guessing slightly thinner ink as well.

Of all three pens I prefer the F-701 for a few reasons. One, it's almost all metal and is metal where it counts, in the grip. The grip is finely knurled in a diamond pattern, very much like a drafting pencil. It offers the user a nice griping surface even if slightly damp or moist. It's the heaviest of all 3 pens. I like the heft of it and the feel of it in my hand. It's also larger in diameter than the F-301 thus fits my griping style a lot better. Aside from the tip being removable the barrel is of one piece. It is also the longest of the 3 pens but the one with the worst balance point! It's top heavy and likes to rock back into the web of the hand. It's not a real problem for me and for someone with largr hands it probably won't be noticeable. All-in-all a very nice pen.

My second choice is the F-402. I'm not as fond of this pen as I am the F-701 mainly because of the rubber grip although it does have a better balance to it, just a skosh top heavy, almost neutral. The rubber grip is firm, not squishy, I dislike a squishy rubber grip! It is also a thicker pen than the F-301 being the same diameter as the F-701 and just a tad shorter.

Lastly, and least of all, the F-301. It's just a tad to thin for my taste although the plastic grip is quite serviceable. The balance of the F-301 is comparable to that of the F-402. I also dislike the fact that the plastic grip screws into 2 metal parts of the pen, the body and the tip. The plastic is thinest here and when it breaks the pen is useless.

Last words: Over all I'd give the F-Series pens a 4 out of 5 rating. None of the pen bodies are perfect but the F-Refill is very nice. I like the way it feels and the thin sub 0.7 mm line it makes. Once again my "go-to" ballpoint pen is a Zebra!

* Medium = 0.7 mm, Fine = 0.5 mm, Extra Fine = 0.38 mm. With many manufacturers medium =0.9 mm, fine = 0.7 mm, extra fine = 0.5 mm and ultra fine = 0.38 mm.

Update: 5/3/09. This is exactly what I was writing about! Although this did not happen due to over tightening, it fell off the kitchen counter, it does illustrate the fact that in a tug of war between metal and plastic, metal wins!

I was able to super glue it back together but from now on that will be the weakest part of the entire pen.

Also I'd like to point out something that for some reason never crossed my mind before. If you'll take a look at the three refills you'll notice that 2 are plastic and one is metal and plastic. Well after further examination I discovered that the metal casing is just a shell! The plastic refills fit inside it! It is easily removed and fitted to a new plastic refill! So why supply the more expensive pens with refills that are just the plastic insert? I have no clue unless it's to save on weight. The plastic refill with spring weighs in at 1.4 grams. The metal clad refill with spring weighs in at 3.0 grams! The metal shell weighs as much as the refill alone! But can you really tell the difference of 1.5 grams? Let me know what you think!

Elephant Pen

Recently, due to the gracious kindness of others, we received a monetary wedding anniversary gift which we turned into a nice digital camera! While I am still getting the hang of taking quality pics with it I gots real antsy 'bout bloggin', see? So I decided to try a little whimsy and take some test shots of my Elephant Pen and due a little write up about it. So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, may I present yo you, the Elephant Pen!

A few years ago, while at a local Arts and Craft Fair, my lovely wife and I were looking around at all the great arts and craft stuff when we came upon a booth where the man running said booth made things out of, all things, plumbers putty. This was a self hardening gray putty that he used by adding paint to to it to color it. He also added depth to some objects, like the elephant's face, by painting the surface of the putty once dry. As you can see in the close up of the elephant's face the artist did not sand down the putty once hardened. All more the charm. The eyes of the elephant are google eyes, the kind sold in craft stores. Sort of gives the fellow a certain charm about him, don't you think?

The artist, a local man, used, as most polymer clay artists due, a standard Bic round stick pen as the basis for the pen. You can see the brand name Bic right on the tip of the pen. It's a good thing
that he did because the original refill died of old age and lack of use some time ago! So let that be a lesson to you of the younger generation. Use it or lose it! I think the original ink color was blue, but the Ole Elephant writes black now! Anyway he covered the plastic barrel in putty, sort of a tanish woodish-looking color, and shaped it over the pen body, which he also failed to sand down. Maybe he was short on sand paper having spent all his money on plumber's putty and all those pretty colors of paint!

There is a lanyard loop on the back end of the pen. That's it there in bright yellow. Just above the violet bead thingy that's just above the bright hot pint coil thingy. Anyway I tried to wear it as a necklace at one time but people kept staring at me so I stopped. It doesn't do ones fragile ego any good to have people gawk at you. So I ask my lovely wife to stop! Thankfully she did. For whatever reason, some artistic thing I guess, the artist put a tiny green stone in a bed of bright blue putty right in the middle of the pen! That's it down below. Pretty, huh? I have no idea what the stone is, so don't ask.

As you can also see by the lanyard hole, that the artist wasn't too careful with the paint from the colored putty. Also I think that he must have been using his finger print ridge detail as some sort of texture tool, judging by the lovely texture on the blue mound holding the green stone! What do you think?

One of the nicest pieces on the pen is the leaf. A banana leaf, perhaps? Who knows, seeing the whimsy of the artist it could be a banana leaf! Anyway, there it is over there on the right, sort of added as an after though kinda thing. OK, OK! I had a better shot of it but I cropped it out of the pic and didn't save it! Whadda 'cpect? It's a new thing for me to be shooting and editing my own pics! I'm used to using pics from JetPens! Give me a break will ya?... What's that?... You're not complaining?!... Eh, yea! As I was saying, nice leaf, huh?

How does it write? It's a Bic for cryin' out loud! It writes like a Bic! Ya wanna know what a Bic writes like then spend a buck at WalMart for a dozen and find out for yourself! Do I have to do everything for ya?

Well I hope that you have enjoyed my little whimsy! The pics look better on the blog than they did during editing! So maybe I'm a little better at taking pics than I thought, hey? And as a final note, despite my criticism of the artists technique, The Elephant pen really is a gem and it was the only thing the man had that I could afford!

Does Size Make A Difference?

While browsing through a local Office Depot the other day I happened to see some Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens. My eye fell upon the words on one of the packages: "Superfine Nib". Well that's all it took (for me to ask my lovely wife if I could spend the $2.00 asking price). Even before I got home I had the pen out of it's blister pack and was trying it out. It looked "Superfine" in the car but once I arrive home I immediately began to compare it to my other technical and non-technical porous point pens. That's when I discovered that "Superfine" wasn't as fine as I'd thought.

I was curious as to the actual line width of the pen so I hauled out all my other technical pens along with a few other porous point pens and started to do write with them all in an effort to determine the actual line width of the Faber Castell PITT. I was able to find out that it laid down a line similar to the Alvin TechLiner #03, The Sakura Pigma Micron #03, and the Pilot DR #03. The problem is the Alvin claims it makes a 0.3mm line, the Sakura claims it makes a 0.35mm line and the Pilot claims no line width at all. So which is it? Or am I splitting hairs? No matter. I drug out my trusty dial calipers and did some measuring.

I measured the diameter of the plastic coated fibrous tip in an effort to see what the relationship between shaft diameter and line width was. My results were surprising to say the least. It seems that in the world of porous point pens size is relative!

I measured 17 different pens and the
results are posted below. The pens tested were the Sakura Pigma Micron (SPM), the Pilot DR Drawing Pen (PDR), the Mitsubishi unipin Fine Line (MUP), the Kuretake Zig Millennium (KZM), the Alvin TechLiner Technical Drawing Pen (ATL), the Faber Castell PITT Artist Pen (FCP), the Saford Sharpie Pen (SSP), the Pilot V Razor (PVR) and the Sanford Liquid Expresso (SLE). Other abbreviations used, Line Width (LW), Tip Diameter (TD), Not Given (NG), Superfine (SF), Fine (F) and Extra Fine, (EF).


SPM #005, LW = 0.20mm, TD = 0.33mm. PDR #005, LW = NG, TD = 0.33mm. MUP #005, LW = NG, TD = 0.43mm. SPM #01, LW = 0.25mm, TD = 0.57mm. PDR #01, LW = NG, TD = 0.48mm. KZM #01, LW = NG, TD = 0.53mm. ATL #01, LW = 0.1mm, TD = 0.53mm. SPM #02, LW = 0.30mm, TD = 0.71mm. PDR #02, LW = NG, TD = 0.61mm. ATL #02, LW = 0.20mm, TD = 0.64mm. SPM #03, LW = 0.35mm, TD = 0.79mm. PDR #03, LW = NG, TD = 0.79mm. ATL #03, LW = 0.30mm, TD = 0.79mm. FCP SF, LW = NG, TD = 0.76mm. SSP F, LW = NG, TD = 0.79mm. PVR EF, LW = NG, TD = 0.76mm. SLE EF, LW = NG, TD = 0.76mm.

It appears that there is not much of a correlation between tip diameter and the size of the line the tip makes except that in general the greater the tip diameter the wider the line. With the notable exceptions of the #03 technical pens and the two Extra Fine non-technical pens none of the groups with the same reported size have the same tip diameter. The unipin, which has the finest line of the #005 pens has the largest diameter tip! In the #01 and #02 pens the Microns seem to have the largest diameter tip but lay down a line at least as equal in width as the others, if not finer.

As for the non-technical pens the Razor and the Expresso seem to make the same width line, while the Sharpie makes a slightly finer line. Yet the Sharpie has the larger diameter tip. There just doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the size of the tip and the width of the line, at least in general. But tip width is only part of the story. It's the shape of the end of the tip that has a lot to do with the line width.

Two pens the same designated size can be and often are of different tip diameters yet they lay down the same width line, as we've seen. The reason for this is that the nose of the smaller diameter tip is blunter than the larger diameter tip, yet they booth have the same size opening in the plastic sheath that allows them to have the same line width. The advantage one design has over the other is debatable. One could argue that the larger diameter tip affords the tip greater strength yet the shaper nose is more easily crushed while the nose of the smaller diameter tip may be more crush resistant the smaller diameter tip is weaker over all. But in the long run, does it really matter? It might, as seen under the eye loupe some of the tips were considerably shorter than the others. This also has a factor in the over all strength of the tips.

So, does it really matter to you, the end user, if the tip on your porous point pen is larger in diameter than another of the same size? Or shorter? As long as they lay down the same width line then it shouldn't. But without a greater standardization of size designations I am afraid that we will be faced with slight variations in line width among the same size designation of pens for some time to come.

The Super Glue Solution

My most recent purchase from JetPens included 4 Pilot DR Drawing Pens. These are "felt tip" technical pens. Actually the tip is a fibrous material (felt was used in the past and is still used in some pens, hence the name "felt tip") encased in a plastic sheath. The "felt" gives the tip it's porosity while the plastic gives it strength and stability. The result is a relatively strong, porous tip that is very free flowing and which can be made very fine. These pens are made with a 5mm long shaft, similar to the lead sleeve on a drafting pencil, which supports the tip and allows the pen to ride up against the edge of drafting tools such as triangles. But while the main purpose of these fine pens is mechanical drawing they are quite often used as writing pens for the same reasons that they are used for drafting. I like them not only for their excellent drawing qualities but also because the tips, when compared to other pens such as rollerballs, are not as strong thus I am forced to use a lighter hand when writing.

The 4 pens that I purchased were the 4 finest tips available, the #005 (0.20mm), #01 (0.25mm), #02 (0.30mm) and #03 (0.35mm). Any larger and I can use gel pens or rollerballs. Of the 4 I like the #005 the best as it is the finest. However when the DR's arrived and I began to use them I noticed two things about the #005 pen. It wrote a bit wider than it should and it made a scratchy crackling sound when used. Both of these are signs of a tip with a cracked or split plastic sheath. This spells death to a "felt tip" pen. When notified JetPens was kind enough to ship me another one, free of charge without requiring the return of the defective pen. So now I had a good set of pens and one defective one. What to do with the defective one? Well most people would just toss it, but not a true penaholic! I didn't toss it, so what does that tell you about me?

Ever thinking I quickly came up with the idea of using super glue to fix the defective tip. This is not as crazy an idea as it may sound. Because of the way super glues work and harden they are best applied in a very thin coat, unlike other types of glues. The idea was to over apply the super glue then remove most of it allowing the tiny bit remaining to seal the crack in the plastic sheath. Because super glue hardens almost instantly when exposed to water it is ideal for this kind of repair. It was the technique that was to be the key to the solution.

Besides the super glue I needed some tools: a strong light source, a toothpick as an applicator and a 10 power eye loupe that attaches to the temple of my glasses so that my hands were free. Fortunately for me I have all those things. The procedure was as follows: I used the eye loupe to magnify the pen tip and the light from a small lamp to illuminate the tip. Using just a tiny drop of super glue on the end of a toothpick I applied it to the entire circumference of the tip in the general location of where the metal shaft intersects the tip and along the sides of the tip itself but not on the very end of the tip (see illustration). Waiting only a second or two I quickly removed the super glue with a tissue and then waited another second or two before I began to rub the sides of the tip against a sheet of paper in order to remove any excess super glue that might prevent the tip from writing at an angle.

Well my first attempt at the fix was only partially successful in that the line width seemed to have improved a bit. But the crackling was still there. That's when I noticed that the super glue was thicker than normal. The tube of super glue was too old and had partially set. Using a new tube of super glue I repeated the process. The glue flowed much better this time. And this time I had complete success! Not only was the line width as thin as it should be but the crackling was gone! I had saved a $2.50 pen with less than $0.02 worth of materials! Now that would bring a smile to any penaholics face.

Many thanks to JetPens for the replacement pen and for the use of the photo.

Pilot Hello Kitty Cap Limited Edition Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen, 0.3mm

When JetPens sent out a call for reviewers to do a review of the new Pilot Hello Kitty Cap Limited Edition Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen I answered the call. Little did I know what I was getting myself in for. I pride myself on knowing a little something about the products that I write about and while I do know a little about the Pilot Hi-Tec-C line of gel pens I must admit my ignorance about the Hello Kitty phenomenon. So I did a little research on the web and to my amazement I found just about everything under the sun came as a Hello Kitty product, even Fender guitars! It started in 1974 with a vinyl coin purse and has spawned in to an industry making billions of dollars a year. And I thought it was a recent phenomenon, silly me. I guess that's what happens when you don't get out much!

To die in the cat fur Hello Kitty fans introductions are not necessary. You already know more about Hello Kitty than I could possibly learn and you're only 8 years old! While there are an abundance of things out there for the younger generation there are also as many it seems for the slightly older Hello Kitty fans. One of those products is an adorable set of 9 differently colored Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel pens. These well known and liked gel pens are being offered in a limited edition series featuring Hello Kitty, Charming Kitty and their adorable little mouse friend. The charms come cleverly attached to the cap of the pen, riding in the groove of the pocket clip. The accent colors of the charms are the same as the colors of ink in the pens, which are offered in both the 0.3mm and 0.4mm sizes.

Now usually such charms are permanently attached to the pen in some way so that when the pen is empty, unless it's refillable like the Hi-Tec-C's, you are left with a cute, but, almost useless item. But with the Hello Kitty Hi-Tec-C's not only are they refillable but the charm is removable and transferable to any other Hi-Tec-C stick pen! So once you have enjoyed your Hello Kitty Hi-Tec-C to the last letter not only can you buy a refill and continue to enjoy the Hello Kitty Hi-Tec-C experience but you can transfer the charm to another Hi-Tec-C gel pen. And if it happens to be one of the same point size and color you don't even have to remove the charm, just use the existing cap on the new pen. Now how clever is that?

The pen that I received for this review was the 0.3mm in Aqua Blue. The charm attached to the pen is the character Charming Mouse with an aqua blue bow tie! How cute! Being the curious type it wasn't long before I had the charm detached from the pen and attached to my 0.3mm Black Hi-Tec-C. Removable and attachment is easy but does require a little effort. I suggest removing the cap from the pen then while firmly holding the cap in one hand and the charm in the other pull straight back in one continuous motion. To attach the charm do just the opposite. The clip of the charm is plastic so don't be rough with it during removal and attachment. It just wouldn't do to break such a cute charm!

Of the 4 sizes of nibs the Hi-Tec_C pens come in my favorite size to write with is the 0.3mm. This is because it is less scratchy than the 0.25mm yet still produces a very fine line. And if it's anything I like in a pen or pencil it's fine lines. The thin needle like sleeve of the Hi-Tec_C's have been criticized by some as being too fragile and easily broken. I have yet to break the tip on a Hi-Tec-C, even the 0.25mm. Sure, anything can be broken if you apply enough pressure to it. So in general heavy handed writers should never use any king of needle point pen as they all will bend and break under abuse. But I rather like the needle point of the Hi-Tec-C's much for the same reason I like the lead sleeve on drafting pencils: It allows a clear sight picture of what's being written and it works well in drawing templates.

As I mentioned earlier the 0.3mm is less scratchy feeling than the 0.25mm pen. The 0.3mm is surprisingly smooth for such a fine tipped pen, smoother than some a bit larger in size. For this is one reason I like writing with the 0.3mm version of the Hi-Tec-C, it's smooth and makes a fine line! This is a hard combanation to come by in a thin line pen. So hat's off to Pilot Pen of Japan for coming up with it.

According to a write up at JetPens the ink in the "Hi-Tec-C pens contain a gel based ink that is insoluble with most pigments when dry (so they won't bleed)". I'm not sure if this means that the ink is a pigmented in but it sounds like it. I do know that the ink did not smear or bleed when moistened nor did it bleed through to the next sheet of paper when I held the point to the paper for 10 seconds. These are very desirable qualities in a pen and Pilot has hit the nail on the head with this ink formula.

The Hello kitty Cap limited Edition Hi-Tec-C is offered in a 9-color pack in either 0.3mm or 0.4mm point sizes at JetPens for $30.00. The colors include Black, Green, Pink, Aqua Blue, Orange, Clear Blue, Baby Pink, Apricot Orange, and Red. Mine is in Aqua Blue, which is a very, very beautiful lightish blue color. It happens to have been the very color I had ask for! Hurray for Lily!

The Hi-Tec-C is a short pen so in order to give it good balance putting the cap on the back end while writing is a must. Besides, if you don't you won't get a chance to look at the adorable Hello Kitty charm! The grip area is ribbed which makes for a good grip surface and doesn't get dirty like some rubber grips do. I find it easy to grip and fun to write with. So, if you are a died in the cat fur Hello Kitty fan and want a nice functional collectible then go to JetPens.com and buy a set of the Pilot Hello Kitty Cap Limited Edition Hi-Tec-C gel pens today! Better hurry before they're all gone!

Many thanks to JetPens.com for the Hello Kitty pen for consideration in this review and for the use of the photos.










Edit 02/04/2009: I called the charm on the Hi-Tec-C "Charming Mouse" because that was who I was told was the name of the character. I have since been informed that the real name of the character is "Sugar, The Hamster". This tells you the shallowness of my knowledge about the long standing Hello Kitty phenomenon. If I offend any Hello Kitty fans, I humbly apologize. If I made you laugh, all the better. Just remember, I'm an old geezer!

Staples OptiFlow Liquid Rollerball Pens

After returning some pens to Staples the other day I ran across these house brand liquid rollerball pens. I figured that since they were a buck less than what I'd just returned and there were two more pens in the pack I figured that I couldn't do any worse than what I returned. The package read that they were 0.5mm rollerball pens and that the ink was acid free. So I thought that I'd take a chance on them. I opted for the six pack with the four colored inks, 2 black, 2 blue, a red, and a green.

Once home I couldn't wait to put them through a small test, the standard test that I derived from a test I found on Ruby's blog, Toying With Light. She graciously allowed me to use it in it's modified form. The test consists of writing a short sentence followed by a short line followed by a dot. For the dot the point of the pen is held on the paper for 10 seconds then removed. Then I look to see how many pages that the ink bled through. The line is used as a waterproof test. A single drop of water is placed on each line without smearing it and left to dry. The paper is from a standard Ampad 5x7 note pad.

The pens produce a 0.5mm line, which is as expected, so there were no surprises there. The package claims that the pens are smooth writing. I found them to be a bit on the scratchy side for a 0.5mm point, and a liquid ink pen at that. The scratchiness is no worse that some smaller tipped pens but I really did expect a little smoother writing experience. The package claims that the ink is fade-resistant, it's a good thing that it didn't claim that it is waterproof because it isn't. The water-on-the-line test shows that every color faded to some degree, the blue and green colors almost disappearing completely. All colors bleed through the paper, the black through 2 more sheets, the rest through 3 more. Why the black held up better that the others I don't know. Finally the spot test reveals that the ink is not bleed proof, probably being a dye ink instead of a pigment ink. All colors bleed through 2 additional sheets.

The pens are 137mm long, capped and 147mm with the cap on the back of the pen (writing mode) and 11.7mm in diameter. That makes them a fat little pen. The grip is smooth plastic but still it offers a good grip. They are also an attractive pen being clear, silver black and the ink color. The cap snaps on with a distinct "click" and it takes some effort to push the cap onto the pen. Hopefully that means a tight seal so the ink won't dry up. The point protector inside the cap is spring loaded, probably adding to the caps resistance to closure . Removing the end cap reveals that the ink supply only takes up about 1/2 the space available. I guess they want you to buy more pens sooner.

Despite it's slight scratchiness the OptiFlow writes nicely. The ink flows smoothly and fully without skipping and without blobbing at the loops. The fatness of the pen body is very comfortable to hold, a pleasing departure from the tendency of today to make pens as skinny as possible. While not archival quality the OptiFlow is a good pen to write with for everyday use. I would hazard a guess that one could write for a long time comfortably with the Staples OptiFlow. At $7.00 for 6 pens, either all black or in four colors, the OptiFlow liquid rollerballs are a worthy entry into the world of rollerball pens.

Frakenpen: Pentel EnerGel/uni-ball 207 Micro Refill

If you are looking for a review of the Pentel EnerGel Liquid Gel Pen then you should look somewhere else. This "review" is of the Pentel Energel body and the Mitsubishi uni-ball Signo 207 Micro refill. This type of set up is commonly called a "Frakenpen".

While reading the JetPens Forum I ran across a write up about the Pentel EnerGel Alloy RT and was intrigued. So I went to Staples looking for one, just to have a look. Well I saw one but didn't buy it. I was still intrigued though, wondering just how heavy the pen was. But I didn't want to spend the money on a pen that I might not like and one that I knew that I was going to replace the refill in straight away anyway. Still intrigued I went to the check out with my purchase (see my post "Staedtler Liquid point 7") and there at the counter was a display of pens on sale, with, to my surprise, a plastic Energel Liquid Gel Pen on sale for a buck! How convenient for me! Needless to say, I bought one.

Once I got my prize home I did just what I knew I was going to do. The JetPens post had read that the EnerGel would take a Mitsubishi uni-ball Signo 207 Micro refill so that's exactly what I put into it. It fit like it was made for it. So now I have another, yet non Mitsubishi, container for my beloved Signo 207 Micro refills. So why write up a "Frakenpen"...? Because I'm it's creator, Ha! Ha! Ha!... Eh, I mean, because someone might find it interesting.

The pen body is attractive being chrome, silver, black and black rubber. I think that the only metal on the pen is part of the pocket clip, the rest of the pen I believe is plastic. A common combination nowadays. The pen is 147.6mm long retracted and 11.1mm in diameter. The body is pretty much a straight line with a little flair on the rubber grip at the point where it joins the chromed tip. The screw joint is at the point where the grip and upper body meet. Once apart the grip slips off the back end of the chromed barrel. The push button is lightly sprung so it is always at the upper most position. When clicked the distinct sound of the spring in the push button can be heard compressing and uncompressing.

The Pen is very light, just how light I don't know as I don't have a gram scale and it's too darn late to scurry off to the Post Office to try and use their scale. Just take my word for it, it's light. But what should one expect from a plastic pen? Actually the pen is top heavy, I guess because of the metal pocket clip. But the rubber grip is more than adequate to hold the pen comfortably being a thin non-squishy rubber sleeve over a hard surface. This is the kind of rubber grip that I really like. Those clear, squishy silicone grips are just wrong on so many levels. There is also enough of the grip to allow for either a low or high hold. The pen is easy to control, partially because of the well designed grip.

The Signo 207 Micro refill speaks for it self (not really, because if it could I'd be on a TV talk show making millions!). It has received many write ups on as many blogs and forums so I won't write up anything about it here... Yes I will. I like the Signo 207 Micro refill very much, so much that I've put it into several other pen bodies. Up until now they have all been other Mitsubishi's even though the refill will fit a lot of other pen bodies by other pen makers. But this is not why I like the refill. I like it because it writes smoothly and smaller than the advertised 0.5mm ball size. The manufacturer claims it produces a 0.3mm line but I find it to be closer to a 0.4mm line. And that's just fine by me. It's also a pigmented ink, not a dye ink. This makes it truly waterproof. It is also claimed to be fade proof and acid free. All desirable qualities in a writing pen ink.

So what do I end up with? I end up with an inexpensive, very comfortable, well writing gel pen that if treated right will give me years of writing pleasure. It also gives me the information that I wanted to know: I would enjoy having a Pentel EnerGel Alloy RT, with a Mitsbishi uni-ball Signo 207 Micro refill. And it only cost me a buck.

Pencil/Pen Cases Are Where You Find Them

Being a Penaholic (which includes pencils too) I want to keep my most precious pencils and pens in a nice expensive pencil/pen case. I've seen some nice leather cases on the Net ranging from ones that hold 12 pencils/pens to ones that hold 96! I've seen pencil/pen boxes made of wood that hold from a single pen to large boxes that hold 48 or more. All of which are expensive, but beautiful and probably worth the price. However I can not afford them, not until I make my millions that is. What I can afford from time to time is some fabric, some heat and bond, some elastic band and a few other odds and ends. Recently I designed and made a soft pencil/pen case but it was not well thought out. Then I redesigned it, but didn't make it before I offered the plans for free on my blog. Then I took a second look at the plans and discovered a few design flaws! It's a good thing that only a few people had ask for the plans. Once I had revamped the plans I sent them to all who had ask for them along with my apologies.

Recently while looking through my belongings I found an old CD case. It was something that I had received from a vendor while I was working for a company that made physio-monitoring units for heart cath labs. It was yellow on the outside and black on the inside and measured 11" x 7" x 1-1/4" closed. But beggars can't be choosers... while looking at it I got a flash. It would make a good pencil/pen case. So I gathered together some vinyl fabric, some cardboard, some 1/2" elastic band, some spray glue, some heat and bond and a few other odds and ends and got to work. The design is quite simple, two thin cardboard panels (the backs of writing pads) covered in thin vinyl fabric heat and bonded to the cardboard. I allowed 3/4" for a pocket but allowed 1" of elastic to cover that 3/4" space. The result is a loop of elastic every 3/4" for the width of the panel. That makes 14 sets of loops, one near the top of the panel and one near the bottom. Some contact cement and some extra fabric and a piece of felt for a divider completes the project.

The 2 completed panels were glued into the 2 inside flaps of the CD case. The felt divider/protector is glued along the inside of the spine using 2 strips of excess fabric. With the case full of pencils/pens it's a tight fit when the case is closed if all the pocket clips are straight up so I have to turn the pocket clips to the side in order to protect them from undo pressure. Other than that the case works just fine. It has a fold over closure flap and seals with Velcro. For a makeshift pencil/pen case it's really quite good. I only wish that the color was red, or blue instead of yellow.

Another makeshift pencil/pen case is one that I made from an old, broken down wooden cigar box. It was a great find. My lovely wife's cousin had the box but it had come apart. I inherited it, glued it back together and decided to make a pencil/pen case out of it. This time I used cardboard from a corrugated box. It bends easily along the corrugations but it is easy to sew through. Again I used thin vinyl fabric to cover the cardboard (which was cut 1/8" shy of the boxes interior dimensions) and used 1/2" elastic banding as before in order to make the pockets. A piece of elastic made into a loop and attached to the back of each panel (one slightly off center) serves as a grasp. A piece of Fun Foam rubber sheeting attached to the back of each panel completes the project. The panels fit snugly into the box and the 2 panel are a perfect fit height wise as well.

So, if you can't afford an expensive pencil/pen case or box or even if you can and just want a great project to occupy your spare time, look around the house and see if there isn't something that you can turn into a great pencil/pen case or box. You may not have a wooden cigar box, but maybe you have a cardboard one, that will work as well. Perhaps you are into woodworking, if so you can build your own pencil/pen box. If you sew maybe you can design your own fabric pencil/pen case. Makeshift or designed the idea is to come up with your own alternative to the high priced commercial pencil/pen cases.

The figure on the left shows a typical panel like the ones that I used in both projects. The light gray area is the fabric covered cardboard. The dark gray areas are the elastic bands. Enough space is left between the bands to allow the shortest pencil/pen to rest in the pockets with part of the body protruding from top and bottom of the pockets. This distance is typically between 2" and 3".

You May Be Obsessed With Pens... Part 4

You may be obsessed with pens if:
74) You love the smell of ink in the morning.
75) You refill your non-refillable ink pens.
76) People know what you've been doing when they see all the different colored inks on your fingers.
77) When you buy a new pen you savor the moment... for several hours.
78) When you meet new people, and they pull out photos of their kids, you pull out photos of your favorite pens.
79) When people scoff and call you a 'penaholic' you take it as a compliment.
80) You keep your 'traveling pens' in a pocket protector and you use it. You double up when your shirt has two breast pockets.
81) You belong to every Pen Society on the Net.
82) You subscribe to every pen magazine available.
83) Every time you hear the mail truck stop at your house you rush out to see if the latest issue one of your pen magazines has arrived. You are chest fallen when it' not there.
84) You know that one day you will have bought at least one of every pen out there and you live in fear of the day there are no more new pens to buy.
85) When pens go on sale at the local department or pen store you go buy some, even thought you have some already, because it's such a good deal.
86) You give away some of your excess pens just so you can go buy more.
87) You give away your excess pens so you'll have room to store the new pens you just bought.
88) You search the Net for just the right pen display box/case to store your 'babies'.
89) You think that making an executive decision is deciding which pen to use.
90) You know that you have an addition to pens and or pencils and you just don't care.
91) When someone jokingly says that there is a cure for your addiction you get paranoid.
92) You begin to think of the people behind the store counter as your 'supplier'.
93) When you go to a doctor's/lawyer's/dentist's office and they have 'give-away' pens you can't just take one.
94) You think that one of those pens on a loop of cord is actually a necklace, and you wear it as such.
95) In case of fire you have a contingency plan: Each family member is assigned a different lot of pens to save.
96) You don't like a particular pens color/shape/nib/etc., but you buy it anyway because it's part of the set.
97) All the neighborhood kids know you as the 'Pen Man/Lady".
98) You think that a personal sacrifice is giving up one of your pen shopping days to spend time with the family.
99) You don't mind walking the dog because the walk takes you buy your favorite office supply store.
100) A day without a new pen is like a day without sunshine.
010) When you lose a favorite pen you cry... and cry... and cry...
102) The only thing that can console you when you lose a favorite pen is to buy two more of the same pen.
103) You have a night light in the room where you store your pens so your 'babies' wont get scared at night when you're not there.
104) You now realize that your obsession/addiction is boarding on mania and you still don't care.
105) Your significant other wants you to see a psychiatrist about your "problem' and you think they're crazy.

You May Be Obsessed With Pens...Part 3

You may be obsessed with pens if:
47) You check out a few pen shops every week, even though you've been to them one week or a few days ago.
48) You plot which non-stationery shop to visit, just in case it sells that elusive 'perfect pen'.
49) You squirm and feel generally disgusted when you use a pen that falls below your 'standards.'
50) You compulsively search the net for more blogs on pens. You mentally will the usual bloggers to post new articles.
51) You use a search engine or comparison shopping website to read reviews about pens.
52) You poke around the house for 'unowned' pens to adopt, even though you would never dream of taking other people's things.
53) You think the greatest love is shown by giving or receiving a pen or voucher for stationery shop.
54) You spend hours testing pens at the shop and are surprised by how fast and pleasantly the time has passed.
55) You pick up every abandoned pen you find, no matter how many you have or how crappy it is.
56) You save used up pens for spare parts to make repairs on your working pens "just in case." Of course, you rarely have to do this, since you take such good care of your pens anyway.
57) You have so many pens that you shouldn't buy anymore for yourself , so you buy pens for your friends ! You spend hours thinking about which pen is best for each person.
58) When your pen (or your friend's!) stops working you drop whatever you're doing to spend the next ten minutes using every trick you know to fix it.
59) You get a job at a doctor's office just for the pens.
60) You can name every major pen manufacturer by heart.
61) You notice when people in your classes use different pens than usual.
62) When you go on a journey, you agonize over how many pens to bring, and then which ones. Not being able to bring liquid ink pens on planes breaks your heart.
63) When you reread something you wrote a year or two (or more!) ago, you know exactly which make of pen you used.
64) You keep the shell of the empty non-refillable pen because it was your favorite.
65) You keep an old worn out empty pen in a special case in a place of reverence because it was your first.
66) You keep looking for that perfect pen or pencil.
67) You take a day off of work to go to a job fair so you can collect all the different companies cheepie freebie logo pens.
68) You take apart your pens to reassemble into the perfect franken-pen with best tip, ink, grip, weight and barrel.
69) You contemplate working in a stationery shop so that you can play with pens all day.
70) You spend hours testing which pen to use for exams. You end up bringing too many because they're all quite good or your mood might dictate which to use.
71) You loan only the more 'inferior' pens in your possession in case your friend or colleague 'soils' or loses them.
72) You can't go to the department store without wandering by the pens and pencils.
73) You can't even go to the dollar store without wandering by the pens and pencils.

Thanks to holgalee and Metternich from the JetPens Fourm for most of these.

Dye Ink vs Pibmented Ink & Ballpoint vs Gel vs Rollerball

Dye ink will stain the paper in color, thus changing the color of the fibers. The dye ink can be removed by bleaching or washing the paper back to its natural color.

Pigmented ink doesn’t stain the color of the paper; it changes the paper itself. By weaving their way into the paper fibers, pigment globules embed themselves into the heart of the paper, making it impenetrable to many washing and bleaching techniques. Pigmented inks have vibrant colors and excellent fade and water resistance without sacrificing performance. Using pens with pigmented inks is one more step to help protect your identity.

BALLPOINT
The ink is closest to a solid. Think molasses. Ballpoints represent the old standard choice for consistent, dependable writing. SMOOTH and sure-footed.

GEL
The ink is thicker at rest and more fluid-like when agitated. Think ketchup. Gels offer consumers a smooth writing experience like a roller with the durability of a ballpoint. SMOOTHER.

ROLLERBALL
The ink is most like a fluid. Think water. Rollers are for consumers who demand the smoothest writing experience. The SMOOTHEST.

From the Mitisubishi uni website.

You May Be Obsessed With Pens... Part 2

You may be obsessed with pens if:
24) You take family vacations to places that have a pen store that you have yet to visit.*
25) Your swimming pool is filled with Light Blue ink instead of water.
26) You wear the ink stain on your shirt pocket as a badge of honor.
27) You are on a first name basis with every employee in every pen and stationary store in a 100-mile radius of your house.
28) The mail person wants to know if you own stock in JetPens.
29) You have the local stationary and office supply stores phone numbers on speed dial.
30) Your wedding registry was at JetPens.
31) You have a photo of your favorite pen on your desk instead of your family.
32) Your idea of a good time is watching ink dry.
33) When you prick your finger you bleed red ink.
34) You can tell what pen someone is using from across the room.
35) Your Flickr Photostream consists entirely of pics of your favorite pens and pencils.
36) Your Facebook photos consist entirely of pics of your favorite pens and pencils.
37) You talk the receptionist at the doctors/dentists office out of their pen because you don’t have one with that particular drug manufacturer’s logo.
38) Your ‘ship came in’ but you missed it because you were at your favorite pen store.
39) You think that the perfect wedding gift is a matching pen and pencil set.
40) You have separate ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ pens.
41) You have more pens than your children have toys.
42) The dog chewed up your favorite pen, you buried it in a pencil box in the back yard, held a wake and mourned for 7 days.
43) For last Halloween you dressed your children as your favorite pens and it brought tears to your eyes.
44) All the Christmas ornaments on your Christmas tree are all your empty non-refillable pens.
45) When someone invites you to a ‘bring your own’ party you show up with all your favorite pens.
46) The shipper at JetPens knows your address by heart.

* Thanks, Seth

You May Be Obsessed With Pens...

You may be obsessed with pens if you:
01) Would rather buy a new pen than eat out.
02) Check the JetPens Forum before breakfast.
03) Surf the web for more pen blogs because you've read all the others.
04) Wish that the smell of a stationary store came as a perfume or cologne.
05) Have Pen and Stationary magazines in your bathroom as reading material.
06) Check JetPens.com for the New Arrivals before breakfast.
07) Can name all the colors that your favorite pen comes in, in order of manufacturer.
08) Have one of every color of every pen in every size that JetPens sells and you feel you don't have enough.
09) Have one of every color of every pen in every size that JetPens sells and you use a dime store pen to write with in order to preserve your collection.
10) Have one of every color of every pen in every size that JetPens sells and you 'pen test' them monthly just to see all the pretty colors.
11) Find yourself writing to people that you don't know because you've written to all your friends and family so much that they keep sending back your letters marked 'RETURN TO SENDER'.
12) Name your favorite pens.
13) Keep all your pens in special cases/pouches so that they don't touch one another.
14) Use your pens in rotation so you'll not use one up sooner than the others.
15) Have at least 2 refills for all your refillable pens on hand at all times so that you'll never have an empty pen.
16) Won't let anyone else use your pens, including your significant other.
17) Think that 'child proofing' your home means locking up all your precious pens.
18) Have a blog about pens (and pencils).
19) Spend your lunch money on a new pen, and are happy about it.
20) Take your date to a Pen Show.
21) Eat, drink and sleep pens all day and think that 24 hours a day is not enough time.
22) Name your children after pen companies.
23) Think that Mitsubishi only makes pens.

Mitsubishi uni-ball Signo bit: A Review

The Mitsubishi uni-ball Signo bit is a very unique gel pen in that it is touted as the worlds smallest point gel pen. At 0.18mm with a 0.13mm footprint it most certainly is the worlds smallest. About the only thing I can compare it to would be a 0.13mm technical pen. However the bit is a true roller ball while the technical pen is not. The technical pen has a stainless steel outer tube and an inner wire rod. As the point is pressed against the paper the inner rod is forced up and ink flows down. With the bit ink flows through the hollow tube and is picked up by the ball and is deposited on the paper. This makes the bit write smoother than the technical pen. In fact the bit is smoother than some broader fine point roller balls. The needlepoint is made in such a way that it is stronger than the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25mm yet writes smoother. The ink is specially formulated for the fine point so that if flows smoothly allowing the bit to write as well as it does.

The bit I tested was one with a 0.18mm point in Light Blue though the bit is also made in 0.28mm and .7mm (according the manufacturer). I did not attempt to write on a grain of rice but I was able to write so small that I had to use a magnifying glass to do so. As mentioned above I found that the bit wrote smoother than the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25mm as well as a few others despite its ultra fine point. The ink seems to flow smoothly once the initial stuttering of getting a new pen to write, common with many pens. After that each time that I put it to use it preformed admirably. No matter how slow or how fast that I wrote the bit seemed to keep pace. I print when I write so to test the bit's flow during cursive writing I signed my name with it several times. I write my signature quite quickly and the bit did not skip a beat. The Light Blue ink is a lovely color and not at all hard to read in such fine lines.

When I first heard of the Mitsubishi uni-ball Signo bit I was ecstatic. I wanted one as I am a fine point freak. I was sure that it was going to be a very scratchy pen and persnickety as well. It is neither. I am a semi-heavy handed writer but I strive to be as light a handed writer as possible and I can easily control the pressure that I apply to a pen. However the bit wrote well even when I applied heavy pressure, though it did feel 'scratchier' the heavier I pressed. You might think that with such a pen there would be limited uses. I don't feel that this is true. Anything you can do with any other similar pens you can do with the bit. With a black bit I once wrote 11 pages of data on notebook paper and the bit did just fine.

Over all I am impressed with the bit. It was an unexpected pleasure to write with. While personally I prefer to do my daily writing with a 0.38mm pen I have read where others have used the bit on a daily basis to take notes in school on 3' x 5" cards. If you have need of a pen that will write extremely fine of if you just like to write in fine lines then the bit is for you.

The bit comes in 14 beautiful colors which includes Black, Blue, Blue-Black, Emerald Green, Fuchsia, Light Blue, Light Purple, Lime Green, Mandarin Orange, Orange, Pink, Purple, Green and Sky Blue. All of these are available from our friends at JetPens.com who were kind enough to supply the Light Blue bit for this review.

(Photo courtesy of JetPens.com)

Correction Tape, Part 2

As mentioned in my first installment about correction tape I used to use a paper based correction tape. Unfortunately I can no longer find this type of correction tape. However in my searchers recently I can across something by Alvin called Artist Tape. This is how it was hyped,"Easy to use, white, pressure-sensitive paper tape is ideal for masking errors and making corrections (in either ink or pencil) on just about any surface – artwork, photographic negatives, drafting papers, and design boards. Removes cleanly from most surfaces. Leaves no shadow when photocopied. Bright white and pH neutral in a 3" core. Acid-free. Supplied individually shrink-wrapped". Read well, so I bought some. This is a case for the product not living up to the hype. About the only thing that I found that would write on it is a Sharpie! Neither pencil nor pen, of any type but the Sharpie, would write on it. It did not come off notebook paper cleanly, pulling fibers up with the tape. But I can't really fault the tape for the ad read, "Removes cleanly from most surfaces". As for the rest, well I can't test the pH or test that it's acid free. It really doesn't matter as I can't use it as intended, as correction tape. I guess it really is, "Buyer beware".

Update 11/15/2008. I contacted Alvin & Company and the rep wrote back that this had never happened before. He suggested that I contact the seller and ask for corrective action. I did so now I am waiting to hear back from them. I'll post an update when I know more.

Magna Tank Gel Pens

While shopping at Wal-Mart today with my lovely wife I ran across a set of gel pens by Peachtree Playthings. They are sold under the brand name, Inc. They are called Magna Tank Smooth Gel Ink Pens. They have a sturdy 0.5mm needle point that writes fairly smooth and the set came in 5 colors, Black, Red, Green, Blue, and Violet. They are called Magna Tank because, as the manufacturer claims, they contain 3 times the ink of a standard gel pen. It has a refillable ink cartridge called an S.H.V. (Super High Volume) ink cartridge. They have a "Precision Swiss tip" and a rubber grip in the color of the ink. The plastic barrels are black and clear so some of the ink cartridge is visible. They have a clear cap with a stainless steel pocket clip under a color coded cap. The color coded tail cap is removable, which is how the refill is removed and inserted. The end cap is also removable. The pens are comfortably fat while the rubber grip is a thin sleeve which is firm, not squishy.

It's unusual to find gel pens in 0.5mm nib widths, especially in a department store. Most commonly these are found in 0.7mm and broader. I prefer the narrower width, which is why I bought them. The pens are truly smooth writing, as smooth as more expensive pens like Pilot and uni-ball gel pens. The large diameter of the pens make them comfortable to write with, even for those who have small hands. For the price, under $3.00 for the set, the Inc. Magna Tank Gel Pens are a very good buy.

Pencil/Pen Case

I have designed a pencil/pen case that holds 24 pencils, pens, stick erasers, etc. It is made from heavy fabric and is easy to make, costing under $10.00 for materials. You may even have some of the materials on hand. It separates the instruments, not allowing them to contact one another. If you would like the plans for the Pencil/Pen Case just drop me a email with a valid return email addy and I'll gladly send you the zipped file. theoldgeezer@live.com

The Act Of Writing

Write: to form words on a surface, such as paper, with an instrument, such as with a pen or pencil. (Italic words added).

The very act of writing, as with a pen or pencil upon paper, is almost therapeutic. It most certainly is extremely enjoyable act. It can be very soothing at times, almost like a cool breeze on a warm day. It is an operation that can be preformed almost anywhere and at almost anytime. All one needs is a suitable writing instrument and a suitable surface to write upon. A suitable instrument may be a ballpoint pen, a gel or liquid ink pen or a familiar mechanical or drafting pencil. It may even be a favorite fountain pen or a reliable old number two pencil. A suitable surface could be the pages of a diary, a journal, a notebook, loose-leaf paper or fine stationary.

The act of writing itself can be as simple as making a grocery list, taking notes or as complex as writing a letter or the great American novel and anything in between. The act doesn’t even need a purpose to be enjoyable. And the place one chooses to write doesn’t seem to matter much either. It can be as formal a place as a fine roll-top desk or as informal as an old fashioned lap desk. I’ve spent many an hour in my recliner, with the TV on, writing whatever comes into my head. It’s the act of writing itself that is enjoyable, not the words that are written. Don’t get me wrong, having a purpose when writing can be quite enjoyable but I’ve always found it secondary to the very act itself.

Purpose can be, however, as simple a reason as to gain practice. Even when doodling or aimlessly writing I always try and write as elegantly as I possibly can. I’m always trying to either simplify or farcify a letter or a word or even a phrase. I’ve purposefully changed my signature (the only thing I write cursively) several times over the years, not necessarily to simplify it but to beautify it. I’ve also changed the way I form certain letters, giving them more flourish in an effort to give my printing more character. I’ve done the same to the loops of my lower case g’s, y’s and q’s for the very same purpose, then changed them back again.

Part of the reason for “My Obsession” is that I am constantly searching for the perfect writing instrument, if there is one. I’m always trying to see which pen or pencil will make my hand writing look it’s best. I tend to write small, hence my obsession with small diameter nibs/leads. And it appears that I am not the only one with the emergence of all the sub 0.5mm pens in recent years. However smaller is not always better. I’ve been writing with a 0.3mm pencil for years but only recently was I introduced to sub 0.5mm pens. While I prefer to do my writing with an automatic (drafting) pencil I’ve been trying to get used to writing with a pen, for some obvious reasons. But 0.7mm and above pens are just too big. And many 0.5mm pens write larger than advertised. But with the advent of the sub 0.5mm pen I’ve come to find that I write best (with a pen) that is between 0.4mm and 0.3mm. Anything else is too small for daily use.

But when it comes down to it I write best with an automatic pencil either a 0.5mm or, preferred, a 0.3mm pencil. It just seems that things flow better for me when I use a pencil. Besides, pens are good, but I make to many mistakes so pencils are better. Feeling that should I make a mistake in speller or grammar that I can make a correction without having to rewrite the entire page puts me at ease. I enjoy the act of writing better when I use a nice, well-balanced automatic pencil. After all, isn’t enjoying the act of writing what its all about?