Expanded horizons

Life Beyond Fountain Pens

Joe is a true fountain pen fanatic. In fact, when we recently were signing some legal documents, I was very proud of the fact that he actually didn't make a fuss when he was asked to sign with something other than a fountain pen. Usually such occasions elicit protest from him. (Of course, he was somewhat pacified when I loaned him my Retro 51 Cioppino rollerball.)

Yes, I know there are bulletproof inks. The truth is, sometimes it's just simpler to go along with the attorney/escrow closer/whomever than to fight that battle.

I also work in a busy office with a lot of different people, most of whom don't know what do to with a fountain pen when presented with one. The reactions generally fall into two different camps: either they're afraid of it, almost to the point of not wishing to touch it, or they get aggressive about it: yank on the cap, press hard while writing.

In either case, offering a fountain pen to a coworker doesn't end well.



A few of my Retros,  from L - R: Copper, Dreamcatcher, Cioppino, Bamboo

 For these reasons, I've got a few non-fountain pens in the collection. As you might tell from the mention above, most of them tend to be Retro 51s. I find them to be of durable construction, well-balanced, comfortable to write with, and much less intimidating to the general public. People still tend to be careful with them because they're "nice pens;" I haven't had to go chasing after anyone trying to walk off with one, and yet they know how to use them.

For work, my strategy is to keep the fountain pens near me, and out of easy reach of visitors to my office. I keep a Retro or two front and center for others to use - as well as for me in those situations where a fountain pen wouldn't really work well.

I am of course always happy to delve into the joys and mysteries of fountain pens, should anyone ask; those inquiries seem to be few and far between within the general populace, however.

I'd love to hear in what ways others have expanded beyond fountain pens in their daily lives too!

Pen Review: Guider Jumbo Clipless

(as always, all photos are clickable)
I bought this pen in February. It's now the end of July, and I'm just getting around to writing this review. Why?

Well, yes, I am busy, but so is everyone else, and I've managed a few other posts here between February and now.

Truth? I was afraid of it. Really.

The Sunday Post: July 24, 2011

A Kodak Moment: Whose Memories are These?

Joe and I recently took a day trip  to a local town. We did the tourist thing - walk through the shops, stop for coffee and pie at a local restaurant, go digging through the antique stores.

In one of the stores, I came across a basket of old 35mm film canisters.



(as always, all photos are clickable)
I think I've mentioned before that at one time I did a fair amount of film photography. My grandmother was president of the local camera club, and bought me my first SLR at age nine. I did nearly all of the sports and "color" photography for my high school paper and yearbook during my last year of high school. I had thought of being a professional photographer, but a year of lugging two big, heavy Canon SLR cameras around with me everywhere cured me of that desire.

And then I got through college, went out into the working world, and put the cameras away pretty much completely. It's only with starting this blog that I've gotten back into it at all. Things have changed a lot since the last 35mm SLR I got, whose claim to fame was a built-in light meter! In some ways I'm having to learn all over again due to the many advancements that have been made.

The film canisters brought back memories for me; they were older than most of what I'd worked with, but still similar enough for nostalgia. I picked one up, and was surprised to see it had a roll of negatives in it.

Whose memories did I hold in my hand?

The Sunday Post: July 10, 2011

Favorite Places to Write

In good weather, this is one of my favorite places to be.



entering from the west side of the house

We have a postage-stamp-size yard. That was actually on purpose; at the time we bought the house, we were both working long hours and wanted something that would be lower maintenance.


from the east side of the house (looking back up the critter highway, BTW...)


Because of its small size, the back yard is the ideal outdoor room in summer. It's to the south of the house, and largely shaded by a bank of cedar trees just behind us. It feels very private, and it's comfortable on hot days. (Not that we've had any of those yet this year.) On summer days, there's nowhere more pleasant I can think of to be than sitting on my back patio, with pens and journal and a cold drink.


The view from my favorite chair

I also happen to think it's pretty. (This despite the fact that I still haven't planted the pots for the summer...and it's July...oh well.)

Where's your favorite place to write?

Ink Drop review: July 2011

It's so true that one's perceptions are colored by one's experiences.

The Goulet Pens Ink Drop theme for July 2011 is called "Flashlight Tag." It consists of four different specialty inks, a Platinum Preppy highlighter, a plastic squeeze pipette for loading it, and a tiny blacklight flashlight. The card accompanying the Drop cites a  summertime game that Brian and Rachel enjoyed playing as children, called - you guessed it - Flashlight Tag.

They're in Virginia; I live (and grew up) in the Seattle area. I've never heard of flashlight tag in my life. I've asked friends in this area; no one I asked has heard of it either. I had to look up how to play it.

Notebook selection: the bane of my existence

I must admit it. I was one of the people who lamented loudly the demise of the Quo Vadis Habana 1.0. For those unaware of this situation, the Quo Vadis Habana as sold in the United States was a bright white, 90g Clairefontaine paper with a fairly wide ruling. That is, until a few months ago, when the makers decided to standardize the Habana worldwide, and went to an off-white 85g paper with a narrower ruling.

Preferences are a funny thing. I've been struggling with what to say in this post for weeks now. As I was thinking about it on Saturday morning, I realized that I was trying to formulate a neutral approach to blogging about a journal with cream-colored paper that I dislike - I want white paper for journals - and yet I was writing a letter to a friend on Crane's stationery that is essentially the same color, with which, for correspondence, I am quite content.

As my mother always said - there's no accounting for taste.

All confessions aside, here are photo comparisons of some differing journals that are currently fairly popular. I hope this helps you in choosing a journal.

A New Adoption

You know me and old Duofolds. Well, maybe you don't, but you're about to learn.

I like 'em.

So I bought another one. This one's a little different from your average Duo.

(all photos are clickable, as always)



I picked this Junior-size Duo up off of the Bay the other day. It's an interesting pen, even beyond the candy company name on it - three bands on the cap, which seems a bit unusual for a Junior; it's really dirty and the nib was full of dried blue-black ink (as is the cap), but other than one hairline crack on the cap that I'm not even convinced goes all the way through it seems to be in good shape.

And then there's this:

I found a NOS Duo set for sale with nearly an identical tag on it; I'm convinced this is the original price tag - though why there should be a price tag on a pen that has a company name engraved on it, and was clearly used, I don't know.

So now I have a dilemma: do I leave the tag on, or remove it? If I remove it, do I try to save it?

The pen is not in working order; needs a new sac at the very least, and given (a) my previously stated ineptitude and inexperience in restoration and (b) the reputed brittleness of yellow Duofolds, I am going to send it off for restoration fairly soon. Stay tuned for more!

Oh, and here's a current family portrait of the Little Old Men Duofolds:



More photos of the new pen can be found here.