Presenting the ultimate non-disposable writing instrument: the beta pen. With a tip made from a special alloy (that includes lead), it makes marks on paper with metal, the way people used to before graphite and pencils. In the past, artists used wire clamped in a stylus or even bare. You can try that technique today …
Month: July 2010
I downloaded MacJournal to see if I can return to offline editing, the way I used to with iBlog. Graffiti from June 30, 1921.
I’ve been liking brush pens lately. From none, I now own three. One of them is the Akashiya Bamboo brush pen, which I must admit I bought because it was made of bamboo plus it had butterflies on it. There is a butterfly on the cap. There are two butterflies on the barrel, but I …
Good pens can come by way of good pen friends, and this set would not be here without the kindness of Andy Russell. In my little pen world, he’s the Conway Stewart-and-other-English-pens encyclopedia. Students who struggled through Shakespeare might catch the allusion. Ophelia said, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance” in Hamlet. My Rosemary set came …
You know how people band together to petition companies to bring back products? I’m sure we won’t get enough to bring back the Osmiroid Drawing Pen Set, but for the sake of entry-level fountain pen obsessionistas, we should try. Where else can you get a nib with an overfeed, a medium stub and a copperplate …
I couldn’t buy everything. Damn. I tried to describe what I wanted in a brush – as if I knew – to the helpful lady in Man Luen Choon. I said, “Bouncy.” And “I’m just starting.” She said, “Wolf.” So I got wolf. In small, medium and large. I also decided to get an auspicious …
I went to Hong Kong for work. I came back with too many notebooks, too many Uni Style + Fit refills, too many linen tops from Muji, and not enough booty from Man Luen Choon, Chinese Cultural and Artist Supplies. Man Luen Choon is online, and has an English sitemap, which is not comprehensive but …
That’s what I call it. I wonder if it has an official name. The original owner’s initials are engraved on the cap band. I’ve taken to calling this the “Why Not” pen as a result. The imprint on the barrel is fairly strong. I don’t think W.N. used this pen much. Why not? I have …
There, I’ve said it. It’s a very flexible nib, the closest to vintage flex of all modern nibs, but being in a cartridge/converter filler and having such a stingy feed just cripples it. Pilot, do us all a favor. Change the feed and make an eyedropper for this poorly-served nib. You should have an eyedropper …
It’s just that they call it a “medicine/receipt organizer, large.” Inside, it has zippered plastic pockets. Each one can hold around a dozen pencils. The pockets are stitched to the spine of the case. There’s no “give” on the sides, so the pencils naturally lie flat and don’t roll around much. These are Cretacolor Aqua …