Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Over on the Assignment Desk post, Pseudodionysius asks, "I'd like to know which of our contributors use expensive pens to write longhand. I'm debating whether to buy an expensive fountain pen in the New Year and I need some moral support."
Pseudodionysius, I'm there for ya. I discovered the joy a good pen while stationed in Korea. In 1994, I was sitting in the command post during a peninsula-wide war game. The wing commander and his Battle Staff were coordinating our portion of the "war," clad in full chemical gear, when the Support Group Commander, a colonel, reached into his little brief case and retrieved a beautiful burgundy fountain pen with which to write. The image alone of someone using an elegant pen in the midst of a simulated chemical attack was ...odd. So after the exercise I asked him about his pen. Looking about as it to make sure no one was watching, he pulled a copy of Fahrney's pen catalogue from his brief case and handed it to me. "You can keep this copy," he whispered, "I have another."
At about that moment, the Operations Group Commander spied the exchange and warned me that I was being corrupted by the colonel and his "artsy fartsy pens." As I turned the pages, well, it was love at first sight. I'll explain. Writing, for me, is an emotional as well as an intellectual exercise. Back then, I didn't have a computer other than the office model which was for official use, so all of my personal correspondence was done in longhand. A beautiful pen, combined with the appropriate music, and a good cup of coffee, would put me in just the right frame of kind to compose. Additionally, since it takes longer to write things out by hand, versus the 80 words per minute clip of a keyboard, I'm able to edit and fine tune while I'm writing the words down.
Now, there is a joy to the fast pace of a full size keyboard that I'm eager to know again. My posts to Ricochet, for example, have been thumbed out on the virtual keyboard of a little HTC Eris phone which is tedious though it again allows time for mentally editing while writing. I'll be getting a laptop soon enough, but I confess to an enduring love affair with a good pen. Which brings me to a couple of suggestions. Upon returning to the states, I bought a beautiful Pelikan fountain pen after experimenting with cheaper candidates. I prefer pens that draw from an ink bottle to those that use ink cartridges. The type of ink used is important as well, depending on the pen. There are an endless variety of ink colors and types out there. I even went so far as to contact a company in Venice that make glass dipping pens by hand. They allowed me to choose the color and style before making a beautiful writing instrument and shipping it to me. A glass pen opens up even more avenues to ink that would clog a fountain pen, including various metallic inks.
All of those investments in fine writing did little to advance or improve my penmanship, which still resembles something scratched out by an epileptic chicken and grows worse by the day. But in some intangible way they lend a sensual joy and satisfaction to the art of expression, and for that reason alone they are worth every penny to me. Hope that helps.
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Aug '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
I have the same lust for various writing implements. My current favorite is the Rotring Art Pen for calligraphy. Turns my chicken scratch into something approaching classy.
Jun '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
I have a forty year old Parker 75 that writes nicely in Moleskine notebooks. The paper is as important as the pen to achieve a tactile delight from writing longhand.
Edited on Dec 24, 2010 at 8:26amJun '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Is it true that a fine fountain pen should never be lent to or shared by another writer because one's hand establishes a personal "set" to the nib that may be ruined by another's hand? (Needless to say a "BIC person" who doesn't know how to lightly let the pen flow the line can ruin a fine pen in a minute or two)
Sep '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Dave Carter,
Your post may turn out to be the best Christmas present I will get. Thank you, sir. I am hanging out at the Levenger site, and they do now sell Pelikans. I'm also eyeing the stunning Visconti pens, though Levenger only carries a small subset of their line. And for paper, Levenger seems to have cornered the market on 60-80 lb paper stock.
I agree with you about the slower pace of writing with a pen and the editing that it allows in one's mind. For those of you who have read CS Lewis's The Problem of Pain, Wheaton has a display that shows the working manuscript of Lewis's book and he wrote in one fountain pen draft and required next to no editing. Remarkable.
It helps very much. Merry Christmas.
Edited on Dec 24, 2010 at 8:46amNov '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
What a happy coincidence! Only yesterday I decided that I was tired of cheap, disposable pens, and that it was time to look for something better.
Thank you, Dave. You could not have made a more timely post.
May '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Praise the Lord! I am NOT a freak! Most girls like shoes and handbags. Me, I like sunglasses and PENS! Rotring used to make my fave ballpoint. It is no longer in production and is even hard to find on eBay or anywhere else. Levenger makes a similar model now, it's almost as good. And it is even better that I am not the only one with glass pens and funky ink. My glass pens were handmade in Munich, by a local glass artisan. They are extra-special. Oh I love, love, love Ricochet!
Jun '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Lady Kurobara: What a happy coincidence! Only yesterday I decided that I was tired of cheap, disposable pens, and that it was time to look for something better.
Thank you, Dave. You could not have made a more timely post. · Dec 24 at 9:21am
Be warned that a fine pen will almost compel you to start a journal if you don't already
Aug '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Dave - I always enjoy your posts. But I have a whole new level of appreciation for them, knowing now you have been posting from a phone (!).
Jul '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Being a Lefty (Left-handed, that is) using a fountain pen, You don't merely write words, You learn to paint them.
Jul '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
I can only confirm other's experiences with pens. I wrote for years with a Parker 75 and now use a Pelikan. Both are terrific to write with. I use a pen to take notes, make to do lists, and record some common places, scribbling all in a secretarial note pad. I also use a pen to edit documents, not comfortable making large edits on a computer.
And people seem to appreciate hand written notes on a nice paper. In a time of mass production of words, the note shows, I think, a personal attention and care that distinguishes it.
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
I'm a lefty too, Jimmy. So fountain pens are out of the question. And that's too bad, because I'm a pen freak myself.
Right now I'm using a really gorgeous Faber Castell classic Anello rollerball.
It's a great pen. I love all of the Faber pens and pencils. Also, I'm currently craving this pen, from Montegrappa:
I write for a living. So typing, to me, is work. Writing with a pen is something else.
Jul '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Nice pens, Rob.
I love pencils, too. When writing with pencils I feel "blue collar," with pens "white collar." Go figure.
Jun '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Jimmy Carter: Nice pens, Rob.
I love pencils, too. When writing with pencils I feel "blue collar," with pens "white collar." Go figure. · Dec 24 at 1:42pm
For routine writing on legal pads and NYT crossword puzzels (sorry, just not that bright) the yellow cederTiconderoga 2.5HD pencil is the tool of choice. If good pencils and pens had come with spell-check, I never would have bought a computer.
Jun '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
I loved using a fountain pen and I miss being able to hand write. I think it was the historian Shelby Foote who used a dip pen for much the same reason you present, it gave him time to think about what he was writing.
Good penmanship aside, the art of writing suffers a bit from the speed of made available by technology. Fingers fly so fast they run out of sync with the brain.
Merry Christmas my brother.
Sep '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Neal Stephenson wrote the Baroque Cycle, some 3,000 pages, with a fountain pen. Dumbass.
May '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Jimmy Carter: Nice pens, Rob.
I love pencils, too. When writing with pencils I feel "blue collar," with pens "white collar." Go figure. · Dec 24 at 1:42pm
Rotring also made a mechanical pencil to go wth my favourite ballpoint. It is the best pencil ever. Made of aircraft aluminum and I can take it on a plane, unlike my blunt sewing scissors. The pencil is certainly way more lethal than the sewing scissors.
Sep '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
PJS
Jimmy Carter: Nice pens, Rob.
I love pencils, too. When writing with pencils I feel "blue collar," with pens "white collar." Go figure. · Dec 24 at 1:42pm
Rotring also made a mechanical pencil to go wth my favourite ballpoint. It is the best pencil ever. Made of aircraft aluminum and I can take it on a plane, unlike my blunt sewing scissors. The pencil is certainly way more lethal than the sewing scissors. · Dec 24 at 5:29pm
Levenger scooped the design copyright and now produces one very similar. I use to own those Rotrings, but found the mechanism a little clunky. I have yet to use the Levenger ones.
Sep '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Oh, and have you tried the Surefire pen?
May '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
Pseudod, the Levenger knock-offs are pretty good, but not quite as heavy. I have long, slender fingers and that perfect balance in my hand is hard to match. I agree, as the pen aged the mechanism did get a little sticky. No stickiness thus far with the Levenger.
Jun '10
Re: Assignment Desk: For Pseudodionysius
The last Christmas gift my mother gave me was a gold pen, which I used to carry with me all the time. One day one of my workmates comes running into my office wanting to borrow my gold pen. He says he has an important contract signing that afternoon and wants a pen that reflects the import of the occasion. Now, I'm not about to let my gold pen out of my sight, but do not want to create ill will with an outright refusal. So I ask my workmate, "is this a good deal for the Mr. Client?" Being hot for the deal my work mate responds with an enthusiastic paean to the deal's potential profitability. Faining incredulity, I ask, "is the deal really that good?" (The pros reading this likely already see what's coming.) I am enthusiastically assured that it is the deal of the year, possibly the decade. To which I reply, "Well if the deal is as good as you say, Mr. Client will sign even if he has to use a crayon." Funny thing is, I was never asked for my gold pen again.
Edited on Dec 25, 2010 at 4:52am