DIY Planner - What EXACTLY is it with pens? - Comments

Pens

wynie — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:17:45 -0400

I don't know what it is but I get that same rush from a nice pen in hand.

Le Pen

pinkyreeny — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:06:22 -0400

I haven't seen Le Pen in ages!

If that's your favorite, I understand your weeping for Joy.

----
I am a notebook junkie.

Good point! (pun intended ;)

Rivercat0338 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:48:48 -0400

Good point! (pun intended ;) ) I think appreciation of tools has a lot to do with it. My dad has a favorite rollerball he has used since the early 70's. The aluminum barrel is no longer available and too dented to use anymore, so he uses the refills by themselves. He's an engineer and a carpenter, so proper tools and feel in the hand are critical to him.

I found a store in Palo Alto this weekend that still carries my favorite fine tipped felt pen, Le Pen, and practically wept with joy.

:: shudders at the mere

Rivercat0338 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:40:22 -0400

:: shudders at the mere thought of capless pens ::

A bend for pens

circa — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:10:32 -0400

I too greatly appreciate a nice writing pen. I am "hooked" on a certain style of ballpoint right now with a nice grip and fatter style. The ink very smoothly crosses the page much to my delight. I really love the smooth flowing ink and DO NOT want to use or have in my possession one that is hard to write with. Add to this some nice paper and I find the combination just heavenly. I agree with Penguin about handwriting too. Is it becoming a lost art?

On the right track

reepicheep — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:05:11 -0400

I tilt the paper about 30-45° to the left, and write with my hand right in line with the line of text I'm writing.

I'm a rightie ... with dyslexia that manifests itself in poor fine motor control. My handwriting is unreadable --- even for me. However, by tilting the page to about the same angle as you do I find that the scrawl is neater and readable by other people. (I also hold books at the same sort of angle as that helps my reading.)

For a leftie....

jonglass — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:57:53 -0400

....I've probably got the weirdest and simultaneously stupidest handwriting style.

I tilt the paper about 30-45° to the left, and write with my hand right in line with the line of text I'm writing. Yes, it is _very_ easy to smear that way, but my second "trick" then is to hold the pen or pencil a bit higher, and also to stretch my hand as I write--worse, I will even (though I never really thought about it until I joined here) ;-), as I write, creep my fingers up the barrell of the pen, so as to stretch the extra distance--I tend to do this only on larger paper sizes (A4 or letter). One other thing I tend to do is hold my hand off the paper, make it hover. _That's_ uncomfortable, though, so I don't do it often, just for short bits. In any case, my handwriting style is probably why I'm a big fan of half-sheet size or smaller--never really thought about it before.

There are trade-offs with this method. If I am writing fairly narrow columns, I get much less hand-cramp that way (fountain pens help with this!--no pressure on the paper). However, the tendancy to get a dirty hand is quite great, and with ink, smearing. I tend to write a lot with pencil, so my hand gets quite dirty over time (I get lazy with pencil)

-Jon

My technique

caligatia — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:13:57 -0400

I write with my hand below the line I'm currently writing, with the paper exactly vertical. So my hand drags, but it does so below the line. Works pretty well for me.

--
Steff
[ blog | photos ]

"I've even spent time

Suz — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:00:15 -0400

"I've even spent time alternating between a short no. 2 pencil and a capless pen."

I meant to say I've alternated between the two to try and figure out why I can write so easily with a short pencil, but not with a capless pen...

Suz

I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME! I

suz — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:56:33 -0400

I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME!

I don't have a problem using a click pen or mechanical pencil, but if a lid is missing on a pen, I can't stand to write with it. I've even spent time alternating between a short no. 2 pencil and a capless pen. Even long pens without caps feel funny.

I'm so relieved...

Suz

One more leftie chiming in...

emoore — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:17:18 -0400

and I use a fountain pen but don't drag my hand through the ink. But then, I turn the paper clockwise about 45 degrees to write. Most other lefties I know have their hand twisted above the paper so they're actually writing with their hand kind of upside down from the right and it drags their arm across the ink. In my school, it depended on which penmanship teacher you had how you held your hand if you were a leftie. Some couldn't deal with it at all.

"I guess to sum it up, what

emoore — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:12:42 -0400

"I guess to sum it up, what would you rather get as a note, something written with a splotchy blue bic ballpoint scribbled unreadable on crappy paper. Or would you take a bit of joy getting something from someone written on a thicker piece of nice paper with legible nice neat handwriting."

To illustrate the power of using nice paper and pen I will give an example. Twice in the past year my 13yo daughter had to write thank you notes to our church vestry for awarding scholarships to her for various music training programs. The first note she typed on the computer, printed, signed her name, and stuck in a plain white business envelope to turn in. The second one she used her brand new personalized heavy weight Crane stationery with a color coordinated fine point marker. The week after she turned in the second thank you note I heard three comments back from vestry members about what a thoughtful child she was and what a beautiful note she wrote. I heard nothing about the first one. The personalized touch with quality materials does make a difference.

Cheery...

ygor — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:50:46 -0400

or grape, or strawberry-kiwi

Whatever flavor you like.
So many wonderful inks to choose from.

:D
-----------------------------------
"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)

Diet Cola

Tournevis — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:21:33 -0400

Indeed

pens and mood

QuinnCreative — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:00:36 -0400

Whew. Thanks goodness I'm not alone. A nice shade of ink, or a fresh fiber point and I'm cheery.
--Q

QuinnCreative.com
certified creativity coach

What EXACTLY is it with pens?

christian467 — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 04:34:46 -0400

I love this site. I thought, for many years, that I was the strange one. Bad Day, Bad Mood, Feeling Low, Diet not working......I would head for Paperchase (UK) and simply browse/buy a couple of pens. (I work in University Admin so some justification but even so....) Suddenly my step was lighter and the mood was one of sunshine.

But for the life of me I cannot work out WHY?

Any ideas folks? What exactly is it about pens? Cars, Jewellery I can see but pens? Let's hear your thoughts?

And keep up the great site, forums, comments and ideas.

Happy Thoughts to all.

Chris

D*I*Y Planner - What EXACTLY is it with pens? - Comments