on pens · 2004-03-30 19:50

pens and their drawings

I don’t trust designers who do not have either a notebook or a pen fetish (like I don’t trust designers who have no interest in food or drink). It means that the stuff you use everyday doesn’t matter to you.

I tend to use very thin pens, because it forces you to write well, or everything tends towards a scrawl. I have many books of scrawls.

My pens:
daily pen – edding 1800 profipen, 0.1mm, black.
Mainly because they’re the best and thinnest things in our office supply catalogue. Warning, these don’t take kindly to flying (but weirdly only European flights). I’ve had 4 of these bad boys explode on me in the last month. Plus point: you can remove the long name sticker to have a totally blank pen.

old daily pen – Staedtler pigment liner, 0.05mm, black.
Although it sounds thin, this line is as big as the eddings, and far far bigger than the Rapidograph. Never let someone else use one of these, they will press down too hard and ruin the nib. In one stroke.

occasional pen – Pilot Fineliner (old style), black.
A classic, for thicker, sculptured lines, and very very not waterproof. I love scrawling on other peoples’ presentations and documents with these. I might even bust out with blue, green and red.

fine pen – Rotring Rapidograph, 0.10mm, black.
Yes, pen fans, 0.10mm (hard to get). Crazily thin lines, I use these when writing small on very large pieces of paper. Easily the thinnest line I have seen in a moderately-priced pen. This pen is under lock and key.

I still have not found a propelling pencil (or other) that satisfies me; a pity, as sometimes only carbon will do.

(link via foe)

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