The Search for the Ultimate Fine Tip Pen: Part One

Pictured in the image (from left to right) are the Paper Mate Ink Joy, the Pentel EnerGel, Uni-ball Vision Elite, and Zebra Sarasa Clip.

I'm obsessed by pens and always have been. There was always a quest for the perfect pen until I found the Pentel EnerGel. Their .7mm metal tip is literally pen nirvana for me. The silver pen is a metal barrel because I love EnerGel so much that I was willing to invest in a quality version.

However, that's the .7mm. I'm less excited about the smaller nibbed EnerGels because they are needle tip and scratchy when I write.

I have a collection of smaller grid notebooks now that need smaller tipped pens. I have begun the quest to find my perfect .5mm and something smaller, maybe .38mm or so.

The Ink Joy in black is perfection in .7mm. I don't care for their purple or other ink colors, but I do love the black. I tried their .5mm nib and it's okay. I don't mind it. I can write with it and not become frustrated. But I'm not in love with it.

The Zebra Sarasa is nice. It's another .5mm nib. It's a little scratchier than I'd like, but I maybe could live with it. The problem is that clip comes up over the start of the clicky thing that lowers the nib for writing. My thumb keeps getting caught on it and I have to maneuver around it to use it.

I do like the Uni-ball Vision Elite in .5mm. It's not scratchy and I love the fine point on this one. It would be my ultimate choice except that it's a little slow to dry and I've smudged pages even after waiting what should be a sufficient time for it to be dry.

Of my choices (so far), I think I'll stick with the Uni-ball Vision Elite and the Paper Mate Ink Joy. I might do more experimenting for the .5mm pen later, but these are good.

Office Supply Geek Out

Last week, I blogged about needing to sketch out things, and in that post, there's a Post-it Note that I drew my extremely rough sketch. Since I wrote that post, I discovered a new Post-it.

Full stick Post-it Notes!

I did know they existed, but I'd never actually used one and then I found a nearly empty pad of them at work and used one there to make note of a meeting and some items I wanted to take care of.

OMG! These things are fabulous! I immediately knew I had to buy my own. I picked more interesting colors than what we had at the office. Of course!

I have a writing notebook where I make notes and brainstorm and anything else that might be related to the book or series I'm writing. I'm also flipping through that notebook a fair amount and sticking and re-sticking Post-it notes. Sometimes over and over. Naturally, some of the sticky comes off and then the notes start falling out when I rifle through them.

Full stick Post-its, though, should solve the problem. There's a light hash mark on the right of the note so you know where to lift it off, but the rest of it is adhered to the page.

The note above is one I rewrote off an early Post-it. I believe it's from chapter 3? Maybe chapter 4. Anyway, the note was hanging on by a thread because I'd moved it around so many times. (I wanted to keep track of who Deck met at the bar.) Now, it's not going anywhere no matter how often I flip through my notes.

Two thumbs up for the full stick.

I Cheated on the Pilot G2 and Found a New Love

Meet my new love. It's a Pentel EnerGel Needle Tip in 0.7mm. I have this thing about pens and even when I think I've found my perfect writing tool, I keep trying new ones. Yes, I was unfaithful to my Pilot G2. (Although we did have an agreement. I was always allowed to have a side relationship with the Pilot Frixion, which is erasable ink.)

I'd strayed from the G2 a number of times, but I always ended up coming back, repentant that I'd been untrue to the best out there. Then I noticed the EngerGel. I had to try it.

At first, I was like hmm, I don't think I like this. But I had a box of a dozen, so I needed to use them. After a number of months back with the G2, I dug them out and used them for side writing. Nothing long, nothing major. Just quick things. And after doing this for a while, I realized I did like the EnerGel. I started using it more and more.

And then I noticed I wasn't using my G2s any longer. It was always the EnerGel I was reaching for. I had a new love.

The only thing I don't like about the EnerGel is how fragile the plastic barrels are. I have two that broke while I was opening them to check on ink levels. Instead of driving me back to the G2, I did some searching and discovered they sell a metal barrel. I'm going to invest in that and get rid of the plastic ones as they run out or break.

As you see, I prefer purple as my ink color of choice. With the G2, the purple ink would fade on the paper and become too faint. I was forced to use blue ink because that didn't happen with that color. The EnerGel's purple stays dark and legible.

I did try the EnerGel in pink and I don't love that ink. It feels scratchier than the purple and doesn't look as smooth on the paper. I do not recommend the pink. I also haven't tried any other color except the purple and can't speak to the blue, black, red, etc inks. I did discover that they sell a variety pack with 12 different colors (I think) and I'm going to buy one of those to try out at some point, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my purple EnerGel and call it good.

Paper Snob

I love paper. And pens. And office supplies. A lot of writers do. I was never a paper snob, though, until I tried some really good paper. Believe it or not, it was in a spiral-bound notebook.

Let me backup a minute. I always carry a notebook with me to make writing notes. I started with a steno notebook--whatever quality paper--and made notes for any story in there. It didn't matter if it was just a stray idea or the Work In Progress (WIP). I did this for three notebooks and it was cumbersome. Do I have the note with me that I need? Maybe it's in notebook 1 which is at home. The only good thing was the pages were perforated so I could cleanly tear out finished projects and file the notes.

But I still had a ton of notes for projects/ideas that I might never work on. Seriously, any stray idea, no matter how unlikely it was something I'd ever actually ant to work on, is in one of these notebooks.

Then I hit on a new plan. One notebook for each project, maximum of two notebooks.

I started out with a bound notebook for the WIP. I had another idea that was tangentially related to it, so that went in the same notebook. The paper was okay, but it didn't make me a snob.

No, the notebook that made me a snob was spiral bound. It was something I'd picked up only because it was 25% off. I have notes for a trilogy-in-progress in there. The only problem? By the time I realized how much I love, love, love the quality of this paper and want like 60 million more of this exact same notebook, it was out of stock. ::sobs::

I went to the manufacturer's website and they don't have this particular notebook there either which has to mean they're not making it any longer.

The paper is nice, thick paper without any bleed through even when I use a fountain pen. It has perforation along the spiral side so that when I'm done, I'll be able to tear the notes out cleanly. This is a big deal for me. The size was perfect--a little larger than A5. But the best part? Thick plastic covers to protect the notebook and the paper. It's absolutely ruined me for any other notebook.

My only consolation is that maybe the company that made my notebook will come out with something similar in the near future. Please.

I Heart Purple

I found a pen that I absolutely love! The ink flows smoothly, it comes in purple, and it's erasable! That makes it perfect for using in my planner and perfect for making notes on any stories I'm working on. I adore it!

(Not to discount my fountain pen, which I also love, but it's not erasable and it bleeds through my planner pages, so I don't use it there.)

Anyway, I love this pen and I was at work when the ink ran out. Boo! Actually, the ink ran out rather fast compared to other pens I use and like, but I'll live with that as long as I have the ability to erase. I hate having to cross things out when I make a mistake. It's my perfectionist streak, I'm sure.

Sorry. So the pen runs out of ink and I check to see if it's refillable. It is. Cool. I jump online (it was lunch) to buy some refill cartridges. And discover the purple is only available as part of a three-pack with aqua and pink. Hmm. It's not that I don't like the aqua or pink, but I haven't really been using those colors and I can see a situation where I end up with 30 aqua and pinks and I'm out of purple.

The only solution I can see is to buy the 12 pack of purple pens. I hate to throw the barrels away because that's plain wasteful, but they don't sell a box of just purple like they do for blue ink and I'm sure black ink, too. I guess there isn't the demand for purple, but I'd rather buy refills and reload the pen.

The other solution, I guess, would be to use pink and aqua regularly and then buy the three pack. We'll see. :-)

Test Driving a Fountain Pen

This planner group I'm in on Facebook has a lot of people who use fountain pens. They made it sound so cool that I decided I had to try it myself, so I bought an inexpensive one to test drive. It arrived on a Saturday, and after loading the ink cartridge and letting the ink work its way to the nib, I started writing.

I have mixed feelings on it. On the one hand, it's actually kind of cool to write with it. On the other hand, I'd prefer darker ink. I'm using a purple that's a bit too light for me. The problem is that I don't have enough experience with fountain pens to know if the issue is the ink or the fact that I should have bought a medium nib instead of the fine. Should I be shopping for ink in a bottle instead of using the cartridges? I just don't know.

I also really like my favorite regular pens, the kind that are erasable. Not only is the purple ink nice and dark, but if I make a mistake, I just rub it away and try again.

That said, I'm tempted to order both a medium tip pen and a bottle of ink and see if I can't make this work for me. There's something so cool about writing with it. I honestly had never used a fountain pen before, so I haven't experienced anything like it before and, well, it's something I'd like to keep using--if I can get my writing to be darker.

***I received NO compensation for this post, which I figure you guys realized since I didn't name the pens I use, but just in case.***

Office Supply Addiction

Nothing makes my eyes light up faster than office supplies. I especially love paper and pens, but anything in that category can keep me enthralled for hours. I try to keep it in check because I have more paper and pens and file folders, etc than one person needs, but it's hard.

For example, when I bought a paper planner I convinced myself that I needed new pens too. Erasable ones in a rainbow of colors because (of course) I would use color-coding like die-hard organizers do. For that same reason, I bought erasable highlighters because I'd color code with them, too. Unfortunately, organization is not a strong point for me. I currently use just one of my erasable pens (in raspberry) to write in my planner. I mark off my completed items with the highlighter. Singular. Although I will switch colors there just for a change of pace.

I carry a steno pad with me all the time to jot down ideas for my stories. I have perforated pads of paper in various colors (again, I planned to color code, but that didn't happen) with a wide variety of pens. I love the gel pens best, but I've had some of them so long, they've gone dry. Same with my super fine point markers.

On the weekend of Black Friday with all the sales, I saw a label maker on sale for super cheap. I coveted that label maker even though I already have one that I don't use often enough to justify a second one. I did resist (barely), but it was hard.

There are a lot of writers who admit to sharing my office supply addiction, so I guess I'm normal enough--for an author. I wish, though, that I could be as organized as all my pens and paper suggest I should be.

Pen Hoarder

I'm not sure if all authors are enamored by office supplies, but from conversations I've had and seen online, there seems to be a huge number of us who can go crazy in Office Depot or Staples or the office supply section of Target.

Pens, paper, folders... All bring on sighs of joy and bliss.

I have 8.5 x 11 notes pads in all kinds of colors, purple steno pads, an assortment of folders in a rainbow of colors, and I can do a super rainbow in all my gel pens.

And I can't forget sticky notes. I have more than I'll use in my lifetime, but I adore the different sizes and colors. Some have lines, some have no lines. It's actually rather silly how many office supplies I own and my pens will probably dry up long before I use them up.

I can't help it. Buying office supplies is as good as buying shoes and almost as exciting as buying a gadget. Almost. I'm still the queen of gadgets and not even paper products can overcome that love.

I have a wish list full of office supplies that I don't really need, but I can't help myself.

As much as I hate to admit this, part of the problem I'm having unpacking my office from my move to GA is all the extra office supplies I own. I have slightly less room in my new office than I had in my MN office. Ah, well, I'll figure it out. I'm not parting with my pens.