Published on Leave a comment on Happy Lefthander’s Day! (.v2)

Happy Lefthander's Day for all types of writing — pens, pencils, markers.... Or perhaps I have this wrong and it's National (or is it International?) Lefty Day? Either way happy left-handedness fellow southpaws.

Pencils with left and right imprintsWhy is it I can only find one pencil around my desk that has the imprint the proper direction for me to read when I hold it to write with? Thanks Write Notepads & Co. 🙂

I seem to recall the Erasable Podcast guys mentioning a pencil or two with imprint done so a lefty can read it. I'll have to track some others down.

One that has potential is the Big Dipper available via cwpencils.com

I'm sure there are some other untipped (no eraser, no cap, flat cut on both ends) pencils that might be readable lefty as well but, the Big Dipper would have you sharpening all but the stylized name off for quite a bit of use on that one.

Know of any other pencils with imprints that will read correctly for lefties? Let me know!  (btw, .v1 Leftie's Day is over on fountainpen.ninja — cheers)

#leftiesrock

 

Published on Leave a comment on Protect those super sharpened points

 

a variety of pencil point protectors
A variety of pencil point protector caps.

There are a variety of pencil point protectors available to help us keep those nicely sharpened pencils safe when dashing out and about away from the safety of our desks. This is a step beyond having a nice case to carry your favorite stash around in. There are a few caps out there I haven’t purchased to try (yet?) but, since I haven't found much out there about them, I thought I'd share some info on the ones I currently have.

...continue reading "Protect those super sharpened points"

Published on Leave a comment on What about paper?

As I mentioned in a previous post, there is some amount of interest in quality analog writing tools; pencils, pens, & fountain pens. I've begun a search for blogs or podcasts about another part of the equation — one of the substrates we use with these tools — paper.

I haven't found anything very satisfying as yet for depth or detail about paper.

A drawer of unopened Field Notes notebooks
Just a few field notes

I'm not looking for paper crafting, or the wealth of information that's out there for letterpress enthusiasts. Granted, paper is perhaps not the most exciting subject versus colors and performance of inks, or the simple elegance to the gaudy showiness of pens (and even some pencils). But, paper choice can make or break the writing or drawing experience for some of us.

...continue reading "What about paper?"

Published on Leave a comment on The Amazing Variety of Pencils

So many to choose from: woodcase graphite, solid color core, multi-color core, charcoal, pastel, clutch, mechanical...

writing passage written with a Blackwing 24 pencil
Writing a few lines with the Palomino Blackwing 24

The trick is to simply pick one up, jot things down, and let your preferences develop as you try different ones. There's a lot of interest, at least in a niche way, in pencils & pens — fountain, gel, and others. That has allowed companies like Palomino to do these interesting forays into limited editions and subscription models for their products (along with the folks doing notebooks with similar promotion — gotta have a place to use the multiple pencils showing up at your door).

I gravitate toward the slightly harder core for writing purposes and softer core pencils for sketching & drawing — nothing terribly special or unusual in that. 😉 ...continue reading "The Amazing Variety of Pencils"

Published on Leave a comment on They’ve arrived…

The Blackwing 24!

And so has our first post!

I'm a bit jealous that Dan got to open the Volumes subscription, sharpen up one of these to use, and I couldn't be there to try one at the same time.

Blackwing 24 pencil on writing pad
The latest Blackwing Volumes Subscription

I'm eager to try one out. They have a new core that is extra-firm graphite "great for extended writing".

Dan confirms it smudges less than the others. That's a bonus in a household with two left-handed writers.

Thanks to the input of Thomas Steinbeck, John Steinbeck's son, we have a rather stealth looking pencil to learn the in's-and-out's of, with a new Blackwing core to tool around with. Nice.

...continue reading "They’ve arrived…"