Writing Utensils

I have copious amounts of pens.

I have a monthly stationary subscription that feeds my ‘addiction’. Every month I receive a journal and several new pens, so my collection is added to regularly with new and interesting writing tools. Most come from exotic places.

Each pen I have serves a different writing style. Ballpoints and gel pens are most common in my collection and usually lay down ink very smoothly. Ballpoints are interesting because they can slightly emboss the paper depending on how hard you press. Which creates a fascinating tactile impression after you’ve filled several pages in a notebook – like you’re holding the uni-bomber manifesto.

It’s been my experience that gel pens tend to lay down more ink than most ballpoints. One of the nice aspects of the thick ink in the gel pen is that you can get some of them opaque, so they look great on darker colored stationary. Silver or white on black is my favorite. Yes, I am a thirteen-year-old girl, why do you ask?

Some people have a great love and adoration of felt tip pens; I do not. Though felt tips lay down a nice line of ink, with bright, bold colors, I don’t like the friction the felt creates against the paper. I have no problems coloring with felt tip markers, but I wouldn’t want to write a letter with them.

My current favorite set of pens is a color series by Pilot called Precise V5 Rolling Ball. I really enjoy these pens, they’re very smooth with vibrant color and a nice, fine point. I like the fine point because I like to write small from time to time and I like to use them to decorate the envelopes for my letters.

I do so enjoy writing things down in longhand. All my blog posts start out as handwritten notes in notebooks or on loose leaf paper. I appreciate handwritten letters, partly because no-one does them anymore and partly because there’s a bit of love involved in writing something down by hand. I enjoy a good writing utensil as much as I enjoy a hot cup of coffee in the morning. More importantly, a pen is a tool to keep me writing. And there’s nothing I enjoy more than that.