(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best writing & correction supplies

Whoops I wrote a novel...

I think first it is important to identify what type of pen you want. Do you want a fountain pen? Do you want a ballpoint? Do you want gel ink? Fineliner? Do you prefer more bold or fine tips? Is it important to have a pen that has portability features? Are you a lefty? Is it important to have a pen that is pretty? Or if it writes well enough does it matter? It seems like a lot to go from "does it sort of write well enough to be legible" to such a laundry list of questions.

This is more or less the process I go through when buying a new pen:

• I enjoy the experience of writing with a fountain pen, but I personally do not think it is worth the maintenance for day-to-day journaling, so I prefer a ballpoint (also, fineliners are fantastic for art and stuff, but I don't care for them for lengthy writing)
  
• I prefer gel ink, but only if it doesn't smudge, bleed, or ghost too much so certain types of refills are right out (Pilot G-2 .07, for example)
  
• I too have tiny handwriting so I will always prefer a more fine tip as long as it isn't too scratchy (certain refills that come in sizes less than .38 can be pretty bad, imo)
  
• I am right-handed so smudging, while still a mild concern, is not necessarily a major issue as long as the ink isn't too bad
  
• I like pens that are more portable, which seems silly, I mean it's a pen right? but it does matter to me, for example, if it is clicky or twisty that is generally better than capped (unless the cap is very secure) because they are less likely to open in my pocket, or if the pen has a clip if the clip is positioned at the very top or if it sits down some so that if I clip it to my pocket it will leave a large portion of the pen sticking out, etc
  
• Finally, I like an attractive pen, but if it doesn't write well I'm not using it. As many pens as I have tried to use, and continue to try to use, I have literally never found anything I like to write with as much as these. At least as far non-gel ballpoints go. I have gone new-empty with well over a dozen of these. Any time I switch to a prettier pen, and then pick up one of these I always think, why did I ever stop using this pen?
  
  
• Oh, also, black ink only. Period. Sometimes red is ok too. Never blue.
  
  So that's a lot of words, but that's essentially my .02 for selecting a pen. Identify what you want and what is important to you and then make your selection based on that. With that in mind, here is my experience/opinion on specific pens:
  
  
• Best non-gel ballpoint: Pilot Better Retractable in Fine, unquestionably. Zebra makes a good non-gel ballpoint as well, but I find they are less consistent in quality and sometimes you get a weird scratchy one
  
• Best gel ballpoint: Uni-Ball Signo in Micro. This is actually probably my favorite refill type in general. Very smooth, dark ink, doesn't ghost on most types of common paper unless you're coloring with it or something. Makes fine lines that dry fast enough to not smudge unless you wipe your hand through it immediately. Just try to find a pen body you like that the refill will fit into, because the stock one is not pretty.
  
• I don't know much about specific fountain pens, so if you are interested in that definitely check out /r/fountainpens
  
• Honorable mentions:
  
• The oft-praised Pilot G-2 is a really good gel-ink pen, but at least in my opinion, the 07 is literally unusable because it smudges and ghosts so damn much.
  
• The Pentel RSVP is also a super good writer for a non-gel ballpoint, but this pen is the definition of not portable and also ugly.
  
• You 100% cannot go wrong with Parker. The Jotter is probably my all-time favorite pen body. If only I could get a Signo or Better Retractable refill to fit in there.
  
• Zebra F-701 is probably one of the best all-around decent pens. It looks impressive, it is substantial without being heavy in the hand, it is on the cheaper side for a "nice" pen (like 6-8 bucks I think last time I checked), and it can take most of the good Zebra refills and in addition many other popular refills will fit into it with some convincing.
  
• If you like needlepoint tips, the Pilot Hi-Tec-C is probably the best there is. I have a random pen body with a Hi-Tec-C refill in .3 that I am using as my main pen right now and am pretty happy with it. I still prefer the Signo refill in Micro, if only just, but the pen body I have won't fit the refill. I would like to add that this is the only pen I have ever used in .3 that wasn't too points and scratchy to use.
  
  One more thing, once you find a refill that you like, if the pen body isn't something you are happy with hit up thrift stores, ebay, or any of the number of Chinese wholesale websites out there for random cheap pens that you like. The refills don't matter, just buy a few of them until you find one you like that will fit whatever your preferred refill is. Like I said before, the Signo Micro is my favorite refill, but I hate the pen itself, so I have a random black metal pen with a secure cap that I bought from Aliexpress for like $2 with free shipping that the Signo refill happens to fit into that I (usually) use as my main pen. Right now I am using a different random pen that I bought online with the Hi-Tec-C refill because it is still new and shiny and I'm not over it yet, lol.

Western's first year computer science courses are pretty easy, there's not much prep you need to do for them. That being said, university-level mathematics can be a pain and since it's a skill that you kinda learn for life, you could start learning university level calculus, algebra, and geometry.

Rather than prepare for academics though, I'd prepare for the challenges that are university as a whole. I'm gonna give a bunch of advice, some questionable, some maaaaybe offensive, and some tame. IMO, they're all good advice though you may have to pick and choose depending on your home situation.

• I'll start with a really questionable one off the bat. If you see yourself drinking at some point in the future (even if it's like one glass of wine for formality at a banquet), I'd recommend figuring out what level of alcohol you can take responsibly even if you're academically rigorous. FWIW, my first year roommate who maintained a high 90 average in medsci had two nights where he let loose between then and now. If your parents are chill or only school-strict, ask them to supervise you (drinking scotch over a nice movie is pretty fun). Otherwise, find a day where you can sneak to a responsible friend's place for 12-14 hours. It's better to know that you can only handle 4 shots/4 beer cans going in than to have a rough surprise of getting knocked out by 7 shots or alcohol poisoned at 9.
  
  
• If your parents don't set you up with an allowance or if they're strict about how they let you spend their money, pick up a part time job over the summer. It sucks to have money as a constraint. If you can put away even $4000, then you can put a bunch of that towards your OSAP loans AND still have some "fun" money left over. Having $500 to do whatever with in first year is amazing, after that it's somewhat marginally-diminishing, but it's better to have than have-not when your friends are haves.
  
  
• If your parents aren't on your case all summer long, then be honest and analyze your habits. Do you wake up at 11 every day? If so, I can make a bet with you that you will hate 8:30/9:30 classes. Just because you had them in high school doesn't mean you'll be disciplined enough to go to them in university. If you're (honestly) a morning person than take morning classes, but otherwise don't set yourself up for pain if you can avoid it. This will also help you figure out when your body enjoys having lunch and dinner, like for me I'm a 2 PM lunch kinda guy so that's when my breaks are nowadays. You could be similar without realizing it.
  
  
• Everyone's university experience is different, but frankly, Hollywood tends to get various aspects about the college life and people-in-general right. Watch 90s-00s acclaimed films and observe how the actors act. I found that my mannerisms were all really adapted for my local area - I was somewhat awkward in this new region-diverse campus at first. It takes most people some time to adapt, but you can get a headstart by watching non-franchise movies starring very high profile actors like George Clooney, Robert De Niro, and Tom Hanks. I believe 90s-00s films were the most honest about how people are and that's why I recommend that time slot specifically.
  
  
• I said it once, I'll say it again. Learn and review some math. It's so damn crucial to computer science and lots of other faculties if you choose to transfer/dual major. The average calculus mark is a mid 60, yet so many degrees/majors are barred if you score under 75% or 85% in calculus. Don't let yourself be in a situation where you're forced to do a 5th year because your calculus mark wasn't good enough.
  
  
• If you had no hobbies in high school, the summer is the best time to pick something up. Your summer is at least 2 months long, 60 days. If you find 2 hours a day to practice/learn some easy hobby, you'll have something to impress people with when you arrive to your dorm and you'll have something to pass the time on days where your bored and your friends all have midterms. Really easy, cheap, and impressive hobbies to pursue can be things like card tricks (and magic in general), sports like basketball or volleyball, photography (okay maybe not impressive AND cheap if your phone is over 3 years old but it's just one idea). Go search on askreddit for easy/cheap hobby threads if none of these are interesting you to you, there's a thousand suggestions on there.
  
  
• This isn't academics, but it's incredibly relevant to you since you're pursuing compsci. If you're trying to become a software engineer, you need to understand that you're going to be a tiny fish in a ginormous pond where everyone will have stuff on their resume. Since you're not at an Ivy league-tier institution nor at Waterloo, just having high grades won't cut it. It's important that you start building your resume yesterday. This is a beautiful post I saw a while ago, I've had it saved even though it's not step-by-step applicable to me. Read it, understand it, and follow it. THIS is how you get a $150K USD software engineering job at Google or Microsoft or Apple:
  
  https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/7mk6z3/guide_so_you_wanna_work_for_google/
  
  
• Develop a thick skin. If you're a libtard, watch FULL videos of Ben Shapiro explaining his points. You don't need to agree with it but you should at least be able to understand where he's coming from so you understand where your opposing peers next year will be coming from. If you're a cuckservative, look for the smart people that give outrageous dumb soundbites (your media exposes you to a lot of them) and watch full talks by those people and understand where they're coming from for the same reason. Outrage culture isn't as bad in Canada as it is in the USA, but there's still a fair number of morons on both sides of the aisle here so you'll want to prepare yourself ahead of time so they're not a surprise to you.
  
  
• Work out. If you're a fat guy, do cardio, lose some weight while building muscle. If you're a skinny guy, do cardio, gain some weight while building muscle. If you're in the middle, I'm jealous of you and still do cardio and build some muscle. If you're a girl, same thing as the last sentence but replace guy with girl. No, you won't look like Jay Cutler or Chyna after one (or even multiple) summers of lifting unless you're taking supplements, probably roids, and spending hundreds of hours a year lifting and researching nutrition/bodybuilding plans. It's good to be healthy, it's good to be fit, and it's a habit that thousands of extraordinarily successful people recommend. A summer is enough time to build a habit, a habit will turn into a discipline, and that discipline will help you spawn discipline in other subjects while making you healthy and good looking at the same time.
  
  
• There's going to be lots of times where you have trouble understanding people. Maybe your technical-writing professor has a super thick Mongolian accent. Maybe you're at a party with loud bumping music and you're trying to talk to a cute guy/girl. Or, maybe you're talking to a guy with the worst case of Scarborough mandem-talk. This won't help as much for that last case, but something that helped me with situations like this is toss on really unintelligible rap-music or soca and try your hardest to follow along with the lyrics. Eventually you'll get good at it, and likewise you'll be able to easier understand people who don't talk like you.
  
  I'll come back later to update this post; got some stuff in runescape I must attend to now. If you've got any questions, ask and I'll respond. If it's case-specific or personal, you can PM me and I'll be helpful, honest, and descriptive. And if anyone has any criticism, I'm more than happy to defend any of my suggestions.
  
  EDIT: More advice!:
  
  
• If you're coming to Western with a friend as your roommate, consider planning to throw a party early into the year. I'm not saying to host Western's next Project X themed party, but it's really easy to make friends if you throw on chill party-vibes music and invite your whole floor to come over to your room/suite. Personally I wouldn't recommend doing much that could break rez rules since you haven't established a relationship with your future RA yet (so don't have a beerpong table out and if you have drinks, be discrete and especially don't share during O-Week). I'm not advocating you do this during O-Week since it is a dry week, but when I was a soph, I did let it slip that that was the best time to meet as many of your floormates as possible ;)
  
  
• This is really a big me thing, but I spent a week in the summer looking for the pencil and now I have a pencil that I've exclusively used for anything writing. Never broken down once! You're gonna do a lot of writing so you might as well find a really comfy pencil :) I recommend the Uni Kuru Toga. They're somewhat pricy, but imo it was a great investment on my part.
  
  
• If you've spent the last 12 years studying at home, schedule 3 consecutive 8-hour day this summer to read an acclaimed college prep book. You're gonna have at least one bad week where you'll have 4 midterms when everyone else is having fun. You should know how to study in a public space since you may have to do that one day.

Items are as follows:

1. Camera is a Fujifilm XE-1. I technically bought it for my fiancé but I've slowly began to adopt it as my "carry-around-anywhere" camera. It's smaller and cheaper than my primary camera and still produces killer images - so it tends to just come around with me, sometimes carried on a wrist strap, sometimes around the neck, sometimes in a bag (which I mentioned in another comment).
   
   
2. Knife is a Sog Reactor. I really enjoy the small size and minimalist feel. Has the essentials: a nice blade, a fantastic setoff pliers, an innovative, interchangeable bit driver, and, of course, a bottle opener. I recommend it - the blade has held its edge really well, it fits comfortably in a pocket, I find myself carrying it much more often than my last multitool.
   
   
3. Flashlight is a Jetbeam (aka Niteye) KO-01. It runs on a single 18650 rechargeable battery - super powerful, runs forever and is IPX-6 water-resistant - (Protects from powerful water jets. So if you modified your super soaker with an air compressor and an aftermarket tip, your stuff is still safe.).
   
   
4. Shades are Kaenon Bluesmasters which you have to believe me when I say are a steal at $150 (in that link). I also have the Kaenon Burnets which I actually favor for more of a stylish pair and treat them a little nicer. I believe it was two brothers who left Oakley to start Kaenon... but don't quote me... and they produce some crystal clear lenses far superior to brands like Oakley and Ray Ban. They may even be better than Maui Jims.
   
   
5. Notebook is a Rite in the Rain all-weather notebook. They make tons of different sizes and styles of notebooks with paper that feels like paper but can be written on in pouring rain... Obviously, then, you need a pen that can live up to that as well...
   
   
6. Pen is a Fisher Space Pen which is a great pen for $12. The all-metal construction, nice clicky mechanism, and ink that works in all conditions because it is pressurized ([it was designed for astronauts](fisher space end astronauts)) make it an ideal pen, IMO.
   
   
7. Wallet is my most recent addition. It's a Trayvax Element which is a Buy-it for-life, Made-in-the-USA wallet to end all wallets. It's made out of cerakoted stainless steel, thick leather, and 550 paracord along with a unique rivet-esque patented button. It holds cash, comfortably 6 cards and a Zootility Pocket Monkey which I failed to include in the picture. Both the wallet and the pocket monkey have bottle openers.
   
   
8. Buds are some older Bose SoundTrue Earbuds which I love for their decent noise-canceling and fantastic sound.
   
   
9. iPhone6

Well, here's a list of items you'll find useful if you decide it's something you might like to pursue.

Round pegbar - get one and tape it to your desk, get another and tape it to your scanner and you'll have a very easy time keeping sheets of paper aligned. Shipping on these is expensive but I couldn't find any other place that sells them. You might be able to 3d print a couple if you have 3d printer access.

Three hole punch - anything that punches holes of the right diameter (1/4 inch) reliably with the same spacing of the pegbar is fine. You probably already have one of these.

Scanner - any scanner that fits letter paper is fine. You probably already have one of these, and if you don't you might be able to use one at a library.

Paper - cheap paper is ideal. This is the cheapest that I know of at $2 for 500 sheets but copy paper isn't hard to find for a reasonable price. Get 2 reams or a big old box. You'll go through it faster than you'd think if you want to make an animation of any meaningful length.

Pencils - It'll be easiest if you have two kinds, but the most important kind is a regular old 2B or 4B pencil. Staedtler Mars Lumographs are the best but really you can use whatever pencil you find around the house, lying on the street, and so on for practice. If you really get into it and you need a lot of pencils, you should get these. The other kind you'll want is a light blue or light green colored pencil. You can use the colored pencil to lay down really rough, quick sketches for each frame and do a refined, accurate drawing for each frame with the regular old pencil. Then, when you scan the frames in color, you can remove the colored pencil marks using a technique similar to this. I'd probably use Blender for this because it's easier to remove the blue lineswith the whole image sequence. If you need help figuring out how to do this efficiently you can PM me and I'll give you a comprehensive tutorial. After the non-photo blue is removed you can take it into OpenToonz or Krita to colorize the animation if you wish.

Erasers - it's very important to have a high-quality eraser! I recommend these. They usually erase very cleanly unless you dug really hard into the paper when drawing.

Book - For animation, start with The Animator's Survival Kit. It's got lots of good information in it. Absolutely essential book. If you can't afford it, you can find illegal copies online.

For drawing instruction, visit /r/artfundamentals and do all of the exercises. It's fine to use pencils for the exercises as long as you use them like you'd use a pigment liner, that is, pressing just hard enough to get a reasonably dark line and correcting mistakes by incorporating them into your drawing, rather than with an eraser. For this reason I recommend getting and using up one pigment liner just so you can get used to how it feels to use them. Then you can do the rest of them with pencils if you want, since you know how to use a pencil like a pigment liner, or you can get an inexpensive fountain pen that will let you refill from fountain pen ink in a bottle, which can be extremely cost-effective as long as you don't get into the habit of buying lots of expensive pens and every ink color under the sun.

All in all, including the book and excluding the items that you probably already have (scanner, 3 hole punch) you're probably looking at around
I feel like I should warn you at this point before you spend any money that you'll need to either have or acquire a pathological tolerance for tedium if you want to be successful at animating and drawing. You'll definitely be going through at least a ream of drawings before you're any good. As long as you're OK with that, go for it.

For two pegbars, two reams of paper, a dozen good pencils, 4 good erasers you're looking at around $60. If you have some of this stuff around the house you might only need the pegbars, which is about $24. In any case I'd encourage you to buy the book I recommended if you can afford it. It's really helpful.

Hi there! Welcome to /r/fountainpens! As a FP newbie myself, I hope I might be able to lend a little helpful advice on your search for a first pen. :)

Jinhao pens, I think most people would agree, are fair performers, and their costs at pennies on the dollar are quite attractive. A piece of advice, though: if you don't mind waiting for a Jinhao pen to be shipped from Asia, try eBay. You can almost always find their pens for a third of the cost as a US-based retailer, if not less. Here's the 159 for $4.50, for example.

Interestingly, many other Jinhao pens are also available on eBay for even less than this one. There's the 156 for $3, the 750 stainless for $3, and the X450 for $1.50, among many others.

Of course, any Jinhao pen you buy will not come with ink. You'll need ink to write anything with any pen! If you're after black ink, you could buy the Noodler's Heart of Darkness bundle, which is a bulletproof ink (which means it has properties that make it difficult or impossible to alter after it's dried on paper) that comes with a decent pen.

The Pilot Metropolitan deserves a nod here, too. It's a heavy pen (as it's made of metal), but some people love that premium feel at this price range. $13 shipped. If you don't like the zigzag pattern on the grip, Parker makes other models. Just search Amazon for the Pilot Metropolitan.

You might also consider the Parker Urban kit from Parker. $40 is a bit steep compared to the Jinhao and Noodler's kit, but it comes with everything you need all in one package. Some people don't much care for the Urban because it uses a proprietary converter mechanism (for filling the pen), but bah, humbug. It's a solid performer and is still easy to fill, even if it does fill differently from other pens.

I'll echo some general advice I've seen on these forums: Lamy pens aren't bad, but they tend to be overpriced. You'll run into lots of Lamy models if you do an Amazon search and filter by average review rating. They are highly reviewed pens. It's worth checking them out if you get more interested in fountain pens, but for starting out I'd recommend one of the units above.

Lastly, if you're feeling luxurious, you might be interested in the Massdrop sale on the Conklin Stylograph Mosaic. This little guy is $55--way more than the $12 Jinhao you started with--but it's also in a different kind of class, more a collector's item or a nice pen than simply a serviceable one. That $55 price tag expires today, and the regular price is closer to $100. I'd recommend a different pen for starting simply because this one is more expensive, but I also thought I'd let you know just in case because the deal is gone after today. :) There's no referral on that link. If anyone would like to help me with Massdrop referrals, my referral link is below.

Massdrop link with referral: https://www.massdrop.com/r/Z9E8TR

The world of fountain pens is big, and I'm just getting my feet wet myself. I hope you find the tips here useful. :)

I’m sorry for your loss, and I hope that remembering him in this way will help you feel like you are passing on a piece of him.

Most of what I ‘build’ is stories and art. The best books for those are these notebooks. They are dotted for the perfect drawing help, but also clean enough so that I can write in them. I also would love a fountain pen to help make the journals look beautiful and formatted. I have a whole art supplies list, which is stock full of things perfect for anyone who wants to start journaling.

I hope that you can find something to alleviate the pain you are going through. You are doing something nice for others, but take care of yourself, and maybe look through everyone’s WL to see if you can find something that might help you make art or write or do whatever it is you need to do to get some feelings off your chest and into the creative world.

If you don't know if you like the triangle grip of the Safari, best bet would be start with the Jinhao 599, same basic shape, much cheaper to try. This link is to a set of hooded fine nib 599s, they also come in exposed nib medium.

> would love to find one that comes with multiple nibs

This is my opinion only, but there are a lot of good pens at the low end of the market price wise that are still very good pens, the Pilot Metro you have is one of them. Find out what the nib variance is using these pens, and as you move to more expensive pens, buy the nib for the task you want the pen for. Forget about many nibs for a single pen, it really is more hassle than having a pen with the nib you want.

Also note if you want to move to pens by someone like Lamy, the M you have on the Metro is more like an F or EF on the Safari, depending on the luck of your grind from Lamy.

Now for some basic recommendations, besides the Wing Sung 698, the Wing Sung 659 and Jinhao 992 might interest you. The links are Amazon, but you might find them cheaper elsewhere like aliexpress.

Hope this helps some, lots of info as you get started, but also lots of fun as you begin this journey and explore.

This is a very fun idea.

I remember playing with fountain pens as a kid - my mom getting some old ink out that hadn't quite dried up yet, and dipping the nib in and messing about. That was decades ago.

About a month ago I bought my son a Uni Kuru Toga Roulette, for a gift as he is in Industrial Design. In order to get free shipping, I needed something more, and I noticed a Platinum Plaisir fountain pen, and my curiosity about fountain pens was re-triggered.

I've been using it at work for the last couple of weeks, to the curiosity or puzzlement of a few. While wanting to learn more about fountain pens, I found this subreddit, which has been very helpful. Just yesterday I ordered a Lamy Safari, a converter and Diamine blue/black ink after doing some starter pen research. An early birthday gift to myself.

Last weekend, I was at my parents, and I asked my mom about the fountain pens that I had played with years ago. She pulled out three old Yardley Soap boxes that contained many pens and bits of pens. They are a mix of hers, her father's and some from a neighbour that was a school teacher from the 30's to the 60's. I thought that, over time, I would photograph each of them and post them to this subreddit to both share and learn. I doubt any of them are particularly valuable, but they may be interesting to the group. There weren't any ink bottles, and all of the pens look like they need a good cleaning or some care. Before doing anything, I'll post pics and ask for suggestions on what to do with them.

My choice would be the Waterman Phileas - Medium pen and the Caran d'Ache Chromatics Vibrant Green ink. I know less about inks, so any green or orange would be fascinating.

I am hooked. This type of thing fits my personality, and the hobby isn't necessarily an expensive one, but it could be ;)

Best.

Before starting, you should settle on a nib width that you are going to use. A lot of time people choose Medium because they think it's middle of the road and they often leave unsatisfied because it isn't. The line width you get from normal writing utensils tends to be more of a Fine on a fountain pen. I find it hard to get good handwriting with a medium nib whereas a fine is a lot easier.

Now at £10 here are some options:

• Pilot Varsity: Ready to use pen made by Pilot. I've never seen anyone complain about the way it writes, and it already comes with in inside it. You also get your choice of nib Cons? It's a disposable pen and isn't that pretty
  
• Platinum Preppy: Very similar but actually takes cartridges. You can choose your nib. I think you'll have to buy the cartridges separately.
  
• Baoer 801: Fine nibbed Chinese knockoff pen. Mine writes very well. Comes with fine nib. You'll probably want bottled ink. Section scratches easily but at the price I don't mind.
  
• Baoer 388: Very popular Chinese Sonnet knockoff. Mine writes very well. You'll probably want to use bottled ink with this one. Medium nib only.
  
  There are plenty of other Chinese pens out there, and you could go search them and find one you like too. I'm partial to Baoer pens: for me they have written better than any other Chinese pen. A lot of people recommend Jinhao pens, but their nibs run wide and they dry out a lot quicker when left sitting.
  
  As for bottled ink, I would suggest it for the Chinese pens because they come with the converter that is used to fill from the bottle. The inks I would recommend for you are:
  
  
• Parker Quink Black - my go-to black when it comes to inking any pen up.
  
• Waterman Serenity Blue - good generic blue. maybe a little light.
  
• Waterman Mysterious Blue - A darker, off blue
  
• Any freaking Waterman ink, I've heard good things from them. Tender purple? go get it. I suggest Waterman inks because they are cheap in the UK and very fountain pen friendly.

Many of my favorites have been discontinued or changed.

The Koh-i-Noor Rapidomatic was my primary pencil for my first 4 college years. I even bought a red and blue colored versions to put red and blue lead in, which was nice for graphs or occasional emphasis. Lovely pencils made in Japan. However, looking at the Amazon reviews they no longer make these, but instead something with the same name and general look, but using all new parts and process in China. You can taste the sadness in the reviews. It looks like people are happy with the Alvin Draftmatic which looks exactly like the Rapidomatic.

The Pilot Vanishing Point has been discontinued. Sad. My favorite pencil, made in Japan. See reviews on Amazon. I introduced a number of people to this, and many of them started using it as their primary pencil. My manager even questioned why I had spent $200 on pencils, when I explained I was ordering a couple of these for myself, asked around, and 10 others in the office said they wanted one or two as well (after trying mine). No drafting grip, and shorter, but really good weight, good feel, quality, and I could write well with them.

The Uni Kuru Toga is nice, but too lightweight and plastic for my taste. The price is hard to argue with. I wonder if the Roulette model would be better as it sounds like it might weigh more.

Dave's review site recommends the Staedtler 925-25. I've tried the 925-05 which is ok (my 11yo uses it) but not the 925-25.

If you have more money, the Rotring 600 and 800+ come highly recommended (lots of metal, high quality, made in Japan). I have never tried one, but I'll buy a 600 sometime soon.

For erasers, I use Staedtler Mars Plastic. They last forever -- I still have one from 1985 with more than half remaining and it works fine. I only bought more so the family can each have one of their own. My tips are (1) don't get oil on them or the paper, and get it off if you do. This means don't run your finger along the eraser part. It causes smearing. (2) erase flat if you can, to save sharp edges for fine work. If you always use the edges, then you won't have a sharp edge to change φ' to φ in the middle of an equation.

A little late to the game, but I have a couple of cents on this topic as well. I own Tombows, the Faber Castell's mentioned below, as well as Pentel Sign Touch Pens, and Kuretake Fudes. I think a lot of the commenters hit the nail on the head re: Tombows. They can be tough to use and hard to control transitions from thick to thin lines. In my experience, this has less to do with the flexibility of the nib and more about the type of head the pen uses. Tombows have a pretty large fiber brush head, and it's not as "springy" as some other pens. This means when you let back on the pressure, you have to really gauge how much pressure you need to reduce to get a thinner line. A lot of pens with a smaller head, especially felt tipped pens, will be a lot more forgiving in terms of pressure variation.

If you do want to get some smaller pens, the FC are decent. They have fantastic color transfer, but I feel like they're scratchier than some of the other options that I have, and also a tad bit more expensive. I really like the Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pens. The head is a tiny bit smaller than the FC pens, so you won't be able to get quite as thick of a downstroke. If you want something more comparable in size to the FCs, Kuretake Fudebiyoris are pretty similar and also writes a bit smoother.

That said, I think it also depends on what you're going for. If you want consistent lettering early on, a felt tip pen with a smaller nib is your best bet. However, because they're so much easier to control, I find that if I use those exclusively for a while, the quality of my lettering deteriorates. Tombows force you to really learn to control your pressure. If your goal is to perfect lettering with all types of pens (felt, brush, watercolor, etc) and with all sorts of nib sizes, I think using Tombows to practice with is the best option.

I assume you have not used hand tools much.

The first thing I would learn how to do and invest in is how to get your tools sharp, like really sharp. I mean shiny flat back and edge razor sharp. Without really sharp tools - hand joinery is not fun and much harder than it needs to be.

There is the scary sharp method, I am sure u/Peniceiling's suggestion works great, I use Shapton Stones, there are as many ways to sharpen as there are woodworkers.

But you will need to research and invest time in some way of sharpening and get good at it.

A simple Honing Guide can make things easier when you start.

This Small Rip Dozuki B. was recommended by the instructor I had for a hand joinery class last year as the best bang for the buck they knew of - I found it works great.

I'd get a 1/2in Chisel. When you get the chisel, it will not be sharp. You will have to spend time tuning it up.

A Mallet to hit the chisel.

I personally prefer a round marking gauge. This has to be sharpened just like your chisel so it cuts the wood fibers evenly and cleanly.

Small Sliding Bevel gauge to mark your dovetails.

A good quality double square is invaluable. Best $ value I have found for one of these is here.

A 2.0mm lead holder with sharpener is very helpful. Lets you mark into areas a regular pencil will not fit.

That would be everything I can think of to do all half blind and through dovetails, finger-joints etc.

A drill(press) and a couple more chisels sizes will get you mortise and tenons with standard 4/4 6/4 and 8/4 stock.

Good Luck.

This. Just getting new supplies is often just as motivating as a tablet I think. A nice new pad of paper, a few nice new pens, maybe even a brush or g-pen and ink if you're feeling adventurous (definitely exciting, but possibly messy).

The Copic marker pad is some nice paper. Paper's a lot about personal preference though, whatever you get go to your local art store the next time and have her help choose one with you https://www.amazon.com/Copic-Markers-Alcohol-Marker-Sheets/dp/B000Q7G7S6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481785351&sr=8-1&keywords=copic+marker+sketch+book

For a brush, I'd recommend one of these for sure: https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Kolinsky-Sable-Watercolor/dp/B000YQG9ZK

For ink, this one is great but messy container: https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-2-Ounce-India-Super-Black/dp/B0007ZJ8TM/ref=pd_sim_201_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DQKJEH36V4PAJVXBXQAC

A G-nib: https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Comic-Model-Chrome-PG-6B-C-K/dp/B006CQW428/ref=pd_sim_201_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MKPZYS4GTKG4MPMV5BKF
plus nib holder: https://www.amazon.com/Tachikawa-Comic-Holder-Model-T-40/dp/B000UF2774/ref=pd_sim_229_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JQ1R1E1GERQQ20KEYEVF is more traditional japanese style than a brush but I personally don't like it as much

And a few Copic markers would also be awesome, they're expensive but refillable and the best on the market IMO. A Skin tone set: https://www.amazon.com/Copic-Markers-6-Piece-Sketch-Tones/dp/B004XR92EG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1481785568&sr=8-2&keywords=copic+markers

Plus maybe a floral set: https://www.amazon.com/Copic-Marker-Sketch-Floral-Favorites/dp/B005NB4IZ4/ref=pd_sim_201_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JG9YQ4AVBM15NPXW4XRW would provide a very good base as far as markers go

A good set of pens is really fun for creative types. Pentel SignPens (either these or these) are fantastic. Sakura and Stabilo make great ones as well. I like previously offered highlighter ideas and love my new see-through ones that I linked there. Also what about a set of sketch pencils?

What about some paracord and accessories for making guinea pig leashes? There are tons of sites that tell how to make them, she might be into it.

I also just recently got a little more into makeup and found an AMAZING set of cheap makeup brushes as a starter set - These and I'm actually getting them for my 18 yo niece for Christmas.

Best of luck!

Truthfully I'd just recreate what I have, as it would almost entirely fit inside the budget:
SS Jotter, I used this before switching to a TT Shaker, it is still fantastic.
Leek, been thinking about upgrading but still fantastic and the alternatives are way more expensive.
SF 348 I got the unlabelled BLF variant, and it is fantastic. Sleek, small, and bright.
MOTA Pocket Tool One of the card tool variants, I've used a few of its parts, but will radily admit that on these not everything is useful.
Flowfold This holds everything listed above, and does so without increasing the volume of my pocket, and making everything quieter and easier to pick up and go with.
Cable Key Ring Great, because it is large and thin, so I have my keys and car keys and USB on here. I tried a Keydisk mini, but found it still rattles against the car key, is fairly bulky, and cannot hold the USB. May try one of the new Orbitkeys next.
USB Drive, goes with the keys, I actually have a SP J80 32, but for some reason that one has increased in price.
Bifold Wallet The one I currently have is very similar, but I have no idea what it is called, a basic bifold.

So, this budget covers everything save the watch, which I didn't leave room for, because downgrading from a pebble would be sad, and getting one would be the entire budget. My choice to recollect everything I have mostly indicates how happy I am with the set that I created.

1. Baron Fig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen (Charcoal) https://www.baronfig.com/products/squire-click
   
   • originally bought a Squire, but I didn't like the rollerball cartridge
     
2. Tactile Turn Stainless Steel Shaker https://www.tactileturn.com/store/stainless-steel-mover-shaker
   
   • hefty pen, feels very good in the hand
     
3. Tactile Turn Anodized Aluminum Shaker (Black) https://www.tactileturn.com/store/anodized-aluminum-mover-shaker
   
   • lightweight compared to the steel version
     
4. Pilot Axiom (Matte Black) http://pilotpen.us/brands/axiom/axiom/ (with Pilot Dr. Grip Center of Gravity Ballpoint Black Ink Refill http://pilotpen.us/categories/refills-ink/dr.-grip-center-of-gravity/)
   
   • the clickie button has a handy indicator on top to show when the pen is retracted or not
     
5. Fisher Zero Gravity Space Pen (Matte Black) https://www.spacepen.com/zerogravitypenmatteblack.aspx
   
   • my favorite space pen, very solid click, good clip, and the grip section has a slight 3 sided shape to it
     
6. Fisher Cap-O-Matic Space Pen (Matte Black) https://www.spacepen.com/M4Bnon-reflectivemilitarymatteblackcap-o-maticpen.aspx
   
   • my least favorite space pen, slim but hate the click action and the clip
     
7. Fisher Bullet Space Pen (Matte Black) https://www.spacepen.com/400B.aspx (with 1/4" rubber grommet for pocket friction https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BO9DSA/)
   
   • perfect for EDC pocket carry, the rubber grommet keeps it from slipping out when sitting down
     
8. Makerset Field Pen Compact (Brass) https://makersetco.com/products/field-pen-compact?variant=5459314278431
   
   • mmm brass
     
9. Makerset Field Pen Compact (Stainless) https://makersetco.com/products/field-pen-compact?variant=5459642548255
   
   • these are cute little pens, very smooth click action
     
10. Makerset Field Pen Compact (Black DLC) https://makersetco.com/products/field-pen-compact?variant=5459642581023
    
    • if you see residue under the clip, it's the clip wearing off on the DLC (diamond like coating), not the other way around!
      
11. Sharpie Pen (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B66DXU/
    
    • couldn't find these on Sharpie's site anymore?
      
12. Sharpie Pen Retractable (Black) https://www.sharpie.com/pens/retractable-pen?sku=SHRetractablePenBlackFine
    
    • very long click action, fat barrel with a rubber grip that catches on everything
      
13. Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Retractable Marker (Black) https://www.sharpie.com/markers/classic/retractable?sku=SHRetractableBlackUltraFine
    
    • I like these for using with Rite in the Rain notebooks, they write very smoothly on that paper and don't bleed (although they can't write while wet like space pens)
      
14. Pilot G2 07 Fine (Black) http://pilotpen.us/brands/g2/g2/
    
    • can't beat a classic G2, need to get the mini version

Yes and No.

Yes, if you want to try out a lot of colors as well as trying the pens, it can be a good deal. To that point, have a look at https://www.amazon.com/Thorntons-Office-Supplies-Disposable-Fountain/dp/B01E68AKTC which appear to be the same as the Pilot Varsity, but in more colors and different cap design. This is a great introduction to fountain pens and the wonderful variation of ink colors as well as note taking in color.

No, if you don't intend to run a lot of colors, go with a cheaper pen like the Pilot Metropolitan or Jinhao 992 https://www.amazon.com/JINHAO-992-Fountain-Pen-Translucent/dp/B06XYFK681 and a bottle of ink https://www.amazon.com/PARKER-QUINK-Ink-Bottle-Black/dp/B004YK4VHA or https://www.amazon.com/Bulletproof-EEL-Noodlers-Fountain-Ink-Black/dp/B000WIUNOI and go to it. Small investment overall.

A final option for pen and ink would be one of the larger bottles of Noodler's with a pen in the box, something like https://www.amazon.com/Noodlers-Ink-Heart-Darkness-19808/dp/B0015VB4EE would give you a pen and ink, and you would be able to give it a go.

So pick your poison and have fun. I think the Thorton's 10-pack is a great introduction, it is an introduction with a lot of great colors and no mess, but you should choose what you think is your best introduction.

There's a lot of art pencil sets like this that you can find online or at art specialty stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby that are good for beginning. Don't worry about the big pencil sets that have every grade available--you really don't need all that right away, and probably wouldn't use most of them anyway.

For pencils, I'd start with just a 2H, an HB or F, a 2B, and maybe a 4B. This gets you a decent range of light to dark. You can add in a layout or black colored pencil for when you want to go really dark.

Find yourself a white eraser or a kneaded eraser, a good sketchbook with 60 or 70lb paper (or copy paper like a printer uses is a super cheap alternative). I'd personally recommend drawing without an eraser at the ready for a while in order to train yourself to learn from any mistakes and to be more economical and thoughtful with your lines among other things.

When you get more confident using those tools, you can add in other pencil grades, blending tools (like a tortillon, stump, or chamois), or even graduate to charcoals.

I hope that helps with getting you going! Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in what we think we need in order to draw that we forget that the most important thing is to grab whatever you have at the ready along with a piece of paper and start drawing.

(Side note: I'm not selling anything and am unaffiliated with the products linked to-- they're just examples.)

Just a few notes:

• Chromebook fits 90% of my needs, and I find myself using it more than my Macbook. It's got Ubuntu running on it for any "real"/offline work. Got it on ebay for a good deal (~$220)
  
  
• I have a Leatherman Juice CS4, but I found it to be too large to fit in my jeans. The dime is a much better fit for me.
  
  
• The flash drive acts as a secondary computer, it's got Liberkey on it.
  
  
• The Skilcraft B3 Aviator multipen is the best pen multi pen i've used yet. Barely any rattling, solid brass, has red & black ink & a pencil (Perfect for any student). Would definitely recommend it over the Zebra Sharbo X.
  
  
• Moleskine's got my school notes, homework, and other random bits throughout the day.
  
  
• I've had the Sansa for a good 3+ years and it still holds a good charge (15+ hours). I've got Rockbox running on it.
  
  

I appreciate your comment, truly. I can somewhat relate to you, as I was very much into art back in High School, but quickly gave up on it due to anxiety and low self-esteem. There was a good ten-year hiatus before I began to pick the pencil up again this earlier this year.

I suggest starting small. I challenged myself to draw all 151 of the first generation of Pokemon on post-it notes. You can see some of them in my submission history if you're curious. It sounds silly, but that's what I had available to me at work, and I could usually spit one out after working on them on breaks and lunches. I tried to do one a day. The more I worked on them, the more I began to get my confidence back. Once they were done, I had an immense sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.

You don't have to do something that intense, but I found that setting smaller goals first, and seeing them through, was what helped, even if I wasn't pleased with some of the small things. It was only after these that I had the courage to try something bigger and more complex, like the helmets I've done.

Practically speaking, get yourself a few tools of the trade. I use a mix of .7 and .3 mechanical pencils, with HB graphite for the former and B lead for the latter. I also use eraser pencils to get fine erase lines for detail, and smudging sticks to blend.

Sorry. I know this was probably more word vomit than you may have expected or wanted. Your comment just struck a similar chord to my own experience. That said, just start small, and realize that all of the tiny mistakes you see in your work are mistakes that, for the most part, only you can see. Everyone else will just see a work of art, and enjoy it for what it is. Trust me. That was my largest hurdle. You can do it too.

Good luck. :)

I dont do too many field-fixes anymore... Im now in startup land where everything is shiny & new, and we get what we need.

 

My things that were stupid-useful that mostly haven't been listed so far:

Klein Tools electrician scissors - Most useful cutters ever. Take-a-finger-off sharp, cuts though thick cables, the top is great for straining phone / ethernet cable. A cable puller had a set, and he sold me on them in 30 seconds when he raked the wobbly cat5 strands across them, and they were perfectly straight. Would have been worth the $$ at twice the cost.

I replaced my mismatched tools in my bag w/ a iFixit toolkit when I needed to start buying new bits for iPads and the tri-lobes for macs. Ended up being about the same cost as those bits alone, and it had them, and a bunch of other stuff that was better then my cobbled together tools. The screwdriver is far-better made then the little plastic ones I had before. They have a new-toolkit, but I haven't used it.

A roll of Velcro ties Far more useful then zips. Use the scissors above to trim as needed.

Mars-eraser. Great for cleaning toner from printers, and cleaning up corroded connectors (first pass).

Melamine Sponge (aka Magic Eraser) - They clean up things nothing else does like the weird tint that macs wrist guards get from skin oil. Also great for getting toner off of the outside of printers. Also good for cleaning up cherry-coke from a $25k piece of sound gear.

Deoxit - You can use the cheap stuff that was like $5 a can at any automotive parts store, and that will work for most things. This is for more sensitive stuff. I used this repairing contacts in audio-control-surfaces, rebuilding DSLRs, etc. Its for when more then a mars-eraser is needed.

I use and carry a Fischer Space Pen simply for how little space it takes up in my pocket. And, for a ballpoint, it writes pretty well and consistently. I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth out of it and have used it quite a bit. I will say to definitely buy the color/style you really want, be sure you’ll have this thing on you quite a bit if you buy one.

As for the pen that I actually use the most, I love Sharpie fine pens like these: https://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Plastic-Point-Resistant-1742663/dp/B001B66DXU/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1549391560&sr=1-4&keywords=sharpie+pen

While a little pricier for a disposable pen, I find that they last for a good amount of time, the ink quality is fantastic and dries very quickly. I’m a lefty, so this is great for me so that I don’t get an inky-pinky at work. I can’t say the same for the Space Pen, as much as I like it, as it’s still a pressurized ball point.

It's a preppy fountain pen and I love it dearly. I had one before and broke it and bought myself a nice $40 fountain pen. Every time I used it, I longed only for my $7 preppy pen. sigh I simply had to replace it!

This is the deal right here though. It's the pen and enough ink to last you like forever for $20. I loved it so much that I bought a set for GeorgeDouglasMcFly as well in hopes that it would inspire him to write more. We both love the pens so much we write like everything with them all the time!

Every time anyone asks about writing tools, I recommend fountain pens. The fatter and heavier, the better.

Ballpoint pens absolutely murder my hands. I have to have a deathgrip on them to be able to press hard enough to make them write...it results in a lot of hyperextended fingers and hand cramps. Fountain pens write with little to no pressure so I can pretty much just prop them up with my hand and scoot them across the page without gripping very hard at all. Rollerballs are a good option too...the more liquidy ink in rollerballs seems to flow with less pressure than ballpoints. You can even get rollerballs that take fountain pen ink if you want to take advantage of some of the cool inks without using an actual fountain pen.

For anyone wanting to try an inexpensive fountain pen to see if you like it, I'd recommend the Platinum Preppy, Pilot Varsity/V-Pen, Faber-Castell Loom and Lamy Safari/Vista. TWSBI Eco is also good but can quickly become frustrating if you're the type that has to take everything apart to see how it works (though if you do run into this problem, there are lots of YouTube videos to help you put it back together correctly).

If I have to write with something really skinny, I grip the pen/pencil a little differently. Resting my pen between my index and middle fingers like this relieves some of the pressure on my index finger (the one that hyperextends the most). I'll do this even if I'm wearing my ring splints because my finger is so floppy the splints dig in uncomfortably when I try to grip something tiny.

For drawing and doodling with colored pencils, I'm finding that better brands marketed toward artists are easier to use. I used to buy whatever was cheap because I'm not a "real artist". Cheaper brands like Crayola seem waxier and feel like they need a lot more pressure to put down color evenly. Nicer pencils like Prismacolor feel softer and put down an even layer of color with less pressure. I wish I could find a cushioned grip that could quickly be transferred from one pencil to another to make drawing for longer periods of time more comfortable. If I try to put something on every single pencil then storage becomes a problem. If it's something that's going to take time of effort to put on/off then I probably won't use it. Maybe I can do something with kneaded erasers or Silly Putty or something...I have a couple globs of putty from PT sitting around somewhere. If I find something that works, hopefully it'll work on my drawing pens too.

A <F> nib will be less likely to bleed through because it puts down less ink. Although a Pilot <M> isn't really that wide. Also, the smaller your handwriting, the better you'd be with a <F> nib. On the flip side, broader nibs can make a person's sloppy handwriting look a little better, too.

Shin-Ryoku is a great ink but if you are just looking for value some Parker Quink (not the washable version) will probably be 1/2 the cost and work just as well for note-taking and general use. It's not as exciting but it's good solid ink for just about anything:

Black - https://www.amazon.com.mx/Parker-Super-Repuesto-permanente-botella/dp/B004YK4VHA/ref=sr_1_1?

Blue- https://www.amazon.com.mx/Parker-Quink-57ml-Bottle-Permanent/dp/B000J61TIM/ref=sr_1_2?

You might even consider just getting some Namiki ink cartridges to start out. Cheaper and it won't lock you in as long so you can get a little more variety until you really decide what you like

https://www.amazon.com.mx/Pilot-Fountain-Cartridge-Cartridges-69101/dp/B004IKTKQI/ref=sr_1_1?

LOL, I went to Amazon Mexico and about crapped when I saw that the Shin-Ryoku was over $400/bottle.......

Oh, Pesos...... oh, OK.

Hi! I've been wanting to get a decent fountain pen for a while but I always get kind of scared away by all the different things (how to pick a nib, a pen, what kind of refill strategy to use, etc). I'm hoping someone can recommend me everything I need.

Here's everything I can think to mention to help:

• I really do not like plastic. I would like a pen that reduces my plastic usage as much as possible. I do not know if there are refill options that avoid plastic, but this is actually a huge motivation for switching to fountain pens.
  
  
• I'm just going to be using normal paper. I use Moleskine journals for personal stuff, and write class notes in the B5 notebooks from Muji.
  
  
• I've only used black Pilot Precise V5 pens for about 15 years? And I would appreciate something similar to this, specifically in the way it writes on paper. I imagine that means a fine or extra fine nib?
  
  
• I am not terribly concerned with having access to a thousand kinds of inks, but writing in more than blue or black might be interesting. I don't mind buying extra equipment to avoid plastic or to be cheaper in the long term.
  
  
• I write very quickly and I want to continue to be able to write very quickly. So, an ink that dries quickly would be nice.
  
  
• I don't want to spend a crazy amount on my first pen, but I also recognize I am probably asking for more than what a $20 pen can get me.
  
  Thanks to anyone that can help me out!

First off, many of these things are intentionally cheap, because I do tend to break and/or lose things, so... Here goes.
All have Amazon links, because that was what was easiest.


Jewelry:

• Elder Scrolls Imperial symbol arrowhead necklace - I made this from scrap a while ago for a basic metal-arts class.
  
  
• Kris knife necklace - Got this at a Renaissance Fest last year, and I also like wearing it.
  
  
• UP by Jawbone (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A17IAO0) - Really great sleep tracker, plug-and-sync
  
• Fitbit Flex (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BGO0Q9O) - The de-facto fitness tracker, wireless sync
  
  
• Pebble watch (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BKEQBI0) - Simple smartwatch
  
  
  Right front pocket:
  
  
• Frame-lock box cutter (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016KHW2W) - Was using a frame-lock knife, to open boxes. Replaced it with this, been happy since.
  
  
• Precise V5 RT (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E6A9M8) - My favorite ball-point pen. Looking forward to the arrival of a Lamy Al-Star fountain pen.
  
  
• Zebra M301 0.5mm (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BLC7FG) - Great intro engineering pencils.
  
  
• Galaxy S5
  
  
• Chapstick
  
  
• Pentel plastic eraser (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q4HQVU) - For the larger-than-one-character mistakes.
  
  
  Left front pocket:
  
  
• 4-in-1 screwdriver (similar to http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014KMDZ0) - Thin profile screwdriver. Awesome. Clips away in a corner and you can forget about it until you need it.
  
  
• Streamlight MicroStream (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00143JZ08) - Tiny little flashlight, amazing little clip. Clip it in a corner and forget it until you need it.
  
  
• Mighty Wallet (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036FN60W) - I keep it relatively thin in contents, and it's amazingly thin by itself.
  
  
• Sennheiser CX300IIs (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EZYMF4) - Some of the best little cheap earbuds. I have over-the-ears for desk-work, but these can go with me easily.
  
  
• Yubikey Neo (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LX8KZZ8) - For my 2FA needs, both on the phone and PC. I use it with LastPass.
  
  
• Spare AAA Battery
  
  
• 12" baton (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MHDLF8E) - For self defense, since I stopped carrying a knife, and it's more actually useful for defense than my old knife was anyway.
  
  
  Wallet highlights:
  
  
• Band-aids - I chew my cuticles and pick at scabs. Bad habit. Nice to have these around.
  
  
• Bottle opener - Got this as swag from a startup I used to work for.
  
• Sewing kit - For emergency mending
  
  
• Guitar picks (I like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002D0CGC)
  
  
• Safety pins
  
  
• Handcuff key
  
  
• Handcuff shim - Nice when handcuffs aren't double-locked; sometimes easier to manipulate than the keys.
  
  
  Left back pocket:
  
  
• Field Notes graph-ruled notebook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006CQT2KU) - reasonably durable, cheap notebooks.
  
  
  Not shown:
  
  
• Keysmart Extended key holder (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JXQQNC6) - Nice to keep my work keys from jangling around
  
  
• Car keys

1. Uni-ball Signo 207
   
2. Rite in the Rain "Tactical" Memo Book - Not sure what makes it tactical. It's squared, not ruled?
   
3. Black Diamond Positron 'biner - So sad, my last one lasted me a couple months shy of 20 years, and it got left in a hotel room, and they wouldn't ship it (with all my keys and junk) back to me.
   
4. Loyalty cards
   
5. PNY 16GB "Sport" Flash Drive
   
6. Nite Ize Red LED Squeeze Light
   
7. Name tag from a dearly departed pet
   
8. Keys - House, mailbox, and one I never remember what it's for
   
9. Keys - bike, fire safe
   
10. SecurID fobs for work
    
11. Jaybird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Headphones - As a hands-free, they are sort of noisy for the other party, but they're great for running, rowing, and just normal wear
    
12. HTC One w/ unlimited data plan so I never run out of music when running, rowing, just walking around
    
13. Wedding ring - Titanium w/ dinosaur bone, meteorite, and a bit of gold to make it look schmancy
    
14. CRKT M16-12ZER - I like orange. Recently picked up an M16-12ZLEK because it was on sale, might swap them in and out
    
15. Wallet
    
16. Casio PAW5000-1 Atomic Tough Solar Analog Digital Watch - I like orange, didn't want just digital, and admittedly the ABC sensor was total gadget fetishism
    
17. Fenix PD32 - because I gave the Surefire E2DL to my wife for walking the dog in the evening, because it's wet-crunchy-noise-making stabby bits are longer and sharper.
    
    The only real difference between this and the Not-At-Work Edition is the addition of a Springfield Armory XD Sub-Compact 9mm in bi-tone, a Crossbreed Supertuck holster (don't hate; I have had it for about 6 years, and my clips are actually from Theis Holsters because I got Kydex clips initially, and by the time I decided that metal was a better choice they had those crosses all over them), and the subtraction of the fobs for work.

This particular pen looks like a dip pen; check out your local art store or hunt around online. They start pretty cheap like this; you then put the nib into a holder, dip it in ink, and make a huge fucking mess everywhere. Then you keep practicing until you can make lovely calligraphy.


You can also get flexible fountain pens. /r/fountainpens for all the fountain pen advice you will every need. Non-flex fountain pens start very cheaply (I love the Jinhao 599 which is under $2 delivered from alixepress and a Platinum Preppry for super fine writing which was AU$7) with flex pens starting out a bit more expensive for a basic modern one and then a few more for a vintage flex nib or custom made flex nib.

Basically, you can choose the price point you want a pen for and there will be something in that range for you, though after a certain point you'd paying for cosmetic design and random diamonds being shoved in and exclusivity rather than a better pen.

Any notebook using Tomoe River paper, such as this one, is famous for being able to handle ink well while having super thin pages. For me, I've discovered that my Leuchtturm1917 is perfect for what I do. That being said, I don't use relatively wet inks such as fountain pens, so if you're planning to move onto those at some point, you might want to invest in something like the link above.

As for writing utensils, a good starting point would be the Staedtler pens, such as this, or if you want a bigger pack of them--this.

Good luck on finding your perfect notebook/pen combo! :)

Edit: I also thought I'd link Boho Berry's Mega Notebook Comparison and her review of bullet journal supplies--they're a bit long and I'm sure many other big names in the bullet journaling world have made similar videos, but she was the first one who introduced me to all this and I find her comments pretty detailed and insightful :)

Hello! I got really into handlettering last year. What I did was buy some Duel Brush Pens and this set. The Duels are thicker strokes than the Fudenosuke ones. I recommend this beginner set as well, it even comes with a little workbook. Maybe start with just that to kind of dip your feet in a little. There are some good sites out there for practicing, I like Show Me Your Drills. They have printouts and daily practice sheets and such. I also highly recommend getting a pad of tracing paper from Michaels to place over the practice sheets, if only because it gives you endless room to keep practicing the same lines if you're so inclined and also the paper is much easier on the pens themselves. I also found Instagram a huge help. Looking through hashtags like #handlettering #brushpen #moderncalligraphy and related ones have SO many examples of different styles and plenty of videos where you can watch people writing to kind of get the hang of it! If you have any questions feel free to ask! I dove deep down the rabbit hole on this subject haha.

Pentel GraphGear 1000

I haven't used any of it's direct competitors but I can say that the pencil is very comfortable and enjoyable to use and comes in all the common lead sizes (down to 0.3mm). This would be a very good choice, but I'm sure any of it's direct competitors would be as well since it comes down to preference a lot of times.

It's little brother, the 500 might be worth looking into if you want something cheaper, I've never used it so I can't say much else about it.

I like 0.7 mm lead and I find that these feel the most comfortable in my hand. The most important thing for me, though, is a clean erase. I tend to have at least one of these on hand all the time.

My SO likes these. They're okay.

I would recommend finding a cheap pen to play around with at first. If you have a Staples nearby, they might have some Cross fountain pens for sale for about $20. I bought one just to see how it writes and compare it to other higher priced ones. You could also get something online. Just perusing Amazon, these caught my eye:

https://www.amazon.com/Piston-Fountain-Plated-Transparent-Colors/dp/B07G281XVQ Four different piston-filler style pens for $20. Gives you the opportunity to abuse the one of your lease favorite color to see what kind of force it takes to spring tines (ruining the pen by bending the nib) and see how generally robust pens are.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Jinhao-Ancient-Playing-Fountain-Jewelry/dp/B00JBYXA94 Something a little more gaudy, if that's what you want.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Handcrafted-Collection-Converter-Journaling-Calligraphy/dp/B07H2BY8YN Something a little more simple and professional looking.

​

You're also going to want some inks. My Staples also sells black Parker "Quink" which is suitable for fountain pens. This comes in a bottle like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Parker-1950375-Quink-Bottle-Black/dp/B004YK4VHA and is only for pens which the body itself acts as an ink reservoir or the pen uses "Cartridge Converters".

​

Other pens are mainly meant for "Cartridges" which are small disposable ink tubes like these: https://www.amazon.com/Refillable-Cartridges-International-Calligraphy-Rollerball/dp/B07D43QR17 Luckily, most of these are interchangeable between pens. However, that's mostly just for the low-end pens. Higher end pens use different interface sizes and require their own brand cartridges. For this reason, I much prefer pens which either fill their own bodies with ink or use converters which are not thrown out. I rather dislike the disposable plastic bits of cartridges.

​

All in all, I'd save up $100 to start the hobby. Spend $50 on a pen or two and some ink to start. Figure out what you like and what you don't like and use the other $50 to find another pen that fits better into what your preferences are. Different pens are going to have different ways of writing. Some will be highly flexible at the nib and their line width will vary a lot, others will be very stiff and not have any change in line width versus writing pressure.

Okay, so my recommendations are going to be based heavily on my personal experiences.

My two favorite "non-fountain pen" pens:

Best disposable gel pen: http://www.jetpens.com/Pentel-EnerGel-Euro-Needle-Point-Gel-Ink-Pen-0.5-mm-Black/pd/6265

Best disposable rollerball: http://www.jetpens.com/Morning-Glory-Mach-3-Roller-Ball-Pen-0.38-mm-Black/pd/11347

Now, I usually use fountain pens, because they're the best writing instrument. ;) So, how do you feel about starting to use fountain pens? They have so many advantages over traditional ballpoint/gel/rollerball pens. Let me know if you're interested and I can send over some starting recommendations.

And how do you feel about needlepoint pens like the two I linked above? I like them because they feel more precise on paper, and I also like the needle tip aesthetically over the traditional conical tip.

If you're not willing to purchase from an online retailer (No affiliation with Jetpens! Just a happy customer), I would suggest a Pilot Precise V5 or a Uniball Signo 207, both of which can be found for relatively cheap at Walmart and the like. The V5 is a solid rollerball that's super popular, for good reason. It's dependable, super smooth, and a buttery writer. The Uniball is very similar to the G2, but I find it to be much smoother. So maybe you can give either of these a shot?

http://www.amazon.com/uni-ball-Retractable-Translucent-12-Pack-33950/dp/B000FDR47E

http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Precise-Stick-Rolling-Extra/dp/B00006IEBI

Other people may recommend a Parker Jotter or a Fischer Space Pen, but I HATE ballpoint pens. But if that's your thing, give it a shot. These two are more permanent pens which you'll refill.

In the "IDGAF, so long as it doesn't break" category?

I really like the Zebra M-301. Super classy steel bodies, and at least where I am, they're frequently on sale/clearance. I picked up like 3 2-packs for something like 1.50 each. I figure that'll probably last me the next decade or so, most decent mech pencils don't easily break.

For a bit more, but still under 10 bucks a pencil, I have a bit of nostalgia for the Staedtler Mars Micro 775. Have a red one my mother bought me in the 8th grade (so...2001 ish), and it still perfectly works. This one is also pretty widely available, or in a three sided variety, see this one.

And in Pentel flavours, eh, GraphGear 500. If I lose it, well, my family works on a university campus, the bookstore there carries ten gajillion more. The 1000 is a nice upgrade, along with the .03 Graphlet (which I used in Japanese class a lot for Kanji).

Tombow Dual Brush is great ‘large brush’ for beginners. I would say first do lots of practice with small brush pens and then move to ink and nibs. Tombow Fudenosuke ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M71S9DU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_2pv3AbQ543M8T ) or Pentel Sign Pen ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EN0HCH6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_qGOz3EhHHfH49 ) are great small pen options. And when you feel ready for upgrade, hunt 513 nib and sumi black ink would be great.
Nibs - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BYT4DE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rtv3AbPZNAD77
Pen Holder - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BYU1BI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Utv3AbJBGTJV4
Sumi Ink - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AMLR8M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.tv3AbBVQG8T2
Hope this will be helpful!

Amen OP. I'd struggled with the craft of writing until I started writing by hand.

​

I love the way it forces me to rewrite. As in not being able to just delete a word or two and continue on, which makes the page look messy. I stated rewriting sentences, just to change a word, and rewriting paragraphs just to change a sentence. It made it all flow so much better.

​

My hand writing was laughably terrible just a few years ago, but one year and almost 300,000 words later it's actually respectable - I get compliments on it all the time.

​

I also find it helps with writers block. If I can't figure out what to write next, or if I don't like what I wrote, but don't know how to fix it, I just go back and start rewriting, just working on copying the same words as neatly and carefully as I can. And before you know it, I'm off again.

​

OP, others, what do you write with? I'm a huge fan of the Sharpie fine point.

Here's some things I like that I've ordered for myself that would be good in a gift box.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009E6J52U/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_4 The super sticky notes

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00016AU3K/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A017459625RX007BJKRR6 KAva Stres Relief Tea

http://www.amazon.com/International-Arrivals-Neon-Gelly-Sticks/dp/B00FFIIFH2/ref=pd_rhf_sc_p_img_5 Gel Hilighters

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FDR47E/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_6 (I love these gel pens)

And I'd add a bunch of notecards, empty folders, maybe some advil, and a cute badge holder.

YES! YES! YES! The Bullet Journal Method was created by Ryder Carroll who has ADHD.

My favorite produts:

Scrivwell Dot Matrix Notebook It's $12 (USD) and has 100gsm (aka thick) paper so that ghosting (where you see the what you've written on the other page) is minimal and bleeding (where your ink or markers soak through to the next page) is non-existent.

Steadler Triplus Fineliners Hands down the best pens I have used for my journal.

Crayola Super Tip Markers I use these instead of Tombrow Brush Pens because they are cheap and give me similar results.

Correction Tape No brand preference. It's a non liquid white-out that helps when you make mistakes, and you will make mistakes.

I do glam planning so I usually say Etsy Gift Cards since that's where I buy my stickers but since Amazon doesn't sell those (they should get on that) I found these Staedtler Pens and actually need them really badly since my gel pens don't write well on the shiny stickers I buy. They're in my Planner Wishlist

I used to draw and stuff in my planners when I was little before the glam planning trend happened. It's relaxing for me to do on sundays to plan the next week and makes me want to stay organized since it's fun for me and I'm super girly and love designing!

Artsy for life

I started with these Fudenosuke pens, which are super cheap on Amazon. If you're looking for a wide variety of color, but still a pretty easy-to-use pen, check out these as well. The trick is to find a pen that has a stiffer tip. The softer brush pens are trickier to learn on, but it can be done. I like the black Fudenosuke pens because they are pretty similar, but the blue one has a harder tip and the green one has a bit more give. It should be able to help you transition into using softer brush tips!

There are tons of great options, the Parker Jotter I can definitely recommend. I've never had any leakage issues with the stock ink cartridge it came with but I also normally switch it out for a Fisher Space Pen refill.

Other good metal pens that aren't too expensive might be a Cross Click which is my current edc with a Fisher Space Pen refill in it which is great for signing receipts and quick things like that. I use it at work to give to customers to sign their receipts.. I like it because it is skinnier than the Parker Jotter, however, it is easier to accidentally click in your pocket whereas with the Jotter you have to use an intentional amount of force to click it.

Another one (or two) would be the Fisher Bullet Space Pen or the Cap-O-Matic Space Pen. The bullet is really quite compact and the Cap-O-Matic is a regular sized pen.

And if you're really worried about ink leakage in your pocket then you can get something like a Lamy Swift which has a mechanism so that when the tip of the pen is extended, the pocket clip retracts which makes it impossible to clip onto your pocket. One thing to keep in mind with the Lamy Swift is that it comes with a rollerball refill which is incredibly smooth but it puts out more ink than a regular ballpoint so it has a longer drying time and can smear on receipt paper.

I never used baron fig, but I've used tomoe river paper. I love the
Pilot Precise V5 RT Retractable Rolling Ball https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CDW4BZW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OG2FybW075H1E but it might be on the inky side that it will dry quick but leave shadowing on the other side of the page.
Another love is Uni-Ball Signo 207 Retractable Gel Pen https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FDR47E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_jL2Fyb3PXX1K1 but gel ink can get smudgy if you don't let it dry.

Also when looking at pens, keep in mind point size. I like medium to fine because I'll write small, but you'll want larger if you write big.

I love holidays! We used to travel every summer and winter as a family, and my favorite vacation was a trip to a huge, river-fed waterpark. We stayed for an entire week, renting a room inside the park. Every morning my mom and I would wake up early and go to the bakery to buy breakfast for everyone, then we'd all go fishing at the river before heading off into the park. Because we were staying in a park cabin, we were able to wander around all night, and they even had a heated pool open 24/7. It was pure bliss.. looking back, I realize I was extremely lucky to be able to go on so many vacations. A lot of them were just camping or a cheap hotel at the park, but every now and then we'd do something awesome like a ski trip (which I will never do again. I was sick the entire time!) and staying inside the waterpark.

I don't have any pictures from our trips, but this is a picture of my favorite part of the park. It's a fairy tale playplace for the little kids, with toadstools, fairies, and even Hansel (Hansel & Gretel) in a cage. I simply cannot wait for my son to be old enough to take him!

Oop, forgot my item. Pens to practice my handwriting :P

For your use, a notebook would be a lot better for the note taking part. I recommend this one, along with one of these.

As for the browsing reddit and general internet use, the 7 is pretty awesome. I love mine so far.

Sorry guys, I thought this comment would show up but it didn't so here's it again!

Info and such.

Picture one is my work (garrison, not deployed) EDC and picture two is my normal EDC.

1. IPhone 5 with LifeProof case
   
   
   
2. [Fisher Space Pen] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E103CY/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000095K9D&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1RKGZQWYCXZQTRK0TSEH) (This is my third one, last two flew off.)
   
   
3. Just a normal sharpie
   
   
4. Two diffrent types of Rite in the Rain
   notebooks
   
   
5. Gerber Flick Multi-tool and belt carrying case
   
   
6. Southord Jackknife lock-pick set
   
   
7. Kershaw Cryo knife
   
   
8. CREE LED flashlight
   
   
9. Keys with a TEC P-7, a tritium key FOB, and a 2 GB flash drive
   
   
10. ID tags
    
    
11. A very cheap Armitron sports watch
    
    
12. Carmex
    
    
13. A BIC lighter
    
    
14. Standard ear Protection
    
    
15. Standard tri-fold wallet (will upgrade soon)
    
    
16. Oakley Flak Jacket (These were given to me)
    
    
17. Standard issue gloves (do not buy these)
    
    So I do carry much more stuff with me while I'm working but I'm quick to shed it when I get back to the barracks.
    
    Hope you enjoyed and I'll be happy to answer any questions about my getup!

Oh here's an idea for mixed media. Tomoe River makes fountain pen friendly paper that is super thin, and a lot of artsy type people I know of in the community have recommended it.

Incidentally, you don't necessarily need card stock for paper to be good enough for fountain pens. You can use this HP 32 lb Premium Choice Laser paper for fountain pen friendly stuff.

I think the cheaper budget option pen is the Platinum Preppy. If you want to use it on almost any paper, you'll want it in extra fine or fine.

They have a grit in them that acts as an abrasive, which makes them great if you're using really heavy drawing paper with a thick tooth & good graphite that you're not jamming into the paper, then you use it very lightly. But I agree, they still smudge and are overly aggressive.

I prefer these, they don't have any abrasives and smudge way less

http://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-Latex-Free-Eraser-White-STD52650/dp/B0006IK4BG

But a lot of people like these as well

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneaded_eraser

These are my preferred mechanical pencils with mars plastic erasers

http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-GraphGear-Automatic-Drafting-PG525A/dp/B0006HXQXA/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1413523441&sr=1-4&keywords=mechanical+pencil

and use good paper

http://www.amazon.com/Canson-400014970-Arches-Sketch-10X14/dp/B008NA891G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413523545&sr=8-3&keywords=arches+drawing+paper

For sketching, I use a Staedtler Mars 780 and to get it to the sharpness I like, I use a Staedtler Rotary

For inking, I mainly use Pigma Microns, but also like using other brands such as Kurutake Zig or Staedtler pigment liners, all of which I'm sure you can find at your local art store

Hope that helps!

I'd say look at Fisher Space Pens, I don't have one (cause I'm not into ballpoints) but these seem really nice:

[Fisher 400B Space Bullet Space Pen - Matte Black] (https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-400B-Space-Bullet-Pen/dp/B000WGD13U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466379244&sr=8-1&keywords=fisher+space+pen)

Fisher Space Pen Men's Cap-O-Matic Space Pen

The Lamy 2000 isn't flashy, but it definitly looks expensive, personally if you like that pen save up and get the fountain pen version, its more worth it than the ballpoint in my opinion...

Skilcraft govt pens, they aren't y but they are solid and cheap never broken one before I love them and they are sentimental to me as my dad uses them daily at the post office and he always had one on him I've used them as long as I could write and they haven't failed me. You can get a dozen of them for around 13 bucks on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Skilcraft-Government-Retractable-Point-7520-00-935-7135/dp/B0055KSNYK

Blowing on the games doesn't really do anything. Best way I have found to clean them is to open them up and rub the contacts with a MARS plastic eraser to clean off corrosion. You can also get a replacement pin set for your NES to replace the default pin set. If you replace the pin set and clean off the contacts of all of your games, everything will work like brand new.

The Jetstream is a great choice. Another great one that my lefty friends like is the Sharpie Pen -- it dries instantly and does not smear (these: https://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Pens-Fine-Point-Black/dp/B001B66DXU/ )

I have the same problem with mechanical pencils. 0.7 mm leads used to be better for me. But I like to use a clutch pencil with 2mm leads, in f or h for hardness. The sharpener/pointer for most of these is in the lid/cap but you can get different sharpeners for these that fit keychain, but i like the Steadler Mars Rotary action sharpener for clutch pencils. For wood cased pencils the other Steadler sharpeners seem to work best for my students in the elementary school classroom

Not trying to get you sucked into the fountain pen hobby (maybe I am) but this pen is under £10. The Pilot Kakuno. It comes in various colors, and a medium or fine point. And it comes with an ink cartridge so it's ready to use right when you get it. Or The Platinum Preppy, I have one of these and it is great.

There wasn't a Sir Steve, but I found a cool looking Sir John pen.

My favorite mechanical pencil was this Pentel Side Fx. I used it every day in high school and some of college. Then one day... I sat on it. He looks fine, the front piece still screws back on. But on the inside, he's cracked and the lead won't come out anymore. Still kept him.

Pilot Metropolitan Collection Fountain Pen, Black Barrel, Classic Design, Fine Nib, Black Ink (91111) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KRPFD96/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ClLyCbE11EHDE (comes with converter, and personal favorite)

Pilot Kakuno Fine-Nib Fountain Pen, White Body Soft Blue Cap Body (FKA-1SR-SLF) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IOOOBU4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_emLyCbX5CXBY8 (takes con-50 converter)

(25 u.s. dollars) Pilot Explorer Fountain Pen Gift Box, Fine Nib, Gray Barrel, 1-Pack, Black Ink (12271) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KBSLWCZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9mLyCbABH6FRS (get con-40 for this one, or syringe and refill cartridge)

Platinum Fountain Pen, Preppy, Fine Nib, Black (PPQ-200-#1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001H0CEM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lrLyCbFE357BE (just get an o-ring and eyedropper convert this one)


For all the pilots get the refill cartridges at Staples cheaper than online.

Good (cheap) ink brands are noodlers, waterman's, diamine, and Parker.

Also r/fountainpens is a good resource.

Regular pens

Tombow Airpress 0.7mm Ball Point Pen, Full Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047Z24IU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-xLyCbH5FAXT9 (pressurized can even write upside down)

Zebra F-701 Stainless Steel Ballpoint Retractable Pen, Black Ink, Fine Point, 2 Pack (29411) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0141DN1CA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SyLyCb6MJMDZ4

Pilot FriXion Ball 0.7mm Erasable Gel Pens, Fine Point, Black Ink, Pack Of 6 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019OZVV6I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XzLyCb98B993R (erasable)

Pentel EnerGel Deluxe RTX Gel Ink Pens, 0.7 Millimeter Metal Tip, Assorted Colors, 6 Pack (BL77BP6M) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012G9VNS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NALyCbV2QVSTV (disposable cheaper at Staples to)

Parker Jotter Stainless Steel Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point, Black Ink https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017D5WXY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UBLyCbX0J93DW (Again Staples)

Anyone else can and should add on to this if you want to.

i asked my brother for these. i also own an assortment of these in a bunch of different colours. and these black ones. I got most of mine from Curry's which is a store here in Canada (I don't know if they ship elsewhere, sorry!) but I know Michaels has brush pens as well :) I always tend to check out instagrammers to see what pens they're using. This woman uses a wide range of them, it says what the pen is in the comment of the vid. If you're looking into learning how to brush pen she also sells worksheets. Have fun!! If you have any other q's lemme know

I would say it depends on where they are going. The safest answer is to get them Fisher Space Pens and Field Notes Expedition Editions.
 
The space pen will write anywhere, upside down or high/low altitudes because of the pressurized refills.
 
The FN Expeditions are plasticish paper that is water, rip and acid proof. They come in a 3 pack so 2 packs would be best.
 
If they are not going anywhere crazy, simple Uni-Ball Signo 207 is a perfectly fin and inexpensive pen. And you can get them at a store usually.
 
Then as far as notebooks go i would still go with Field Notes, their regular notebooks would work fine.

Hello everyone!

I had been wanting to post my edc for school and felt since the semester is almost over, now would be a great time. I am a computer science major and have been carrying this with me for several months now. Also, pls excuse the obvious line down the middle - i merged two seperate pictures together. So here is my edc from L>R, T>B.

1. [Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-1 Laptop - upgraded to ssd] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075KPJBNK/?coliid=I1GW25Q5H1PRGC&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
   
2. [Portable 2K Monitor] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GDDG3WJ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
   
3. [Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8"] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DXVKQU6/?coliid=I30KIDP5OPIEAJ&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
   
4. [Samsung Galaxy Tab cover] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013LKLDQ0/?coliid=IBT2WKWKJ8WCV&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
   
5. Degree deodorant/body spray
   
6. [Five-Star 1-1.2 inch Zipper Binder] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COHAJQW/?coliid=I3AJVWHYPKUKIP&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
   
7. [Cliffnotes Statistics book] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764563882/?coliid=I3KQKEY8MUDSYT&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
   
8. [Weekly Planner] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DWF2VS9/?coliid=I3NPS8L0T44MB6&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
   
9. Snack
   
10. [Maglite Mini LED Flashlight] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HFBR1O/?coliid=IPIZ47DZ3YAQK&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
11. [Dell Power Companion 18000 mAh battery] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PC9HG0Q/?coliid=I3TOCRL4ALQLZB&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
12. Laptop power brick in two parts
    
13. [Samsung 64 GB 3.0 flash drive duo] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013UHK0TK/?coliid=I1GCQN4CLWL20T&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
14. [Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse Surface Edition] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FG7MZP0/?coliid=I13DJEPDK4W4K6&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
15. [Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UBGU4PY/?coliid=I1Q8LPNTWUYWM9&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
16. [Fisher Space military pen] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NXDFC8/?coliid=I2EJ6P9U4BUWZ4&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
17. [Skilcraft B3 Aviator multifunction pen] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KKPGHQ/?coliid=I2TE4MXP76ML33&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
18. [Portable tablet/phone/switch stand] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZAYH58/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
    
19. Downy Fabric dewrinkler spray
    
20. Portable Lysol spray
    
21. Work/School ID
    
22. [Portable CPR face shield] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011MIQX4/?coliid=I1O45DFTMWUHAV&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
23. Various single use medicine
    
24. [C++ Pocket reference] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596004966/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
    
25. Microfiber towel
    
26. [3 in 1 threaded usb cable] (https://www.walmart.com/ip/3-1-Lightning-Cable-USB-C-Cable-iHaper-Apple-MFi-Certified-chrging-Sync-Cable-1m-Nylon-Braided-Bulletproof-Material-High-Speed-Sync-Quick-chrge-iPhon/102599920?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227256658686&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=304459247725&wl4=aud-566049426705:pla-545878314906&wl5=9026166&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=102599920&wl13=&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQiA8_PfBRC3ARIsAOzJ2uoI0nzcc7TDGxqiTgIZxVjy0Jibd5ZS05gnXVFp2umPPzJpor5KyjIaAoNxEALw_wcB)
    
27. [Mini usb charging cable - plus the usb transfer cable that came with calculator] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UY57VDK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
    
28. [Micro usb Cable] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTXZ3U8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
    
29. [Mini HDMI - HDMI cable] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P2KH178/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
    
30. [TI-84 PLUS CE Graphing Calculator] (https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI-84-Graphing-Calculator/dp/B00TFYYWQA/ref=lp_2530606011_1_4?srs=2530606011&ie=UTF8&qid=1543362147&sr=8-4)
    
31. Sunglasses
    
32. [Vectron charging case for LG Bluetooth headphones] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LF4W9DA/?coliid=I7NGM5OCPFXW7&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
33. [Not pictured - LG Tone Platinum Bluetooth Headphones] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E6K7K02/?coliid=I1N2LPPTGNOIHY&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
34. First Aid Kit
    
35. Lip Balm
    
36. Portable sewing kit
    
37. Tic Tacs
    
38. Purell
    
39. [C# Pocket reference] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1491988533/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
    
40. [Backpack cover] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01449GWW2/?coliid=I1M6ZTRJINMZ9L&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
41. [Umbrella] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F8APXQM/?coliid=I19IFY33R4OGH8&colid=15RV6KZEPXKI7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
    
42. [Not pictured - Swiss Digital TSA friendly backpack] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H5CRRPF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
    
    I do carry all of this with me. It's not too heavy as I've tried to minimize the weight of the items I did decide I wanted to carry.
    
    Some bonus pics are below:
    
    [Backpack loaded will all the above] (https://imgur.com/XRBubGH)
    
    [Another showing the strip that reflects light - one of the reasons I purchased it] (https://imgur.com/lkirjJf)
    
    [The Headphone case w/ the headphones] (https://imgur.com/UQFNF53)
    
    [Inside of Five-Star Binder for those curious] (https://imgur.com/aVPxA2l)
    
    [Bulit in organization in the backpack] (https://imgur.com/m0KAvOa)
    
    [The reason I carry the extra monitor/keyboard/mouse/etc] (https://imgur.com/n6QRldz)

This beautiful Uni Mechanical pencil with the "Kurutoga engine." This rotates your lead a few degrees each time you lift the pencil off the paper, which results in an awesome consistent line weight and eliminates the "broad-siding" of the lead. Paired with these fantastic leads and I haven't accidentally broken a lead while writing since September.

I was a long time user of the Pentel Clear Point series until I discovered the Uni KuruToga. I made the switch and I love using them. They feel a lot better to write with and there aren't any fading issues when I write with them thanks to the self rotating mechanism. The basic KuruTogas are okay but if you are uncomfortable with feeling the rotation as you write, these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OHNR0A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 will make you see how well the KuruTogas are. The metallic feel is great and you don't feel the rotation mechanism when you write.

I'd counter this by suggesting some Skilcraft US Government pens. You'll find these in pretty much any military base, government research facility, or federal office. They last forever, have a good feel to them, and are very durable/dependable. Despite the high quality, they are fairly cheap. I would recommend buying them and you're supporting a good cause by doing so.

http://www.amazon.com/Skilcraft-Government-Retractable-Point-7520-00-935-7135/dp/B0055KSNYK

I've found that this pencil is by far the best when having to write essays in one period and do drafting in another and then go to math class and write out equations neatly. It's perfect for most usage and it looks stylish too :)

Here you go. Wow, that's pretty expensive compared to the US. For us it is $24 for you, it is £26. That would be $38 after currency conversion. It is an amazing ink, though. It makes nibs glide across the paper like you are writing with oil.

Well that pen uses cartridges, so you don't need bottled ink to use it, but it is cheaper to do so. You'll need a converter so that you can use the bottled ink. I currently have a bottle of this and a bottle of this. They say pilot makes the best ink though, so maybe look into that. But the Quink ink is generally considered to be a good beginners ink.

Personally, I'm much more a fan of a good lead holder. Staedtler makes one that i've used for years. Just be sure to get the accompanying sharpener. If you remove the clip, you can rotate in your fingers as you draw a line to get very crisp, neat linework. Lineweight is determined by the hardness of the lead you use.

Otherwise, you may want to wait until you enter school. Each program tends to have its own idiosyncratic preferences for graphics and drafting techniques.

The x450 uses a #6 nib, so if you get this, it should work.

You'll have to probably heat set the feed to get it to fit properly. I ended up boiling some water in the microwave, then threw the feed in there for a minute. Then I bent it upwards slightly by pressing it on a table.

After that, I still had to jam it into the section with a little force, but it worked really well and the flow was pretty good.

You can find it on Amazon. The price tends to fluctuate around $20 from the looks of it. I got mine when the price dropped to $17.

As far as multi-pens go, I'm really impressed by how slim the Skilcraft is. The rotate-to-change component mechanism is fun to play with, and it's solidly built with a metal construction (weight is comparable to rOtring) and very nice matte black finish. Overall though, I would say it's a bit of a jack of all trades that doesn't fully excel at anything except being very convenient and portable. The pen components write pretty well, but nothing mind-blowing. I definitely prefer my EnerGels. The mechanical pencil experience is average, though the click is very unsatisfying because of how unsteady it is. However, the component is retractable (since it's a multipen), so that's a nice bonus.


You can also check out the Clutch Situation review on YouTube.

It’s a mechanical pencil lead pointer. Like a sharpener for the 2mm drafting pencils. (I know they don’t use lead, it’s what they still call them). There’s a file like material on the inside wall. When the pencil is spun around, it finely grinds on the wall to make a point.

This is a newer version: Staedtler Mars Rotary Action Lead Pointer and Tub for 2mm Leads, 502BKA6 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002EL9J50/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rCpMBb6F2KNR4

The old ones like that are pretty hard to find.

Cheers

Pockets

• Phone Case - Magpul iPhone 5 Field Case
  
  
• Knife - Benchmade Mini-Griptillian
  
  
• Handkerchief - Fifth&Brannan Charcoal Pocket Square
  
  
• Bottle Opener - New Belgium Globe - Got this for free after a tour there, and it's lived in the small pocket of my jeans ever since.
  
  
• Lip Balm - Burt's Bees
  
  
• FitBit - Fitbit Ultra - Probably going to be replaced by a newer Fitbit soon.
  
  
• Pen - Fisher Cap-O-Matic Space Pen - I will buy this pen over and over.
  
  
• Wallet - Saddleback ID Wallet in Tobacco
  
  
• Gum - Orbit Sweet Mint - It's unbelievable how much of this I have chewed.
  
  
  
  Keys
  
  
• Biner - Nite Ize S Biner Ahh
  
  
• USB - Kingston Digital DataTraveler 8GB - Contents change daily. Mostly client software.
  
  
• Light - FOURSEVENS Mini 123/ML - Throws a ton of light for how little room it takes up.
  
  
  
  
  That's pretty much it. Any questions feel free.
  

My suggestion is to get:

Pilot Metropolitan, you can also get a fine tip if you want that.

A Pilot Con-50

And finally, some Parker Quink.

I'd probably use the converters because they are less prone to leaking, and you can always get new ink in case you want another color.

A 2oz bottle of ink will likely last you around 9 months if you are writing a fair bit daily and don't spill any, though I've managed to go through one in 3 months, due to writing a novel.

If you want blue ink too, you can get some Blue Quink

Lamy also makes some great ink for cheap in Blue, Black and Turquoise

Yeah, that's a Muji Fountian Pen

Here are the refills

And a converter if you want bottled ink

I have one in a fine point and it writes wonderfully, good find!

I got myself a Lamy Al-star a few years ago and it has been absolutely amazing and I think I'm at the stage where I would like to shell out a little bit for something fancier.

I had a look around online for some different styles that I might like and settled on something a bit minimalist and preferably matte black.

Some that have caught my eye are the
Lamy Unic,
Visconti Homo Sapien and the
Custom Bamboo, but obviously these are quite expensive.

At this stage I was going to go with the
MUJI Aluminium or the Lamy CP1 since they are in a realistic price range for me (less than $200AUD).

I would love some advice or recommendations for others since I'm still very new to the scene and still learning about the different brands.

I've got a couple of nice pens - a fountain pen and a nice cartridge pen - but I get more use out of the Pilot Precise V5 extra fine rollerball pens. I love those pens more than just about any other pen I've used.

"Eyedropper" type pens, where you fill the entire barrel of the pen with ink, instead of a cartridge, are called an eyedropper pen, because the diameter of the barrel, being larger than a tiny cartridge, is easier to fill up with an eyedropper. I do have Noodler's Heart of Darkness ink in the larger bottle with the eyedropper, which came with an included free eyedropper pen. Like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Noodlers-Ink-Heart-Darkness-19808/dp/B0015VB4EE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1495247390&sr=8-3&keywords=noodler%27s+bulletproof+black

Yeah no prob. I'll put them in this order: Lead Holder (very dark), sharpener (needs special sharpener, trust me you really need it), GraphGear, Copics, Chameleon, fine liners (I'll put the ones I use, but Micron's are a little more expensive option for better quality).

Staedtler Mars 780 Technical Mechanical Pencil, 2mm. 780BK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YQEFGU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9mS6CbSFJAYEC

Staedtler 502 BK A6 Mars Rotary Action Lead Pointer and Tub for 2mm Leads, 502BKA6 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EL9J50/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_mqS6CbVQD8F47

Pentel Graph Gear 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil, 0.7mm Lead Size, Blue Barrel, 1 Each (PG1017C) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GAXKGU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IqS6CbS16A0FB

Copic Markers 6-Piece Sketch Set, Bold Primaries (SKST6-BOLD) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XR7XZG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ctS6CbR4M2RF0

Copic Markers 6-Piece Sketch Set, Skin Tones I https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XR92EG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YtS6Cb6Z6HZWJ

Chameleon Art Products, Chameleon 5-Pen, Primary Tones Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJ97KXS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6uS6CbVHJ0THK

Sakura 50203 8-Piece Pigma Manga Comic Pro Drawing Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004N98UIS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8vS6Cb3D5HZBS

I used those Bic mechanical pencils for probably 18 years of school, and I still use Pilot G2s. But I recently got myself a nice mechanical pencil -- Uni Kuru Toga, and dang is it nice. Keeps a super consistent point, feels great to hold. Didn't save me from bombing my last midterm, but I felt way better doing it!

I have two favorite kinds of pens.

Pentel RSVP Fine It's a ballpoint, writes smoothly, comfortable to hold, last a long time. Also you can get tiny adorable ones with keyrings on them. And colors. It's my favorite for writing on paper.

Pilot Precise V-5, Extra Fine Ink pens, I use these mostly for drawing, but they're unfailingly smooth and write nicely too. I usually buy them a dozen at a time. I got hooked on them at my last job.

Wow, this is such a perfect fit for OPs requests:

​

\> The ink had to dry within five seconds and be guaranteed not to smear or blot. Printed on paper, the ink had to withstand being submerged underwater for 48 hours and two doses of chemical bleach.

\> the pen’s unusually slight size — 5 and 1/8 inches long

Here's the amazon link for the fine point, for the lazy ones: https://www.amazon.com/Skilcraft-Government-Retractable-Point-7520-00-935-7135/dp/B0055KSNYK

Hi! I can’t speak for the quality of those specific pens but I think Pentel is a good brand. I can say that their sign brush pens are very nice quality. I got mine from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EN0HCH6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_sXXUDbPVEZ6T6

These are different than the felt markers because these are basically smaller brush pens.

Sharpie pens are the best. I write a LOT for work, and it's so enjoyable to write with. Doesn't bleed through the paper, yet still gives a nice, confident line. Not to mention you can get one for under $1.

Edited to add: Amazon link

A little higher on the price range you mentioned but I've enjoyed the Pilot Precise V5 line of pens. They come in a variety of colours, pack sizes, and they're fine pointed which I fine handy in my line of work where I have to take a lot of notes in a day.

Pilot Precise V5 RT Retractable Rolling Ball Pens, Extra Fine Point, Black Ink, Dozen Box -26062

If you're using them in poor conditions: Fisher Space Pen, or a pen that will accept a Fisher refill. I carry this Parker Jotter because it matches my Hero 100 Flighter, equipped with this Fisher refill.

However, just saying you want a ballpoint pen is a pretty big request. Gel, rollerball and ballpoint pens are all... ballpoint pens. Different ones will come with different inks.

Uniball Jetstreams are good, as are Pilot G2s. Personally, though, the Retro 51 Tornado is an absolutely fantastic pen. It's more expensive by a wide margin than the Jotter. It's a much thicker pen, though, so if you have larger hands it's much more comfortable than a Fisher or Parker. And, unlike a lot of pens out there, the refills are both fantastic and affordable.

So. I would say: Get a Jotter and slap a Fisher Space Pen refill in it. Then, if you want to get another nice ballpoint, get yourself a Retro 51 Tornado. Then get a fountain pen. Avoid Zebra. I love my G-301s, but goddamn, those refills are expensive and don't get any mileage at all.

You can get a Parker Urban with a bottle of Quink Black ink, a converter, a polishing cloth, and 4 cartridges (2 Black / 2 Blue) on Amazon.com for $37 USD. It is a pretty solid pen, from my own experience.

The Nemosine Singularity is not a bad option for $14 USD. (It comes in LOTs of colors too.)

The Muji Fountain Pen is also a solid starter pen for $16 USD. It is of a sturdy aluminum make, and writes quite well.

The rest are the Standard starter pens, like the Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, et cetera.

This may be a trigger rabbit hole for some but I absolutely stand by my day-to-day work pen. Pilot Precise V5 RT. It's a thing of beauty; writes a sharp black line, comfortable grip, retractable so I can click it incessantly. They may not last a lifetime like fountain pens or whatever, but they blow my standard office's pens out of the water.

The only reason I ever found out about Rotring Freeway is because I was looking for a heavy metal pen with a nice color to it.

If you're looking for a really nice mech pencil, I highly recommend a [Uniball Kuru Toga] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OHNR0A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage)

I used this all through mechanical engineering school and I absolutely fell in love with it! It still writes today (4+yrs old) and has been abused most of its life.

I think pretty much the entire J Herbin line is available with Prime shipping for ~13$, including Ambre de Birmanie and several blues: Eclat de Saphir, Diablo Menthe, and Bleu Nuit. They also have a couple other blues that you might like.
As for black, Quink is pretty good(and very inexpensive) but I find that it does better in F+ nibs. They also have a Blue-Black but it, unlike its black counterpart, isn't available with Prime shipping as far as I can see.

Platinum preppy is another great, inexpensive pen that performs like a champ. (imo)

Amazon

Thanks! Honestly, the pen I write with the most is the Pilot Precise V5 RT. It's been my favorite writing tool so far but the grip, while comfortable, tends to hang up in the inside of my pockets. The Jotter is my go-to pen for portability.

In that case. I bought one of these and I love using it. It is a solid chunk of metal with a solid metal tip and an eraser cover. Its .5 lead. I like how solid and sturdy it feels.

Pentel GraphGear 500 Automatic Drafting Pencil Black (PG525A) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006HXQXA?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

THIS ONE is on my Amazon wish list. If it's good enough for pilots, should be good enough for us!

Pilot G2 is always a good pen. I also like the pilot precise V5. It is a roller ball pen, so it feels a little smoother than other ball point pens. I use fountain pens. Pilot Metropolitan or Lamy Safari is a great place to start out, but if you want to spend even less money the Platinum Preppy is a popular starter pen. In the long run a bottle of ink will be cheaper than a ton of disposable pens.

I've had a Graph Gear 500 for almost two years now and it's the only pencil I ever use anymore. They are cheap, but are made for drafting so it's got a sturdy construction and a really nice weight.

You can get them down to .3 mm, which should be good for what you want to do.

Practice! Muscle memory is a real thing. Also a better than average pen makes a difference. For a non-fancy recommendation, I love these:


PILOT Precise V5 Stick Liquid Ink Rolling Ball Stick Pens, Extra Fine Point, Black Ink, Dozen Box (35334) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IEBI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7u7SDbHZ931KQ

I highly recommend the pencil that I use, It's even on a pretty good sale right now!
https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-Mars-Technical-Mechanical-Pencil/dp/B000YQEFGU

And this is the sharpener:
https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-Rotary-Action-Pointer-502BKA6/dp/B002EL9J50/ref=pd_sim_229_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41fnryers5L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR172%2C320_&psc=1&refRID=VPPRN3NGX9HEAQW2XJ0B

The softness of lead is up to you, since that's preference.

Oh man, I'm a lefty so i'll get down on this:

I only use one type of pen -- and I write a lot between work/personal therapy.

I use a Pilot Precise V5 RT. It has an extra-fine point, so I don't smudge the paper with my lefthandedness. It's just a smooth writing utensil and I LOVE it.

Thanks for the contest!

I have two types of pens that I use. The first is the Pilot V5 which is a gel ball point pen http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Precise-Stick-Rolling-Extra/dp/B00006IEBI

The second type is Sakura Micron pens which an assorted set can be found here http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-30062-6-Piece-Pigma-Micron/dp/B0008G8G8Y/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370448156&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=macron+pen

Hope this helps and good luck!

Pilot Precise V5RT. Like I said, not super expensive, but not cheap. And even less cheap when you forget to order online so you just keep getting them at target lol. Happy cake day!

I love Pilot Precise V5- extra fine :)

https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Precise-Precision-Ink-5mm-35334/dp/B00006IEBI

Sharpie Pen Fine Point Pen, 12 Black Pens (1742663) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B66DXU/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_u1nzwb4SF8ZD6

This is now my favorite pen. Works like crap when signing carbon copies, but it's smooth and lightweight. Has a similar bold writing style like the G2 pens. These pens are my personal pens, they do not get handed out.

Skilcraft ballpoints were my favorite when I was in the Army. Made by the blind! Wrote great, despite being super cheaply made and kinda scratchy.

edit: they not only still make them, you can buy them on amazon. Sweet!

link

As someone who wishes she could be artistic but totally isn't, I love coloring books. These pens have been my favorite for coloring so far. The time just flies by for me and it is very relaxing.

Muji Aluminum fountain pen. One of my favorite budget fountain pens out there. Very light weight (which turns some people off of them) but I love it.

https://www.amazon.com/MUJI-Aluminum-Body-Fountain-Pen/dp/B00K2T9DGG

​

Previous post, I've changed a few things now and I'm constantly updating! Looking for a nice slim black hand stitched leather bifoldwallet at the minute.

• Fisher Space Pen with an extra spring for more click.
  
  
• Orbitkey Black limited edition + Orbitkey Multitool + Orbitkey ring
  
  
• Apple Airpods + Nomads case
  
  
• Simple watch co Earl Watch
  
  
• Common Projects Card holder
  
  
• Leather field notes cover with a little leather pen holder stuck on the back page, field notes coast edition inside. Fits lovely in my back pocket. Thinking about replacing it with the bellroy one.
  
  
• Some cheap rings from asos

Skillcraft B3? It's a three in one type deal with black ink, red ink, and a mechanical pencil+eraser. Sounds sort of cheesy but it actually works really well and feels quality. I write quite a bit for my job and it is really handy to have red ink on hand, even if you don't need it often.

sketchbook and the pencil. The pencil is really good, has a very solid feel and good balance. You may also want to consider getting a putty eraser if you are going to go beyond sketching, or you are going to go through erasers on this mechanical pencil like crazy.

Here is an 8-pack of Jinhao 599 fountain pens from Amazon for $12.69 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Lanxivi-Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent/dp/B00L95MIJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459028586&sr=8-1&keywords=jinhao+599+fountain+pen


And a Platinum Preppy 7-pack (rainbow colors) for $16.99 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Preppy-Rainbow-Fountain-Point/dp/B00IU3US7O/ref=pd_sim_229_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51ZXAYCAZOL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR128%2C160_&refRID=1V2M317AXM250K390K8Q

Thank you! It's a work in progress. I really appreciate your comment.

Those pens are Pentel 筆touchサインペン(fude touch sign pen) SES 15C. I live in Japan at the moment so they are available at most stores that sell stationary and writing supplies.)

I think this is the equivalent version they sell in America.

Pentel Sign Pen

Uniball Signo 207 are my go-to pen for bar rushes, but if it's a slow shift, I use a cheap glittter pen. Makes our chef smile, because we hand write our tickets.

Awesome picks.

This is also a good collection:

• Fountain Pen Refills $8.70
  
• Fountain Pens $11.89
  
• A book to finish $9.89

Skillcraft US Government pens.

They are the pens the US Government buys for all their employees. They're fantastic, nice looking, and cheap.

Try a box out!

12 Pens for $12

Skilcraft U.S. Government Retractable Ball Point Pen, Fine Point, Black Ink, Box of 12 (7520-00-935-7135) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055KSNYK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_L8LMxbGYBPM9N

Read the title and came here to recommend getting a mechanical pencil, and it looks like you were already thinking about it!

My rOtring 600 should be here tomorrow. Pretty psyched about it.

A good eraser is also a life changer.

it flexes when writing, but there is a technique to using it, you have to write in a certain way to take advantage of the flex.
here is a video talking about the pen, it's a custom mod although the pen in the video has greater railroading issue as compared to mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vgg3Pvl_Bs
links to buy the parts to make one yourself
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F8W11KS
http://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Comic-Model-Chrome-PG-6C-C-K/dp/B006CQW428
i still have enough nibs to make around 50 more flex pens.
i just don't have enough pens yet.

Being volunteers, everyone here is on the same pay grade :-P

• Frankenpen - a pen made of parts from other pens (like Frankenstein's monster, only with pens instead of rotting corpses), ie: not this. Most of my pens are frankenpens.
  
• Konrad - another pen by Noodler's, similar to the Ahab with a more traditional piston mechanism, a little shorter/slimmer, also takes #6 nibs. (I kinda prefer it)
  
• mod - modify
  
• G Nib - a Zebra G Nib, a "disposable" dip-nib that can be used on some fountain pens with a bit of fiddling. Noodler's pens are a good candidate because Noodler's uses ebonite (a hard rubber) instead of plastic for their feeds -- which means you can heat-set them (heat & press the feed to mold the ebonite to the shape of the nib).
  
  
  Most of my Ahabs currently have a 1.9mm stub on them, which isn't practical for writing normal-sized, but is fun to write letters all cute and shit ;-)

Muji Aluminum body

It's beautiful and slick and sexy and so satisfying to use (plus any other s words I can't think of).

Pens are personal and the aesthetics are more valuable than the BIFL status. https://www.amazon.com/Skilcraft-Government-Retractable-Point-7520-00-935-7135/dp/B0055KSNYK is what the entire government uses and its the only MILSPEC pen on the planet. Its a god damn tank. But the form factor and writing quality may not be to your liking.

There are 98,345 notebook systems out there. /r/Leathercraft/ can custom you one, etsy, ebay, or a popular one is http://www.saddlebackleather.com/leather-notepad-cover

You'd be surprised. I'm a full time college student with depression. I'm still managing to pull off art on the side.

Initial costs are a box of pencils, erasers and a notebook.

Canson Artist Series Universal Sketch Pad, 9"X12" Side Wire https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IXJ7CM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_mtWJzbS3BS01W

Palomino 2B Pencils Orange Set Of 12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P50UTE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KuWJzb7MTP1WQ

Staedtler Mars Plastic Erasers,Pack of 4 (52650BK4) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFAN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZvWJzb48BV8JQ

There's more affordable options but these are my favorites so far.

It's probably best to stop by a superstore and pick up whatever they have on the cheap.

Edit: Tacklebox has been drawing for four years. Think about it. You can do this. You can get the skills you want if you practice.

I carry several metros, but the workhorse ink I use is Noodle's Heart of Darkness, Haven't had too much issue with it. I also use Diamine shimmering ink for when I want some whimsy

Wow, that's pretty cool. I carry a Fisher military space pen with me religiously, but cool pen nonetheless.

I am partial to these. But your pen is pretty nifty as well.

I recently purchased these, and they are excellent.

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner

I bought the smaller pack at Michaels Arts and Crafts, but I wish I had waited and looked for them on Amazon, they are a lot more affordable there than they were at the craft store.

Check out Sharpie Pens, might just be the perfect middle ground for you. They won't bleed through paper and they're pretty decent for marking harder surfaces.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001B66DXU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_B.ixCb6XZFJ7P

Depends on your personal preference. First, you need to decide if you prefer ball point or felt tip. You also need to consider if you want a wide range of colours.

I have come to love fine felt tip because the come in so many colours, as colour coding my notes helps me remember more from my studying. Staedtler Triplus Fineliners is what I use, and yes, I like them so much I bought the 36 pack. These do not smudge unless you are writing on glossy paper. However, if your page of felt pen written notes get wet, it turns into an illegible page of tie-dye.

Some people like ballpoint better because it makes for smoother pen strokes but I can't speak to best ballpoint brands as I don't use ballpoint often.

Pilot V5 Extra Fine

When they came out with the Retractable version of this bad boy it was like Christmas. I also found another cap version while I was in Greece last Spring that had a gray body and a super fine point...Love this pen so much. I also use Microns a lot, although I'm not sure why.

I experience the same thing, my hand cramps up and hurts if I try to ignore it. Unfortunately I don't have much advice since I haven't been able to overcome it myself. Maybe try using something different to write with, like switching types of pens or pencils to find one that is easier on your hand. So far the easiest I've found is the Sharpie brand pens.

I was curious about the deal so I checked out Amazon as well. The price is crazy low! Especially since they all come with a converter. I assume that it's being imported directly from China since the estimated delivery is so long.

For the curious: http://www.amazon.com/Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent-Unique/dp/B00L95MIJQ?ie=UTF8&keywords=Jinhao%20Fountain%20Pens&qid=1465346477&ref_=sr_1_5&sr=8-5

Now to get ink in all of those colors. Anyone know of any good yellow ink? :P

Personally I have found that the Staedtler Mars plastic eraser is best. You want to do it evenly across the length of the book as to not create a "clean" area. Additionally it does not require scrubbing with it, just use it like you would with a pencil mark on paper... there are also youtube videos on this:

https://youtu.be/d399AFqTzVY

STAEDTLER Mars Plastic, Premium Quality Vinyl Eraser, White, Latex-free, Age-resistant, Minimal Crumbling (526 50 BK) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFAN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oaXACbRK5R447

They're not Bic Clic's but they are awesome pens.
https://www.amazon.com/Skilcraft-Government-Retractable-Point-7520-00-935-7135/dp/B0055KSNYK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478350052&sr=8-1&keywords=skilcraft+pens

That's a great fit. I may go with that one. Know of any pens that are a little less shiny than that AL-Star?

Edit: Nevermind, I found the perfect pen.

You actually probably do!

Platinum Preppy $5.67
Pilot Varsity $8.49 per 3 pack
Pilot V-Pen $6.99
Bic Disposable $5.06 per 2 pack
Jinhao X450 $4.54
Zebra V-301 $7.87
Jinhao X450 $4.54
Baoer Silver Cross Line $4.50
Pelikan 4001 Ink 30ml Royal Blue $8.65
Jinhao $5.21 for 15

So you see, you can buy one. Maybe not a Montblanc just yet, but don't worry, these are all still fun.

Definitely the V5 in my opinion, Vision is another good line if you're looking to go Uni-ball/Stick. If you're looking retractable then I would say the retractable V5 (which is refillable), the 207, or my girlfriend's pick the classic G2.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00VY9U9W0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510348709&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=stadler+fineliner+pens&dpPl=1&dpID=51Qa2GbrYOL&ref=plSrch

This would be a really good pack to start with, it's going to be my next upgrade. Anything from Staedtler or Pigma. Hope this helps?

I always use a Kuru Toga pencil for anything I can do in pencil. The lead automatically rotates in the barrel as you write so you always have a sharp point. I use the metal version, they make cheaper plastic versions which write just as nicely.

My pen of choice is pretty much any gel ink pen in black. If I can't get that, whatever else the office supply closet has (as someone else said).

https://www.amazon.com/STAEDTLER-Plastic-Latex-free-Age-resistant-Crumbling/dp/B00006IFAN

This is what you need bro, way way better erasing than any tiny pencil eraser can do and one eraser will last you more than a year easy

This pencil will keep your lead sharp.

These are just so cute!

Write on!

I love writing letters!

Why is your future pen set so awesome looking? Why am I drawn to it? I want answers!!

I'm a roller ball fan. I will probably use these pens for the rest of my life. But that set is intriguing. I think the fact that the come in a case is what I like so much.

I use these. They are the best pens ever made.

Skilcraft U.S. Government Retractable Ball Point Pen, Fine Point, Black Ink, Box of 12 (7520-00-935-7135)

Not kidding, I've have mine for 20+ years. Being able to swap leads to harder or softer or even different colors is a great advantage.

Paired with a proper sharpener this is the last pencil you'll buy.

Here's a direct link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0015VB4EE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511465821&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=noodler%27s+heart+of+darkness

Hope that helps!

I've tried a lot of the pens out there. When I was starting out, stiffer pens like the pentel fude pens, Kuretake Fudegokochi, Zebra Fude, or some of the finer tombow were much easier to control. Later I branched out to larger tips like Ecoline, the Tombow dual-tips and the Kuretake Fudebiyori (and a bunch of other random pen types!) but those smaller, stiffer pens remain my recommendation for beginners.

How thick of a marker are you wanting?

If you like thinner markers, I recommend the (Staedtler Triplus Fineliners)[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VY9U9W0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_H93PzbSP28FR7] as they are good quality, lasted me a long time, and relatively cheap. I have no suggestions for thicker markers though because my next purchase was Tombows, which are quite pricey, but worth it to me.

I recommend the fisher space pen map-O-matic. It a really nice pen that takes the fisher space pen refills that last for ever and write in all situation.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisher-Space-Pen-Cap-O-Matic-Ballpoint/dp/B001E103CY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1458765853&sr=8-3&keywords=fisher+space+pen

Lol there was a photo I upload but it got deleted. Well here are the links... https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00L95MIJQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&psc=1

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071W4WNMY/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A7RM57FDIWEJ0&psc=1

Pretty sure it's a uni-ball Signo 207.

These are amazing and have never failed to not write...

http://www.amazon.com/Skilcraft-Government-Retractable-Point-7520-00-935-7135/dp/B0055KSNYK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371921249&sr=8-1&keywords=skilcraft+pen

https://www.amazon.com/Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent-Unique/dp/B00L95MIJQ

$11 for 8 pens. I absolutely love them, they are so much fun to write with.

Looks to me like Pentel GraphGear 500. It's not too expensive compared to others, but it's entry level for nice drafting pencils.

Get better pens, like a maintainer pen.
https://www.amazon.com/SKILCRAFT-Aviator-Multi-function-Medium-7520-01-564-9906/dp/B001KKPGHQ

I use the same lead holder, and sharpen it with a pointer like this: https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-Rotary-Action-Pointer-502BKA6/dp/B002EL9J50

It might take a few tries to get used to, but it takes just seconds to sharpen, and they have a little foam thingamabob to clean off excess graphite.

• USB OTG adapter with 8GB flash drive
  
• Eleaf iJust 2 vaporizer
  
• J5 Tactical flashlight
  
• OnePlus One with Diztronic case
  
• MUJI aluminum fountain pen with converter
  
• Pilot FriXion Clicker erasable gel pen
  
• BIC disposable fountain pen
  
• Billabong wallet
  
• Xiaomi Piston 3 earphones
  
  Bonus: The keyboard at the top is a CM Storm Quickfire Rapid with Cherry MX Blue keyswitches.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E103CY/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687742&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000WGD13U&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=02HA29V3K8E7EY48YKFV

thats the one I carry. Smooth writing, rock solid EDC pen. They're fantastic.

Pilot Precise V5 RT is the best pen I've ever owned

Korutoga by Uni. Metal body, 0.5mm lead, and probably one of the best functioning mechanical pencils around. Sharpens the lead as you write.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004OHNR0A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1427023630&sr=8-1&keywords=koru+toga

In case anyone else wants to do this next year,
these things are super cheap, and all come with a converter!

Yeah, but hey, you can get the pen from GoldenEye for like 12 bucks!

Here is the list of gear. It is meant for both myself and my wife, so I doubled up in some places. (Links where I have them)

• LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
  
• yueton Shatterproof Stainless Steel Ultrathin Folding Travel Mirror
  
• S.O.S. Rations Emergency 3600 Calorie Food Bar
  
• Mini Foldable Folding Shovel
  
• Coleman Dome Tent
  
• GreenLight Diamond Strike on Box Matches,
  
• Zippo Typhoon Matches and Match Kit
  
• My Amazing Outdoor Inc Camp Mess Kit
  
• Swiss Safe Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets
  
• Aootek Upgraded first aid survival Kit
  
• AxPower Dust Masks
  
• Dust mask filter pack
  
• Esky Portable Emergency Weather Radio Hand Crank Self Powered
  
• Foxelli Disposable Rain Ponchos
  
• TOUGH-GRID 750lb Paracord/Parachute Cord
  
• Aquatabs AQT200 Water Purification Tablets 200 Pack
  
• REEBOW GEAR Hard Knuckle Tactical Gloves
  
• Sharpie Plastic Point Stick Water Resistant Pen
  
• Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Top-Spiral Notebook
  
• Buck Knife 119
  
• 1 quart zip lock bags pack
  
• 1 gallon zip lock bags pack
  
• 2 Days worth of clothes
  
• REEBOW GEAR Military Tactical Assault Pack Backpack, Capacity: 34L
  
  Total Combined weight 27.4969375 Lbs (assuming my measurements are correct, couldn't get a good read on the tent so I had to use manufacturer info)
  
  Stuff I don't have yet, but which I plan to include as I get them:
  
  
• Passports, and other document copies
  
• Extra cash
  
• 9mm pistol
  
• Better water storage
  
• Solar charging and power banks

The Zebra G nibs are *extremely* flexible, probably some of the most flexible nibs on the market. Here's a video using the same nib. I believe these nibs were meant for dip pens (although I could be wrong), so they come in a small box of 10 or so, and are relatively cheap on amazon as well.

It uses a Zebra G dip nib which is flexible. Unlike fountain pen nibs, dip nibs are semi-disposable and will eventually corrode or wear out. On the other hand, dip nibs are much cheaper to replace. I believe you can get a pack of 10 Zebra G nibs for $10ish.

I purchased the hard tips on amazon.


Fudenosuke Color Brush Pen, 10-Pack. Hard Tip Fudenosuke Brush Pens in Assorted Colors

I have these too, and love them. They’re softer tipped


Pentel Arts Sign Pen Touch, Fude Brush Tip, 12 Assorted Colors

lol, has happened to me, solution: get one of these Metal taste will keep you from doing it and its a kickass pen

Thanks. It's all just a black fine point rolling ball pen around the paint. I think it helps bring the colors out when watercolors can get muddy and lack contrast.

Try a felt-tip pen, like the Papermate Flair. Or a plastic-tip pen like the Sharpie pen. Ballpoints can sometimes get clogged with paper, especially if you're left-handed.

Pretty much any office supply store. Target, Walmart, OfficeMax/Depot, staples etc.

Also on amazon here uni-ball 207 Retractable Gel Pens, Medium Point, Black, Box of 12 - 33950 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FDR47E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UXiMDbJDZB2D9

Use the link below to donate .5% of your purchase to charity.
Amazon Smile URL: https://smile.amazon.com/Zebra-Comic-Model-Chrome-PG-6B-C-K/dp/B006CQW428

This bot is still in test phase. Please PM me for suggestions, complaints or questions.

Ah, sorry. Best I found on amazon.in was an 8-pack for 1155 Rupees:

https://www.amazon.in/Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent-Unique/dp/B00L95MIJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519739251&sr=8-1&keywords=jinhao+599

Ive never done this, but I have heard good things about these. Buy a jinhao X750 and buy the zebra G nib and put it in the pen, there are some tutorials on youtube

Pens don't necessarily need to be expensive to be professional. If you want something that has metal construction and writes well, I'd suggest the Pentel Energel Alloy, it has an all-metal body that fits basically any refill you'd like. Other than that, I'd say the Parker Jotter. This is my favorite color, but you can find all variations/combinations of colors, and the refill is universal so anything with that shape can be used.