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Hi Fediverse!

Do you have a favorite notebook to write in? Preferably something not much smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches, lined, and that stays open.

I'm thinking this? (Doesn't have to be a composition notebook though.) amazon.com/gp/product/B009PL4Z octodon.social/media/X0yt-wHU4

Sam Schlinkert @schlink

Also accepting ideas for pens and/or mechanical pencils that you LOVE...

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@schlink Pilot Coleto Hi-Tec-C with a mech pencil insert

@schlink Comes in two diameters, usually I prefer the thicker one? I think it's 0.5mm

@schlink pen of choice: jetpens.com/Pilot-Vanishing-Po

stupid expensive compared to the $2-3 fine point pigment markers i usually use (which are in turn stupid expensive compared to a package of bics) but i put off buying one for years and it's the nicest writing implement i've ever owned.

@brennen whoa, cool. Dunno if I can splurge on that... maybe a Christmas present to myself ha

@schlink it's kinda over the top, but if you like fountain pens, it's pretty neat.

(fountain pens are kind of like watches - you can spend, like, car or house down payment money if you are a rich person who wants a status symbol, but you can spend $10 - $200 and get something that on a practical level is really good and maybe even better than most of the expensive stuff.)

@brennen yeah for sure.

Years ago, I had a pen I loved (dunno how much it was-- it was a gift; maybe $30) but lost it and forgot what it was called :(

Do you know anything about this one? amazon.com/gp/product/B0002T40

@schlink yeah, i have a couple. i don't _personally_ love them to write with, but a lot of people seem to, and the design is cool.

related thoughts:

i'd stay away from the parker vector - every one i've ever owned has been badly manufactured garbage.

for low-dollar fountain pens, i really like the very basic plastic ones that sheaffer has been selling pretty much forever. i have a couple my mom got as a kid, still work great. maybe something like this?

amazon.com/Sheaffer-Fountain-C

@schlink Yeah, sorry, these are liquid ink rollerball pens. For me the combination of liquid ink with a slightly thicker tip works very well.

@julianruf gotcha. Just making sure you sent the link you meant to send!

@schlink I really like my Rotring Tikky 3 in 1. Handy having two colours and a pencil all in one pen, and it's comfortable too.

@schlink that rOtring one looks interesting, gonna add it to the Amazon wishlist!

Its been a while since I've written using mechanical pencils but I used to use Faber-Castell or Staedtler mechanical pencils a lot when I was younger

@staticsafe yeah, it feels like a zombie-killing tool!

Note that they have an 800 model (amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?), but after reading a few reviews, I opted for the 600 rather than the 800. The bummer is the 600 doesn't retract, but the reviews on the 800 are weirdly very mixed about its construction.