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Pen Vibe

Bringing you Pen and Pencil News, Reviews & Tutorials

Interview: Pen-And-Ink Illustrator Rob Turpin

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While we all love pens in their various incarnations, ultimately, they’re just the tools that channel the creativity of craftsmen, both artistic and practical.

Here at The Pen Vibe, we’re all about those craftsmen, the pens they use, and what they choose to do with them. So it’s always exciting for us when one chooses to share his story with our readers.

Today, it’s Rob Turpin, an illustrator known for his sci-fi and fantasy-inspired drawings done in pen and ink.

This is our interview with him.

Please tell us a little about you.

Originally from Yorkshire, but now living in the suburbs of southwest London, I trained and worked as a graphic designer before making the leap in to illustration. I’ve just completed my first book illustration project, and I’m working on another about robots. [Read more…]

The Uni-ball Power Tank: Better than the Fisher Space Pen?

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OK, credit where it’s due: The Fisher Space Pen was one of those brilliant little byproducts of the American space program like Tang and cordless drills. With its pressurized ink cartridge that could write on any surface from any angle, it did for ballpoint pens what the iPhone did for cell phones.

But that was more than 40 years ago. [Read more…]

10 Favorite Quotes About Pens

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The other day, I asked a woman at the doctor’s office if I could take a look at her pen. She gave me kind of an odd stare, so I said, “I’ve got a thing about pens.”

It wasn’t the most elegant way to explain my interest in writing instruments. That got me to thinking about how other people have said it. One thing led to another, and I ended up looking at pithy quotes about pens on the internet.

Here are some of the pen quotes that either amused me or seemed to have a particular resonance: [Read more…]

Why a Pen is a ‘Biro’ in the UK

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For our American readers, a pen is usually just a pen. But those of you in the UK know that cheap ballpoints are often referred to as “biros.” If you’ve ever wondered about the reason for that, it’s this:

The first ballpoint pen, utilizing a steel ball bearing held in place by a socket, was developed in the late 19th century by a man named John Loud. Unfortunately, his invention didn’t work too well on paper and was used mainly for marking leather, according to a report from the BBC. [Read more…]

How Do You Recycle Ink Pens?

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Pen Recycling Bin

What do you do when you’ve finished with a used ink pen – toss it in the trash? Probably, because that’s what we all do. It’s about the only thing you can do with an old pen.

Complete pens can’t go into normal plastic recycling bins because they contain bits of metal, as well as the remainder of the ink. The barrels themselves are typically “Type 5 recyclable plastic,” according to Pilot, but all metal components and the refills have to be removed before recycling. [Read more…]