Pen Vibe

Rachel at Rachel Rites explains the Bullet journaling system.

Lito at Palimpsest delves into the history of Shaw & Sons stationers.

Ian at Pens! Paper! Pencils! finds Field Notes notebooks to be serviceable.

The Unroyal Warrant explores the Namiki Custom Impression fountain pen.

Nifty at Notebook Stories likes the look of Best Made notebooks.

Sarah at A California Yankee… opens up her pen case full of fountain pens.

No Pen Intended finds love with the Pilot Vanishing Point limited edition fountain pen.

Ray at Fountain Pen Quest fills his Sheaffer Balance Oversize with Montblanc Irish Green ink.

Azizah at Gourmet Pens field tests the PocketJot notebook cover.

The Weekly Pencil finally lands a Palomino Blackwing 211 pencil.

A Bic spokeswoman takes to Chicago radio station WBEZ to explain the company is on a “mission to save handwriting” and why that matters.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station write in their journals (not by hand, though) at least three times a week, and those journals are later analyzed by behaviorists, according to NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Artist James Charles has a show running in New York, and Beautiful Decay profiles some of his work drawing pop culture figures on US currency.

Malaysia’s The Artsy Craftsy offers up an overview of junk journaling, a mixed media way of keeping track of the memorable moments in your life.

Using pen and paper externalizes internal thoughts, leading to a focus on higher-order thinking skills, according to educational psychology professor Grace Koo, writing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Urban Sketchers Chicago lays out 10 reasons to do more drawing, including improved hand-eye coordination, and lists some groups that will help keep you motivated.

A member at the Wet Canvas forum has written a detailed guide to the types of pens artists use, along with some recommendations for the best pens for the job.

Brad at The Pen Addict backs the Tactile Turn Gist fountain pen.

Ian at Pens! Paper! Pencils! doodles with Private Reserve Spearmint fountain pen ink.

Ana at The Well-Appointed Desk clicks through the Sharpie Pen Retractable.

Matthias at Bleistift cranks up the M + R 0981 pencil sharpener.

Cody at The Pen Haul fills his Clairefontaine Pocket Notebook.

Brian at OfficeSupplyGeek dresses up the Levenger Steath Circa Foldover.

Suzanne at Twenty Four at Heart lists her favorite pens for various art projects.

Christine at Pentulant swabs some Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-ho fountain pen ink.

George at My Supply Room recommends Pentel Graphgear mechanical pencils.

Mary at From the Pen Cup stops being serious with Uniball Signo DX Hello Kitty gel pens.

This was a bit surprising: A YouTube video in which an engineering professor explains how a retractable pen works became a bit of a viral hit.

The simple 4:43 video from Bill Hammack – “engineerguy” on YouTube – had been viewed more than 370K times when I last checked, about a month after it was posted.

In the video, Hammack uses a Parker Jotter and some 3D modeling graphics to describe the interplay between plunger, cam, and spring that extends and retracts the ink cartridge and produces that distinctive clicking noise. [Read more…]