Fun Ink Day

Today is Fun Ink Day, what color is in you pen?

And here's something I found at Pendemonium on ink that is a great read.

Uni-Ball Vision Exact

This seems to be a pen week for me, as I was looking through my case sorting out different gel inks and rollerballs. The Uni-Ball Vision Exact is a nice-looking pen, fun and contemporary. The cap and end of the barrel are the same matte plastic color so when it's posted there is one long line of color. The 0.7mm needle point glides nicely and the ink flow is smooth. The blue ink seems to be lighter than most blues I've used, making it a bit more distinct in the crowd of gel ink pens It's a looker of a pen and writes well, a great addition to your collection.

March is Carnival Time

Hey all, the Carnival is coming--the 8th Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper will be here at Pocket Blonde on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

General information about the Carnival is here and the submission page is here. Submissions are due by Sunday, March 7, 2010, and I'm hoping to be inundated with fantastic posts.

Many thanks to Nifty for starting the Carnival.

My First Sock

There are holes and weird picked-up stitches and some places are too loose, but I love it because I taught myself how to do it by reading a book on how to knit socks. Classes for Beginner's Level 2 have just started, and we're just learning more of the basics, like adding and decreasing stitches. I now know how to knit a sock, gusset, instep, and all.

Paper Mate Liquid Flair XFine Point Marker

The Paper Mate Liquid Flair XFine Point Marker certainly announced itself to me with it's unique benzene-ring like pattern on the barrel. Takes me back to my organic chemistry days, so I thought I'd try it out.

The Liquid Flair features a clear plastic point guard inside the cap that protects the felt tip from damage, and quick-drying, water-based ink that really doesn't bleed through paper. The XFine point isn't quite as fine as they advertise, certainly not like a Zebra Sarasa Stick pen. The black ink does flow smoothly and evenly, a feature they promote in their advertising, and it is quick-drying. It's also the glossiest black ink I've ever seen, and I love writing with this pen.

You can buy it in basic black, or pick up one of the other colors: blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, and turquoise.

Manhattan Map Ballpoint

Something really different that I found at the Essex Card shop a few weeks ago, this New York City Transit Manhattan map pen. One side shows the Manhattan subway up to about 96th Street; the other side has the Manhattan bus routes on it. The map easy to use, the pen a regular ballpoint. All in all, a good idea (and not a bad ballpoint, either).

Sailor Ink Bar Disposable Fountain Pen

I've been looking at this Sailor Ink Bar disposable fountain pen at JetPens.com for some time and decided to get one when I was rounding out a recent order. It's a very basic fountain pen: white plastic body that has a clear plastic panel to show the ink level cap, and clear plastic cap that covers a fine point nib. Ink is black or blue-black, nothing amazing but just a good workhorse fountain pen. But there are some thrills to come.

Julie (Okami) from Whatever points out this post from Good Pens that takes you step-by-step through the process of removing the nib off your disposable pen and refilling it with the ink of your choice. So I gave it a try, carefully pulling the nib out with a pair of regular plyers. I'm looking forward to using up this black ink and adding some of my own,