Pilot Timeline Gel Ink Pen

Got an email from Tokyo Pen Shop that mentioned a new pen they were carrying called the Pilot Timeline Gel. What a beautiful gel ink pen, the colors are amazing. So is the price, but looking is free. Check out TPS on Facebook too.

Whitelines Slim Notebook @WhitelinesUSA

Stopped by my local stationery store last week and saw this Whitelines slim wirebound notebook with squared paper and interesting size. It's 5.75 by almost 11.75 (not 11), with 70 pages of 80gsm paper that's very gel ink friendly--no bleed through or shadow at all.



It reminds me of the Rhodia reverse book, one of my favorite Rhodia notebooks, and the Le Carre staple-bound notebook. But the former is rectangular while the latter is square, so this Whitelines is a longer, slimmer way of taking notes or working on designs.


Sideways the Whitelines slim notebook is equally good, and I could see using it when space is limited and I can't get the notebook vertical on a flat surface.

I've got this page set up to mark a knitting pattern I'm about to work on, a two-part scarf with 12 rounds of a 12-row pattern. As I'm just beginning to learn to read the knitting, rather than the chart, I still need a way to mark off what I've done. This Whitelines slim notebook is perfect for keeping tabs on the scarf's progress, while a comfortable size to slip into my knitting bag.

What amuses me is that I've drawn in the lines of the chart, rather than rely on the squared Whitelines paper to keep me on course. And that makes me wonder, how many other people use square paper and then draw the lines of the graph? Habit is my first thought, but also fear of not seeing the squares and misunderstanding what I've got in front of my eyes. Are others as redundant/nervous as me?

Poppin Blue Ballpoint Pen @Poppin

A recent addition to office supply retailers is Poppin, an online store with tons of sleek products for your desk. I've been all over their site looking at various pens and stationery supplies, but not really thinking of ordering yet as I've got lots of stuff in my stash that I have to get through firsts.

But Lost Crates sent me three of Poppin's Signature Blue Ballpoint Pens in my November package, and I couldn't wait to try these. I love the look, very simple uni-color with an edged clip that I find very attractive.


The pen is refillable, so I can replace the ink with something else once I determine what will fit. Could go with a gel ink, or maybe a blue-black color, whatever takes my fancy when it's time to refill.

These are basically no-frills pens that are sturdy and solid, with clean lines and a good design and production. The plastic fits together well, and there are no seams or nubs showing the molding process. The pen barrel feels a bit wider than my other pens, but that may be due to the lack of a rubber grip (which presses in a bit, giving the impression of a thinner pen).


For the price ($6 for 12 pens, then add in shipping and tax if applicable) it's a very worthwhile purchase, especially the fantastic color range (11 colors in all, including turquoise, magenta, two blues, two greens, red, black, and brown). The pen does skip a bit on starting, but then the ink starts to flow regularly and writing is normal and smooth.

Thinking of getting some office supplies, and don't want to do another Staples order? Definitely try Poppin, the pens and paper look fantastic as do the desk accessories and other products.

Lost Crates November 2011 @LostCrates

My November Lost Crates shipment arrived, and first thing I noticed was the wonderful card added to the box noting that this package was curated by Jack. Garret signed the other card, so thanks to both of you for an interesting box.


This month's selection is very much to my liking:

one Monsieur leather notebook (which I haven't reviewed yet but have on my to do list)

a box of Pantone notes, with 20 different color cards and envelopes.

a PooPooPaper scratch pad with zebra striping (I love the slogans on the back of the pad, "two bums up" and "brown is the new green")

three Poppin blue ballpoint pens, which I've been wanting to try.

I'm really looking forward to using and reviewing all of these, great job Lost Crates!

Brause Nibs and Astrology Guides

Great post at Went Sketching, very impressive art work and client!

Le Pen by Marvy Japan

Over 30 years ago Marvy Uchida introduced this long, sleek plastic barrel pen with a micro-fine tip and dye-based ink that adds some pop to the color. My favorite was the purple, but all the pen colors were beautiful and I was hooked. I think part of the attraction was the name, Le Pen--as if it came straight from Paris even though the barrel is clearly marked Japan. Another part of the attraction was the clean design of the pen itself, just a slim round barrel and blunt-cut cap so unlike the BIC ballpoints we used for work, school, and home.

Although I see these all the time at various stationery store, I hadn't thought to get one until a burgundy Le Pen showed up in last month's Lost Crates shipment. And it's just as I remembered it--the tip seems a bit porous and flexible, more like a sponge than a nail, and the line width looks wider than the claimed 0.3mm. I will definitely have to do a line match up to see where this Le Pen fits on the width scale, but for now it seems more like a 0.5mm or 0.7mm and that may preclude it from really fine line work.

But Le Pen retains its smooth writing style, and just has a great hand feel. The burgundy color seems very red, not as brown as some in that shade. The indented barrel end and very tight click-fit cap, as well as the indented silver clip, add to the overall attractiveness of the design. I remember now that it was one of my favorite pens, and I'll be looking for more to add to my collection.

Pentel EnerGel Needle Point Liquid Ink Pen

Many thanks to Brad and JetPens for sending me this Pentel EnerGel needle point liquid ink pen, which writes like a dream.


I love the true blue color of the ink, which does dry fast. There's something elegant about needle point tips the longer I look at one, although I can find them at times a bit disconcerting on first sight. I like how regular pen tips taper from the section down to the ball of the tip, and needle points seem strange and spiky.


I find myself looking for my needle point pens now because they are great for writing in really tiny spaces such as marking errata on knitting charts, which I've been doing a lot of lately--both knitting and catching mistakes in the pattern. With little space in the book for making changes, needle point tips are essential for correcting these errors and making notes. So the 0.5mm width of this tip seems quite good for what I need, but a 0.4mm or even 0.3mm would be great as well (if only EnerGel pens came with those tips!).

Definitely take a look when you're mulling over your next order from JetPens (I was looking at all of these items just the other day, someone got a great haul of goodies!)