Guest post: Pens for New Writers – What to Look for in a Vintage Pen

I'm delighted to share this post with you from Simon Gray of Battersea Pen Home on the history of fountain pens and what to look for in a vintage pen. You can find out more about vintage fountain pens and fountain pen repairs at Battersea Pen Home.

Battersea Pen Home have specialised in servicing and repairing pens, ballpens and pencils since the mid 1990s. They were originally based in Battersea before moving to Epping in 2000.

They look after most makes of fountain pen including those now classed as 'obsolete' by their manufacturers. They were trained by Parker and Waterman back in 2002 as service technicians for their writing instruments and are also recommended by Sheaffer UK.

Pens for New Writers – What to Look for in a Vintage Pen

Many people buy vintage fountain pens because they find them inspirational. In a similar way that driving a classic car can force you to drive differently, using a fountain pen forces you to write differently. Writing with a pen is more challenging than using a word-processor; you can’t easily edit what you have written and so you have to find creative ways to make it work.

When buying a vintage pen, most people are initially drawn to how it looks; although how comfortable it feels in the hand and how smoothly it writes are what ultimately determine how much it will be used. Often the most important consideration is sentimental. Owning and using a pen that brings back memories of loved ones gives a sense of connection to things past and present that a biro or keyboard can never achieve.

Most vintage pens are susceptible for wear and tear, but don’t be put off. Most of the important components can be replaced and repaired, and once refurbished, pens can continue to work for many years with very little further intervention. Here are some tips for selecting the perfect vintage pen.

The term ‘vintage pens’ covers just about every instrument produced for the purpose of making marks on slate, skin, parchment or paper. One of the first pens capable of holding its own supply of ink was described by Nicholas Bion, a French instrument maker and author who lived in Paris around the turn of the 18th century. Little progress was made until the early 19th century when the number of patents connected with fountain pen design began to increase as new materials and production processes were developed.

By the late 19th century much progress had been made with the development of hard rubber which was cheap, resistant to chemicals ink and could be easily turned on a lathe into caps, barrels and nib sections – the main components of a pen. At this time, virtually all fountain pens were ‘eyedroppers’ where the ink was contained directly in the barrel rather than in an ink sac. Ink was transferred from the barrel through the feed and onto the paper by capillary attraction; hence ink only flowed when the nib touched paper.

The 1900s saw the development of the feed (the part below the nib) in an effort to regulate ink flow. Once this had improved, designers were freed up to focus more on the portability of pens with the 1910s bringing pen caps which screwed securely onto the main body of the pen rather than just being a push or slip-on fit. Screw-on caps meant it was safer to carry a pen in your pocket so the next stage was a multitude of clip designs to ensure the pen didn’t fall out of your pocket. Everyone today takes clips for granted, but in the 1920s a fountain pen clip was quite a new idea and frequently an optional extra at additional cost.

At the same time, progress has been made with improving the method of holding ink. Rather than the hard rubber barrel being the only reservoir, latex rubber ink sacs became available and reduced the possibility of leakage. Research and design then turned to filling methods with Conklin leading the field with its Crescent filler in 1901 and Parker developing a button filling system in 1914 which was still being used on their Duofold models as late as the 1950s. Sheaffer, Waterman and others focussed on lever fillers which again lasted through to the 1960s with several companies.

So, we are almost there with what most people would recognise as a fountain pen in terms of controlled ink delivery, a variety of filling systems and a basic design which was secure enough for the pen to be carried around in a jacket pocket. The final step was in materials development. Up until the 1920s, pens were made from metal (either solid or plated gold, silver etc) and vulcanised hard rubber which restricted the colour of pens largely to black, red or a combination known as a rippled finish.

All this changed from around 1924 with major developments in the manufacture of plastics principally in the USA and led by DuPont. No longer restricted to hard rubber, pen makers went into overdrive with pens appearing for the first time in colours such as lapis blue, jade green, pearl and black and many other combinations.

So, in terms of choosing a ‘vintage pen’ to write with, the mid 1920s is really the starting point as choice of colour, style, filling system, nibs begin to expand almost exponentially.

Many thanks to Simon Grey for the post.

You can find out more about vintage fountain pens and fountain pen repairs at Battersea Pen Home.

Guest post from Stuart Lennon

Today's post is by my good friend and writing buddy Stuart Lennon, who blogs over at http://stuartlennon.com/

Since we met, I've been dragging him over to the dark side of stationery, Filofaxes and fountain pens and he has kindly agreed to do a guest post about how he uses his Filofax for keeping his life in order. Over to you, Stuart!
[click on any picture to enlarge]

Stuart's trusty Malden A5

Late in 2014, I sold my business and set up a website, www.stuartlennon.com boldly declaring myself a writer.

Waking up without a business to run was liberating. My time was my own. Soon, I discovered that without focus, my time was simply evaporating.

In an online writer’s community, I met a certain Amanda and somehow or other, we got to talking about fountain pens and paper.

Within days, I was an inveterate stationery addict and began considering whether Amanda’s excellent ‘Planning System’ (which you can read about here) might help me get a grip on my productivity.

Size / System

I had used DayTimer in the past, and researched other US systems, such as Franklin Covey. I saw no compelling reason to go for US binding over UK/EU. On size, I knew that A5 was my favourite. If I need to have a planner with me – then it is not too cumbersome, but it is big enough to be easy to write in at my desk; where it spends most of its time. I carry an A6 notebook as my ‘portable’.

My wife has pointed out to me that I am therefore not able to commit to further appointments if I don’t have my diary with me. She is right (always!), but I see this as a benefit. It allows me to return home and reflect on whether I need or want to attend another meeting rather than be pressganged into an unnecessary one.

Planner Layout

I have traditionally used two page per day, with every moment of every day accounted for (and often billed for). I no longer need this. Amanda put forward a persuasive argument about the benefit of seeing an entire week at one glance. My intention was to use the planner pages for fixed appointments and time blocking. Notes and task lists were going to be somewhere else. Week to view looked good.

Week to view diary (by Smythson)

Planner Paper

I now use and enjoy a fountain pen. Modern Filofax paper is not well thought of by fountain pen users. Despite this, there seems to be very little provision in the market place for ‘ink friendly’ Filofax inserts. One possible solution is to print my own. Some clever and generous people at www.philofaxy.com and www.mylifeallinoneplace.com have designed bespoke layouts, which can be downloaded and printed at home. A less labour-intensive, but costlier solution is to buy Smythson refills. Being clumsy and incompetent at most craft activities, I went for Smythson.

Binders

I researched at www.philofaxy.com, another excellent recommendation from Amanda. Committed as I was to Smythson diary refills, one of their binders seemed a good idea. The price gave me pause. I settled on a Filofax Malden in Ochre. I prefer a little flexibility and soft feel over rigidity. There are two pen loops. I am able to fit my fountain pen in either. Inside front cover of the binder has a variety of slip pockets and a full height zipper pocket. The Malden goes for £112 on the Filofax website, but I found it at £77 at WH Smith online.

A5 Malden Filofax

Inside cover

Setup

Inserts: Week to view diary, section dividers, address pages and lined note paper – all from Smythson. Another section divider, address index, more note paper, neon Post-it selection and plastic wallet are from Filofax. Information pages are from both suppliers.

There is something reassuringly snobby about the Smythson information pages. A chap needs to have a wine vintage chart, the telephone numbers of the principal London Clubs and of course the the British Field Sport Season dates to hand at all times. Obviously.

Next come my Key Result Areas, and adaptation of Amanda’s planning system. These nestle behind the numbered cream dividers supplied by Filofax.

Key Results Area cover

Key Results Area sheets

Then come the gilded royal blue diary pages from Smythson and the addresses section. I keep postal addresses here – for people with whom I correspond in the old-fashioned way. Electronic data and telephone numbers live with their devices. Finally comes a notes section and the utilities, such as the Post-Its.

My intention is to carry Rhodia shopping lists in the pocket on the inside of the rear cover of the Malden. These will serve as my task lists. Keeping them as pads will allow me to use them independently of the binder – perhaps open beside me as I tear through my admin chores for the day (Please God!)

Two Rhodia shopping list pads in the back notebook slot

Review

So far, I have found it useful to place the paper where I intend to write the most in the middle of the binder. This ensures a flatter surface than when writing on pages at the front or the back. The look, feel and smell of the Malden is gorgeous. I’m convinced that my vowels are more rounded, simply by carrying it. The Smythson paper is fantastic to write on. It is indulgent, but, for me at least, worth it. The Filofax inserts in cotton cream were not as poor to write on as I had expected, but do suffer in comparison to the higher quality paper.

Many thanks to Stuart for letting us peek into his Filofax!
 

Guest post from Gerard: Compact Setup, Compact Write-up

Thank you to my very good friend Gerard for this guest post on the set-up he is using! Read, and drool over the lovely stationery and binders!!

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time".

- T. S. Eliot

L-R Midori date-book, Davinci binder, Smythson notebook

It sometimes seems as though I barely touch down in one binder before moving on to the next. Apart from the simple fun in the exploration, each change offers a fresh look at what I'm carrying about with me, and why. There's often no big change, but the fun remains, and it's a way of staying engaged with my set-up, which currently spans a Personal binder, A5 journal and a pocket notebook.

The binder is a Davinci Compact Personal - which the Japanese call "Bible" size - with the evocative model name DB1703. It's a very well made bridle leather binder, with 15mm rings, a single retractable pen loop and a slip fastening. I chose the dark brown colour, and it's a nice rich chestnut shade. The inside covers are pale tan leather, with two-full height pockets and three credit card slots inside the front cover. The back cover features another full-height pocket and a handy secretarial pocket. The binder also has ring protectors, to prevent the rings showing through to the outside leather. As a bonus, the Davinci refills use the lovely Tomoe River paper, so I can finally use fountain pens for writing in all three books.

The Davinci’s contents are arranged using standard Filofax subject tabs, and the following is a brief outline of what sits behind each tab:
Diary: 10x monthly planner sheets, 16 weeks of standard Filofax WO2P Diary, printed sheets for Birthdays/Anniversaries and Annual Leave.

Monthly planner pages

Close-up of the monthly planner pages

Notes: plenty of lined paper, with a tabbed flyleaf to mark a subdivision.
Projects: GTD Lists at the front (Next Actions, Waiting For, Errands), followed by another tabbed flyleaf to mark Project Plans and Checklists, and a Someday/Maybe List, and finally a supply of blank paper for notes and planning. Each month I create a simple list of 12 goals, two relating to each of my six defined Life Areas. I use these as an overall guide to manage my time and attention, as I’ve found that anything more rigid is likely to go by the board.

Monthly goals sheets

Information: specific printed checklists for Holidays and other purposes, plus more notes.
Financial: a handful of sheets for household bills etc.
Addresses: Three sheets printed double-sided with full details for almost 90 contacts, a sheet for noting new contacts and two sheets for WWW addresses. Closing off the binder is a business card holder for cards and postage stamps, and a top opening envelope that carries paper slips and a lovely guinea fowl card that was a gift from Amanda!

The back of the binder

Essentially, all I'm carrying now is a diary, task and to do lists, some pages for planning and information on the go and plenty of notepaper. The overflow diary leaves, along with high level planning sections stay at home in an old Succes compact binder.

I use a Smythson Panama pocket notebook for book notes, and as a sort of commonplace book. It's just three by five inches and comes along in my pocket for evening outings, as well as travelling in my briefcase by day. It holds quotes and random notes, and the fact that they are permanently bound in chronological order makes for, uhhm, diverting reading, and some surprising changes of direction.

The final component of my setup is an A5 Midori Datebook for journalling, which only occasionally leaves home. It contains a two-page overview for each month, followed by plenty of undated lined pages. These lined pages are each divided by thicker lines into four sections, so that a two-page spread can accommodate six or seven lines of notes for each weekday, with an additional space for memos. Being undated, these pages work equally well for periodic journalling.

Midori - monthly overview pages

Midori - lined pages, and GORGEOUS pens

That’s the Paper side of things covered, but what about the Pens and Ink?  The pen loop carries a Graf von Faber Castell ballpoint, for times when a biro can’t be avoided. For all writing on Filofax paper, I use an Aurora Optima rollerball fitted with a Pilot G2 gel refill. A Sailor Pro Gear fountain pen with Sailor Yama dori ink serves for notes on the lovely Tomoe River, Smythson and Midori papers.

Beautiful trio!!

So, that's it - a simple, compact system in three parts, each perfectly adapted to its purpose, that allows me to carry precisely what I need at any time.

Is anyone else using a range of formats? Please share any thoughts in the comments.

Guest post over on Philofaxy

I have a guest post on renovating the de Villiers out on Philofaxy today.
Check it out here.

Sadhana and the art of self development

Another guest post! This time I am delighted to welcome Anita who has the blog Anita Lim and who is part of the All Stars Team with Philofaxy. Anita is a complementary therapy practitioner based in Andover, Hampshire who offers shiatsu, face-lift massage, seated massage and sotai.

I first came across the term sadhana whilst reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, where he discusses the idea of relationships as a form of spiritual practice. The word sadhana is a Sanskrit or Hindi word (depending on different sources) that translates as 'a means of accomplishing some thing'. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.

There are different levels of sadhana which can range from higher causes like achieving enlightenment down to more worldly aims like getting a new job. At these lowest levels, it is said that no spiritual progress takes place. However, it is my humble opinion that we can bring about great personal change and development by focussing on the little details first.

I love the idea that any area or situation in my life can become an opportunity to develop myself, and practise patience and mindfulness. For example, my marriage becomes a chance to work on becoming a better listener, friend and lover, and I can rehearse my people skills on some one I trust that supports and loves me.

My main methods for sadhana are practising a martial art called aikido and regular meditation. Aikido incorporates positivity, relaxation, commitment and cooperation, and by repeating these behaviours and actions week after week, the language and movements seep into my consciousness and become habit. I used to get frustrated with my inability to do a technique to the standard I would like, but kept coming and finally made a breakthrough after nearly giving up. I knew I was learning some thing important about myself in the process. Maybe some times things can be hard because they're worth it, and the difficulties make the end result more appreciated. I recently passed my 1^st dan black belt grading and it was definitely more of an achievement due to the less easy times. The grading itself was an amazing experience, and the longest time I have ever been that present and mindful.

I have meditated on and off for many years, and made a decision at the beginning of the year to meditate for at least 5 minutes a day. I used to set myself goals and never complete them as often they were unclear, too difficult or I was trying to do too much at once. Just 5 minutes daily meditation felt easy enough to achieve, no matter what kind of day I have. I now meditate most days for 30 minutes and it helps me feel more grounded and relaxed.

From a Getting Things Done perspective, the advice is you don't have problems, only projects. A problem becomes an opportunity to create a successful outcome and learn some thing along the way. If I choose to pour my love, attention and time into a situation or task, it can become a mindfulness practise to focus on and every thing else falls away in the present moment.

It can be easy to spend my time being dragged along by events and day to day life, feeling overwhelmed and not thinking about where I'm being guided by the current. I love the idea that I can actively choose my sadhana to ensure I'm behaving and acting in accordance with my beliefs and principles. It's all a work in progress, but I'd like my behaviour and results to accurately reflect what I'm really like or how I'd like to be. 

Stationery kleptomania!

Today we have a guest post from Angela who has the blog Paper Love Story. Angela is a twenty year old who flits between the city of London and the countryside of the East Midlands in the UK. She blogs about fashion, stationery, things relating to paper and life in general.

As a university student or even, a student in general, pens and the like are a necessity. In fact, because I've got this fact into my head, I can't seem to stop buying stationery! However, most of my pens are in London so I can only show you a limited sample... well, I say limited but I'm not so sure my mum agrees as she comments on my vast collection whenever she lays eyes on it. Anyway, here is the collection in various improved pen pots:

As you can see, I use random things as pen pots. The only genuine pen pot is the one in the bottom left which originally held a set of eighteen Muji coloured gel ink pens. You'll notice that there are pegs - useful for when you've opened that bag of sweets or crisps and don't want to finish it in one sitting.

Let's take a closer look at a few of these pens.

Top left - the bog standard black Sharpie. This was given to me in my first year at university for use in labs. I use them to write on test tubes.

Top right - the pen at the top is a red Uniball rollerball and I use it for writing up lecture notes and extra reading. The red is used to underline important words or to write important words down. The bottom three pens are highlighters I got at a careers' fair last year. I'm not sure I was actually allowed to have three but my excuse is that I'm a student - anything free goes (to a certain extent anyway)!

Bottom left - These are a selection of my blue pens (not all of them, mind you!). From top to bottom: Parker fountain pen, blue Uniball rollerball, Pentel 0.7mm Energel liquid gel ink, a free blue rollerball from Allen and Overy, a Zebra fineliner and a blue Muji 0.5mm gel pen.

Bottom right - From top to bottom: Zebra black fineliner, Papermate biro, a pen I got for free from CHP Consulting at a careers' fair last year, a free black ink pen from Lovells law firm from a careers' fair and a Uniball eye pen.

The few free pens I've shown are from careers' fairs. From my last two years' at uni, I've learnt to have no shame when it comes to fairs. The freebies are there for the taking and if I don't take them, someone else will! And when it comes to stationery, it's better that I have it than someone else who may not appreciate it as much as me ;)

Next is a picture of another freebie I got from a fair last year from the Nature stall. These are sticky notes. I also got loads from Deustche Bank and BCG. 

And finally, when it comes to writing notes, I'm a bit of a neat freak. And sometimes, when you're not concentrating, you can make a slip of a mistake; thus ruining the neatness. As a result, one of these may come in handy:

All in all, various fairs at university are heaven for stationery lovers. If you, like me, have no shame and go to every stall in order to get the freebies (and the all important careers information too, of course), then you can end up going home with several bags full of free and some, very decent stationery too. I once went home with five bags full of freebies including free mugs, glasses, pens, highlighters, sticky notes, notepads and rulers. Also, to be fair, not all pens that you get are bad and here's the proof! The pens displayed are ones from earlier on in the post and the colours are from the free highlighters. I've not included any other free biros I've got as I usually find them a bit lacklustre (apart from the CHP Consulting one, clearly).

That's it from me. I hope you've enjoyed this post from me about how university has actually gotten me some very, very nice (and free!) pens. But take it from me - the best stalls to go for are usually the law society or the finance society ones!

Where does your paper come from?

I am delighted to introduce the first guest post on Paper, Pens and Ink! It's Millie from over at Planet Millie, who is part of the Philofaxy All Stars Blogging Team.

This year is the International Year of Forests.  What does that mean for the paper that you use every day?

Paper is most commonly manufactured from trees (although there is a small market for papers made from animal dung, fruits and other items).  Many people automatically assume that this is very bad for the environment.  Images pop into mind of vast swathes of rainforest chopped down by large corporations who care nothing for either the ecosystems or the livelihoods they're destroying.  The reality is very different.

11% of the timber produced throughout the world at present is used to make paper (the FAO monitor forestry across the world, on behalf of the UN).  Whilst a percentage of timber for paper production is likely coming from illegal sources, the biggest threat to rainforests is land clearance and felling for wood-fuel.

If your paper was manufactured in Western Europe using Western European materials you can be fairly certain that it was made sustainably due to EU and state legislation, but internationally there are several different accreditation schemes for paper.

The most popular certificate for timber products is the FSC scheme: any timber product carrying this logo is guaranteed to have been produced ethically and sustainably.  This is a worldwide scheme, so you can find these products internationally.  Each certificate has a number so that you can follow the production of your item, thus ensuring accountability at each step of the process (this is called the Chain of Custody).  Other certificates include PEFC certificates and World Land Trust certificates (these certificates are interesting because they promise carbon "balanced" paper!).

Some companies do not openly publicise their certification, but a quick look through their small print will show that they are signed up to codes of practice (examples here include Clairefontaine, who get their timber from PEFC certified woods and Moleskine, who are FSC-certified.  Neither company publishes their accreditation logo on their notebooks).

Whilst it's not always necessary to use paper made from virgin fibre (i.e. paper that has no recycled content), anyone doing so should not feel guilty.  If there was not a market for paper products, the timber industry would be considerably smaller than it currently is (11% smaller!).  There would be no demand to manage these woods sustainably and many would likely be felled to make way for new developments.  Whilst it seems counter-intuitive, the demand for timber-based products ensures that many woods are kept as working woods, and where products carry certification you can rest easy that you are supporting the environment.  Wood-based products are usually good for the environment - sustainably-managed forests absorb carbon dioxide, support an ecosystem, can be used to manage flooding and wind damage, clean the air of pollutants and give us something pretty to enjoy!

Personally, I see the use of paper in the 21st century as very much in keeping with the International Year of Forests.  I use certified notebooks and I'm happy knowing that I'm supporting sustainable forestry whilst meeting my own needs.  I try not to waste paper and always recycle it when I'm finished, and so as a consumer I carry on the cycle of sustainable paper production. The trees are happy and I am happy, and you should be happy too!