Changing the way you write

LBV - May 16, 2021

Just been thinking and thought I would talk about refillable pens. I initially went this way because of the plastic issue, as pens are essentially a disposible product. I ended up driving to another town to visit a specialised shop that deals with everything pen and ink related. That was my introduction to fountain pens. Being refillable, they are environmentally friendly, but recently looking at it from a different perspective, they are also a good prepper item as well.

I ended up choosing a fountain pen over rollerball or ballpoint as you do not need to use pressure to write (which minimises pain when writing).

The pen I chose (Lamy Al-star) was appealing, not only due to comfort, but also due to the fact that every part of the pen was replaceable, meaning I didn’t  have to  buy a completely new pen if something got lost or broke. I also chose the adapter over cartridges, so I fill my pen from bottled ink – and this is where it is good for prepping. Once an ordinary pen runs out – that’s it. However, a small bottle if ink goes a very long way. I have had my pen for over two years and have barely made a dent in the ink container (50ml).

If you choose a fountain pen, you will need to use ink designed for it. Bonus is the range of colours that are available. As they are water based ink not all inks are waterproof, so be aware of that when choosing your ink.

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Good morning LBV,

Thank you for adding the “writing kit” … some prepper societies use term “desk” although not meaning the piece of furniture with a cigar box holding the instruments and ink bottle.

My shelter in place writing kit also contains 2 Lamy pens.

The evac writing kit(in vest w/ all weather paper pad) also loaded with highlighter markers for map and chart use.

Once researched bottles of fountain pen ink. Waterman is in a sturdy glass jar. Mount Blanc is in plastic.

Glad you mentioned “(which minimizes pain when writing)”. 

Somewhere here is the Parker Pen writing protocol book.  

 

I love fountain pens, but I can’t keep track of a pen, and I have small children, which makes both fountain pens and inkwells a bad idea. Other preppery writing tools I like are space pens and carpenter pencils, the latter of which are super thick and are designed to be sharpened with a pocket knife.

 

I have a fisher space pen but was kinda let down. I thought it was going to be cooler than it was. 

My main gripe with the fisher space pen is the pocket clip comes off super easily and I don’t want to lose the clip or pen. Guess it’s good to have a removable pocket clip in case it breaks, but it is so loose that it’s not worth using.

 

I notoriously also lost pens, but funnily enough spending NZD$70 on a pen has made sure that I don’t lose it. Having said that, there are lower cost options out there. The shop I use has pens starting at NZD$5. But, everyone needs to  do what works for them.

 

Alright, so you got me thinking the other day and I whipped out the notebook and looked through my pens.

I found the fountain pen from 4th grade! It was dried out though and I didn’t have any refills. I did use my fisher space pen though. While it does write similarly to a cheapo ball point pen like I linked below, the weight felt nice. Maybe there is something to this changing the way you write.

And I agree with your point of not losing a $70 pen. I would try and take care of it more if I spent that much money on one.

 

I use a piston ink converter with my pen so I don’t have to worry about refills. They are really easy to fill- see link.

I also have a glass pen which is a dip pen, however  it is not really practical, but they are lovely.

https://www.jetpens.com/blog/how-to-use-a-fountain-pen-converter-2/pt/479

 

Now I’m thinking about taking a chicken feather and making a quill from it.

 

A pack of 36 pens for $6 will last me the rest of my life if I don’t lose them. I’ve never ran a pen dry, I always lose them first.

While they won’t write as nice as a fountain pen, they are pretty durable and if it broke or I lost it I would have 35 others. 

I get what you are saying about a fountain pen and the ability to fix and replace individual parts and that usually is a good prepping tactic and strategy. But in this case, I personally would prefer the pack of cheap ball points. 

That being said, I am pretty ignorant to this field as I don’t write much and haven’t used a fountain pen since probably 4th grade. So take my naive perspective with a grain of salt, you obviously know more about writing instruments than I do.

 

Your post made me think to also stash pencils – they don’t need ink and can be sharpened with a field knife, etc. Plus they double as perfectly legitimate offensive weapon 😉