Seen in the wild

Pencil Blast’em

1 Comment / Seen in the wild / / ,

One of the most helpful stationery companies I came across when it comes to fixing issues is Tactile Turn.

A short explanation why: I had some problems with my Tactile Turn Gist fountain pen and Will Hodges helped me several times, trying to fix the issues that occurred[1]Initially I received a replacement cap because of the marks on the original cap. When the replacement cap failed a few years later (when I clipped the pen the pressure from the clip made the finial … Continue reading.

Below is a video from 2020 showing the final cap [2]If you see any advertising it’s YouTube’s doing. I don’t have video monetization turned on.. You can also see the process of the first cap change in a video from 2017 if that interests you.

Why do I mention all this? It’s because their pens are guaranteed for life, which makes you (or at least me) more likely to part with my money ..thinking I will have a pen I can always send in if there were any issues.

With that in mind their latest Seasonal Release looks very tempting. Yes, not cheap, but if I wanted to convince myself to buy it I could use the lifetime warranty as an argument.

This latest Seasonal Release is called the “8-Bit” and it just looks 8-Bit, too. It is also available in Europe from Kohezi, but I think shipping to the UK will come with a big bill independent of whether you ship from the US or the EU: Even though Kohezi’s web site lists the prices in Pounds the small print states that items are shipped from the Netherlands and that they have no control over customs, which implies they don’t prepay customs etc, it’s up to the customer.

The Tactile Turn 8-Bit (Image © Tactile Turn)

As part of this Seasonal Release you also get to play an 8-Bit like game that reminds me of R-Type on their web site: a game where you shoot other stationery with the 8-Bit pen, including yellow, eraser-tipped pencils.

Blast’em (Image © Tactile Turn)

If you don’t mind shooting (virtual) pencils you can do so at: https://tactileturn.com/products/8-bit

References

References
↑1 Initially I received a replacement cap because of the marks on the original cap. When the replacement cap failed a few years later (when I clipped the pen the pressure from the clip made the finial pop out) I got another replacement cap, but as material and shape of the pen had changed it didn’t fit. After sending the whole pen in I got a pen back with a cap that works. Unfortunately it is made from another material, with another size of pattern, the finial doesn’t sit right and the cap is very tight to screw on, but given the circumstances this was the best solution possible
↑2 If you see any advertising it’s YouTube’s doing. I don’t have video monetization turned on.

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Yoko Tsuno and the Pentel P205

Leave a Comment / Mechanical pencils, Pentel, Seen in the wild / / , , ,

2022 saw the release of the 30th Yoko Tsuno album.

In case you are not familiar with this series [1]I came across this series a few years ago for the first time.: In the Yoko Tsuno comics the main character, an electrical engineer, is taking part in adventures all over the world. Stories are usually technology and Sci-Fi heavy.

Beginning of “On the Edge of Life” from 1977.

The first story appeared in 1970 and more than 50 years later they are still drawn by Roger Leloup, who is now 89 years old. He is still working on creating more adventures and, according to rumours, the 31st album is already half completed.

As can be seen in the this Kaboom video, Roger Leloup is using Pentel’s P205 to draw his comics. The clip has been removed, presumably to more more comfortable to hold and because the pencils are not being used in pockets anyway.

Screenshot form the Kaboom video

A few years ago I was quite lucky and managed to get a signed print from Roger Leloup that I want so share here with you.

I believe that the use of the images in this blog post fall under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.

References

References
↑1 I came across this series a few years ago for the first time.

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Hovering and flying fountain pens

2 Comments / Fountain pens, Seen in the wild / / ,

In a recent issue, Time Magazine presented a list of the best inventions of 2022. This also included stationery: specifically the Novium Hoverpen 2.0.

Below is a video where you can see it in action.

In the UK it currently seems for a bit more than £100, so it is a bit more expensive than in the USA. On the other hand it seems to be sold out in the USA in many shops. The next version, which converts into a fountain pen, is in the works.

From hovering to flying fountain pens:

Something else that is new: The Diplomat Nexus has a patented sealing system, that cuts the ink supply off when the cap is closed. This might be quite useful when flying. On the other hand if have flown many times with a fountain pen in my shirt pocket and didn’t have any ink spilling issues yet. Many fountain pens leak though when thrown into bags and carried around, so this mechanism might help. I assume the ink near the nib can still ‘escape’ and make a mess, though.

Watch a quick overview from Pen Chalet here:

…or a longer version from Brian Goulet here:

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Rapidograph designs

1 Comment / Koh-I-Noor, Rotring, Seen in the wild / / , , , ,

A fun fact involving pens, taken from the current issue (240) of Retro Gamer: The original design of the Atari logo was created using Radiograph pens.

One constant in the Atari story is its striking logo, long referred to as Fuji after its resemblance to the Japanese mountain. In 1972, Evelyn Seto was a production artist, working for George Opperman who had produced the original design, and it was her task to create the artwork for printing. “This was pre-computers, so it was done by hand,” she explains. “I had to draw and ink the symbol using tools such as French curves and Rapidograph technical drawing pens. We used the font style Harry for ‘ATARI’.

Retro Gamer 240, p. 23

The question is whether these were Rotrings or Koh-I-Noors. It seems more likely they were Rotrings. As far as I know the Rapidograph had been around for around two decades at that time.

Rotring Rapidograph - in box
Rapidographs

This blog post contains embedded Flickr images.

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