There are many minor obsessions in my life, one of them being writing. I wish I could include drawing and art in this, but it really comes down to the art of characters. I don’t know if there is some connection to being diagnosed with a reading/writing disability when I was in elementary school, but I have been obsessed with writing ever since. This page is dedicated to a catelog of some of the tools I use for this practice.

Pens

As a child, I always used pencil. Religiously hated pens. Never used them. Then I went back and started reading some of my old journals only to see that the graphite on some pages and smugged and was harder to read. The whole point of journaling for me is to go back and read it. I switched from pencil to pen and while I still use pencils from time to time, it is usually to outline before I come back with a pen or think through a concept that I will write in pen later. That is why this Pen section comes

Fountain Pens

This is something that came up a bit later in my pen obsession. My first attempts into this arena kept on having bleed through and feathering and so I avoided commiting for a while, until I discovered the right paper for these pens. That being said, now I have a collection of them and if one is not in my pocket it is usually close at hand.

Some notable Mentions in my collection:

  • BigIDesign EveryDay Fountain Pen in Zircronium - This pen is my favorite fountain pen and usually use it write daily in my journal, but because of the Zircronium it is VERY expensive, I don’t often carry it away from my bag.
  • BigIDesign Everyday Fountain Pen Titanium - Same pen as above in black. The weight on the titanium is lighter than the Zircronium, so while I still love the nib, I sometimes miss the weight of the other. Still because this is more affordable, the cap keeps the pen tight and not leaking, I keep this one in my pocket many days.
  • BigIDesign Bolt Action Zircronium Pen - This is MY pen. I have this on me almost every day and I use it to write in my field notes with a .5mm G2 ink refill. It’s gel ink, so not perfect for everything, but i love the dark colors and the way this looks. I have bunch of pens in my pocket, but this is the one that is clipped to my pocket so I can find it fast.
  • BigIDesign Slim Bolt Pen - I have two versions of this pen, one that is the standard and one that came from Pete’s Pirate Life - which is essentaly the same pen with a little beat of wear on the color and a skull and crossbones on the clip. It’s a cool pen and I keep it with the original Schmidt 900 refill.
  • Micron 05 Size Fine Liners

Pencils

Paper

Inks

Abbreviations and Conventions on this page

BigIDesign = Big Idea Design